by Clay Adams

Drew Morrison knew what to expect. 

This wasn’t his first Kickstarter, and he knew the dead zone could be brutal. After multiple campaigns, he'd learned how to take it in stride. Still, this one felt particularly long. 

But like a pro, Drew didn’t panic. 

He got to work.

In this edition of the ComixLaunch Spotlight, you’ll learn:

• The benefits of outsourcing your Facebook ads
• Dead Zone strategies that work
• Plus: how to maximize reward stacking on Kickstarter

Outsourcing Your Facebook Ads for Kickstarter and Cold Calling Shops

Drew was no stranger to hard work and shoe leather. He’d spent considerable time and money growing his readership through paid Facebook/Instagram ads and cold calling retail shops to see if they would carry his series Brokenland.  

“From September 2020 - March 2021, I spent $500 per month on paid ads. I worked with a small marketing company to handle the audience...

by Clay Adams

Eric Erdek was ready to take a leap of faith. 

He knew his campaign for Espresso Detective #3 needed to raise more money than he ever had before. With a goal of $10,000, Eric was ready to jump into the deep end of Facebook ads.

But he couldn’t help but wonder:

Would he be throwing his money away?

In this edition of the ComixLaunch Spotlight, you’ll learn:

• The benefits of running a 30-day campaign
• Why pricing your tiers right is important for Kickstarter success
• Plus: How to use Facebook ads before and during your campaign

The Benefits of Running a 30-Day Kickstarter Campaign

Eric initially planned to run a 15-day campaign in order to shorten the emotional rollercoaster the dreaded Kickstarter dead zone brings. In the end, he says he "chickened out" because with such a tall ask, he felt he needed more time to get the word out.

And in this case, "chickening out" was the right call. 

“I’m so glad I did a 30-day campaign...

by Clay Adams

Farhan Qureshi was apprehensive.

As the first wave of Covid forced entire countries into lockdown and social unrest roiled the world, he was getting ready to launch his latest Kickstarter campaign for his sci-fi series DIGITOPIA.

With the world falling apart around him, he couldn’t help but wonder:

Would anyone care?

In this edition of the ComixLaunch Spotlight, you’ll learn:

• Why you should still launch during a bad news cycle
• The importance of quality—not quantity—of email subscribers
• Plus: How to apply the 80/20 rule to your Kickstarter

Focus on Quality of Email Subscribers, Not Quantity

Like most successful Kickstarter creators, Farhan had been putting in the work long before he launched his campaign. He took time to build up his email list, although he admits he found this difficult to balance with all of his other duties as an indie creator. 

“This has been a really tough one for me to make progress on as I...

by Clay Adams

Henrike Dijkstra had no idea what to expect.

Her course on “How to Start a Comic” was ready to launch, but she didn’t have a lot of case studies to examine. There weren’t many other courses offered on Kickstarter, and those that did well already had a massive audience.

So Henrike took a leap of faith that all her hard work over the past few years would pay off…

And hit launch.

In this edition of the ComixLaunch Spotlight, you’ll learn:

• Why focus is your friend when it comes to creating online courses
• Tips for creating a good lead magnet and growing your audience
• Plus: Henrike's top takeaways for launching a course on Kickstarter

Focus is Your Friend: Finding Your Niche 

Before she decided to create her course on making comics, Henrike tried several different things: she created a webcomic, she wrote a blog from 2013 to 2017, and she tried to grow an audience using social media. 

“I...

by Clay Adams

For Bitsy Tandem, the Kickstarter dead zone was “emotionally crushing.”

She found it hard to think about anything else, let alone keep up with any work. And as her campaign for Maiden in Disguise Manga #1 dragged on, she couldn’t help but think…

How would she ride it out to the end without going crazy?

In this edition of the ComixLaunch Spotlight, you’ll learn:

• Why Kickstarter burnout is real—and what you can do about it
• How drop shipping can help take the pain out of fulfillment
• Plus: first steps on breaking into a foreign market

Why Kickstarter Burnout Is Real—And What You Can Do About It

Many creators know the pain of Kickstarter burnout: your campaign becomes all-consuming, and the feeling that you should be doing something to promote it at every possible moment overwhelms you. For Bitsy—like most creators—that promotion didn’t come easy.

“There was a lot of pressure to promote...

by Clay Adams

Nima Afshar felt like his whole campaign was a challenge.

In the lead up to his Kickstarter, he couldn’t find a printer to take on his glow-in-the-dark comic, BREAK:RUN. Then he lost his day job amid the Covid Crisis. And once he hit launch…

It seemed like every possible distraction tried to derail him, including his mother breaking her ankle halfway through the campaign. (Maybe he shouldn’t have called his comic Break?)

Then his son developed health issues that needed immediate attention, and Nima knew that moving forward while staying positive was going to be a challenge.  

Did he have it in him to see the campaign through to the end?

In this edition of the ComixLaunch Spotlight, you’ll learn:

• How to stay focused when life throws you curveballs
• Why you should find your printer before you launch
• Plus: how to choose the right viral giveaway for your audience

How To Stay Focused During Your Kickstarter

Despite all...

by Clay Adams

Michael Penick knew he was playing a risky game.

It was his first campaign, and he wanted to keep his costs down. Lucky for him, he was an artist as well as a writer, so he could mostly produce the book—and various rewards—by himself. But with the bulk of his mid to high level tiers built on original artwork, the campaign’s success depended on how people reacted to his art.

And if people didn’t like it?

He was going to have serious problems. 

In this edition of the ComixLaunch Spotlight, you’ll learn:

• Why writing a business plan can help you focus
• How to study the crowdfunding market ahead of your launch
• Plus: The (Kickstarter) Money is in the List

Why Writing A Business Plan Can Help You Focus

For Michael, it all started with a plan—a business plan. 

“My goal here was to be able to kickstart not only this comic, but the second half of my career, one where I could do nothing but focus on my own...

by Clay Adams

Lisa Moore and Brant Fowler were nervous.

They’d just hired a new art team to help relaunch their flagship series, THE LAST EMBER, and the costs were mounting. This time, the husband and wife publishing team would need to raise far more than they ever had before.

As they set out to hit their highest goal to date, they couldn’t help but wonder…

Would they make it?

In this edition of the ComixLaunch Spotlight, you’ll learn:

• Why stacking launches leads to growth on Kickstarter
• How to find collaborators and “launch buddies”
• Plus: the pros and cons of working with your spouse

HOW STACKING LAUNCHES LEADS TO GROWTH ON KICKSTARTER

Like many indie creators, Lisa and Brant took on far too many projects in their early days as publishers of Last Ember Press. And while they are still struggling with some of the choices they made when the company was young, one benefit is that it allowed them to grow their audience over...

by Clay Adams

Shaun Keenan needed a bigger reach.

He’d launched multiple campaigns on Kickstarter, slowly but surely growing his audience. Cross promotions with other creators helped him reach people who are already active on Kickstarter, and he was adept at scheduling podcasts to promote his projects. 

But Shaun couldn’t shake the feeling that he could be reaching more people. He didn’t feel comfortable with Facebook ads just yet, so he knew he was going to have to try something different in order to expand his reach.

That’s when he decided to go live.

In this edition of the ComixLaunch Spotlight, you’ll learn:

• How to use a “Live Launch” to propel a bigger first day
• Tips for making your series profitable
• Plus: how to run five campaigns a year without going crazy

How To Use A “Live Launch” To Propel A Big First Day on Kickstarter

Shaun decided to test a “live launch” strategy as part of his Talos of...

 by Clay Adams

Andrew Clemson was in a panic.

He’d added an “I’ll Write Your Comic” tier to his Kickstarter, and it was immediately picked up by a stranger. Now Andrew was worried about where his words would end up, and what kind of market it might be pushed to. He hadn’t anticipated the stress the tier would cause—or how much a hotly-contested presidential election in the U.S. would suck the oxygen out of his campaign. 

As his Kickstarter for DAMSEL FROM D.I.S.T.R.E.S.S. entered its final 48 hours, he wondered:

“Did I make a huge mistake?”

In this edition of the ComixLaunch Spotlight, you’ll learn:

• Best practices for arranging creator cross-promo
• A great option for UK creators shipping books to the U.S.
• Plus: why Kickstarter trolls can be a huge headache

Best Practices for Arranging Creator Cross-Promo on Kickstarter

Despite his concerns, Andrew had set himself up to do well with his latest campaign. In the lead-up...