How Don Handfield Joined a Mastermind and Raised More Than $25,000.00 for His First Kickstarter
by Clay Adams
Don Handfield had a brilliant idea for a comic.
The only problem?
Unlike his other work, UNIKORN would be all-ages friendly. And the subject matter—unicorns and grief—was so far outside his usual genre, he had no idea if he could pull it off.
With a short time until launch, how on earth was he going to reach an all-new readership?
In this edition of the ComixLaunch Spotlight, you’ll learn:
- How to quickly expand your network
- What you should fall back on if your Dead Zone plan fails
- Why Kickstarter isn't just for beginners—and why that's a good thing
The Challenge: How to Launch a New Comic Book on Kickstarter
Don works in the film and TV industry, producing material aimed at a grown-up audience. His previous comics work has tapped that same vein. But something was nagging at him.
“I have two children, 10 and 8, that mean the world to me. They can’t really fully enjoy my other work because it’s made for adults,...
Erin Ptah's Simple Strategy for Kickstarter Success
Erin Ptah had a plan.
She’d filled out her spreadsheets, worked carefully to build her sales page for the "Leif & Thorn" Kickstarter, and come up with a guiding philosophy that would see her through all phases of the campaign.
Now she just had to execute.
In this edition of the ComixLaunch Spotlight, you’ll learn:
- Why having a guiding principle is important
- One simple trick to boost funding
- How to resist “shiny objects”
Erin’s Kickstarter Philosophy: Keep it Simple
Like many successful business owners, Erin knew that before she even made a sale, she needed a guiding principle—a philosophy she could always fall back on in the face of difficult decisions. So she settled on what would be her mantra throughout the Kickstarter:
Keep it Simple.
“The philosophy is, the more variables you introduce, the more opportunities you give yourself to screw up. Since this was my first time fulfilling a Kickstarter, it...
How James Powell Turned Kickstarter Success into a Dark Horse Publishing Deal
By Clay Adams
James Powell was feeling confident.
After two successful Kickstarter campaigns for his children’s horror comic, House of Fear, James felt the time was right to get his stories out to a wider audience. Before, he’d been too scared to pitch his work to a publisher. What if he wasn’t ready? What if they could tell he didn’t know what he was doing?
But now, armed with the confidence gained from crowdfunding success, James was ready.
It was time to submit.
In this edition of the ComixLaunch Spotlight, you’ll learn:
- How to pitch your book to a publisher
- What to do while you wait to hear back
- Why failure isn’t the end… and neither is success
How To Pitch Your Comic Book Or Graphic Novel To A Publisher
James knew that he couldn’t just spray his pitch around to every publisher in the game. His experience with Kickstarter told him that having a specific, targeted plan was important to success.
“I made a list (a...
How Travis Gibb Ran Two Comics Kickstarters At Once… And Lived To Tell The Tale
By Clay Adams
Travis Gibb was feeling stretched thin.
With two campaigns running at once, he felt pressure to make both succeed. But as a collaborator on one project and "just the writer" on the other, Travis wasn’t fully in charge of either.
How was he going to get through this month?
In this edition of the ComixLaunch Spotlight, you’ll learn:
- How to work with collaborators on a Kickstarter campaign
- The secret to a successful launch
- One trick to turbo-charge your final week
How to Work with Collaborators on Kickstarter
Both of Travis’ campaigns were a challenge—for very different reasons.
“One of those campaigns (DOG DAYS) was run by another publisher. It was challenging because I couldn’t build the campaign as I saw fit. I didn’t have complete control of how much we needed to raise. I didn’t know all the backend numbers, and I didn’t get a lot of pre-campaign planning in. I also...
How Comics Creator Andy Perry Quadrupled His Email List Ahead of A Second Successful Kickstarter Launch
by Clay Adams
Andy Perry needed a change.
Like many creators, he’d had an idea for a comic, which he successfully funded on Kickstarter. But by his own estimation, about 90% of his pledges came from friends and family.
For his next campaign, Andy swore he’d expand his fanbase and get that percentage down. There was only one problem.
He didn’t know where to start.
In this edition of the ComixLaunch Spotlight, you’ll learn:
- How to grow your mailing list
- Why a Mastermind group can help your creative business
- The mindset needed for Kickstarter success
What is a Mastermind Group?
Andy decided he needed a support system, so he joined the ComixLaunch MasterMind, a group of creators who meet once a month to help each other grow their creative businesses.
“Being around like-minded creatives gave me a sense of reassurance. I’d picked people’s brains before and received loads of help, but this was a forum where everyone...
How Jim Whiting Launched An Art Book on Kickstarter--And Had His Best Campaign Ever
by Clay Adams
Jim Whiting had a choice to make.
After years of Kickstarting his own series, Margo: Intergalactic Trash Collector, Jim was now faced with a different task entirely. His latest project, DarkARTS, was an oversized pin-up book featuring work by various artists. He knew he couldn’t rely on his established audience to come out and support it—and there was no guarantee the audience for a book like this even existed.
Before hitting launch, Jim wondered, “How the heck am I going to market this?”
In this edition of the ComixLaunch Spotlight, you’ll learn:
- How to choose the best category for your project
- When you should identify your target audience
- Why “pocket” rewards can save you
How Do You Choose the Best Kickstarter Category?
The first challenge Jim faced was deciding on a Kickstarter category. It didn’t fit neatly into any of the available options, so he had to decide:
Would this be a “book”...
How to Plan For Kickstarter Success, with Comics Creator Newton Lilavois
by Clay Adams
Newton Lilavois was in the hospital.
With only four days before the big Kickstarter launch for his webcomic, “Crescent City Monsters,” Newton was about to go under the knife for knee surgery.
He’d spent a year posting his comic online, working through the ComixLaunch Course, and meticulously planning his campaign.
But now, facing surgery and a painful recovery, he had to ask himself:
Should I postpone?
In this edition of the ComixLaunch Spotlight, you’ll learn:
- Newton’s Facebook ad strategy for campaign success
- Why you should plan your stretch goals before you launch
- When “failure” isn’t really failure at all
Knowledge is Power: Google Analytics and Your Kickstarter Page
So: did Newton postpone his launch?
Before we answer that question, let’s talk about the well-crafted plan he was thinking of putting off.
Because Newton is a member of the ComixLaunch...
How First Time Kickstarter Creator Rene Pfitzner Raised Nearly $9,000 In His First Ever Comics Campaign
by Clay Adams
Rene Pfitzner felt like he was flying in the dark.
It was his first-ever Kickstarter campaign, and there were a lot of unknowns. But he’d methodically worked his way through the ComixLaunch Course and felt like he had a solid plan in place.
Now it was time to put it into action.
In this edition of the ComixLaunch Spotlight, you’ll learn:
- How to build an audience before you launch
- The importance of having a pre-launch plan
- How to drive traffic to your Kickstarter campaign
Should I Post My Comic For Free On The Web?
Rene knew that in crowdfunding, the crowd brings the funds, but YOU have to bring the crowd.
He had been following the YouTube channel of creator Jason Brubaker (reMIND, Sithrah), a Kickstarter veteran who recommends building an audience by posting your comic for free online. A quick check of the most funded comics Kickstarters of all time reveals that—yes, posting for free online helps.
...How TREASURES OF THE DEEP SLUMBER’s Jerry Willoughby Used Facebook Ads To Power His Best Comics Kickstarter Launch Ever
By Clay Adams
Jerry Willoughby was feeling determined.
After his last Kickstarter failed to fund, Jerry knew he needed to expand his marketing efforts if he wanted his new campaign to succeed. So, heeding the old Henry Ford maxim that “Stopping advertising to save money is like stopping a clock to save time,” he decided to go all in on Facebook ads.
The only question was: “Would it work?”
In this edition of the ComixLaunch Spotlight, you’ll learn:
- Why you need enthusiastic collaborators
- The key to a successful Facebook ad—and when to implement it
- Jerry’s specific ad strategy that led to successful funding
Lessons Learned from a Failed Kickstarter
Before he launched again, Jerry took a long, hard look at what went wrong last time.
“The biggest lesson I learned from my last failed campaign was that you can't launch with no audience. I thought that the same people that backed me in 2012 would come out to back me five years later. I...
How DIARY OF NIGHT’s Will Allred Rescued His Comics Kickstarter Campaign in The Final Week
By Clay Adams
Will Allred had his back to the wall.
It was the final week of his campaign for DIARY OF NIGHT, and the funding total sat at a seemingly insurmountable $2,000 shy of his goal. With the clock ticking, Will had a difficult choice to make: cancel the campaign and try again later, or double down on his efforts to secure a win at all costs.
Will dug deep and doubled-down.
In this spotlight you’ll learn:
- The most important Kickstarter metric to watch
- How to get more people to your Kickstarter page
- The biggest comics Kickstarter mistake
The Key to Running a Successful Comics Kickstarter
Will had already tried—unsuccessfully—to fund DIARY OF NIGHT once, so the thought of cancelling didn’t appeal to him. But the task ahead seemed daunting.
“That last week was brutal. By this point, I was nearing exhaustion, and still had around $2,000 to go to meet the goal. I still had hope, though. I had a backer that I knew I could depend...