SKIP Book Kickstarter

Just broke $85K! I wanted to be the one whose changed pledge did it, but I missed that by $8!

Okay, ya got me. Sadly, no new nudity to report.
If you keep this up, I will have to boost my pledge. Just having a hard time getting over the shipping sticker shock - in our Monopoly money, that will work out to over 130 clams and I am not a rich woman. Barely solvent, actually. But I need at least one hard copy...

Yeah!
85008

Zoran Jovanovic wrote:Yeah!

Congrats! I went ahead and upgraded anyway. I bet it feels good to know that you were the pledge that gave everybody the next stretch goal!

Whoops!  Now I gotta go do work!  BRB!

I wouldn't have taken the clickbait in the email, but because I've been following the thread. I appreciate auch more direct approach. Want to learn how to inherit FREE property/land and find out if you are worthy to inherit it? Do you or someone you know have a Dream that seems impossible because land is out of reach?

That is clickworthy, to me. The video is good.
Side note, my question that initially made me skepticalBut where are things like integrity, and attributes of character ? These would have to be important, but can't be measured in these skills...

Please note that some of us have already seen the video in its production phase, when you guys were asking for feedback. I have backed up the Kickstarter on Day 1, and since then, I feel that I have done my part, so I do not follow it anymore, knowing that has been already funded. My Kickstarter notifications are on, so for each your project I have backed up I'm getting an email with pretty much same content, so I simply delete it. I always open plotskateer emails though, looking if I can be of any help. I think it would be very helpful to see a chart that shows proportion between previous Kickstarter supporters vs new ones. My impression is that tools like dailish email work entirely different for "vets" and "newbies". That would help to see who is your "target audience". You can take it even further and look at totals spent by each group. I'm not a marketing expert at all, so if it all does not hold any water ... seal it ... errr ... just ignore :)

Zoran Jovanovic wrote:
Where these people live in the world? Do they live in a third world country, what is US %, what in Europe, or Africa? How many days day have to work to earn 65$?

The purpose of contemplating this is to see if I can do something smarter than what I have done.  

Of course, poverty doesn't play a role in watching the video.  Or even clicking to visit the website.

Mark Brunnr wrote:(and I just noticed the little dragons on the left at that time stamp for the first time- is that Nicole, Mother of Dragons? https://permies.com/t/fairy-grove-tiny-dragon )

Yup!

She made this map to show who is who

Laura Rutherford wrote:Okay, ya got me. Sadly, no new nudity to report.
If you keep this up, I will have to boost my pledge. Just having a hard time getting over the shipping sticker shock - in our Monopoly money, that will work out to over 130 clams and I am not a rich woman. Barely solvent, actually. But I need at least one hard copy...

Did you see Mike's strategy?  Something about one order for $65 specifying the "virgin islands" thing.  And then a second order for a lessor amount to get exactly one physical book.

Zoran Jovanovic wrote:Yeah!
85008

You started a landslide!  :)

Richard Gorny wrote:Please note that some of us have already seen the video in its production phase, when you guys were asking for feedback.

Good point!  I had forgotten about that!

Love the idea of a "skills" book.  I fear that many of today's generations, while they have the dreams, have not had the opportunities, the "joys" as it were, many of us had growing up in the 50's and 60's.  Our parents grew up during the Great Depression and passed on to us many of the life skills they needed to actually survive.  I've spent countless hours and even more dollars buying Mother Earth, Hobby Farms, etc, magazines looking for those nuggets of gold, and newer ones which encompass today's technologies.  Having something at hand and easily referenced would be fantastic.  So "Hooray!" for the book...

...but, I bristle at having to homestead a small farm and to build, maintain and run it to help fulfill someone else's dream.  I recognize that if we aren't able to keep small farms/communities/communes alive then Big Farm Corp will buy up all these plots and transform them into sterile production entities, eventually destroying small farm and town life, not to even mention the poisoning of Mother Earth with chemicals to "enhance production" and ruining the natural diversity of flora and fauna.  (BTW... I used to live in Flora, but have yet to visit Fauna.)  I have my own dreams and want to build upon them.  All I need is that 40 acres and a mule to get started (okay, I have a tractor and a donkey, so we can forget the mule for now...).  I want to build upon my vision, not someone else's.  Will the book help me find someone else's dream that runs parallel to mine?  Will it show me the pathways to build upon?

Did I hear that right? Did we hit the next stretch goal? SCORE!

Here's the NEXT stretch goal!




If we make it to $90,000, 6 people will get tickets to go to this fall's Rocket Mass Heater Jamboree. These sorts of events are great places to learn rocket science, take part in ground-breaking innovation, and learn all sorts of cool skills like welding and cob-work. Here's the shiny, spffy website all about the Rocket Mass Heater Jamboree. And there's a thread devoted to it where you can ask questions HERE!




Aaaaaand, here's a spiffy-diffy link to

Did you see Mike's strategy?  Something about one order for $65 specifying the "virgin islands" thing.  And then a second order for a lessor amount to get exactly one physical book.


Ah, the second order escaped me - I'll look into that and see if it works out a little easier on the pocketbook, thanks.

Lol cute email Paul!  I'm sorry I'm not active like I once was.  I was going to buy that property in NM but had to change course.  I've been homeless and very busy just existing while trying to change my lot.  I'm looking forward to trying out the apartment projects as they are more in reach for me.

It's literally becoming life and death.  The food I can afford and what I was getting from the food bank is killing me while I become more chemically sensitive.  Growing my own food would be the most economical.  I'm in the proverbial catch 22.  I hope I can get the book soon.  Good luck!

I am prohibited from either confirming or denying that there may or may not be naked people in the kickstarter video.

It's a great video though! I would love to see more of them.

Hooray for another successful kickstarter!

Ok, I’m a little confused... So I’m going to do everything I can to fight that internal “guy” instinct that doesn’t want me to stop and ask for directions. I’m officially pulling over, I have stopped the car, and I’m asking for directions...

Hey there! Could you please help me with directions?

I’m fairly new to permies.com, and I made it to this thread because I got a plotskateers email. (I “foolishly checked a box offering to help someone with devious plots on world domination”).

I ignored the first 2 links in the email because it was fairly easy to figure out those were for the SKIP Kickstarter video and the SKIP Kickstarter itself (which I already watched and read but still don’t fully understand). But the third link was for the “ details of the quest” and that took me to page 11 of this thread (“this one goes to eleven”... well, now it goes to 12)...

So I started reading and it looks like some folks are analyzing stats and trying to decipher them and perhaps gain insight as to their meaning. But then it looked like my plotskateers email was possibly a test to generate more stats to analyze. And several people offering perspectives and speculations regarding interpretations as well as spit balling ideas...

Overall, to someone as green as myself, jumping onto page 11 and reading forward... It’s a fairly convoluted discussion that (based on my vast past experience working for some of the biggest tech companies in the world), looks an awful lot like “yes men” that are way to close to clearly see, going in circles over marketing stats and strategies. Which would then make sense to look at marketing surveys and customer feedback to better understand those numbers. But it isn’t clearly defined.

So... I pulled over to ask for directions.

I have 2 questions...

1) Was that plotskateers email just a test to generate stats?

2) If not then, Are you looking for real and honest feedback from plotskateers such as myself? And if so, are there specific things you would like me to share, perhaps a list of questions or topics?

I’m happy and willing to share my honest feedback and perspective as well as speculations. But I’m not going to waste your time (nor mine) if that isn’t wanted.

I have no skin in the game, it is not going to hurt my feelings if my perspective is not wanted. I’m just confused as to the “quest” and happy to help.

Anyway, I’m enjoying permies.com and still figuring it out as I go, and I wish you all the best.

Good Luck!

-Paul-

paul wheaton wrote:When I get an email with a youtube link, youtube shows me an image of the video.   Does that happen to everybody else?

Nope, no YouTube image preview of the link for me using Gmail app.

Also, no naked people that I’m aware of.

Robbie Asay wrote:Lol cute email Paul!  I'm sorry I'm not active like I once was.  I was going to buy that property in NM but had to change course.  I've been homeless and very busy just existing while trying to change my lot.  I'm looking forward to trying out the apartment projects as they are more in reach for me.

It's literally becoming life and death.  The food I can afford and what I was getting from the food bank is killing me while I become more chemically sensitive.  Growing my own food would be the most economical.  I'm in the proverbial catch 22.  I hope I can get the book soon.  Good luck!

Sorry to hear about your plight Robbie.  Being plunged into your situation is often unseen before.  One way forward to get a packet of spinach, parsley or like seeds and sprinkle them in/ on some media such as discarded material and wet.  A small amount of urine in the water will get them going.  I have acquired a box and use mulch (hand gathered) to  add the seeds to.  That way you have some fresh greens.  A great thing that you could do is to start a thread on this topic which can potentially help others.  Perhaps partner with some others to start a community garden where you gather to eat.  There are also a number of organisations that will assist you.  Attached pic shows just one.  You could have an organisation: Permie in a Box.  My best wishes and prayers for your future.  Hope you end up with a book

Paul Eusey wrote:1) Was that plotskateers email just a test to generate stats?

2) If not then, Are you looking for real and honest feedback from plotskateers such as myself? And if so, are there specific things you would like me to share, perhaps a list of questions or topics?

The first was about trying to help me to understand the gap.  

The second was a bit of silly testing.

     $86,003!

I did not watch the video originally bc I had already backed the Kickstarter.  I didn't even open the email when it arrived bc I try not to live on my phone and there's always tons of stuff that needs doing.

That said, I did decide to watch the video, and I LOVED it!  It does make everything about SKIP more understandable to the non-permies out there (they just haven't found permies.com yet, you see).  

There's got to be a way to reach the masses, or at least those who would potentially be interested.  4-H clubs, the Grange, feed stores, tractor supply stores, even gardening clubs and home improvement stores (Lowes, Home Depot, general hardware sores, etc), perhaps seed companies, all these could be a source of potential SKIPpers, on either side of the equation.  I personally don't know how to reach those audiences, but perhaps someone reading this has ideas?

paul wheaton wrote:


The first was about trying to help me to understand the gap.  

The second was a bit of silly testing.

Thank you Paul... I like and respect silly.

I like it 😊. Easy to understand, informative, yet fun enough to keep me listening. Great job.

$2,247 away from being 1000% funded!

I    LEAP    out of bed and race to the computer to see .....      is TODAY the day that it all takes off and goes viral?    Maybe we will finally hit the bigs!  Maybe 100,000 people will back this beause there is just so much stuff!   And news outlets all over the world will say "enormous support for a kickstarter today ..."    And big news will want to interview me and mike over zoom ....  




.


.


...   nope.  


... huh




...  it's more like our own peeps are getting really sick of us talking about the kickstarter.



...  well ...   a few new people did back.   Checking ....   8 people.   ...  and a few people did raise their backer level ...   17 people ....  kinda thought it might be more like 50 of each.  Or maybe even a hundred.   If it was a big number, then we would knock out the next stretch goal, and then more people would raise, and then the next, and then more, and next, more, next, more, next, more, next, more ....  etc.


...  but it looks stuck again



About 1300 people are backing at less than $65.  And about 20,000 opened emails about the kickstarter but haven't backed ...  haven't even watched the video.  


I feel like our recipe is strong.  Our product is strong.  Our video is strong.  Everything is very strong. We have all the pieces for world domination - to get the attentions of millions ...  but there is some piece that I'm missing.  Something where I am falling short.  Something that smart people know that is somehow eluding me.  A catalyst.  A tiny switch or lever.  A button.  A speck that is blocking the a massive thing.   Something that will infect 100 million brains with permaculture.  Some itty bitty bit that will set off a chain reaction and get all of everything to take off and deeply solve a list of global problems.



What is the itty bitty bit?  

paul wheaton wrote:


What is the itty bitty bit?  

People are broke?

I just took the thing I wrote above and remashed it a few times.  Then met with mike.  And after an hour and a half of debate and fine tuning and whatnot ...   we wrote the following and it is now going out on the weeklyish:

subject: two days left!

...  to get the attention of 100 million people by Earth Day!

Every few years I feel like I have stumbled onto THE thing that will bring permaculture to 100 million brains. I was sure it would be my video about colony collapse disorder. And later I was sure it would be videos or movies about rocket mass heaters. Then I thought the cards would do it.  And then the biggest leap over all of them was the book "Building a Better World in Your Backyard" ---  we polished every spec of that so it could make it to 100 million people.  

Could this be it? Could this be the moment? The SKIP stuff is unusual enough and new enough that it could get global attention. The video conveys the weird idea in two minutes. The whole thing is free. And Earth Day is just three days away.

How big does a kickstarter need to be to get global attention? Especially something about permaculture just before Earth Day?

For less than the cost of netflix, you get enough content to keep you entertained for years PLUS help us to get the attention of 100 million people just in time for earth day!

Take a look. The amazing video and the long list of stretch goals we have already hit:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/paulwheaton/skip-0?ref=26fwhp

Help us with strategy stuff:

https://permies.com/t/skip-book

     $87,028!

I think a billboard is a good investment

paul wheaton wrote:Interesting stats ...

2274 people have watched the video on kickstarter.

1857 backers.


In a single email to almost 100,000 people, 21,000 people opened it.  


21,000 people read one email, but only 2274 people have watched the video on kickstarter.


I do think that this is ...  different.   Really different.  Hard to get your head wrapped around.   At the same time, I think the video does a really good job of explaining it.  


In an effort to try to understand stuff I am taking an intense look at these two numbers:  21,000 and 2274.


I think that this says that the poetry I wrote to the 21,000 was not inspiring enough to get people to look at the kickstarter and watch the video.  Does this seem reasonable?  Might there be other factors I haven't thought of yet?

Paul, I think that I mentioned this during discussion of one of the past Kickstarters... My dad once told me that the mortgage company that he had worked for would send out unsolicited marketing mail, and they would get 0.1% replies.
So for you, 100,000 emails --> 21,000 readings --> 2274 actions = 2.27% conversion rate. You have an email list that is made up of folks that are in some way at least interested, know who you are, or are previous backers; so I'd expect that sort of response.
I think your base of loyal backers is growing, but organically, not virally. I remember one past Kickstarter there was a bump (twice) when you tapped into others contact lists (Spirko, Harris). I'm guessing there was some shared/crossover interest in that project (rocket ovens, I think?). Anyone on board this go-round?

What sort of crossover do you see for this project (those who might have a contact list/subscribers to share)? YouTubers (Homesteading, DIY, Gardening, etc.)? Farmland trust organizations, already trying to maintain farmland and connect to new farmers?

Any idea about how many first-time Kickstarter backers in the mix? I know that I had already backed a couple of other projects before any of yours, so I was already familiar with the concept of crowdfunding, and the process itself... so that's another hurdle for some, but it's also a prime demographic.
I'm sure cracking the Kickstarter algorithm is a factor... how to get to the top of their ranking, of "liked projects", to get your project in front of fresh eyes that are already on Kickstarter looking for something to back.

Kenneth Elwell wrote:I think your base of loyal backers is growing, but organically, not virally.

In 2005 I decided to quit my career and push permaculture full time.   All in the hopes of reaching a majority of the american population - and a big chunk of the global population.  

And now I may have stumbled onto a moment that that could happen.  But it does seem to have an organic element that fuels the viral element.

Regarding spread the word to those not already on permies.com (which is the audience we need to reach), ask (implore, plead, beg 😉) fellow permies to forward the video to any and all of their contacts/email lists/social media "friends".  One never knows who will know someone who wants to "get back to the land" , or whose grandpa is ready to retire but doesn't want to see a mega warehouse or subdivision on his beloved land.

I forwarded this video to my lists (and they may hate me forever but that's their problem), in the hope that someone will know someone who knows someone....

Can confirm that your vid is not full of naked people. ;)

I liked and subscribed as well. I don't know how the YouTube algorithm works, but YouTubers are always asking for that to help boost their posts.

In the realm of offering ideas to promote this with no corollary ideas of how to implement them, the thought occurred to me today that SKIP is probably something that a good portion of the home schooling community might be interested in.  The angle here is more on the innovation of the education model which seems like it might appeal to that crowd.  It would also cover an age group that would be prime for SKIP.  I suspect the actual material subjects covered would be appealing as well.

Does anyone have any inroads to the home schooling movement, or know of groups in your area to present the idea to?

We homeschool our kids, and they are interested in it. Mine are a bit young to do the projects by themselves, but they do love learning along with me and seeing what I do. I honestly think it's the coolest thing for them, because a lot of these skills are stuff I always wanted to do as a kid, but never knew how (I tried so many times to carve a bow and a spoon and make twine or brooms from branches), but I never knew how, and didn't know how to find out.

I don't think I really have any inroads with the homeschooling community right now, though. I'm going to see if I can make a meme/graphic that looks at SKIP from a homeschooling perspective. Yesterday I heard that my 15 year old cousin wants to live waaaay out in the mountains, and my family was thinking there was no way he could do that. But, SKIP is here to show that there ARE ways to get there.

We just need to figure out a way to for those that need this info, to get it!