I'm looking to connect with people who have run successful Kickstarter campaigns. I am about to launch my first one, and I have done some preliminary legwork such as joining forums and actively participating. I would like to know any other tips you might have for me. Like most independent filmmakers, I am passionate about my project, and will do pretty much whatever it takes to make sure it comes to a head. Thanks a million.
Looking for Tips on Crowd Source Funding
- Thread starter tfhenley
- Start date
Hello new dude! 
Build a fan-base. Make some short films, give advice + tutorials, make connections through collaborating.
Once the campaign is up, share it around as much as possible. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Vimeo, etc. etc. etc.
Put some money into advertising the campaign.
When making a trailer...
Never say make my dream come true or believe.
Get exciting 5 minutes in, and keep the project interesting. It should be able to hold the attention of someone with ADD.
Have a clever gimmick. Awesome VFX, the first film to _______, starring _____, the best film of the ______.
Have the best quality you can possibly have. Put all of your effort and as much money and time put in as humanly possible.
Watch 100 Kickstarter campaigns that worked, and steal from them.
Know how to make a good trailer.
Now time to do some copy and pasting.
Knowing your audience will also help in the making of the film's trailer, which is incredibly important.
A trailer should grab attention within a few seconds, keep it, and not let go until the end. You also want to watch 100+ trailers that are of the genre/type of film you are making, and steal elements from those trailers.
If I type in "most successful movies", the first thing that comes up is this Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_films
Let's take a look. What do we have here?
1. Avatar
Let's take a look at the Avatar trailer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1_JBMrrYw8
Within a few seconds, we have cool CG and ROBOTS! Is there anything cooler than that?!
Well, for some people it is. Avatar fits into the category of men under 25. It has action and CG. It will appeal to those who like action and sci-fi, as well as those who have short attention spans. It grabbed the audience's attention, kept it, and didn't let go. That is how you make a good trailer.
Do you have to have explosions and aliens to make a successful film? NO! Let's take a look at the second most successful film of all time, Titanic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ6klONCq4s
Now sure, you probably don't have the budget for something this large, and you probably haven't made "the world's most beloved film" ever, but you can stretch the truth by putting in reviews of the film, and adding some text like "comes a masterpiece...". Regardless of the quality of the film, the trailer has to be great.
Now what do these two incredibly different trailers have in common? They both give us an interesting character that we care for, and put them into danger.
Now to some, I can see how comparing mass scale Hollywood films to our 2K features is like comparing apples to oranges. So let's compare apples to apples.
http://www.businesspundit.com/10-most-profitable-low-budget-movies-of-all-time/
1. Paranormal Activity
Why did people go to see Paranormal Activity? Because it had a clever marketing strategy and a strong trailer, just like BWP (number 3). They both convinced audiences that the films were real. They started up lots of hype on the internet, and people flipped out after seeing the trailer and hearing the numerous rumors that traveled around forums and sites.
2. Mad Max
The film had an effective trailer. While it may not hold up to today's standards, it was incredibly effective when it first came out. The film was also banned in Sweden and New Zealand, which some could view as bad for the film's marketing, but it made the film all the more controversial and got people interested in seeing. Same thing with celebrities today like Miley Cyrus. Without all of those angry parents and internet ranters, she'd be nowhere. The only reason she has the Youtube views and attention she has right now is because of people who go on the internet, and rant. That attracts more attention to her videos. Then kids begin watching, and parents are upset when they find out what their kids are watching, then they protest her work. It draws in more and more people, and makes her stinking rich. One of the most clever marketing strategies I've seen in a while if you ask me.
3. BWP (already covered) Clever marketing strategy that stirred up lots of attention.
4. Night of the Living Dead (1968 version)
The film had an african american lead, a very liberal use of violence, and a young girl stabbing her mother to death. While this may seem tame by today's standards, that stirred people up - a lot. People wanted to see this shocking and horrifying film. The film was controversial.
5. Rocky
Now many of us don't have 1 mil, but this film put that 1 mil to good use. There was a rising star in the lead. There was also a romantic relationship and boxing - so it has something for everyone. Again, the trailer had an interesting character put into danger, a conflict, and drama - great music and a VO.
I'll stop here, but if someone wants me to continue I will.
------
Having a clever marketing gimmick and fan-base is important as well. Maybe you want to upload in depth BTS of the making of your film to appeal to the indie community, claim that your film is based upon true events, say that your film is a modern masterpiece, or add controversial elements. In Michael Moore's F9/11, he took a controversial and talked about topic, and turned it into a very intense and well... controversial and noticed film because he was making a movie about a controversial and talked about topic.
Note to self: controversy = viewers.
Building a fan-base is important. Ryan Connolly of Film Riot and the filmmakers of IndyMogul make free content to help the indie community. No wonder they're so successful. Outsiders is going to blow up on the internet. You need to put out awesome content and make connections to build a fan-base, which isn't easy. It can take days, weeks, months, most likely years.
----
Even though I wrote this for film distribution, the same thing applies to successfully pulling off a crowd-funding campaign.
Do you know how many people have failed on Kickstarter? A LOT. Crawl past all of the other wannabes, and get your head above the water. Your marketing strategy has to be different. You have to offer something and have something others do not have.
A clever gimmick can help. Perhaps you could do a daily BTS released everyday to appeal to the indie filmmaking community. Or offer a chance for people who give ___ amount of money a ____.
Also, check out this thread:
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=39742
Thanks Ray
Here's an awesome article:
http://filmmakeriq.com/2013/08/how-...er-for-your-film-before-and-after-case-study/
Here's an IndieTalker that ran a successful IndieGogo campaign:
http://www.indietalk.com/member.php?u=19635
Best of luck to you
Build a fan-base. Make some short films, give advice + tutorials, make connections through collaborating.
Once the campaign is up, share it around as much as possible. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Vimeo, etc. etc. etc.
Put some money into advertising the campaign.
When making a trailer...
Never say make my dream come true or believe.
Get exciting 5 minutes in, and keep the project interesting. It should be able to hold the attention of someone with ADD.
Have a clever gimmick. Awesome VFX, the first film to _______, starring _____, the best film of the ______.
Have the best quality you can possibly have. Put all of your effort and as much money and time put in as humanly possible.
Watch 100 Kickstarter campaigns that worked, and steal from them.
Know how to make a good trailer.
Now time to do some copy and pasting.
Knowing your audience will also help in the making of the film's trailer, which is incredibly important.
A trailer should grab attention within a few seconds, keep it, and not let go until the end. You also want to watch 100+ trailers that are of the genre/type of film you are making, and steal elements from those trailers.
If I type in "most successful movies", the first thing that comes up is this Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_films
Let's take a look. What do we have here?
1. Avatar
Let's take a look at the Avatar trailer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1_JBMrrYw8
Within a few seconds, we have cool CG and ROBOTS! Is there anything cooler than that?!
Well, for some people it is. Avatar fits into the category of men under 25. It has action and CG. It will appeal to those who like action and sci-fi, as well as those who have short attention spans. It grabbed the audience's attention, kept it, and didn't let go. That is how you make a good trailer.
Do you have to have explosions and aliens to make a successful film? NO! Let's take a look at the second most successful film of all time, Titanic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ6klONCq4s
Now sure, you probably don't have the budget for something this large, and you probably haven't made "the world's most beloved film" ever, but you can stretch the truth by putting in reviews of the film, and adding some text like "comes a masterpiece...". Regardless of the quality of the film, the trailer has to be great.
Now what do these two incredibly different trailers have in common? They both give us an interesting character that we care for, and put them into danger.
Now to some, I can see how comparing mass scale Hollywood films to our 2K features is like comparing apples to oranges. So let's compare apples to apples.
http://www.businesspundit.com/10-most-profitable-low-budget-movies-of-all-time/
1. Paranormal Activity
Why did people go to see Paranormal Activity? Because it had a clever marketing strategy and a strong trailer, just like BWP (number 3). They both convinced audiences that the films were real. They started up lots of hype on the internet, and people flipped out after seeing the trailer and hearing the numerous rumors that traveled around forums and sites.
2. Mad Max
The film had an effective trailer. While it may not hold up to today's standards, it was incredibly effective when it first came out. The film was also banned in Sweden and New Zealand, which some could view as bad for the film's marketing, but it made the film all the more controversial and got people interested in seeing. Same thing with celebrities today like Miley Cyrus. Without all of those angry parents and internet ranters, she'd be nowhere. The only reason she has the Youtube views and attention she has right now is because of people who go on the internet, and rant. That attracts more attention to her videos. Then kids begin watching, and parents are upset when they find out what their kids are watching, then they protest her work. It draws in more and more people, and makes her stinking rich. One of the most clever marketing strategies I've seen in a while if you ask me.
3. BWP (already covered) Clever marketing strategy that stirred up lots of attention.
4. Night of the Living Dead (1968 version)
The film had an african american lead, a very liberal use of violence, and a young girl stabbing her mother to death. While this may seem tame by today's standards, that stirred people up - a lot. People wanted to see this shocking and horrifying film. The film was controversial.
5. Rocky
Now many of us don't have 1 mil, but this film put that 1 mil to good use. There was a rising star in the lead. There was also a romantic relationship and boxing - so it has something for everyone. Again, the trailer had an interesting character put into danger, a conflict, and drama - great music and a VO.
I'll stop here, but if someone wants me to continue I will.
------
Having a clever marketing gimmick and fan-base is important as well. Maybe you want to upload in depth BTS of the making of your film to appeal to the indie community, claim that your film is based upon true events, say that your film is a modern masterpiece, or add controversial elements. In Michael Moore's F9/11, he took a controversial and talked about topic, and turned it into a very intense and well... controversial and noticed film because he was making a movie about a controversial and talked about topic.
Note to self: controversy = viewers.
Building a fan-base is important. Ryan Connolly of Film Riot and the filmmakers of IndyMogul make free content to help the indie community. No wonder they're so successful. Outsiders is going to blow up on the internet. You need to put out awesome content and make connections to build a fan-base, which isn't easy. It can take days, weeks, months, most likely years.
----
Even though I wrote this for film distribution, the same thing applies to successfully pulling off a crowd-funding campaign.
Do you know how many people have failed on Kickstarter? A LOT. Crawl past all of the other wannabes, and get your head above the water. Your marketing strategy has to be different. You have to offer something and have something others do not have.
A clever gimmick can help. Perhaps you could do a daily BTS released everyday to appeal to the indie filmmaking community. Or offer a chance for people who give ___ amount of money a ____.
Also, check out this thread:
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=39742
Thanks Ray
Here's an awesome article:
http://filmmakeriq.com/2013/08/how-...er-for-your-film-before-and-after-case-study/
Here's an IndieTalker that ran a successful IndieGogo campaign:
http://www.indietalk.com/member.php?u=19635
Best of luck to you
Last edited:
We ran a successful Kickstarter campaign for our festival costs for our short film. It was only for $3000.00, but I did learn a lot in the process.
1. As stated above, your appeal video should be very good. Almost all Kickstarter best practices articles will tell you this. But remember, that doesn't mean that that the video has to be a mini version of your movie or elaborate. It just means that the video has to be engaging, concise and professionally produced.
Break down those three things this way:
a. Engaging: Open, and sincere. You can be humourous, but don't be too cynical or flip or sarcastic. Nobody wants to give money to jerks.
b. Concise: What are you doing, and why do you need the money? Explain this coherently and as quickly as possible. Talk fast. Get the pace up. Don't have umms and ahhhs. Script it if you have to.
c. Professionally produced: Well lit, good audio and editing.
Here is a link to our Kickstarter. I look at the video now and see where it could have been way more concise. Although, back in 2011, many people still didn't know what Kickstarter was, so you see us explaining the idea of Kickstarter and how it works at the end or our video. (These days you wouldn't need to do that.)
2. Ramp up time. A few weeks before you launch, start reminding people on Facebook and Twitter and in your daily life about your upcoming Kickstarter. Get your cast excited and any people involved in the production excited about it.
3. DON'T FORGET ABOUT EMAIL. Social media is great, but remember, not everybody you know uses it, and most don't power use it. Make a contact list in your personal email of everybody you think you would like to pester about your Kickstarter. Aunts, uncles, cousins, former co-workers. And, yes, your friends who you know are on Facebook. We had many people contribute off email contact.
4. Treat every day like it is your the last day of the campaign. Let people know your goals. We were upfront in letting people know that almost all successful Kickstarter campaigns earn half their goal by the halfway mark. We easily achieved that.
5. If you have some deep pocketed friends or family members who want to wait until the end of the campaign so they "can help you get over the finish line if you need it," tell them you need them to donate early and not later.
6. Be rigorous about your budget and what you will need. In our case, we did a thorough research of film festivals and made a target number we would like to submit to. We got the submission costs, and then priced out the marketing of postcards and the possibility of media transfers, etc. We came up with our figure. Also, just understand that you will not get a lot more above what you are asking for. We read this many times in our research and it was very true for us. We hit our goal fairly ahead of our end date and, as you can see, we only earned a little bit more above the asking.
7. Do not underestimate your rewards fulfillment costs.
8. Do not underestimate your rewards fulfillment costs.
9. Do not underestimate your rewards fulfillment costs.
If you have 500 people who get a reward of a DVD of the movie, you are going to have mail 500 people a DVD of the movie. Same with a poster, etc. It is not just the dollar cost, but the time for fulfillment.
At the end of the day, my advice would be to make sure you let everybody know, multiple times about your your campaign.
We're about to embark on much larger Kickstarter for our feature film, so I wish you just as much luck as I'm hoping we have!
1. As stated above, your appeal video should be very good. Almost all Kickstarter best practices articles will tell you this. But remember, that doesn't mean that that the video has to be a mini version of your movie or elaborate. It just means that the video has to be engaging, concise and professionally produced.
Break down those three things this way:
a. Engaging: Open, and sincere. You can be humourous, but don't be too cynical or flip or sarcastic. Nobody wants to give money to jerks.
b. Concise: What are you doing, and why do you need the money? Explain this coherently and as quickly as possible. Talk fast. Get the pace up. Don't have umms and ahhhs. Script it if you have to.
c. Professionally produced: Well lit, good audio and editing.
Here is a link to our Kickstarter. I look at the video now and see where it could have been way more concise. Although, back in 2011, many people still didn't know what Kickstarter was, so you see us explaining the idea of Kickstarter and how it works at the end or our video. (These days you wouldn't need to do that.)
2. Ramp up time. A few weeks before you launch, start reminding people on Facebook and Twitter and in your daily life about your upcoming Kickstarter. Get your cast excited and any people involved in the production excited about it.
3. DON'T FORGET ABOUT EMAIL. Social media is great, but remember, not everybody you know uses it, and most don't power use it. Make a contact list in your personal email of everybody you think you would like to pester about your Kickstarter. Aunts, uncles, cousins, former co-workers. And, yes, your friends who you know are on Facebook. We had many people contribute off email contact.
4. Treat every day like it is your the last day of the campaign. Let people know your goals. We were upfront in letting people know that almost all successful Kickstarter campaigns earn half their goal by the halfway mark. We easily achieved that.
5. If you have some deep pocketed friends or family members who want to wait until the end of the campaign so they "can help you get over the finish line if you need it," tell them you need them to donate early and not later.
6. Be rigorous about your budget and what you will need. In our case, we did a thorough research of film festivals and made a target number we would like to submit to. We got the submission costs, and then priced out the marketing of postcards and the possibility of media transfers, etc. We came up with our figure. Also, just understand that you will not get a lot more above what you are asking for. We read this many times in our research and it was very true for us. We hit our goal fairly ahead of our end date and, as you can see, we only earned a little bit more above the asking.
7. Do not underestimate your rewards fulfillment costs.
8. Do not underestimate your rewards fulfillment costs.
9. Do not underestimate your rewards fulfillment costs.
If you have 500 people who get a reward of a DVD of the movie, you are going to have mail 500 people a DVD of the movie. Same with a poster, etc. It is not just the dollar cost, but the time for fulfillment.
At the end of the day, my advice would be to make sure you let everybody know, multiple times about your your campaign.
We're about to embark on much larger Kickstarter for our feature film, so I wish you just as much luck as I'm hoping we have!
All of the above and consider this: http://landing.indiegogo.com/crowdfund/
Thanks!
Thank you for the thoughtful responses. It can be quite stressful trying to plan. Do you recommend indiegogo over kickstarter? I've heard that kickstarter has a tendency to attract more random attention than indiegogo, and people are more likely to donate because it's better known. On the other side of the coin, with Indiegogo you don't have to reach your goal or lose everything. It's definitely a rough choice.
Thank you for the thoughtful responses. It can be quite stressful trying to plan. Do you recommend indiegogo over kickstarter? I've heard that kickstarter has a tendency to attract more random attention than indiegogo, and people are more likely to donate because it's better known. On the other side of the coin, with Indiegogo you don't have to reach your goal or lose everything. It's definitely a rough choice.
Overwhelmingly - it all has MUCH more to do with your own marketing.
How many RELEVANT people do you know and how active/effective you are at "moving them into action" are what's going to determine your crowfunding success.
NOT the merit of your film.
Spending money to make a film is very very easy.
Providing value to customers/donors in exchange for their money is very very difficult.
How many RELEVANT people do you know and how active/effective you are at "moving them into action" are what's going to determine your crowfunding success.
NOT the merit of your film.
Spending money to make a film is very very easy.
Providing value to customers/donors in exchange for their money is very very difficult.
Great feedback, thank you. All the advice I can get is more than welcome. I definitely know that a Kickstarter is not a click go and get money endeavor. I want to do some careful planning before I launch.
Though this is a semi-old thread, thought I'd chime in -
Having run one and raised $12K, I have to say that another *must* for a successful Kickstarter campaign is the rewards. They have to be absolutely terrific! Gotta have 'em, that's really neat and different terrific. And (as Hennessey mentioned) DO NOT underestimate what rewards will cost. Don't forget production costs, and shipment - sometimes to overseas donors. Because otherwise, you'll find your very hard earned donation money vaporizing pretty quickly.
Okay, that and a really terrific video that oozes excitement. And - be prepared to be exhausted by the end of it. If the marketing's done right, it's a darned marathon. Crowdfunding takes alot - don't just sit back and expect the $$ to roll in. You need to really put yourself out there...every single day of the campaign.
Having run one and raised $12K, I have to say that another *must* for a successful Kickstarter campaign is the rewards. They have to be absolutely terrific! Gotta have 'em, that's really neat and different terrific. And (as Hennessey mentioned) DO NOT underestimate what rewards will cost. Don't forget production costs, and shipment - sometimes to overseas donors. Because otherwise, you'll find your very hard earned donation money vaporizing pretty quickly.
Okay, that and a really terrific video that oozes excitement. And - be prepared to be exhausted by the end of it. If the marketing's done right, it's a darned marathon. Crowdfunding takes alot - don't just sit back and expect the $$ to roll in. You need to really put yourself out there...every single day of the campaign.
I would rather go with Indiegogo than kickstarter. I have done both (both were successful) but the platform and getting money was easier and faster through Indiegogo VS Kickstarter. and PROMOTE PROMOTE PROMOTE.
Everyday find Facebook pages to share it, friends and family. it is not an easy process AT ALL but well rewarding. It is all based off of how hard YOU work for it.
Everyday find Facebook pages to share it, friends and family. it is not an easy process AT ALL but well rewarding. It is all based off of how hard YOU work for it.
I will never donate through IndieGogo unless it’s someone I know personally.
Let’s say the filmmaker is asking for $10,000. I “know” the person through
social media and I like the pitch. So I donate $100. My issue with IndieGogo
is if that filmmaker gets $3,000 they keep it all. Do they compromise their
vision and make a $10,000 project for three large? I didn’t donate $100 to
a $3,000 project. Do they hold off until they raise the seven large? If they
don’t make the movie what do they do with the money?
As I said, I will donate to someone I know personally. Hell, I’ll just hand ‘em
the hundred bucks and if the movie is never made or made for less I know
I’ve helped a friend. But a complete stranger? Not so much.
Let’s say the filmmaker is asking for $10,000. I “know” the person through
social media and I like the pitch. So I donate $100. My issue with IndieGogo
is if that filmmaker gets $3,000 they keep it all. Do they compromise their
vision and make a $10,000 project for three large? I didn’t donate $100 to
a $3,000 project. Do they hold off until they raise the seven large? If they
don’t make the movie what do they do with the money?
As I said, I will donate to someone I know personally. Hell, I’ll just hand ‘em
the hundred bucks and if the movie is never made or made for less I know
I’ve helped a friend. But a complete stranger? Not so much.
Actually, IndieGoGo have the option. You can choose to take what you got and pay a higher premium for it (Flexible Funding). Or you can configure a Fixed Funding campaign like KickStarter and only get it if you meet your goal and pay a lower premium.
And I agree 100%, I'm very wary of the projects that chose Flexible Funding, as you have no idea what will happen if their goal is missed...
CraigL