Russell Brettholtz is the creator of the Sidekicks comic book series, which follows the lives of five super-hero sidekicks as they get mistreated by their respective heroes and ignored by society.
After leaving his job, he was determined to finally embrace his dream goal and publish a comic book with high quality artwork and a compelling storyline.
Having successfully raised $7,647 from 343 backers for the first series of the comic book, Russell is now running a second campaign to help fund issues 2-4.
In this podcast interview, we discuss how he managed to be successful on Kickstarter and tips that he has learned the hard way and wants to pass on to other comic book creators.
Listen to the podcast below or subscribe to the show on iTunes.
Podcast Show Notes
– This episode is sponsored by Fulfillrite – Kickstarter and Crowdfunding reward fulfillment services. They make it easy to ship out your rewards to backers!
– Russell Brettholtz’s two comic book Kickstarter campaigns:
Sidekicks: Sidekicks follows the lives of five super-hero sidekicks as they get mistreated by their respective heroes and ignored by society.
Sidekicks – 4 Issue Mini-Series: Sidekicks follows the lives of five super-hero sidekicks as they get mistreated by their respective heroes and ignored by society.
– The Sidekicks Facebook page and Twitter page.
– Russell was inspired to do a Kickstarter and launch his comic book after being let go from a previous job. The money raised for the first campaign was used to “complete the artwork for Issue #1, print, ship and successfully deliver all of the backer rewards.”
– Russell updated threads on various forums for his comic book, sharing updates and comic book renderings (posting at least once a week for over a year) including ComicBookResources, Digital Webbing, and CXPulp.com.
– It’s important to have a sounding board for your idea and the accompanying implementation stages. Getting feedback on your project’s artwork, storyline, and even characters can improve the chance that other people will fall in love with your project.
– “If it’s not going to look good, don’t do it at all.”
– When the campaign is running, there is a an addictive component to checking your phone for new backers. A lot of backers will come in during the beginning and the end. It’s important to find ways to engage potential backers in the middle.
– If you run into any unexpected delays, be sure to keep your backers updated. Otherwise, you might risk getting angry emails or comments.
– “In sales, they say always be selling. In crowdfunding, it should be always be communicating.”
– It’s important to manage your expectations before you launch a Kickstarter campaign. Be sure to check the statistics and success rates in your individual category.
– Don’t be afraid to reach out to media publications regarding your project. Russell found that more people than he initially thought were willing to help out in some way with the promotion of the project.
– You must have a prototype or initial sample to show backers and get them interested in your project.
