Why Kickstarter is Still the Best Crowdfunding Tool for Artists

Crowdfunding is so common, it’s almost become an inherent part of how to build a career as an artist. From early-stage creators looking to get established, to professionals seeking independent funding outside traditional corporate structures, crowdfunding has reshaped how we monetize work and what kinds of products are even possible to create in the first place. Given all this, it’s important for creators to understand how to use these services and how to pick ones that make sense for their career. Crowdfunding is, contrary to what a lot of artists seem to think, far from an automatic source of passive income. (On Patreon, for example, the vast majority of its users are only generating a tiny amount of income, with tens of thousands of them receiving less than $50 a month.) So as someone who’s been a part of some really successful crowdfunding campaigns—and some not-so-successful ones—I’d like to do a series of posts on a few of the crowdfunding options out there, with tips on how to choose the best ones for your project. For this post I’ll focus on Kickstarter, and in subsequent ones I’ll look at Patreon and a few other lesser-known sites out there.

Kickstarter

Kickstarter is one of the best known crowdfunding platforms, and for good reason. Since 2009, it’s successfully funded nearly 150,000 projects and has raised over 3.8 billion dollars. Kickstarter is primarily aimed at funding one project, with a single payment from each of its "backers"; in exchange for their money, backers receive rewards at different tier levels depending on how much they’ve given. (Drip, a new tool from Kickstarter, does alter this formula a bit by allowing for ongoing payments, but it’s currently available by invitation only.)

Kickstarter is best for creators who:

-want to fund one main project

-make tangible goods

-aren’t trying to maintain ongoing relationships with their backers

-could be a better fit for creators who don’t already have a close following

 -want to build support but don’t necessarily need dedicated fans

-think their audience would be unfamiliar with other crowdfunding platforms

While creators on Kickstarter should definitely keep close in touch with their donors throughout the campaign, as well as provide regular updates after on how the project is progressing, you don’t really need the same level of enthusiasm from donors as you may need with other services. Since people are only giving once, and you only need to return the favor with one product in exchange, you don’t have to be concerned with maintaining ongoing donor relationships over an extended period of time. This frees you up to actually create your work, rather than having to maintain a campaign that goes on indefinitely. That being said, since projects have to reach their goal to get funded, you’ll need to make sure you have a real audience and that your expectations are realistic. Games and films, for example, tend to be a good match for Kickstarter audiences. But If your thing is to knit sweaters for hippopotamuses, and you don’t already have a following of hippo wardrobe enthusiasts, your campaign might very well earn you nothing.

If you do have an audience, and you’re wondering if your project is the kind of thing that work well with Kickstarter’s structure, the company also offers full stats on what types of projects have performed the best on the site. Tangible goods tend to do well, while projects in fashion or the performing arts are less popular. (That being said, these mediums generally have smaller audiences anyway, so it doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t use Kickstarter for them. I’ve known people who have had success funding theater on the site. But trying one of these less popular categories does mean you’ll have to know how to get your project in front of the right backers, since it may not match the interests of those who typically browse the site for projects to fund on a whim.)

One thing that’s nice about Kickstarter, however, is that, while do need to have an audience that can allow you to meet your goal, they don’t necessarily have to be die-hard fans of your work already. On Patreon or any kind of subscription service, you’re not just making a single request, but asking people to give multiple times, generally once a month. Asking for twelve donations of a small amount is a lot harder than making one ask for a slightly larger amount.

A last thing to note about Kickstarter—it’s not for casual projects you aren't willing to invest serious effort in. Your campaign has to be approved by the site to make sure it fits their standards and requirements, and in some cases you may need to show a prototype of what you’re creating first. And even if you’re not required to show a sample of what you’re making, you’ll still want to include some visual evidence of what you’re doing and a very thorough description of your project on your campaign page. People need to be convinced of the legitimacy and quality of your work before they’ll be ready to pay for something that doesn’t yet exist.

What about Indiegogo? Or GoFundMe? Or…

Kickstarter is specifically for creative projects–and it’s a brand people trust, in part because of the vetting it does on projects before it features them. But there are certainly other choices out there. If you’re not as confident you can reach your funding goal, for example, Indiegogo’s Flexible Funding option may appeal to you. This article is not meant to serve as an exhaustive breakdown of Kickstarter (which could get very long!) or explain the full market of crowdfunding options out there. But I hope it illustrates the kinds of questions you need to ask about your own work, and the relationship you want to have with your backers, when you start looking into how to fund your creations.

I highly recommend crowdfunding as a way to generate resources for yourself, but even more than that, I recommend learning how to become the kind of artist who can perform well on crowdfunding sites, whether it’s something you’re actually pursuing or not. Are you able to convincingly and accurately convey your authority on your craft? Do you have genuine examples of your work and a clear sense of who the audience is for it? And are you able to speak eloquently on the vision beyond your work and your goals for it? If you can’t do all of these things, then your art may be just a hobby, and that’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with making art just for fun. But if you want people to be financially supporting you, it’s something you have to earn. The best Kickstarter advice I can give, while it may sound a tad corny, is to simply make sure you have an amazing product on your hands first. If you can convey that proper intersection of authority and output, you may find the other marketing details fall naturally into place.