Like many writers and other artists, I prefer the company of
my computer, notebooks and pencils to the company of strangers. I have a small group of very close friends I have
known for a long time. I am, by my own
admission, an introvert at best and an oddball at worst. Many other writers also suffer from this
limited social dexterity, making self-publishing—which is heavily reliant on confident,
aggressive marketing—a challenge. This
small, quaint pool of close relations also seems to be a terrible springboard
into crowdfunding, a fast-growing, online resource for raising funds. I daringly chose to crowdfund my second
independent novel, The King of the Sun, as an impetus to begin a direct,
focused marketing approach. I am passionate
about the novel and I believe in it, though passion can easily fall prey to
shyness and introversion. Crowdfunding,
an avenue I was familiar with from work in the industry, was the perfect sphere
around which to pivot my novel’s message and requires a no-excuses brand of enthusiasm
to be successful. Bearing this in mind,
I determined to steel my nerves and throw my book into the world, social ineptitude
be damned.
My limited network of close friends and family was saturated
with the concept as soon as I had an available preview on Indiegogo. It’s now two weeks into the 45-day long
operation and I’ve now come into contact with the most important people in crowdfunding.
Many writers and readers are probably familiar
with the Five People You Meet in Heaven; there are four people you must meet
(and engage) in crowdfunding.
First Adopters
The first week of The King of the Sun brought in my closest
friends and family, resulting in $300, 15% of the goal. The next week brought in parents, siblings and
friends of the initial funders, opening the campaign to $400, fulfilling the pivotal
20% rule. Reaching this close, loyal network
is the easiest and the most (and last) reliable funders of the campaign. Friends and family should already be well
aware of your book (many should have already read parts of it), your rewards
and, especially, your timeline from your pre-launch activities. Notifying them the moment of your launch is
the best way to a great start. They
become engaged with the project not because of the project itself, but out of
love and loyalty to you. Reaching out
to these funders requires only the magic word and the ability to swallow pride
and reluctance to explain the book.
Explaining the project to the people you’re most comfortable with is
also the easiest way to fight your social anxiety when you graduate to larger,
further removed groups. These initial
funders are the champions of the project you rule and they are the most important.
Without a base of followers, your
campaign is at risk of looking pointless or fraudulent— both are death sentences.
Second-tier connections
After the first two weeks, contributions from your known network
begin to drop off and the campaign becomes heavily reliant on unknown contributors. These will begin with friends of your
friends, but, likely (and ideally), no one that you directly know. These contributors are an essential link in
the chain, making or breaking a hit.
Unknown contributors are also the first indicator of how effective your
message is, since your first funders participate primarily because of their
loyalty to you, not the project. They are also indicators of your first adopters’
true opinion of the project; if they are enthusiastic enough to compel their
own friends to join, they likely find intrinsic value in the project and are
not acting solely out of personal loyalty.
Encourage your initial bannermen to spread the message as much as
possible and emphasize how important that is.
Make it as effortless as possible for them to pass it on; fliers,
business cards or an email to forward is helpful. Make sure there’s no confusion about
crowdfunding, your novel or why you’re using crowdfunding for your novel.
Online Advocates
Online friends (generally) don’t know you personally, and are
inspired by the message and activism you portray online. Crowdfunding is heavily reliant on internet
marketing, so successfully drawing these funders is a big part of making a hit
crowdfunding campaign. Participation of
these followers indicates your message is clear, compelling and easy to spread. Consistent online activity with a previously
established base and repeating the value proposition of your project is one way
to engage online funders. Reaching out
to bloggers, mentors and activists in your genre willing to help with
promotions is another avenue. The larger
your online presence is to begin with, the more likely you are to connect these
important links in the chain. This can
be a problem for shy people; we don’t like to pester others, do we? Some of this itchy pestering feeling can be
alleviated by framing the message as simple awareness, not a plea for
funds. Using terms such as “I invite you
to explore my book,” is not a plea for help and is much more welcoming to
read. Also, focus on the books strengths
in lieu demanding readers; tell them why they should read it, not that they
simply should.
Gatekeepers
Information gatekeepers are the last link, make the
difference between marginal success and a big hit and are also the most
difficult people to reach. These are the
folks wearing a skeptic scowl standing between you and a mob of attentive
listeners; journalists, bloggers, radio jockeys, tweeple, reviewers. Engaging even a few of these influential
people can completely change your campaign overnight. Leveraging any contacts you have before your
crowdfunding campaign starts can make a wildfire start. Immediately contacting your local, school,
college or work press (paper, online, radio, tv) covers your closest
bases. Moving on to bloggers related to
your genre and other online resources is next, while seeking out other media to
carry your story (local magazines, smaller papers, art-interest publications
etc.). This can present another big challenge for
introverts . Asking complete strangers
for a favor can be a daunting task. To
manage this mandatory objective, it’s best to our strengths, in this case,
writing. Compose a brief template letter
to send to key gatekeepers that expresses your novel and why they should be a
part of it. Seek out the gatekeepers fitting
with your key readership and the groups most likely to get excited about your
book. Accept that these busy bloggers
and writers may not reply at all, may turn you away or may reply with annoyance. Then, take a deep breath and contact
them.
See how my second independent novel, The King of the Sun, is
doing on Indiegogo until October 13th, 2013.
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