Well here we are a little past the halfway point for my recent Kickstarter project!  My Kickstarter has had a slow start at only 6 Backers and 13% funding with 10 days left trending towards 45% by the end according to Kicktraq, but I also know from reading about other projects that the last week of a campaign is usually the most crucial with the most pledges taking place.  I haven’t given up yet!

While the campaign has been running, I’ve been trying to find ways to continue to get the word out without hounding my fans.  This has been a really difficult balancing act of creating relevant posts without being repetitive.

Project Updates as a Promotional Tool

Each time I have shared something interesting via the Project Updates section, such as the release of the exclusive Sketch Diary for Backers and Patreon Patrons, I share this info through my promotion channels (social media, art communties, etc.) since it represents a relevant creative update to the project, rather than just another HEY LOOKIT MAH KICKSTARTER AND THROW MONEY AT IT!

Relevancy is the key word here.  If you become too repetitive about your Kickstarter, you’re going to sound like an annoying spammy desperate beggar, and that’s not a very positive thing to be seen as. Another advantage of utilizing the Updates section of your project is the fact this also makes your project visible in the ‘recently updated’ section of Kickstarter.

Relevant Creative Updates

Here are some of the project updates I’ve utilized (or am planning to utilize):

–  A Backers Only Preview.  I timed this to drop a week early for my KS Backers and Patreon Patrons, but I didn’t plan ahead and I had to rush the video to get it out on time so that the week early lead-in didn’t place the public release of the video after the deadline for my project.  The public release will also coincide with the 15th of the month, which is payday for most people.  I’m hoping that theoretically this means more people will be able to pitch in, thanks to that paycheck!

The 2nd part of January’s tutorial video will drop a week after the first, where I hope the fresh attention of the video’s posting will draw those last few Backers that I need to meet my goal.  I’m still in the midst of processing the 2nd video, which is taking way longer than expected.  Lesson learned – start video editing early!

–  Extra Rewards.   Not sure if this was a good idea or not, but to keep my project updates fresh, I also released three more ink drawing bundles as rewards later on.  I did this because after seeing the slow start my campaign had, I thought that providing more options would encourage more backers.  I think next time I would include these Rewards from the beginning, instead.

A montage of the extra Rewards I added during the campaign.

–  Rewards Video.  Rather than simply type a wall of text for people to read, I plan to do a video showing a preview of some of the Rewards for this video so future and current Backers will have a tangible representation they can view and also to connect once again with them ‘face to face’.  I plan for this video to drop during the 2nd half of the campaign.  I would rather have shared this Rewards video earlier, but the production of the sample rewards took longer than anticipated.  Lesson learned – have a sample product/reward made before you start your campaign!

– Fun Art.  I won’t spoil this one, but there’s a fun idea I came up with involving the Ladies that I’ll be sharing in the Project Updates too.  It’s not really an ‘important’ update, but it is one that I think helps get across my sense of humor and provides ever-more personal connection with the people who have chosen to help with this project.  This fun art update will be coming in the final week.

Admittedly, I only had a general update schedule in mind instead of a very tightly planned out one before I began.  I’m beginning to think I didn’t plan enough relevant updates to keep my project on people’s radar, or perhaps my Rewards aren’t enticing enough?  Perhaps I simply don’t have the reach yet to really support doing a Kickstarter project?

I’m eager to look at all the information after this project has finished and discover where I saw tangible results in my promotional efforts, as this could be extremely useful information for me beyond Kickstarter.

So Many Thanks!

Most of all, I am trying to be thorough in thanking each and every person who has helped spread the word about my Kickstarter.  This means replying on Twitter and Facebook and everywhere I’ve noticed anyone sharing.

I want people to know that I am a real person and the fact that people believe in me enough to share my project really means a lot!

So here’s a big THANK YOU to any of my dear readers who have read along with this journey as it has happened and helped me by pitching in or spreading the word.  I am so grateful!

Even if I don’t get funded by the end of this blog series, I’ve already learned so much about how to improve my project’s communication, goals, and timetables for the next time.  This is amazing priceless info!