What kinds of plans do you need to make before your project launches?

Putting your creative vision out into the world takes a lot of guts and preparation! This week’s Campus Convo highlights how creators plan ahead — from shooting a project video to building a supportive community. Learn what resources helped them gain momentum and launch successful campaigns.

Masters of Density #1 by Creator Gardner Mounce

Tips from Creator Gardner Mounce

I did about six months of research before launching my campaign. The answers that the others have given are great. Here are some things that really helped me.

1. Research the heck out of videos. My campaign is for a comic, so I looked at about 30 videos of both successful and unsuccessful campaigns. Using this spreadsheet, I compared things like whether or not they had an interesting thumbnail, the length of the video, whether it was animated or live action, etc. That research was huge.
2. Put feelers out there early. I used an existing social media calendar (here’s the one I used) and organized a social media campaign for twitter, facebook, tumblr, and about 8 comic book forums. This was huge for building up a following and getting some buzz early on.
3. Use a spreadsheet to figure out your costs. Here’s the one I used to calculate shipping costs, tier level costs, how much I needed to raise, etc.
4. Use reddit or other ad hoc “focus groups”. You’re already doing this just by posting this question. The internet is full of helpful people who’d love to give you their advice.

Crop Cycle

Tips from Creator Trevor Lehmann

1. Make a video under 1:00 unless you are a big studio or company that will be making a CGI presentation. Focus on the project and avoid talking about the money or yourself.
2. Gather images (including headers/banners) and format them all to a standardized size. I use one that is the same dimensions of an embedded youtube video.
3. Notify backers before launch to ensure a strong first day.
4. Create 7–11 Reward levels (include a $1 pledge level and a pledge level for $100+)
5. Get a rough estimate of shipping costs but recognize that they will increase in the time between when you launch and when you fulfill

How do you plan for a project? Add to the conversation on Campus! If you liked this post, please show it some ❤ and don’t forget to follow Kickstarter Tips on Twitter!

If you like this post, you might also like:

Campus Convo: Kickstarter Backers, Describe your Motivations!