Has anyone launched a Kickstarter recently?

AdrenalineShots 2020-11-01 21:50:42 UTC #1

Hi All

I was talking to someone recently who had launched a kickstarter in the past (for a game, not a comic). He had mentioned that he had found it a lot easier to get attention / supporters previously than a month or so ago when he launched another campaign. His general view was that it is a lot more "hard work" and that there are a lot less people willing to sponsor than previously, either that or there isnt as much "reach" anymore. Previously he had exceeded his target within a couple of days and this time didnt make the (same) target.

Has anyone here had recent experience of running a Kickstarter or Indiegogo? Does the water appear to have cooled?

As someone who hasnt done one before would be interested in thoughts.

Cheers

Danny

Danny Richard
ADRENALINE SHOTS – SCI-FI & HORROR WEBCOMIC ANTHOLOGY

Croik 2020-11-01 23:45:53 UTC #2

For projects that aren't already "finished" it is definitely harder now than it used to be. Kickstarter has been around for long enough that everyone using it has probably been burned at some point. There are games I pledged five years ago that still aren't out. I definitely don't pledge anything anymore unless 1) it's a finished comic that just needs funding for print or 2) it's from a creator with a very good track record.

Now's not a great time to be asking people for money in general, too, thanks to the pandemic.

That said, my friend and I ran our Kickstarter in June and outdid our last goal! It was for a finished comic, and volume 2 at that, so we had a lot of our previous pledges and fans from Tapas/Webtoon come out. So it's not that people aren't giving their money to crowdfunding anymore, they're just a lot more careful about what they pledge. Stuff like finished books, tabletop games already developed, and other low risk projects have a much better chance at being funded than especially a video game (which we've seen fail over and over again).

MomoKushBear 2020-11-02 00:25:07 UTC #3

Honestly it just sounds like maybe a lot of people who backed him the first time weren't either happy enough or impressed enough to wanna back him again. It's not uncommon for creators to do really well the first time and slowly decline in backers over time. People still have high expectations even from indie creators. So if they didn't find it good enough the first time they not gonna continue to support you.