What Should I Use as My Reason For Raising Money on Kickstarter?

What an author should state as their “reason why I’m fundraising”

One of the biggest things I hear from authors about running a Kickstarter campaign is, “How do I do this when I’m basically begging for charity?” Other phrases or ways this might come out are:

• “Is it weird to ask my fans for money?”

• “I’m already putting the book out whether we fund or not, so there’s nothing really ‘on the line’ for funding…”

• “I don’t really have a ton of ‘production costs’”

• “If I’m doing print-on-demand, I don’t have a big inventory purchase to make”

• “I’m already a successful author; shouldn’t I just pay for my audiobook narrator?”

In this post, I want to share how to get past some of the feelings of “begging for charity” and give several more positive framings for how to message your readers, customers, and fans about why you are using Kickstarter for a book project.

Our current campaign at KickstartYourNovel.com

Kickstarter is Not (Just) For Raising Money For an Idea

While the company had its foundations in crowdfunding a brand new idea that hadn’t been tested or wasn’t going to go to market without help, it has evolved past that and is now a community where you can make a big chunk of money from something you are already planning to do, that you may have moved forward with regardless of whether you get funded or not.

Something important to state is that Kickstarter is not a GoFundMe type of platform. This is really important and there’s a big difference between asking people for money on GoFundMe versus funding a book with your fans on Kickstarter.

Now, to address some of these:

• “Is it weird to ask my fans for money?” → You are a business that sells on retailers, and this is no different. You aren’t asking fans for money, but rather selling them something of value in exchange for money.

• “I’m already putting the book out whether we fund or not, so there’s nothing really ‘on the line’ for funding…” → The funding goal of your Kickstarter is largely there to protect you from having to produce something for a handful of backers. It’s not there to excite fans or push them to back in any way. So you don’t need to worry about creating a drama around this!

• “I don’t really have a ton of ‘production costs’” → It’s okay to use Kickstarter to make money too. You can set your funding goal low, like $250 or $500.

• “If I’m doing print-on-demand, I don’t have a big inventory purchase to make” → You still likely have to pay for editing, proofing, formatting, covers, and marketing, and all of these are valid things to crowdfund.

• “I’m already a successful author; shouldn’t I just pay for my audiobook narrator?” → You can, but success doesn’t mean you don’t want or need more money. Kickstarter can help you pay for other formats from the people who want it rather than out of your own profits, with the hope that enough people will buy it to make your money back.

So what do you state as your funding goal and how do you share that message with your audience in a way that resonates? Here are some messages that don’t work well, as well as the ones that do…

Messages That Don’t Work Well:

#1 — I’m having a hard time at life, so fund my book

Kickstarter is about rewarding fans first and foremost with cool things. Come up with a book that people are excited about and build cool things around the book. It’s okay if you are also having a hard time at life, but that’s not typically the main reason that people back your project.

#2 — This book means a lot to me so fund my book

Your story and the reason behind why you wrote the book is secondary to the book itself. People are buying a book. The story and meaning behind the book are an enhancement of their enjoyment of the book.

#3 — Help me buy out my audiobook narrator (or something similar)

With this one, the book is already available and they can already buy the book on a retailer; this feels like “help me pay off my credit card” or something similar and is not exciting to people

#4 — You can now buy the books on Kickstarter also!

If your book is already out, there’s not anything exciting about backing it on Kickstarter, either additionally or in the first place. The person can just order it from Amazon or Barnes and Noble and probably will. They possibly have already bought it from a retailer and now this feels like a double dip, like you want them to buy it again. This is not a good use of Kickstarter; Kickstarter is about exclusivity, cool things, new things, and time-sensitive things.

Messages That Do Work:

#1 — Take this book to the finish line by helping me cover my production costs

This is a good catch-all as most people understand that there are costs to your personal time + editing, covers, and marketing materials. They also understand that a print book costs money to print. They like that the book is written already and you’ve met them halfway, too!

#2 — This series is launching exclusively on Kickstarter and you won’t be able to get it for 6+ months on retailers

This is a nice add-on to any messaging that you can add it on to, because it gives people a big reason to buy now rather than wait.

#3 — People keep asking me for X, so I’m willing to do it for Y amount of money — but you have to pony up

This is a good one if you have a strong fanbase for a smaller or less popular series. You have a small but dedicated fanbase, but you need them to pay more per person to get something cool made.

#4 — I’m creating a cool game or ancillary product based on the books, and it will enhance your enjoyment of the books

There are lots of other categories outside of publishing on Kickstarter that have really active and excited communities, so if your book lends itself well to a game, a card or tarot/oracle deck, a soundtrack, etc. then this could be a good route to go!

#5 — Help me get my audiobook(s) made (can apply to any format)

This is a good goal that resonates with readers, so we recommend it with the caveats that a) it might fund for a smaller amount than a print book launch and b) you’ll want to emphasize ebook and print book goals as print books are the most popular format in the Kickstarter Publishing category right now. Audiobooks are often currently used as stretch goals — and that could and probably will change in the future — but the marketplace is not there yet.

This is true of most book formats outside of print and ebook, so plan accordingly for a smaller campaign funding OR for needing to find more backers to your project.

It can be tricky to get your Kickstarter funding goal right, but these guidelines should help boost your confidence around why you might use Kickstarter in the first place, plus should get you into the right energetic space of how to speak to your fans about backing the campaign. No one wants to back a campaign where people are begging for money, so banish those words and that energy from your process immediately! Instead, focus on what Kickstarter is truly great at, which is helping authors make a large chunk of money from a small group of dedicated readers or fans.

Which Authors Will Do Well With Kickstarter? (And Where Should They Focus?)

I’ve been talking about writing the series on Kickstarter for a while, and it’s finally here! This series is continuing the next few weeks with additional posts:

• Which Authors Will Do Well With Kickstarter? (And Where Should They Focus?)

• Who Will Fund Your Kickstarter? And How Do You Reach Them?

• Which Genres Will Do Better on Kickstarter?

• Do You Need Kickstarter as a Successful/ Full-Time/ Six-Figure/ Seven-Figure Author?

Kickstarter Campaign Help on Youtube

We’ve compiled a list of 5 campaigns from authors who agreed to be a part of our video called What Makes These Successful Kickstarter Projects Successful? Can you guess what these authors did right to fund their campaigns well over the funding goals?

Watch here: kickstartyournovel.com/youtube

Watch this video at: KickstartYourNovel.com/Youtube

You can also watch Russell and I debrief on what went well and poorly in our campaign that we are running right now for Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter (which we project could end at $20-25k).

Back the Kickstarter Campaign

Are you an author who struggles to sell your book, who does financial gymnastics to pay for the covers, editing, and marketing for your book, or who is looking to expand your book catalog into new mediums, formats, or platforms? Check out our book, Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter, which helps fiction and nonfiction authors alike learn to use the Kickstarter platform. Go to KickstartYourNovel.com for more.