Posts by Sharif
How To Do a Kickstarter: Perks
So Kickstarter uses a concept called “Price Discrimination” which allows you to reach different markets simultaneously and increase your profits by including people who won’t pay as much. It’s the same logic as the Playstation “Greatest Hits,” you sell the same game for cheaper after you’ve already sold to all the people who were willing to pay $50 for a $20 game.
But selling in tiers is a little different from just selling a product and later changing your prices. So here’s some advice on how to sell to these markets and maximize profits.
Low Tiers
Pocket change adds up. So do costs. The key to keeping your profits in the lower tiers is to offer something of value while keeping your hard costs (materials, manufacturing, and shipping) down.
Offer something that can be delivered digitally: File downloads, links to hidden behind the scenes Youtube videos, digital drawings, etc. This will keep your hard costs down.
Offer something that costs little and ships for cheap: Autographed photo, drawing, etc.
Thank You Tiers
A Thank You Tier is a tier where the donor gets nothing but a “Thank you.” Most projects have one. I think this is a lack of imagination (see options above) and a leak of potential money.
“No pony wants to buy a THANK YOU! Your appreciation should be an expected part of any transaction! People want to help you, but they don’t want to just waste their money! If you want to penetrate the nickle and dime markets you had better come up with a clever way to actually GIVE A PONY SOMETHING FOR THEIR MONEY AND DO IT FOR FREE!”
As of this writing the Connu campaign is only half-way done and due to the digital nature of their project, they can offer real incentives to their lower tiers without adding to their hard costs. In the $10 and under tiers they’ve earned $553. If this momentum keeps up they will likely fill 10% of their quota with the nickle and dime tiers.
Another campaign I’ve followed was an Indiegogo campaign was for a short film called “Shadow.” This campaign followed so many of my smaller rules and had great business strategy! At the same time there were many oversights that left much to be desired, or even felt insulting to the contributor. For instance they had 2 thank you tiers ($2 and $10), but they will only thank someone on their website if they give $10. How stingy! And what does that say to the $2 contributors? It says that even though they say “thank you” that they don’t appreciate it! It’s no surprise that Shadow only made $62 in the lower tiers, which is less than 1% of their quota.
Middle Tiers
Selling to the middle tiers is usually about value. Is the price reasonable? Is this a value or a good use of my money? Is this rare? Is this special?
You’ll find greater success with the middle tiers if you really show why your project is special and if this is where you’re simply selling your project: Bluray of the movie, copy of the game, CD of the album, etc.
If you have a monopoly on your product and you can generate enough interest in it (why you should invest in your video), then you can safely inflate the price of your wares.
Note: Being too greedy will cost you
Law of Demand states that goods have a price which will yield the greatest profit. If you price something too high, you will sell too little (which hurts profits). If you price something too low, you will sell much more, but you still won’t make much of a profit. The key is to try to find the right value (P3 and Q3 in the chart above). The Law of Demand is sometimes called the “Law of the Bloody Obvious,” probably a British term.
Thus fair pricing will actually increase your profits. You should do a survey of your friends (unless your friends are rich, then ask other people…or actually you should just ask your rich friends for money) to find a good prices. Keep in mind that what people will pay for say “The Brony Documentary” might not be the same as what they’d pay for “indie short film about failed marriage.”
Top Tiers
The top tier donors are usually people who have too much income and want to be apart of something. Money is not particularly a problem with these people. Usually what most Kickstarters do is find a way to either give these donors super rare things, such as evenings with celebrities or autographed rare merchandise or they find some way to include the donor into the creation of the project itself: an NPC (non person character), an extra in the background of your film or comic, etc.
The Shadow campaign had a great strategy for the top tiers: sell to businesses. They offered walk on roles or product placement and advertisements in the film. It’s impossible to tell whether anyone bought this from them or whether they elected to be an extra in the film, so I’ll say they earned 0-10% of their funding this way. Either way it’s a really good idea. If someone won’t spend their own money, they might spend their business’ money.
Tier to Tier Sales
So each tier adds something new to the perks below it for an added cost. Many crowd sourced projects leak money by not making the cost increase equal to what is added. So many of their donors choose a lower tier than they normally would. Now it’s impossible to accurately guess opportunity costs, but I’m going to speculate a little.
The Indiegogo campaign for the unreleased tapes of the Brony Documentary had 227 people donate $10, but only 29 people donate $25. This is a huge drop off from
These were their perks.
$10
-Digital download of film
-Photo album access$25
-Sticker sheet
Essentially you’re paying $15 for a sheet of stickers. These stickers cost more than the actual video file. I wonder how many people donated $10 instead of $25 because they couldn’t justify spending $15 on stickers.
I believe the following would have generated more money for them, simply by adding more value to the added investment.
$10
-Digital download of film$25
-Sticker sheet
-Photo album access
$10 tier just gives the bronies what they want, to see the added footage. $25 gives you the stickers and exclusive access to photos.
That’s it for perks advice! Good luck!
More:
How To Do a Kickstarter: Sharif Acts Like Don Draper on an E-Mail (Public Relations)
How To Do a Kickstarter: Perks
How To Do a Kickstarter: E-Mails
How To Do a Kickstarter (Short Version)
How To Do a Kickstarter: E-Mails
Skullgirls has probably done one of the most successful campaigns ever. Their initial goal was $150,000, but they ended up earning close to a million dollars. If you look back at the How To Do a Kickstarter (Short Version), and compare it with how Skullgirls did their campaign, you can see what they’ve done right.
One really important thing that I forgot to mention in the short list (might go back and add it) is INVOLVE YOUR DONORS IN THE PROJECT! Skullgirls created surveys and everyone who donated any amount of money got some say in who the new downloadable character would be. This is how they got me to donate. I paid $1 so that I could vote for Marie, a character voiced by Rina-Chan. By the way I should note, I DON’T EVEN PLAY SKULLGIRLS!
This brings me to the greatest benefits and faults of their campaign, E-mails.
Do’s
1. Keep your donors updated
Use the e-mail feature of Kickstarter to keep your donors informed about what their money is doing. People work hard for their money. They want to know what they helped to create with it. This will make them more inclined to contribute to future projects or spread word of mouth on this one. Dale Carnegie said, “People support a world they help to create.” And boy, let me tell you, Skullgirls kept the donors updated…maybe too much. More on that in the “don’ts” section.
Dear Jerks,
Today I used your funds to buy a burrito. It was delicious. You guys are such saps.
-Spike (Bad example. Good idea.)
2. Involve your donors
Skullgirls gave all donors a chance to vote on the new downloadable character. They used the e-mails to send out links to surveys which allowed the donors a chance to take a real role in the development of the game. Based upon how much additional funding they’ve received, I believe this alone could easily be responsible for over $100,000 of their contributions.
3. Rally the troops
People have given you money, because you’re their friend and they don’t want to hear you bitch about how you didn’t support them they believe in what you want to do. Sending out mid-campaign e-mails to remind people the clock is ticking and that they can help by sharing your campaign with their friends is a good way to make money. Don’t just crowd source your funds, crowd source your fund gathering. With Rina-Chan’s participation, quite a few bronies championed the funding of Skullgirls. At least I know Spenser from the Brony Clubhouse was shouting from the social media heavens about it.
4. Sell to the lower tiers
So your creative team is paid, your work is done, and the final product is hitting stores. Now what? Well, not everyone bought your work. The lowest tiers probably gave you a dollar for basically nothing in return. They’re clearly a hot lead for someone who likes the project. E-mail them and let them know that your movie/game/hot dogs are now for sale.
“I know you didn’t give me enough money to actually get a ‘free’ bus playset, but it’s now available in stores for you to purchase with additional money.” (Image Source Dawn Somewhere)
Maybes?
1. Numbered only for uniformity but this is the only maybe. It’s a good idea to use this e-mail list serve to promote future projects.
This is a good idea, because these people are already interested in what you do and are hot leads for your next project. IT IS A BAD IDEA TO JUST START E-MAILING PEOPLE! The right way to do this is to e-mail your donors (burying the lead) thanking them, and then asking if they would like to sign up for a mailing list about your future projects.
Trust me, you don’t want to e-mail people directly about your other projects (see the first don’t). Best case scenario people unsubscribe. Worst case scenario, they flag you as spam and your e-mail will get shot down by spam blockers. It’s in your best interest to ask them to subscribe to your personal newsletter (Bonus tip: You’ll get more people if you reassure them that they can unsubscribe! Also make a method for them to unsubscribe.)
If you’re so daring, don’t be a selfish tool when doing this. Keep in mind that your work may have brought publicity for the stars of your project. Your donors may want to follow the artists or actors on Twitter or Facebook. Spread the love, because those stars probably promoted your Kickstarter.
Don’ts
1. Don’t spam!
Do not send people info about other people’s projects or the projects of your friends. Try to keep everything relevant and on topic to what people signed up for (I know this kinda contradicts the advice immediately above this).
2. Don’t overwhelm your donors.
This is the one thing I hated with the Skullgirls campaign. They e-mailed me ALL THE TIME. Limit e-mails to a MAXIMUM of 2 a week.
“Sh*t”
3. Most importantly, don’t make it all about yourself or your project.
Your donors have just made it possible for you to fulfill a dream. They may do it, because they love you. But they can also be motivated by their desire to be a part of something important. It is never a bad idea to make someone feel special. Look through your e-mail and see how many times you say “I” or “We” versus how many times you say “you.” Remember even though this is about you, make it about them. They gave you money, it’s the least you could do…other than the perks they bought.
More:
How To Do a Kickstarter: Sharif Acts Like Don Draper on an E-Mail (Public Relations)
How To Do a Kickstarter: Perks
How To Do a Kickstarter: E-Mails
How To Do a Kickstarter (Short Version)
How To Do a Kickstarter (Short Version)
I hate most crowdfunding. It’s not really that I have a problem with the concept, but most people irritate me with they way they ask for my money. It’s like you’re asking ME for money so that you can start a business in which you keep making money, and I get an overpriced ______. So you should at least try to seduce me a little and not just be a bunch of annoying, entitled 20 something year olds. Show me that you care. Show me this is real. Show me that I’m not just a sucker and a means to an end. Make me feel like I’m a part of something special, not just something special to you, but to me and the rest of the world.
“Here, I’m giving you 2 bits for your project. Please don’t hate me. I’d give you more, but Wells Fargo lent me that money so I can go to school.” -Me every time I donate to a friend
How do you do that? Here are some Cliff Notes that should help. Later I’ll do a more expanded post focusing on the videos, perks, & e-mails.
Image
1. Look like you’re serious (If your project is fun, show that you’re serious about fun).
2. Look like you’ve actually put some of your own money into this project (at least INVEST IN YOUR VIDEO!)
3. Look like you would actually invest in this project yourself.
4. Look like you aren’t just asking someone to pay the rent and buy you Taco Bell while you make art.
Ethics
1. Don’t look like you’re trying to get other people to cover your investment costs while you reap all of the benefits.
2. BE FAIR TO THE PEOPLE GIVING YOU MONEY!
3. Be appreciative of ANY donation.
Sales
1. Don’t pan handle. A donation should get the donor (no matter how small) something if possible. Ideally use advance sales of the product or discounts towards purchases of the product.
2. Give people something they would want.
3. Explain to people why your project is something they should believe in and support.
4. If you can, your perks can be used to endorse your product (ie. Free trials, posters, stickers, etc.)
So I have to say, my friends Niree Perian, Susannah Luthi, and Kai Chan have done a textbook PERFECT job in all of these criteria with their crowdfunded project of Connu. You don’t have to donate (though you should if you can) but at least look at how well executed their campaign is and use this as a model for your own projects.
More:
How To Do a Kickstarter: Sharif Acts Like Don Draper on an E-Mail (Public Relations)
How To Do a Kickstarter: Perks
How To Do a Kickstarter: E-Mails
How To Do a Kickstarter (Short Version)
Buying Things
So a book I partially edited for on came out but only for the e-book market. Now regardless of how you feel about e-readers, they are going to exist in some form in the future and as a writer you’ll have to sell to them. It might be a good idea to invest in one in order to see how they work and design your book for them. But if you’re like me you don’t want to pay very much for it. So here is a tutorial which can be used for buying most things.
Step 1: Questioning.
What do you want? Why do you want it? What is the best solution?
In this situation I want a way to read e-books which is light, portable, and not back lit.
I need it, because I am a writer who plans to be involved in the design decisions of his book in all formats.
Since I don’t want a back lit screen, this removes smart phones, tablets, and computers.
Step 2: Research.
What are the products available? What are their features? Which would be best for the price? What are the reviews?
My research has decided that the Kindle Paperwhite is what I’m looking for. It comes in 2 models, one without 3g ($119) and one with 3g ($179). I can’t imagine being so desperate for a book that I couldn’t wait to get to a wifi hotspot to download it. Also I don’t like the idea of doubling my internet bill for a device with a b&w web browser to be able to access the internet whenever.
But wait, the model without 3g has ads on it. You have to see ads from Amazon in order to subsidize the lower price of your Kindle. Well, it costs $20 to officially remove the ads. Hackier methods are probably just a Google search away.
So if you don’t care about ads or plan a jailbreak then you’ve just saved about $60 just by making an informed decision.
Kindle books are about 3 dollars cheaper! So you know, just buy about 40 books and it’s really like it’s free!
Step 3: Shop
Choose the store you’re going to buy the device from. What are their policies? Do they have a rewards program? Do you have a magic discount credit card with them? Do they use ink cartridges as currency?
While most office supply stores are pretty much the same. I go with Staples, largely because of locations everyplace I’ve lived and thus an ease of turning in ink cartridges (although, this purchase will be scarce since my mom finished her PhD, empty inks have been scarce and the cache has run out).
Using inks usually require attention to the calendar and patience. At Staples you can turn in 10 cartridges a month for $2 each and they last for 3 months. So math tells us that you can get a maximum of $60 off of anything. Staples treats this like CASH so you can combine it with coupons. Which brings us to the next step.
Step 4: Coupons
Do I have coupons? Which ones can get me the best deal?
Now this isn’t some extreme couponing stuff where you buy like 500 gallons of detergent for $5. This is just a simple way to bring the cost of your product down. Look in your mail or newspaper and see what they have for you.
I don’t have any coupons so I just Google search or go to Retailmenot.com (Honestly, from web domains to pizza, you should always Google for promo codes).
After some math and looking through the coupons, this one will save me the most money (~$24)
Step 5: Purchase
If everything works out right and you used your maximum ink empties, your Kindle Paperwhite should be under $45 after tax.
Step 6: Ebay (optional)
Repeat these steps. After 3 more months of dropping off used inks (if you have access to this many), then you can buy another Kindle Paperwhite for $45. Sell it for $90. Then all of this comes out to free.
Edit: Some of you may have noticed the fine print of the coupon says something about not being valid for Kindle purchases. If you’ve noticed that then you’re smarter than me who skipped the basic “read the fine print step” and ended up looking dumb at checkout.
Checkout woman: This can’t be used on Kindles.
Me: Why not?!
Checkout woman: Because it says it cannot be used on Kindles.
Friend: She just called you dumb!
However, this was a general tutorial that can be used for anything. A woman behind us at Staples used the same method to buy a coffeemaker.
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Underrated Never Talked about Skill for Writers: A Rambly Sort of Thing
Today in class I started bringing up theory again. Recently I’ve noticed my professor looks at me and smiles when I bring up some obscure topics and essays (I don’t know if she did that all semester or just felt nostalgic because today was the last day of class). This time it was a piece by a Korean feminist talking about masculinity in oppressed cultures. She said to me, “I’m always amazed by what you can bring to the conversation.”
Later tonight I went to visit a friend in the hospital. A week earlier she was just an acquaintance. In the hospital I argued with a nurse about why her pain wasn’t being managed and why the doctors seemed to think post-op pain of a 9 out of 10 was “normal” and didn’t need treatment. My mom was a pain management nurse and now teaches nursing at a university. I learned the lingo. I learned how to ask for drugs without seeming drug seeking. I learned how to advocate for my friend.
“I have a manipulative speech ready that will get you so many pain meds that you’ll need pain inducing drugs just to keep you on the pain scale. Crap, I think your charge nurse heard my soliloquy.”
On the drive home I thought about my teacher’s words. I realized something I decided was probably the biggest gift to myself.
I came up with two rules for myself:
1. Whenever I didn’t know something, I would ask about it.
This includes what words mean, things I claim to be an expert on, and things that people would probably prefer not to talk about.
2. I would let people talk to me about any subject.
I let my cousins and some of my friends teach me about cars. I’ve let my sister (a women’s health nurse) teach me about different speculum, benefits of clear plastic over metal, and that some of them have lights. My mom taught me about pain management in hospitals. I’ve had people talk to me about all kinds of subjects from Apple products to humor theory to rollercoasters to Wutang Clan.
If you don’t want to hear about something, it’s probably, because you don’t know enough to appreciate it.
These rules will help you develop a sense of curiosity and wonder for the human creature. Something that should show up in your writing.
This is from my lecture notes last fall when my Professional Writing Core teachers were explaining that curiosity and wonder are at the center of all art.
Now people will go out and people watch. Wonderful activity, but also very shallow and superficial. You’ll only get the surface without context. If you talk to a person, they will teach you about entirely new ways of seeing the world, maybe these ways aren’t always positive. Of course this is granted they even want to talk to you.
“Aaah! A humanities major working retail! Get your low income potential and broken dreams away from me!”
“That’s interestin’ and so tellin’ about yuh social background, upbringin’, ideologies, and yuh way of life.”
Most people want to talk about things. Some people will even talk to you about the worst tragedy to ever happen to them. More people will tell you these things if they feel you’ll listen and understand.
I won’t tell someone to stop talking. I’ll interrupt, because I’m so excited about the conversation, but I won’t tell them to stop talking.
It’s beautiful. The human being. I was with a girl and angry at the world. I said, “I have never felt so misanthropic.”
She laughed (and not just at how angsty I was being), “You’re not a misanthrope. You’re an anthropologist. I’ve never seen someone so in love with people.” This was a surprise to me. I didn’t realize this was true. I also didn’t realize she could ever show this level of understanding about me. At least I used to think that. It must be untrue since I fell in love with her.
Talking to people, reading their blogs will expand your mind more than anything (Even if it’s starting to get unfocused, rhapsodize-y, and digressive). You’ll never know what you’ll learn and from where. Did you think you would find a passionate, sincere, intellectual blog about the human condition with a bunch of ponies on it?
I’ve talked to a drunk punk rock bassist in the Inland Empire about his view on the world, it was disparate from the views of a privileged girl I talked to in Orange County, but there is always confluence. We want the same things: love, respect, to feel special, safety, etc.
We all have the fear of time and being mortal adding pressure on our desires. From this is conflict. From this we do our worsts to each other and even our bests. When written with justice to the characters, this conflict will allow you to see yourself in the worst of people as well as the best. We are all the same, it’s the priorities and the situations that make us different, whether by nature or nurture.
There’s a price to this, the more you learn what people want and their motivations, the harder it is to judge them. Although, this seems positive, keep in mind that these people will make you mad. They will hurt you. You will feel mad and stay awake at night. You’ll wish you were just wondering why they would do something to hurt you, but you’ll know why. You’ll know their motivations, what they want in life. You’ll know that if you were them, desperate for the same petty things, then you would hurt other people for them as well. It would be hard and wrong for you to hate them for being who they are. So you don’t take any action, even though you’re hurt.
With this understanding there’s nowhere for your hate and frustrations to go. You’re stuck with them.
“I understand that her belief system doesn’t allow for the idea of platonic friendships between people of opposite genders, but that doesn’t mean she is entitled to treat me like a second class citizen even if she is trying to keep me from ‘falling for her.’ God that’s so egotistical, it’s sick, but then that belief has probably just been reenforced by a lifetime of being a pretty girl and having every guy friend fall in love with her, requiring her to explain why things wouldn’t work out. The poor girl probably lost a lot of friends growing up. Man this sucks that her past is determining why I don’t get to have my friend! After all the times I’ve looked out for her! Well, this might be her form of looking out for me and my feelings… Why am I always the expendable one?! I hate this.”
Sorry, where was I? Oh, yeah, people will reveal more to you than they realize. They will tell you their ideologies, their secrets, their experiences even if they don’t intend to. And isn’t understanding how other people think and act what character work is all about?
That’s not necessarily a rhetorical question. Let me know how you think about anything I’ve brought up. Clearly, I’m interested.
PS. For more on this subject read Virginia Woolf’s short story “An Unwritten Novel” to get the value of people watching and some of its drawbacks. For the benefits of talking to people and how you can learn things about their character that they themselves don’t even realize they are saying read Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess”
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