So you decided to start a KickStarter campaign. Now what?
I finally published my second book, Stop Googling Yourself: Finding Peace in a Noisy World, and decided to take a different approach to marketing. Instead of directly selling my books via my website or Amazon I decided to create a crowd funding campaign to create a buzz about my book and raise capital to purchase inventory and pay for some marketing. I have a positive outlook on this venture as I am looking at it as a learning opportunity. If it funds out, Fantastic! If not then at least I tried and can walk away with some lessons learned.
I plan to journal for the duration of the campaign so not only will I have a record of the experience but others will also see some ups and downs of a KickStarter Campaign.
Day 1. I launched my campaign today and sent it out via MailChimp, an email marketing tool. It's free if you have a small audience as I do. When your mailing list grows then you will eventually have to move to a pay plan.
Not only did I send it out via MailChimp but I also texted a few family members and friends to share the campaign on their social media platforms. I especially needed this help as I am not on Facebook or Instagram.
Within the first 30 minutes of my launch I got my first backer. Yeah! Someone likes me! After that it wasn't until late in the day that I got my second backer which was awesome but stressful waiting! I did start to doubt myself but I knew I had to be patient.
At the end of the day I am 5% funded and look forward to tomorrow. I learned two things today. Lesson #1, manage expectation. Although I positively thought my campaign would be funded in one day I have to be realistic. Lesson #2, reach out beyond email and social media. So I plan on sitting down with some potential backers and sharing my vision in hopes that they can find a reason to back me. When it comes down to it, it's all about relationships.
I await to see what tomorrow brings. Bye for now!
Orlando Javien Jr., The Man of Many Hats
