Are you considering fundraising money for a comic book with a platform like Kickstarter?
Comic books are a unique category as compared to traditional product offerings such as technology or design. In this article, we’re going to get you started with some tips for running a comic book campaign.
We’ll discuss some of the major items you’ll have to keep in mind as you’re putting together your crowdfunding pitch.
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For now, let’s unpack some comic book crowdfunding tips that you absolutely need to know before you get started working on your campaign.
Any comic book creator knows that bringing a new world to life is a process. From ideation all the way to print, there are many stepping stones that lead to a final product.
When launching on Kickstarter, you can ask for backers to come on this journey with you. But only for part of it.
Before you launch, you’ll need to have acquired:
- Sample sketches, artwork, etc.
- A 2-3 minute video that evokes an emotional response
- A plan for actually bringing this project to print
Crowdfunding backers want to give their money to campaigns that they truly believe have a chance to make an impact on the world.
You have to be able to prove to them that you can do that. First, it’s about selling the concept and content of your comic book. Then, it’s laying out your plan to prove that you can deliver on promised rewards.
Compiling all of these assets into a sleek, professional, engaging campaign page will lead potential backers to actually convert and back your project rather than just browse.
It can also be a good idea to include a little bit about yourself, the creator. Always remember: you’re selling more than just a comic book: you’re selling a story. One that encapsulates the entire creation process.
Don’t Forget About Pre-launch
A common misconception about crowdfunding is that the work of building your network of backers starts the day you hit ‘Go Live.’
But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
A dedicated pre-launch strategy is a difference between a campaign that smashes its funding goal and one that struggles to attract backers.
This is because you need to build up a crowd before you go live. This will create the opportunity for what we call an initial funding dump that is so vital.
In general, you’ll want to achieve at least ⅓ of your funding goal within the first 48 hours of your campaign. This will help you to trend better on the platform, create social proof for those organically reaching your campaign, and have a foundation of people that are passionate about sharing your project.
Pre-launch can basically be boiled down to these steps:
- Mobilize your close network. Family, friends, collaborators. Communicate with them and have them ready to back your campaign on Day 1.
- Create an ad strategy for platforms like Instagram and Facebook that will lead potential leads to…
- A landing page. This should have prominent buttons for people to give their email and create a lead.
- With those conversions from the landing page, build an email list. You should consistently communicate with your backers through email marketing, warming them up for the day you go live.
- Create a Facebook Group where people can participate in the conversation. Make sure to post consistently, and drive people to join the group via email and on your landing page.
When you do all these things, you’ll have a crowd chomping at the bit to get their hands on your comic before you even launch your campaign! It requires some upfront investment in terms of time and money, but trust us, this element of your campaign is indispensable.
Managing Your Email List
We mentioned this in the last step, but it’s worth repeating: your email list is king.
The majority of your Kickstarter conversions, especially in the early stages, will come from email. Create email campaigns with:
- Catchy subject lines to get people to open the email.
- Calls for responses to get past spam filters. When people respond, make sure to get back to them.
- Teasers for the comic book to come.
- Other original content that gives people insights into the process.
If you do a really good job with this, you can expect warm email leads to convert at somewhere between 5-10%.
So if you gather 2,000 leads and 5% convert, that’s 100 backers that will show up to your campaign on Day 1. Add that to your core network, and you should have a pretty good foundation for reaching that funding goal.
Check out this article to discover a 9-part email sequence that is proven to bring Kickstarter backers.
Create an ‘Experience’
In your mind, as the creator, the comic book itself is probably compelling enough to get people excited. But keep in mind, people don’t have it in their hands yet.
So they can’t really know just how special it is.
With this in mind, you’ll want to create a campaign page experience for your backers.
What do we mean by this?
You should include some of these elements:
- Interesting reward tiers to induce larger donations
- Provoking add-ons to upsell backers at checkout
- Stretch goals that entice backers to support a higher fundraise
The best way to get in touch with this ‘experience’ is to research successful comic books that have come before you. What have they done to rile up their backers?
How have they offered reward tiers that have increased engagement?
Feel free to emulate these successful projects. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel!
Especially in the comic book category, there are tons of ways to get backers involved with the project; so make sure to give them that opportunity.
Conclusions & Additional Resources
We hope that these tips were helpful for you as you embark upon your comic book crowdfunding campaign! This is an extremely exciting time.
Here at CrowdCrux, we’re all about giving you the resources you need to be successful. Check some of them out:
- The Crowd Crux blog, podcast, and Youtube channel where we’re always working to deliver the best insider tips, tricks, and secrets from experts who have a wide range of experience in the industry.
- The Crowd Crux weekly newsletter delivers awesome, valuable insights to your inbox every Thursday.
- Books and courses designed by our founder Salvador Briggman, such as The Kickstarter Launch Formula and its sister UDEMY course
Want personalized support?
Book a coaching call with the founder of CrowdCrux Salvador Briggman. Our team has helped to bring tons of campaigns to life, and we’re ready to go to work for you!
Good luck with your campaign. We’re here to help if you need us.
