Getting ready for the Better World Book kickstarter - April 2019

loving the amended apple thumbnail!

I have an idea.  


A lot of kickstarters have an earlybird price.  I think that generally doesn't work because if you say the earlybird price is $50 and the regular price is $70, then after the earlybird stuff, people think "if I can't have it for $50 then I'm not going to get it".   Further, since I adopted the policy of "give the very, very best to my kickstarter peeps" the prices for stuff is already super low and I don't want to change that.  

But here is the idea:   for everybody that supports the kickstarter in the first 48 hours, they get a bonus gob of stuff.  All a bunch of digital offerings so they don't add expense.  Giving stuff away from our digital market is easy.  

So I could put some stuff in the mix, like:

   - microdoc about all the rocket mass heaters at wheaton labs
   - an hour long presentation by Tim Barker about ram pumps
   - a two hour long presentation by Jacqueline Freeman about Farm and Animal relationships
   - my 4 hour presentation on animals in the landscape
   - a two hour presentation on money and finanace for permies by Jocelyn Campbell

And then maybe there could be other people that would want to sweeten this pot?   Maybe

  - davin hoyt would throw in one of his plans
  - Sergei Boutenko would throw in an ebook about foraging
  - something from Ernie and Erica?
  - Chad Sentman has been telling me some ideas about some videos
  - something from Raven Ranson?
  - something from Josiah Wallingford?

If people put something into the pot, I don't know if it will go to 20 people or 2000.  So be prepared!  Also, there would be no money in it.   I guess from a business perspective the return is super lame.   For 48 hours, I will mention that the thing exists, and it is possible that people seeking the kickback will also mention it.   I'm not sure if it is worth it for people, but this is just an idea at this point.  If you like this idea and you have a thing to add, please reply to post and I'll get it mashed in (assuming that we do this, which I am now thinking we probably will!).  

I think thats a great idea, Paul. If it comes off then the listing will go to the top super quick which means more people will see it.

Yeah,

I'm thinking that a huge boost at the beginning will push it up on kickstarter so that a lot of people that are not part of our group will learn about the kickstarter.

Plus, we just remove any mention of the "earlybird bonus gob" 48 hours in.  So people after that point don't feel like they missed out.

I like the idea of the extra bonus for the first 48 hours.  Of course that could be because I was planning on supporting it as soon as I got the notice it was up and I am greedy and always like to have more, more, and more stuff!!! :-) LOL   And since most other people are a bit greedy too it might convince them to go ahead instead of waiting to pledge their support.   But, as I have said before, what you get for the amount that you pledge is more than generous!!!  And just what I  have seen/heard from post and podcast, I think the book itself already rocks and is something very needed.

Extra stuff for backing the campaign during the first 48 hours? Sign me up!

Sounds like a good idea to me Paul. I would be willing to throw in the collection of cheat-sheets, guides, worksheets, etc. that I offer people who sign up for my email list on Wild Homesteading. Right now that is 16 documents and most weeks I add to it so it could be more when the kickstarter went out. I could just combine them all into one pdf...

I also have my companion guide to your rocket oven dvd that I could also throw in.

All the docs are homesteading and permaculture related.

Edit: I think a zip file with all the docs might be the easiest and most useful for people...

Can you make something in the digital market?

Sure, that would not be a problem. When would you need it done?

Daron Williams wrote:Sure, that would not be a problem. When would you need it done?

sometime in the next five days?

Sounds good. I will try to get it done this weekend.

Were you thinking that the 48 hour bonus would go to any supporter at any level of support?  

I already have it in my head to throw some sort of upper or mid level support at this kickstarter as well...

While it may seem or even be a bit elitist to suggest something like 48 hour rule applies to level x and above...

The other side of the coin is that the more faces or supporters this project has, the more the word about this mission increases and possibly yields new brains to influence...

For some reason I feel like I might be saying the same thing everyone has already said...and am a bit wishy washy to boot.

Either way, i am in when this launches!

I don't have any specifically permaculture content, but I have a little program to make fractal tree artwork, which is kind of permaculture themed. Could I toss in a big gob of fractal tree art into the kickstarter 48hr bonus, too?

Would this tree fractal art page I made in the digital market be okay for giving away as a 48hr bonus?

Jason Guidone wrote:Were you thinking that the 48 hour bonus would go to any supporter at any level of support?  

Yes.  

I think that kickstarter is influenced by the number of people far more than the total dollars.  Even more, I kinda feel like I don't get the extra kickstarter attention that other kickstarters get.  Some kickstarters get "blessed by staff" and then show up far higher in searches and other stuff.  So I am curious about how to get that extra bit of love.  

Plus, it has always seemed a bit weird to me.   The monthly-ish has 70,000 emails on it and the rocket ovens kickstarter had 1647 supporters.  So I guess that the candy I offered in the past wasn't enough candy.  

I send something to the monthly-ish and get about a 15% open rate.   That's 10,000 people.  What if what I offered was so good that 10,000 people signed up for the kickstarter in the first day?  I would like to think that I would then get the attention of kickstarter.  And that might lead to getting the attention of other movers and shakers.  Etc. etc. etc.

----

So, yes, for ALL backers.  Even the $1 backers.  Because I am freakishly obsessed with infecting brains with permaculture.

Dave Burton wrote:I don't have any specifically permaculture content, but I have a little program to make fractal tree artwork, which is kind of permaculture themed. Could I toss in a big gob of fractal tree art into the kickstarter 48hr bonus, too?

Would this tree fractal art page I made in the digital market be okay for giving away as a 48hr bonus?

Yes!   Only I think you need to attach that to the thread for people to be able to receive it.

paul wheaton wrote:

Dave Burton wrote:I don't have any specifically permaculture content, but I have a little program to make fractal tree artwork, which is kind of permaculture themed. Could I toss in a big gob of fractal tree art into the kickstarter 48hr bonus, too?

Would this tree fractal art page I made in the digital market be okay for giving away as a 48hr bonus?

Yes!   Only I think you need to attach that to the thread for people to be able to receive it.

Thank you! I fixed it!

I would like to contribute Learning to Spin on a Drop Spindle to the first 48-hour thingy.

Oh! I'm in!

I can offer my Grow a Salad in Your City Apartment ebook! Let me know how to make that happen!

Dave Burton wrote:Thank you! I fixed it!

Spiffy!

I would like to contribute Learning to Spin on a Drop Spindle to the first 48-hour thingy.

Spiffy!  This whole idea is starting to really flesh out!

Oh! I'm in!

I can offer my Grow a Salad in Your City Apartment  ebook! Let me know how to make that happen!

Spiffy!

You have done all that you need to do.   You have your stuff set up in our digital market, and you gave me permission.   In a day or two, I will make a list of the offerings and if you don't like what it says, you can holler for changes.  When the kickstarter is done, assuming that we are funded and stuff, then I will use my superpowers on this site to give those peeps your stuff.  

Excellent, Paul! What a wonderful set of digital goodies everyone is giving!

I had to get caught up with this thread, but wanted to offer my comments/praise:

Wow, you guys have accomplished a LOT and the book looks so interesting! I can't wait to read it. And give it away :-)

The video is neat, first of all. But I think it would really amp it up if there were intermingled clips of Paul doing talks or making faces at the camera, haha. Also any footage of Wheaton Labs would be cool too. The paper messages start to get a little old after about 3min, but it still gives the message well, and it's very clear and concise. I just wanted to see someone in real life, deomonstrating some of what y'all are talking about, while it's being narrated. Now, I know that making a pro video like that is really time consuming and hard to change up so leave the video the way it is if that keeps things simple. Just my 2 cents!

Also, you might want to think about doing a video of Shawn or Paul explaining the different levels and showing to the camera all of the goodies? Not sure if that's feasible, but it certainly would make it seem really tangible and AMAZING to the average person who is saying to themselves: "Wow, I get ALL of that if I just give this guy $x?", Maybe that would only work for the higher levels, not sure.

I also really like the #2 graphic with the hammock. I know it's not the most popular, but it reminds me of a lot of gardening book covers, permaculture books, like the hand-drawn graphics done inside those books like Jean-Martin's etc. Maybe add some color to different parts of the "hammock" picture, then it pops more. Sorry, not a big fan of the chosen graphic, the apple seems to overwhelm the pic.

Good luck! Can't wait to see the kickstarter.  

Shawn Klassen-Koop wrote:I would really like to hear what you all think of it!

I love the video! I can't wait to read the book. Hopefully I can get some of the teachers at my work to buy a whole heap for the kids too.

Rosemary Hansen wrote:
The video is neat, first of all. But I think it would really amp it up if there were intermingled clips of Paul doing talks or making faces at the camera, haha. Also any footage of Wheaton Labs would be cool too. The paper messages start to get a little old after about 3min, but it still gives the message well, and it's very clear and concise. I just wanted to see someone in real life, deomonstrating some of what y'all are talking about, while it's being narrated. Now, I know that making a pro video like that is really time consuming and hard to change up so leave the video the way it is if that keeps things simple. Just my 2 cents!

Now that you mention this, I think this would be awesome to have incorporated into the video, because it would be like, "Huzzah! See! Lookie here! The stuff in this book works!!!"

Thinking about your rewards.  What about offering a very simple reward level?

In my Kickstarter, my most simple reward was by far the most popular.  I wasn't going to do something this simple, but looking at other successful book campaigns, I noticed that a simple reward level seemed to do the best.  

JUST BOOK!
I just gotta have that book! No thrills. No gimmicks. Just send me the book damn it!

I know it's tempting to add in a lot of goodies because people love goodies.  But it would be fun if you tossed in a really simple reward with no extras to see how it does.  Just for a lark.  

Looking at your reward list on the first post, it could be at the $14 level (if your budget permits).  Just below

$15
1 physical copy or 2 ebooks
Everything in CANDY
Everything in THANKS

It could look like

$14
1 physical copy and nothing else.

As always, it's your Kickstarter, so do what you think is best.  If the idea is useful, use it.  If not, ignore it.  I'm just tossing Idea out there in case they are useful.

Got my stuff up on the digital market place. Go ahead and include them in your 48 hour bonus pack Paul. First time I have put something up on the digital market place so let me know if there is any thing I need to fix

Collection of 14 Permaculture/Homesteading Cheat-Sheets, Worksheets, and Guides - https://permies.com/t/105739/wild-homesteading/Collection-Permaculture-Homesteading-Cheat-Sheets

Unofficial Companion Guide to the Rocket Oven DVD - https://permies.com/t/105722/wild-homesteading/Unofficial-Companion-Guide-Rocket-Oven

I have been catching up with this thread and I'm liking the idea of the gift codes. From the perspective of someone running an online business the codes let me run giveaways that can get more people signed up for my email list and following my business on social media. This helps my business but also gives people some cool stuff and helps spread the word about permaculture. And unlike a physical product I don't have to pay for shipping

King Sumo has a web app (free) that makes it very easy to setup this type of giveaway and the gift codes would be easy to give out to the winners. I'm saving some gift codes I already have for the rocket mass heater stuff till next fall to do a giveaway and having gift codes for the book and other products would make it fun and easy to do more giveaways.

I would think there would be other online businesses in the homesteading/permaculture space that would be interested in running the same sort of giveaways.

So I vote for gift codes

Dave Burton wrote:

Rosemary Hansen wrote:
The video is neat, first of all. But I think it would really amp it up if there were intermingled clips of Paul doing talks or making faces at the camera, haha. Also any footage of Wheaton Labs would be cool too. The paper messages start to get a little old after about 3min, but it still gives the message well, and it's very clear and concise. I just wanted to see someone in real life, deomonstrating some of what y'all are talking about, while it's being narrated. Now, I know that making a pro video like that is really time consuming and hard to change up so leave the video the way it is if that keeps things simple. Just my 2 cents!

Now that you mention this, I think this would be awesome to have incorporated into the video, because it would be like, "Huzzah! See! Lookie here! The stuff in this book works!!!"

Thanks for your feedback, both of you. We asked for feedback on the video a couple weeks ago. And then we made some changes and then we told the video guy that it's all good. So he has moved on to other projects. So the video is locked down now.

Daron,

So are you offering two different things?

They both look great to me!

paul wheaton wrote:Daron,

So are you offering two different things?

They both look great to me!

Yup, feel free to use them both. And thank you!

r ranson wrote:Thinking about your rewards.  What about offering a very simple reward level?

In my Kickstarter, my most simple reward was by far the most popular.  I wasn't going to do something this simple, but looking at other successful book campaigns, I noticed that a simple reward level seemed to do the best.  

JUST BOOK!
I just gotta have that book! No thrills. No gimmicks. Just send me the book damn it!

I know it's tempting to add in a lot of goodies because people love goodies.  But it would be fun if you tossed in a really simple reward with no extras to see how it does.  Just for a lark.  

I think that this is a totally valid strategy. I think it is possible that it could be very successful.

With this particular kickstarter we are shooting for the "crazy amount of goodies" strategy. We'll see how that goes. If it goes really well, awesome! If it does not go really well, then maybe the next time around we would take the simple reward level approach and see how that goes.

Thanks for the idea though!

We have decided to move forward with the huge gob of bonuses for anyone who supports at any level during the first 48 hours. The official list is here:

https://permies.com/wiki/105778/Bonuses-hours-World-Book-kickstarter

Here's a thread focused solely on the kickback deal we are offering:

https://permies.com/t/105920/Kickback-deal-World-Book-kickstarter

I also vote for #1.  Heads up on the most recent kickstarter email.  I tried to click like and the link is broken.  Being unlikable seems bad!  Hopefully it's just mine.

Dominic Crolius wrote:Heads up on the most recent kickstarter email.  I tried to click like and the link is broken.  Being unlikable seems bad!  Hopefully it's just mine.

It is showing six likes right now.  ??

When I clicked the kickstarter "like" button from my email, I got a white page that looked like this:

This page isn’t working
If the problem continues, contact the site owner.

HTTP ERROR 406

Here's the web address the kickstarter email sent me to: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/paulwheaton/rocket-ovens-feature-length-documentary/posts/2432225.ksr_email_backer_project_update_registered_users

It looks like a bug in kickstarter.  There is nothing I can do about that.  Damn.

I got a KS email. A thank you for the last one and a heads up for the new one.

I got an error message when trying to LIKE  from the email, but then when I went to the kickstarter page I got a little flash message saying my LIKE had been registered, or something like that.

Based on the live feedback on the KS page it looks like my suggestion is already being covered, but will make it here anyway.  It would be great to have options for a combination of physical and e-books if you can do that without making it super complicated or a PITA to implement.  A single physical copy for myself plus ebooks (for me and to share) would be a great option.