KickstarterForum.org

The most common response I usually receive is 1 month. I advise people to ideally begin preparing 3-6 months beforehand.

I don't see how anyone can start a project and complete in a month. I took 3 months from start to finish but that doesn't mean I was working constantly on the project. There are some things that are out of your control in preparing so you just sit and wait until you can move on to the next step. Ex: We found the perfect song for the video but had to contact the artist to get permission.

I don't think the OP means to complete the project, rather how long it took them to do the video, pitch and other stuff for his kickstarter page... correct me if I am wrong

OP?

Actually, I did a tiny kickstarter before doing my "real one. " Then I took time to develop the FB list, contacts. But i launched because I have an Electronic Literature conference in about a week--and I wanted it going well and strong then.

I have a whole bunch of projects lined up as I am using Kickstarter as a literary platform in and of itself. http://www.thinkingrose.com/community/kickstarter.html

So the answer is: NOT enough time.

Great question! I can't imagine anyone only needing one month. We were at it for nearly four months solid! I also now fully believe that the hard part begins AFTER clicking that launch button!

I hindsight we could have done more pre-launch marketing, however I feel like it's okay if we don't fund in less than a week. In some ways that would take the fun out of it! It is however, stressful at time, especially on days when you only have one backer. I am referring to today 6/4, however the day isn't over. Maintaining a positive attitude is a must!

Dan+Ross
Spressa

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sp ... experience

I wonder if the pressure goes up with the amount of money to raise? $5,000 to $10,000 may be a different league than $1,000? I like the spresso idea--have you also contacted coffee houses?

DeenaLarsen wrote:I wonder if the pressure goes up with the amount of money to raise? $5,000 to $10,000 may be a different league than $1,000? I like the spresso idea--have you also contacted coffee houses?

I am sure it does make a difference. We are looking to raise $5600, a modest amount, but still significant.

I am glad you like our product, funny you wrote "spresso" since we thought about using an 'o', but the 'a' is a bit softer, more feminine which to us sounds more pleasing. It's 'Spressa', pronounced "S-press-ah".

I have contacted coffee shops, in fact I was out half the day doing just that. We are primarily doing organic/grassroots marketing so we are exploring all opportunities that we can! So far the reception has been good and the buzz is building in Seattle. The coffee culture crowd can be tough though and very critical. We do however welcome all comments and criticism.

My first Kickstarter was for $220 (to buy a digital camera for my rose scholar. This one is a ten fold increase to 1,605. So, I am really nervous.

it was funny because my automatic spell checker would not do s p r e s s a but made it express or expresso. Now all you need to do is contact Dictionaries!

Do you find it easier to contact folks with the Kickstarter, rather than going in with prototypes?

Yes the auto-correct is both a curse and a blessing!

Have you started a new project or just thinking about it? For me personally, not funding would be a disappointment, but we could still keep moving forward. At the very least we've both learned a lot and it was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun!

I go into places (local businesses and coffee shops) with cards for marketing, a mini-postcard that I created that has our logo, a small photo of our product, all the social medial links and a QR code with the Kickstarter link. The card is large enough so it won't be easy to lose and not so big that it's annoying and it's easy to carry a bunch of them. We've had 2 backers out of 16 or so visits which isn't bad. Still it's designed more to spread to word, not necessarily to get the person receiving it to back us.