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Nice to see you chime in Charles.

Yeah, the photo thing is just flat-out weird. Well, not so much that it affects projects, that's understandable - but that it can be such a powerful make-or-break part of your project.

And you don't need a fancy-pants camera either...

I really don't want to do my own photos - but I usually end up just doing them (because I'm usually not organised enough to plan it in advance).

I have an average point-and-click Panasonic digital camera ...and no photography skills whatsoever.

I usually just take a few hundred photos ...select 10 or 20 actual usable ones that don't look hideous ...and then pass them through a filter in Adobe Lightroom.

All pretty amaeur-ish - but the results are not too bad (all the photos in this campaign were done using the above "method": http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cogent/titanium-ultimate-carabiner-style-mini-clips-for-y )

Here's another perspective (as a Backer)...

Charles mentioned earlier how he's a Backer ...and that a good video can "snag" him.

Now, I may not be a typical Backer of projects, but I doubt I'm alone in what I'm about to say...

Believe it or not, but, I don't watch the videos on crowdfunding projects.

I'm serious here.

I've Backed around 50 Kickstarter projects ...and watched, at most, perhaps 7 of the videos.

But get this... of the few I did watch ...it was only after I had backed the project.

I have no specific reason for not watching videos. I just don't. I'm more of a skim-up-and-down-the-page type of person. I guess I just prefer text and images.

Now, for sure, I can't be the "odd man out" among millions of Backers. There's got to be tons more people like me who don't watch videos. I doubt I'm the one-in-a-million.

That's probably part of the reason my videos, so far, have been so bad (me standing in front of poor video camera) ...the other reason is I just didn't have at least $1k to $2k (minimum!) to drop on a video.

It's funny...

Crowdfunding has been such a major part of my life for the last 18 months ...I've got a boat-load of "stuff" in my head about it that just kind of pours out when I start typing.

I must admit...

I'm not doing too great in the grand scheme of things - I'm only launching my fourth project in 18 months. I reckon that's pretty damn poor.

Well, the first six months was the time between discovering crowdfunding and launching my first project. But, still, 4 projects in just over a year. Not that great.

I'm definitely getting faster though - and I'll tell you why in the next post...

How you will get FASTER...

In my last post I lamented about how slow I was at crowdfunding (only four projects in 12 months). But the good news is that I'm getting faster.

There are three core reasons for getting faster (in no particular order):


#1 - On my first project then everything was new to me.

By the second project I knew what to do for a lot of it.

For the third project then 90% is the same - it's just rinse-and-repeat.


#2 - I'm slowly getting various "systems" in place.

For example...

I used to go down to the local post office and ship each package individually (I'm in New Zealand and 99%+ of my Rewards are shipped overseas). I'd stand there for 45 minutes ...passing through each package. I got to know the people there quite well

But now... I have a deal setup with a company that come and pick-up all my boxes, in a big bag, from my doorstep. It's pretty sweet!


#3 - CASH!

This is probably the biggest factor in terms of speed.

A very real example...

For my first project I had no money whatsoever (well, that's not strictly true, I had less than no money ...I was in debt, overdraft, the whole lot).

So, to order the titanium for that project, I had to wait until Kickstarter had put the money into my account. Then I could order the titanium.

It came from the USA ...so took 1 to 2 weeks before I received it. This meant I couldn't even begin fulfilling Rewards until a month after getting funded.

Fast forward to my last project...

The numbers are fairly predictable (in terms of final funding figure) and I had the cash on hand to order the titanium.

So I ordered the titanium around halfway through the project. I had the titanium delivered and ready before the project had even finished.

Yep, a four-week improvement on my first project. Woohoo!


One last thing...

The three things above are what have had the biggest effect on speed ...so far.

However, there should be a fourth soon - and this is when, at some point in the near future, I can quit my full-time job.

This should help me get even faster ...because, just now, everything is done in my "spare time".

You'll like this...

Before you launch your first project it seems like the biggest, most important thing you've ever done in your entire life.

It's been months leading up to the big launch day. You've got a ton of emotional investment. It's been your life. It's all very intense.

But, by the time the project is over, you're like, "Is that it? Really?!"

For your subsequent projects ...they're about as intense as ordering a cup of coffee.

Make the most of the first project ...because they become predictable and fairly hum-drum after the first.

Although, admittedly, I still feel like puking on launch day ...haven't seemed to be able to get over that

The worst mistake...

This is the one mistake I see others make ...that annoys me more than any other.

It's so unavoidable it's ridiculous. It's not a make-or-break thing ...but it will have people leaving your project page within seconds.

The mistake is having a huge block of text.

It's crazy.

Kickstarter (and I'm assuming the other platforms ...but I haven't used them) provide you with paragraphs, italics, bold, etc.

Use and abuse them!

Oh, and just to prove my point, here's what this post you're reading right now would have looked like without any formatting...


--- This post without formatting ---
The worst mistake... This is the one mistake I see others make ...that annoys me more than any other. It's so unavoidable it's ridiculous. It's not a make-or-break thing ...but it will have people leaving your project page within seconds. The mistake is having a huge block of text. It's crazy. Kickstarter (and I'm assuming the other platforms ...but I haven't used them) provide you with paragraphs, italics, bold, etc. Use and abuse them! Oh, and just to prove my point, here's what this post you're reading right now would have looked like without any formatting...

(see what I mean? )

For my first crowdfunding project...

I found there was no "pressure". It was either going to succeed or fail.

However, I've found there is more pressure with each subsequent project.

What I mean by this is...

It's not a case of my next project succeeding or failing - but a case of how much it will succeed. There is a huge opportunity cost (that's an Economics term if you're not familiar with it - but I'm sure you are ).

I have to choose the "best" project.

For the level I am currently at... choosing the "wrong" project (one that is less good than another) will make a difference of literally $xx,xxx in funding.

And, down the line, these potential swings will no doubt be bigger as well.

But, hey, I'd far rather have these "problems" than nothing.

There is a bunch of other stuff I have to get right on the page as well - but I'll write about that later...

Here's a super-short, grab-it-and-run piece of advice...

“The more time a potential Backer spends on your campaign page ...the more likely they are to become an actual Backer!”

I keep that in my head all the time when I'm creating my pitch pages.

Wow! Magnus, this is like a gold mine of ideas that can influence future project to become successful. It's great that you're sharing with the community! I'm sure that it will help many project starters when they check this out including me. Thanks!!

Yeah, there's a lot of stuff going on in my head ready to explode out...

Although, in saying that, I'm so busy right now it's crazy.

But I think part of starting this thread is just because it's kind of a lonely road.

I tend not to share much of what I do with others (in real-life I mean). Mainly because most people are not really that interested. On the occasions where I do open up a little ...most people I know usually say, "What's Kickstarter?"

It's kinda weird because it's such a big part of my life. Funny.

Oh, the other motive for this thread is because I'm putting together a blog of sorts ...but it's still very much a work-in-progress. I think there is huge scope for proper education on crowdfunding.

There is some stuff out there already ...but, unfortunately, most of it is less than useful.