Are you an artist looking to raise some money for an upcoming dream project?
If so, I’ve got some good news. Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter are an incredible tool for artists like you to receive raise money.
And in this article, we’re giving you five killer tips to set yourself apart from the pack. You’ll come away with an understanding of what it’s gonna take to pull this campaign off, some expectations, and more.
Ready to bring your artistic dreams to life through crowdfunding?
Let’s show you how!
Crowdfunding For Art Starts With Research
When it comes to gauging if your project is right for a platform like Kickstarter, you gotta start with doing some research.
And you’ve already begun on this journey by reading this article! So congratulations.
On Kickstarter, all types of art projects are welcomed. I’ve seen everything from oracle decks to photo comics to books of paintings get funded — so don’t shy away from your creativity!
Keep in mind that traditional crowdfunding platforms are best for single projects. You can always run multiple campaigns, but keep in mind that your project duration will be somewhere between 30-45 days.
If you’re looking for recurring monthly funding for more general pursuits, consider a platform like Patreon.
Once you’ve got an idea of what type of project you’d like to run, look over other campaigns in the arts category. Ask yourself questions like:
- How did they communicate the message behind their project?
- How did they structure their all-important Kickstarter video?
- What sorts of rewards did they offer?
Look at both successfully funded campaigns and unsuccessfully funded campaigns. Try to detect what separates the two.
For projects that are similar to yours that have reached their funding goal, feel free to emulate their strategies! You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
You could even go as far as trying to track down the artist’s social media to see how they promoted their campaign — another extremely important element towards a successful fundraiser.
Mobilize Your Immediate Network
For artists in particular, your core network will be key to pushing that funding meter up. This means that you need to summon your courage and reach out to:
- Friends
- Family
- Collaborators
- Dedicated followers
We get it — it can be a little bit awkward to ask for money. But make sure you communicate that they are NOT just giving you a donation!
They’re going to receive an awesome reward in exchange for their monetary support. And also, they’ll be helping you to bring a project to life!
You’ll want to raise at least 30-50% of your funding goal within the first couple of days of your campaign. So get that immediate network primed to back, and make sure they show up right when you go live!
You can do this through things like:
- Email, texts, and phone calls
- Social media promotion (including DMs ~ make it personal)
You could also run some paid ads on platforms like Facebook and Instagram to generate email leads or cross-promote with other artists if you’re seeking a larger fundraiser.
Tease Every Step of the Way
For art campaigns, it’s all about cultivating emotion and desire in your potential backers.
Throughout your marketing strategy, whether that be social media, email lists, or your campaign page itself, you’re going to want to showcase some of the projects.
Keep in mind that people absolutely love things like:
- Insights into your creative process
- Inspiration behind the artwork
- Communication as to why they should care about what you’re doing
The more you can get people to visualize themselves with your piece of artwork enhancing their lives, the better.
Build Compelling Rewards
Let’s say you’re making a tabletop book of prints with some poetic captions.
You could just offer the book itself and leave it at that. But you shouldn’t!
Reward tiers are a great way to get backers engaged, receive greater funding per person through higher reward tiers, and upsell through add-ons.
Let’s continue with this tabletop book example. Here is an example reward structure that you could build out:
Pledge Without a Reward ($10): Back it because you believe in it. Support the project for no reward, just because it speaks to you.
Standard Print Book ($30): Receive the beautiful Title of Book in all its glory! Leave it on the coffee table for your own perusal and to impress your guests.
Contributor Package ($50): Receive the beautiful Title of Book and submit a poem that will be featured alongside a print! You have the chance to get involved.
Coffee Date With Artist ($50): Receive the beautiful Title of Book and have a cup of coffee on the artist in-person or virtually! We’ll talk about my creative process and any questions that you have!
Elite Package ($100): Get a signed copy of the book, have your own poem or print featured, a cup of coffee with the artist, and attend a publishing party!
Keep in mind that this structure is merely an example to give you some ideas as to how you can play around with reward tiers. Many art campaigns will have more than 10 reward offerings.
Remember — research, research, research. The best way to come up with ideas is to look at similar campaigns and what they’ve had success with.
On the Kickstarter platform, you can see how many backers have pledged for each reward. Identify the ones that are receiving the most traction, then build those into your own project!
Don’t Forget About Budget
As an artist, it’s easy to get caught up in creative whims.
But a Kickstarter campaign requires careful attention to budget. You want to set your funding goal as low as possible to get funded quickly as you can to trend better on the platform — but you need to set it high enough that you can actually fulfill promised rewards.
You’ll have to consider things like the cost of goods sold, shipping, and any marketing expenses.
At the end of the day, a Kickstarter project isn’t really about making a profit. You’re probably not going to walk away from a campaign with a huge chunk of change in your pocket.
But you will walk away with your art in the world, a larger audience for future pursuits and a little bit of money to put into your next endeavor as an artist.
You don’t want to be the artist that comes away in the negative after running your campaign — especially if you’ve reached your goal. You should also have a plan in place if your project is much more successful than you’d expected.
Are you going to be able to fulfill rewards for 100 backers? 200 backers? 500 backers?
Make sure that you’ve got everything in place!
Additional Resources For You
We hope that this article was helpful for you as a jumping-off point for your art project on Kickstarter.
You’re about to embark on a journey — one that is highly rewarding, but takes a lot of work.
Check out the podcast episode, An Artist’s Guide to Crowdfunding Domination, for more comprehensive insights.
You can also stay in the loop with us here at CrowdCrux:
- Founder Salvador Briggman’s Youtube Channel
- The Crowdfunding Demystified Podcast
- The CrowdCrux blog (you’re here right now!)
- The CrowdCrux weekly newsletter
Want personalized support in running your campaign? Join our Mastermind Community where our expert crowdfunding team will assist you through every step of running your campaign! Working with an experienced agency will go a long way in smashing your funding goal.
Good luck with your project. CrowdCrux is here to help if you need us!
