Pep-talk: Being an artist is a gift. Being able to craft a project with your own vision, in your own style is SO VALUABLE. There are so many people out there that want to support independent artists who make cool things. Social media really skews our perceptions of how many people you need to support your work.
Phase 1: Your project/product is EVERYTHING
Format your files correctly from the beginning! Minimum 300dpi for most printing projects. I cannot tell you how many times I had you resize the cards during this process. This is something you can do one day 1 to save yourself a lot of headache later.
Record the process and post on social media early- Show clips of my first video & last video of the Tarot Series. Don’t worry about views too much. Really you’re just trying to get used to posting yourself online and building all the miscellaneous social media skills that will come in clutch later.
Make a plan. Create a realistic and doable schedule for yourself. That way you can see the timeline play out.
Don’t rush it, take as much time as you need and pour your soul into it. Took my about a year. Don’t let the time commitment scare you off. Time is gonna pass anyway no matter what you do. So you might as well be making progress towards your goals. It took me on average 2 hours /card. 3 cards a week. + Another 6hrs give or take to making youtube videos per week. So 12 hrs a week which equals about a light part time job. The key is to make it as doable as possible without overwhelming you. That is the key to actually finishing a long term project by yourself.
Constantly talk about it to everyone in your life.
Ever since I started the project, when people would ask what I was up to I’d just say “I’ve been drawing geese.” pretty much without fail every time lol. So they saw first hand how much time and energy I spent creating this project. And were extremely supportive since day one.
DO NOT LAUNCH AN UNFINISHED PRODUCT
You should have as much done as possible. Consider buying a prototype, or printing a prototype yourself.
Your reputation is on the line here. And as a new up-in-coming creative, your reputation is INTEGRAL to the success of your career.
If you need an example of what not to do, watch this video:
https://youtu.be/G3NZdOufcBY?si=u2cp5rwpQ-waaV2c
Commit fully. You are setting yourself up for failure otherwise.
NOT A GET RICH QUICK SCHEME
Kickstarter is an amazing resource for artists & small business owners to minimize risk and to not go into debt over their creative projects.
I managed to raise $17,742 with a project goal of $12,800. I received $15,719.90 after Kickstarter fees. It’s all going to manufacturing, shipping, and other business costs.
DO NOT MISMANAGE THE MONEY GIVEN TO YOU. When you engage in a business transaction it is your obligation to fulfill your promises. $15,000 is a lot of money, but it cannot compare to the amount of money you can make with a career built with a solid reputation, great customer service, and high quality products.
Phase 1.5: Creating the Kickstarter Page
Find reviewers & content creators for your product category.
They can offer some valuable insights. Learn from other projects what to do and not to do. And if your budget allows, you can send early copies or prototypes for them to review. The more eyes the better!
Figuring out your Product Pricing
Find your manufacturers. Ask them for quotes for different quantities. Usually the more you buy, the better price per unit is. I asked the price for 100, 500, 1000 units
Figure out the cost per unit for each quantity range and choose the one that makes the most sense. For example: My tarot deck is made with the deck of cards, the booklet, and the box.
If I just ordered 100 Tarot Card Decks & Booklet (not including boxes): That would have cost $16.32 per set.
500 Units each = $10.85 per set
1000 units each = $9.65 per set
Cost of materials per unit + [Any other expenses like labor and overhead costs] = Final cost per unit. In my case my cost per unit is $17.63 (it was less originally, $15.63, but a manufacturing mistake kinda inflated the numbers a bit.)
Take Cost per unit x 2 = Rock bottom. The absolute minimum you should charge for your product. Essentially it pays to replace itself. $17.63 x 2 = $35.26
Cost per unit x 3 = Good starting point for small operations with low expense. I think of it as one for the product, one for the business, & one for you. $17.63 x 3 = $52.89
Cost per unit x 4 or higher = Doing Business. If you plan to sell wholesale, have employees, and a bunch of other business expenses. $17.63 x 4 = $70.52
Do this for every component. Make a spreadsheet to keep track of everything.
The cost per unit is going to come into play when you price your product. Everyone’s situation is different so feel free to do more research on this topic.
When calculating the Kickstarter Goal:
Add up the cost of all your product components, the cost to have them shipped to you, your add ons, packing materials, and other miscellaneous costs for the project. Then add a 10% Oops fund. This covers anything you forgot or mistakes made during the manufacturing process. Then add another 10% for the new total for kickstarter & processing fees.
Trust your gut, don’t be afraid to shop around. Also don’t give your manufacturers the benefit of the doubt even if this is your first time manufacturing something. If you think something seems off, you’re probably right. The first box manufacturer I was talking to was pretty shady and I should have listened to my instincts sooner instead of waiting until after the kickstarter was over to find a different one. I ended up having to pay an extra $940 than expected but luckily it was within my Oops fund.
Making the Kickstarter Page
- Take a bunch of videos of your product, add music, and text.
- Order Prototypes to take product photos. I just used some print on demand services that didn't have any minimum order quantities.
- I went to Hobby Lobby and got some card stock and feathers. And I used string lights that I already had to take my product photos.
- Make infographics on Canva.
- Use emojis to break up walls of text.
- Make a short & sweet video.
- A picture is worth a thousand words.
This is completely up to you and your situation but make sure you give yourself time to hype up your product. Do at least a month. I’ve seen people say up to 6 months but that is up to you.
Don’t worry too hard about making it absolutely perfect. You’re gonna see a lot of really professional looking pages. So scroll through some to get an idea of what you like and don’t like. You’re one person, just do your best. A little home made quality can be very charming to people especially if this is your first project.
Figure out shipping before you launch the campaign!!! This is one of my biggest mistakes. I thought you could charge shipping after the campaign with the backers survey. I was wrong. You can only do that through 3rd party platforms. So I had to scramble at the last minute to figure out a solution. I ended up creating a page on my website where people could pay for shipping that way. It worked out but I could have saved myself a lot of trouble if I did it in the beginning.
Pick a Launch Date
Find where the community around your product hangs out.
Kickstarter has a large community of Tarot enthusiasts who are constantly looking for decks from independent artists. The fun thing about tarot is that different decks can be used for different things/moods.
I also got pretty good reception on reddit, facebook groups, & tiktok. Check the space’s self promotion rules, don’t be spammy. Cycle where you’re posting.
Start posting a ton, ramp up towards the launch of your product. Also consider:
- Collecting an email list
- Going to in person events and promote the product that way!
Do a count down to the launch of your Kickstarter. Build hype. You want the first 48hrs to wack it out of the park.
Phase 2: Kickstarter Campaign
The moment of truth. If you have laid a proper foundation, this is when all your hard work should start paying off. The results of the kickstarter are now mostly in other people’s hands. You need to release the outcome. However, the beauty of kickstarter is that if the campaign does fail, nothing happens. That’s it. Failure is temporary and you can always take the information you’ve learned and try again. So don’t let one setback stop you from pursuing your project. Most of the time it’s a promotion & marketing issue.
If you have a solid 48hr you’re more likely to get picked up by Kickstarter’s algorithms and be recommended to people on kickstarter. Within the first 4 or 5 days, you might be chosen as one of Kickstarters “Projects We Love” and get pushed more organically.
I was able to get 30% within the first 48hrs which I think absolutely solidified my trajectory and set me up for success.
Continue to post and promote your deck. You might even see other people start posting about it! Which is probably one of the craziest feelings to see people you don’t know organically talk about your project.
Don’t be afraid to do some paid ads. I spent maybe like $100 to $200 on Meta ads.
Make updates when you hit any important milestones, keep the hype train going. It’s normal to plateau in the middle of your campaign. Your first and last week usually see the most growth.
You can offer stretch goals but they aren’t 100% necessary. It's up to you. For your first project it’s probably best to keep it more simple. Especially with the add ons. Everything can get really complicated really quickly. Do what makes sense for you. I was thinking about adding some fun stretch goals after I hit my goal but then I ran into the problem with the box manufacturer which skewed all my numbers.
If you hit your goal, don’t forget to celebrate.
You worked very hard and you deserve all your success. Once the campaign is over, it takes about 2 weeks for Kickstarter to process all the payments and for the funds to be deposited into your account.
Take the first week off. Go do whatever you want. I played a lot of the Oblivion Remake. Rest is an important part of the creative process and you have a lot more still ahead of you. So just take some time off stressing about everything.
TAXES & ACCOUNTING
This is going to be super general advice because every single county, state, and country does taxes differently so please do look into the rules in your area specifically. Talking to a tax accountant is a very good idea.
This is mostly applicable to Americans, I have no idea how taxes work in other countries.
The money you receive is taxable income! You have to claim it on your taxes.
When you file your taxes you will have to download the 1099-k form from Kickstarter which will have all the money they paid you. However, you are only going to be taxed on NET PROFIT. Deduct all eligible business expenses.
Open a separate bank account, do not mix it in with your personal finances. That’s a disaster waiting to happen. Please keep detailed and organized accounts of all the transactions you do! Everything that comes in and comes out. Download all invoices and receipts.
If you spend all the money on business transactions, you won’t have to pay very much or $0. (But you still have to report everything)
If you do make a profit, set aside 30% of net profits for taxes.
Good luck! I believe in you.
Emma Baginsky
