KickStarter

I’m really hung up on this KickStarter thing.  I cannot move past it, and have been racking my brain trying to figure out how to make it work.  I’ve also been getting advice from friends, people on Reddit, my LinkedIn KickStarter support group and some crowdfunding “expert” sites, so I think I have some good improvements that may allow us to succeed next time.

Another thing I’ve been doing is studying the projects on the site closely.  I’ve look for commonality in the successful ones and and I’ve backed a few more projects to see the process from a user standpoint.  I’ve looked into a couple alternatives, but KickStarter still seems to be the best crowdfunding source.

There is just so much opportunity there.  As I type this I’m literally working two jobs (and comics does not count as one of them) but I’m totally broke because of my kids’ medical bills.  If I’m going to keep at this comic thing I really need to find a way to make money at it.

And look how much money you can make!  Check out these ridiculously successful comics!  http://www.kickstarter.com/discover/categories/comics/most-funded

I have to at least try and get in on that action.  In case you missed it, here was our original unsuccessful KickStarter attempt http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/michaelbalistreri/black-snow-two-drink-minimum  And if you have any ideas on how I can improve it for our next attempt please feel free to share, as all input is helpful.

KickStarter in general is kind of an annoying thing.  The way they promote what’s already successful is pretty self defeating to the people who actually need help.  Some of the ridiculous projects that succeed on there are kind of mind blowing too.

Check out this comic from Stale Bacon (in my opinion one of the most consistently funny webcomics) which talks about the Zach Braff phenomenon of people with money using KickStarter to ask people without money for their money.

My Facebook friend Jack had a pretty good response when I shared this comic that I think sums up the issues with KickStarter pretty well.

To me things like this seems to fly in the face of what KickStarter was founded for.  Though they do personally approve every project, so I guess they feel it is OK.

I find the whole emphasis on the video pretty annoying.  That is what I got the most comments on and seems to be what matters most to people.  Why?  Not everyone has access to quality video production and editing equipment, the knowledge of how to use them or the talent to make it entertaining.  It seems like a really arbitrary thing that penalizes projects who aren’t able to do it.

Hell, I’m a film major who worked in video production for years and I’m having trouble getting access to equipment to make a quality video.  This should not be seen as a requirement.

I guess that’s all I have to say on the subject for now.  Please share any of your thoughts and look for our new, improved project coming in the near future.

Meanwhile, I’ll keep drawing comics and being poor.