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Thread: Have you ever used Kickstarter? [+rep for helpful answers]

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    esperanto's Avatar
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    Have you ever used Kickstarter? [+rep for helpful answers]

    Have you ever used Kickstarter, either as a funder or someone seeking to be funded?
    If so, what were your experiences? Did your project get funded, did it fall a little short, or did it totally bust? What worked and what would you do differently next time? Funders, what do you look for in a project to fund? What sort of key points get you interested in funding the project? What sort of rewards do you look for? What sort of tiers do you feel most comfortable with?

    Sorry for all the questions, I'm hoping to start a Trythia Kickstarter soon and I'm trying to figure out how much of the site I want to have done to display, as well as what concept art etc. is best to have.

    +rep for helpful answers!



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    Jules's Avatar
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    I once donated to a Kickstarter for a restaurant in the town next to me. I was interested in funding the restaurant because the owner made a video all about the menu and their goal with the restaurant and I liked it because almost everything there was gluten free and my best friend has Celiac disease and it's always hard to find places where we can go out to eat. I was comfortable donating $25 since I normally don't have a lot of money but I know my gluten free friend's mom donated $100. I didn't care about a reward when I donated but they sent me gluten free cookies.

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    Never used it, but would assume you have to market and shine up your project like any other project to prospective backers.

    Off the top of my head:

    -Enough of the site completed (or proof of such) so people can see it's a serious project and not just a weak 'maybe' or paper model.

    -Include screenshots, proofs, and details of the most captivating & unique aspects of Trythia, leave out the less interesting stuff. You want to have a balance of enough details to show it's a thought-out and long-term investment, but not so much that potential funders get bored of reading walls of text or watching videos of boring sites. Think of it as a resume, give them your best 30 seconds - 2 minutes.

    -As for concept art, have diverse species to appeal to different user tastes, maybe some cutesy and badass pets: some birdies, horsies, and lizards; but not all birdies, etc. Have a few black/whites, as well as full color pieces; color vibrance really attract the masses at first glance. Likewise, have some artistic, detailed sketches too; whether they will be close to final designs or not. As long as they look good, they will also add depth and the idea to the audience that a lot of prior thought has been put into Trythia.

  4. The Following User Says Thank You to Mod For This Useful Post:

    esperanto (11-17-2013)

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    @(you need an account to see links), that sounds cool. Thanks!

    @(you need an account to see links), good good advice thank you so much
    You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Mod again.
    Hrm...hopefully more people comment soon, lol.



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    Raj's Avatar
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    Re: Have you ever used Kickstarter? [+rep for helpful answers]

    Well, shit I always wanna get to these threads before @(you need an account to see links) cause he usually nails it hehe.

    I haven't ever invested in any of them but the most popular ones always have a common theme: how appealing they look. Some ideas are brilliant but are marketed poorly, so people just scroll past it and pay no mind. Some ideas aren't too innovative but are made very enticing based on how it is described. Its mostly about marketing based on the ones I've seen do well. Get that aspect and you'll have it nailed.

    Good luck with Trythia, I'll give it a look when its done!

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    esperanto (11-17-2013)

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    Personally, I think what makes a successful kickstarter is not so much being appealing on the kickstarter website itself, rather you have to appeal to the social media market. Surely your kickstarter ad itself has to be appealing as well or else your conversion rate would be horrible.

    What I mean by this is, you can't just expect to create a kickstarter ad and expect for people to donate. Just look through the kickstarter ads that have received no funding, there are some pretty good ones that go unnoticed and that's because they forgot to create some traffic towards their ad. I don't know of anyone who would browse the kickstarter website daily, looking to donate away their hard earned money regardless of the cause.

    Before you even start a kickstarter, you want to create a audience of people that would be interested in Trythia. I see you have started showcasing some art on some virtual pet forums, and that's great. Don't know if you haven't already yet, but you probably want to create a FB Page and get your friends to share it around. I recall some video being on my fb newsfeed of some magnet pen that did some cool shit. The video went viral, and that linked to their kickstarter which ended up successful. You probably should also upload a video to Youtube showcasing a overview of what the website will be.

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    esperanto (11-17-2013)

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    esperanto's Avatar
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    @(you need an account to see links), haha he's pretty good with advice! Thanks
    +repped

    @(you need an account to see links), that's a really good point. I haven't done much in the way of marketing yet as it's still just fledgling stages...but someone suggested to do Tumblr, Twitter, FB, basically any social media site you can think of to generate interest. Thanks for your advice!
    +repped

    Everyone but poor little @(you need an account to see links) has been repped so far xD



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    It's fine, get me whenever you're free to, I'm in no rush to obtain the silver bar.

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    I think the current generation(s) are starting to focus on a green-objective... I'd be more likely to fund/invest in a start-up that benefits more than the creator/investors (gives back to society, like Toms, et cetera). I know people who try to only buy from companies that are all about helping others and a site that has made an insane profit directing folks to those organizations (Roozt).

    What really frustrates me about the nonprofit that I'm helping establish at my university is that our state's president claims to be computer illiterate and has let the site deteriorate. Instead, she constantly updates Facebook and other forms of social media, which doesn't seem to discourage her members. Focusing on a social media (or many of them) may be your best way to stir up interest (even if that's not my personal preference).

    I know what appeals to me most is warm fuzzies. Make me feel good about giving you my money / helping fund you some other way. Hell, the main reason I'm in the nonprofit is that it not only gives back to my local community, but it gives back to me. and I'm my favorite.

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    esperanto (11-20-2013)

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