Diary of a Kickstarter Campaign: All or Nothing!

It's the countdown for the Erin Murphy Knits Alpaca Project! My Kickstarter Campaign has three days to go and is 82% funded. I've receeived several messages from my backers saying that they'd like to honor their pledges even if I don't reach 100%. That's not how Kickstarter works. Kickstarter is an "All or Nothing at All' platform. If I don't reach 100% funding, your credit card will not be charged. But I'm not worried yet. I feel great about the support of my backers and the enthusiastic messages that I've received. Hopefully when my project hits the 'Ending Soon' page on Kickstarter I'll pick up a few extra sponsors. You can help by telling your friends about the Erin Murphy Knits Alpaca Project! All rewards will be received in time for holiday gift giving. Wouldn't a hand knit alpaca hat make a great gift? http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/erinmurphyknits/erin-murphy-knits-alpaca-project?ref=category

Diary of a Kickstarter Campaign: The Project Video

By all accounts, the project video is the single most important component to a successful Kickstarter campaign. Only 30% of projects without a video end up being fully funded. Kickstarter strongly recommends that you post your video at launch. I didn't do that. I'm trying to keep the momentum going with my campaign, similar to the 'But wait, there's more!' pitch used in direct response. My Erin Murphy Knits Alpaca Project was up on Kickstarter for a full fourteen days before I added a video today. I think the thought of making a video can be pretty daunting. It doesn't have to be. My video was completely made by my twelve year old son, Dylan, during a two hour Apple Film Camp.

He produced it, directed it, filmed it and scored it. He wrote the music on Garage Band and used I-Movie. We shot it in one take. Some of the project videos on Kickstarter are pretty fantastic, with hired production teams and big budgets. Our video is decidedly low-tech with no budget. We included the basics that every crowdfunding video needs. First, you need to tell the audience who you are. It's definitely nice to put a "face" with the project. I also think it's a good idea to tell a little bit about what Kickstarter is. Crowdfunding is still a fairly new concept. Then you need to talk about what your project is and what you're trying to raise money for. Then, talk about your rewards. Kickstarter is a win/ win type situation. Backers support up and coming creative projects and in return they get something cool from the project. Tell the viewers all the different ways that they can help support your project. In addition to backing you, they can also spread the word via Twitter, Facebook and blogs. Finally, thank them! Crowdfunding is a team effort! My project is currently 33% funded with 16 days left in the campaign. Click on the link to see our new video and a huge thank you to all my supporters! http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/201192974/erin-murphy-knits-alpaca-project?ref=live