Do I have the recipe right for starting a kickstarter?

I've almost finished Paul Wheaton's podcasts on how to run a successful kickstarter and I'm wondering if I understood the recipe?  

Make a kick-ass video that is less than 2 minutes long.
Engage your community.

find out how much you need to make the project happen
make certain there is at least one one dollar reward
find out how much the rewards will cost
find out how much the rewards will take to process
find out how we will get the rewards to the people
add a % to cover fees and other expenses

have the rewards ready before you start.

Plan stretch goals and stretch rewards before we start.
plan the expenses for the stretch goals and rewards before we start.

What other things do I need to think about?

Also a big thanks to Paul, Erica and Julianne for making a podcast about this.

I would recommend reaching out to your community early on while developing the concept for the project. Bounce your idea off them and fine toon / polish it.

Then make your video and create the kickstarter page and start getting feedback on all of that before you officially launch. This will let you further polish it all and hopefully build excitement and engagement.

About the same as you posted but I think some initial community engagement and involvement before the video could be helpful.

I like everything that Daron said.

I think a key thing that Paul talks about is that the rewards should be rewarding. When I see someone selling a video on Kickstarter and I know they'll drop the price by $15 in a week... that doesn't really make me want to buy now. On the other hand, if I know the price is going to go up $15 in a week I'm much more inclined to buy now.

Something else that I've read is that on your actual Kickstarter page, don't be afraid to have more content than less (even if the video is short). I am more of a "less is more" kind of guy but apparently the research shows that the more you have to say, the more people will buy. (Of course I'm sure there are exceptions to that...)

r ranson wrote:add a % to cover fees and other expenses

I think this is probably the trickiest part of it all. I think that a lot of successfully funded projects fail because someone failed to consider an expense or two when they did the math. This might be easier or harder depending on what you're selling.

I'd be happy to offer what feedback I have before you launch.

Thought experiment: a sample Kickstarter

I'm about to weave 20 bookmarks.  But instead, what if I wove a crazy 100 handwoven bookmarks?

Item I'm creating: 100 handwoven linen bookmarks (plus the patterns for these bookmarks) all different.

How would I calculate how much I need to make this happen?

Cost of supplies let's say $40.  

Cost of fees and stuff $10

Cost of unexpected surprises $10

Cost of rewards $???

Why am I making this?

It's a huge challenge.  4 bookmarks are easy.  10 sensible.  20 challenging.  But 100 - that's just crazy.  How could I resist?

The world is woefully short on handwoven bookmark patterns.

I want to know what it feels like to run a kickstarter

It's the first stage in a cunning but currently top-secret plan.

Why can I make this happen and how long will it take.

If I was able to dedicate myself to this full time, it would take about a month.  But with everything else going on, I think it would take about three months to complete the project.
I've been weaving for close on 15 years now and already have the patterns made.

I'll be warping five warps (batches) of 2 ply linen yarn in plane-weave, twill, huck, monks belt, and goose eye.  I'll be experimenting with treadling, colour, texture and other elements with the goal of making no two bookmarks the same.  

The rewards

$1
- thank you
- recipe for yummy thing
- access to a private forum where I post daily progress on my bookmark and early news on an exciting top-secret project that's coming soon.

$5
- thank you
-recipe
-access to a private forum where I post daily progress on my bookmark and early news on an exciting top-secret project that's coming soon.
- PDF patterns and instructions for weaving all five warps (five separate files - to be released as I warp each one on the loom) (these patterns will be for sale for $2 each after the kickstarter - your savings $5)

$10
- thank you
-recipe
-access to a private forum where I post daily progress on my bookmark and early news on an exciting top-secret project that's coming soon.
- PDF patterns and instructions for weaving all five warps
- I name one of my hens whatever name you like.


Stretch goals?

How about, a spiffy single pdf with all five warps and some awesome photos of the finished bookmarks.  But for this, I would want a photo box and I have my eye one.  One that would be perfect for my lifestyle.  But it's $201 after taxes.  

Stretch rewards

$15
- thank you
-recipe
-access to a private forum where I post daily progress on my bookmark and early news on an exciting top-secret project that's coming soon.
- PDF patterns and instructions for weaving all five warps (five separate files - to be released as I warp each one on the loom)
- How to make all 100 bookmarks in one PDF including excellent photos (will take about 3 to 4 months to make because I would still have to weave them for the pictures) (this PDF will be for sale for $15 after the Kickstarter)

$25 (plus shipping and handling)
- thank you
-recipe
-access to a private forum where I post daily progress on my bookmark and early news on an exciting top-secret project that's coming soon.
- PDF patterns and instructions for weaving all five warps (five separate files - to be released as I warp each one on the loom)
- How to make all 100 bookmarks in one PDF including excellent photos (will take about 3 to 4 months to make because I would still have to weave them for the pictures)
- one bookmark

Adding materials, time, equipment, location, and all other expenses, if I were to retail these bookmarks, they would be about $30 (depending on the bookmark).  



Before the Kickstarter, I would probably warp my first set of bookmarks (the 20 I am making whether or not the Kickstarter succeeds) and use that to create the video of weaving linen.  Also, video pictures of the hand-drawn drafts of the pattern.  I would have at least a polished draft if not the actual PDFs finished each of the five patterns.  What else?  


What do you think of the thought experiment?  Recipe for disaster or success?  

r ranson wrote:If I was able to dedicate myself to this full time, it would take about a month.

This raised a '?' in my head. Do you consider in your budgeting for this project the prospect of paying yourself for your time? It's totally up to you, of course.

I know that Paul's approach is usually to set the Kickstarter goal so that if the project is 100% funded, he makes $0. The hope is that the project is 1000% funded and then there's some cash for his other devious schemes. In general I agree with this approach but you then have to be willing to potentially receive $0. Of course the whole thing with crowdfunding is a gamble and one may not get funded at all so there's that too I guess.

Looking at my first attempt at a recipe, it's too complex and a lot of time for the money.  

I need something smaller and simpler for my sample Kickstarter.  Something that can be funded in about a week and rewards distributed and project accomplished by the end of the next week.  

I know that Paul's approach is usually to set the Kickstarter goal so that if the project is 100% funded, he makes $0. The hope is that the project is 1000% funded and then there's some cash for his other devious schemes.  

I want to choose something that fits well with this idea.  Going to have to give it some more thought.

I think smaller and simpler is a good idea, especially to start. In the podcast, Paul generally says a kickstarter should start when the product is about 90% finished. When there are too many variables in the air, there's just too many things that could go wrong. A month is a long time for things to happen. Even short delays or smaller family/life emergencies would really set the project back and in turn, harm the trust you've built with your backers (and future backers).

Still trying to get my head around the recipe idea.

My question for myself today is what do people want  to know?

What are you making?
What do you need the money for?
When will it be ready?
What do I get for my donation?
Why do you think you can pull this off?

Anything missing?

I think those are all the questions that hit me when I'm choosing something to back.

Your recipe does match up with most of the Kickstarter/IndieGoGo projects I have backed. That spiffy video, to me, is a key way to really "give your voice" to the project - especially when it covers the questions.

I am a "Superbacker" on Kickstarter, and probably a similar level on IndieGoGo. I love to support folks being creative, and especially love some sweet candy to go with it.