Created By Julie Coniglio

@awkward_hug

9/28/2011

Crowdfunding with .

noun /kikˈstärtər/

1. An online threshold pledge system for funding creative projects.

2. A path to funding your creative project.

3. An pre-sale platform for your widget.

4. A soapbox for DIY creators and Indie artists.

+noun /ˈôkwərd həg/

1. An uncomfortable embrace

2. A kick-ass game studio (Julie is the most female co-founder of AH)

Socks, Inc. was among the first game projects to be funded on Kickstarter.

In the summer of 2010, with no access to brands or traditional funding, we went to Kickstarter to make a whacky online sock puppet game.

Source: http://www.kickstarter.com/blog/10000-successful-projects

Stats (as of 7/17/2011)

Launched Projects: 26,620

Successful Projects: 10,388

Unsuccessful Projects: 13,113

Live Projects: 3,119

Success Rate: 44%

Since then, Kickstarter has become super popular and is full of success stories.

These are the things I’ve learned from running the Socks, Inc. campaign and watching Kickstarter grow.

This is not a Kickstarter bible, it simply illustrates my experience.

• family, friends + co-workers

•your community / contacts

You only have one Mom.Who else will contribute?

• Peeps who need or want the product or service

• Peeps who admire the project’s goal / are aligned with its ideals} ‣ their communities

Our Gaming Community, Friends, + FamilyOthers

Contributors to Socks, Inc.

GET MONEY

The best thing people can do for

your campaign, after contributing,

is evangelize.

GET MONEY

It is all about community.

GET MONEY

Have an outreach strategy.

Find creative ways to

break through the

digital noise.

Reach out both digitally

+ in the real-world

Be personal

Making promotional swag

for you campaign

}

GET MONEY

Have an outreach strategy.

Reach out both digitally

+ in the real-world

Be personal

Making promotional swag

for you campaign

DIGITAL

• Blog outreach

• Email campaign

• Social Media

REAL-WORLD

• Industry Meetups

• Call publications

• Flyers + Post Cards

Find communities of people who share your interests.

GET MONEY

Have an outreach strategy.

Reach out both digitally

+ in the real-world

Be personal

Making promotional swag

for you campaign

Tap your industry leaders

We DMed thought leaders in overlapping industries and personally asked them to

share our campaign.

GET MONEY

Have an outreach strategy.

Reach out both digitally

+ in the real-world

Be personal

Consider making

promotional swag

Postcards and patches were mailed to people who had played our previous games.

Create interesting artifacts that are unique to

your project... or make some post cards to leave

in public places.

GIVE REWARDS

Design a reward system. Make sure each reward cost less than 5% of the pledge, including delivery.

GIVE REWARDS

Design a reward system. Make sure each reward cost less than 5% of the pledge, including delivery.

Felt / Wood /Bird / Sock

Googly Eyes /Hot Glue

Stuffing / Wire

} $23.75TOTAL COSTS

This reward cost 4.75% of the pledge to make. Add the average packaging and delivery costs, and the reward went slightly over the 5% rule.

The sweet spot for your project is the contribution level that earns the most money.

GIVE REWARDS

Decided Sweet Spot.

Push to the sweet spot.

Aw

eso

me

ne

ss o

f G

ift

Past the sweet spot, rewards

acknowledge the contributor’s

awesomeness in some way.

The Socks, Inc. Reward Strategy(aka. the proverbial carrot dangle)

$5 $15 $25 $50 $100 $200 $500 $1,000

Wilson may have expected to sell around 300 of his watches, but ended up with over 3,500 pre-orders. Good thing he is a seasoned and serial entrepreneur with the tools to deliver.

GIVE REWARDS

Be prepared for an unexpected volume of pledges.

The Sweet Spot for merchandise is effortlessly the pledge level at which you can manufacture

and deliver the product to the contributor.

Contact all the vendors and collaborators to get estimates and quotes. Rack your brain for any hidden costs that are not immediately obvious.

Base Cost

+ 5% for Rewards

+ 5% for Kickstarter

+ 5% for Amazon

= Campaign Goal

CAMPAIGN GOAL

You don’t get any money if your goal isn’t reached. A great campaign can always go over.

Ab’s thinkin’ cap

CAMPAIGN GOAL

Most successful Kickstarter campaigns ask for less than $5G. Need more? Consider your options.

Think about your goal

objectively, will it seem

reasonable to your audience?

Be Bold

Re-evaluate

Re-structure}

CAMPAIGN GOAL

Most successful Kickstarter campaigns ask for less than $5G. Need more? Consider your options.

Ask for it.As Kickstarter becomes more popular, campaigns are setting higher goals

and are getting the contributions. Your campaign is good enough,

smart enough, and doggone it, people like it.

Be Bold

Re-evaluate

Re-structure

CAMPAIGN GOAL

Most successful Kickstarter campaigns ask for less than $5G. Need more? Consider your options.

Determine your MVP.Simplify your project down to the Minimum Viable Product. Eliminate all

of the fluff and dedicate your time and other people’s money to just the

juiciest bits.

Be Bold

Re-evaluate

Re-structure

CAMPAIGN GOAL

Most successful Kickstarter campaigns ask for less than $5G. Need more? Consider your options.

Break it down.Re-structure your project into phases. If phase one is complete before even

going to Kickstarter, you can establish credibility. Run a small campaign for

the MVP, and, afterwards, a second campaign for the re-iterations.

Be Bold

Re-evaluate

Re-structure

Your video should...

SHOWTIME

If you can’t be bothered making a video, don’t bother starting a campaign.

• be honest, sincere, and charming

• get straight to the point

• establish your credibility

• be under 5 minutes

At the end of the day, people are giving you money; you need to establish trust and emotional connection.

RESEARCH

Kickstart your pitch process with a healthy dose of preparation.

Read the Kickstarter blog, it is full of tips and good analyses of successful campaigns.

Ask for help! Contact people who have done it

before and pick their brain. Get your friends to

pitch in too. DIY is exciting and people may be

more excited to pitch in than you think.

Learn from other people’s successes

and failures. Study the reward

design, outreach strategy, and the

video pitches of projects like yours.

BYE BYE

Ok peeps, go make something awesome!

Want to know more about Julie?

Check out awkwardhug.com and

follow her @awkward_hug.