How to Use Kickstarter to Fund Our Children’s Book?

A children’s book costs a lot to promote and publicize. It is one thing to prepare such a book, but the self-publication of it is not viable for most authors. There are printing, illustration, and shipping costs for hard copies of the book, and digitization costs to fill in for its e-version. These investments can result in massive losses if the book is not a hit in the market. Today we will discuss the pros and cons of Kickstarter as a method to fund our children’s book.

There is a need for a low-risk method to promote a children’s book and raise funds for its publication. The perfect medium to do this is Kickstarter. It is a platform that welcomes new ideas and helps you reach out to more people. If people like your idea, they will invest in it to make your children’s book a reality.

But there are loads of people looking for crowdfunding for their projects. Your Kickstarter campaign must stand out if you hope to attract the interests of the community. Here are some pointers to incorporate in your Kickstarter project to ensure a successful launch:

Pre-research Successful and Unsuccessful Kickstarter Campaigns

If you look through the structure of previous Kickstarter campaigns, you will see patterns or similarities between the ones that attracted investors. It is no coincidence that these projects turned the heads of the people and were successful. These campaigns show you how to structure your Kickstarter profile for it to raise funds. It is a good idea to get in touch with the minds behind some of these successful campaigns to learn of their approach and promotion methods. The information to take out from this research is:

The way to begin and structure your campaign.
Existing children’s books and how you can differentiate yours from them.
The tone of personal and product description.
The average pricing and promotion perks.

You should also take a look at some of the unsuccessful Kickstarter projects. They will help eradicate any misconception of yours about what is best for your campaign. Thorough research is fundamental to your success on Kickstarter.

Precise End-goal Estimation

The purpose of a Kickstarter campaign is to generate funds for your project, which is end-goal. To set this amount, you need to calculate the total cost of publicizing and promoting your children’s book. It includes printing costs, travel expenses, shipping and delivery charges, and the cost to promote your book through an organization or outlet.

For realistic estimates to these costs, you need to figure out the market value of your book and its demand in the current age. You can do this by direct interaction with people who would take an interest in your work, or check the cost-to-income ratio of similar projects of the recent past.

Create An Appealing Video and Description

An attractive Kickstarter campaign is more than a description of yourself and your book. You can be good with words, but that alone is not enough to get to your end-goal. You must combine the verbal communication with a visual representation of your work. The best way to do this is through the creator video option on Kickstarter.

For this task, do not hesitate to hire a video editor and graphic designer. They can help improve the appeal of your campaign by leaps and bounds. Without a compelling video, you have little to no chance of gaining attention for your Kickstarter project. As such, if you do not qualify as an illustrator, try to collaborate with an expert in the field. You can also form a team with a project marketer to enhance the quality of your campaign.

Build your Social Status

Before the launch of your Kickstarter campaign, it is advisable to expand your social circle with valuable contacts. These are the contacts that can contribute to your children’s book in one way or another. One group of contacts are people who will take an interest in your book, such as a children’s firm. Such firms can provide suggestions on how to improve your book content, and they are potential investors for your Kickstarter campaign.

Once you finalize and launch your campaign, it is essential to remain active in its promotion. The first three days of your campaign are pivotal, and its popularity can rise exponentially in this period. Based on statistics, a successful Kickstarter campaign reaches a minimum of 25% of its end-goal within the first five days.

In the current age, social media and email are two of the best ways to reach out to the community. As such, make a list of email addresses and contact people directly about your book through them. Along with posts on social media accounts, you can also set up a website for your children’s book. A few promotional ideas you can utilize are:

Posting about your campaign on personal Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media accounts. You can give a sneak-peek of the content of your book in these posts.
Directly messaging children’s welfare pages and societies.
Interlinking your children’s book website, social media accounts, and the Kickstarter project.
Maintaining in-person contact with parents who have young children.
Reaching out to media outlets that develop children’s welfare programs.

Set Reward Packages

The viewers of your Kickstarter project may not get attracted to a simple children’s book. You need to give them a little something in return for their investments. You can do this by setting rewards as part of your campaign.

A few extras you can add to children’s book packages are coloring pages, gift cards, cute stickers, etc. You can also add the soft copy of your book with the hard copy in the shipping package, or come up with innovative gifts suitable for children. Remember to keep these realistic and do not put in something you cannot provide.

Start a Children Book Series

As your children’s book campaign progresses, you can start a second book. You need to show ambition and dedication in your work to attract more people. If people like and fund your first children’s book, they will look forward to the second book. It will bring you more investors and the possibilities of a partnership with children’s welfare societies.

You must mention the development of the book series in a section of the Kickstarter project description. It is also helpful to make a reward package with the entire book series.

Conclusion

A successful Kickstarter campaign for a children’s book relies on research and promotion methods. On top of that, the project itself must be compelling with a good quality video and an attractive design. You need to pay attention to detail with these steps.

With your campaign up and running, you should build on its success by improving the book publication management and developing it into a second project.

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