Funding The Dream On Kickstarter

Part 2 How to screw up your Kickstarter project with Fabio Redivo.As a continuation of our previous conversation, Fabio outlines the other five things he did to contribute to the failure of his Kickstarter campaign.These are:6 - Not having a playthrough video7 - Not having a PNP8 - Rely on artwork only9 - A lot of money for the first project10 - Count on friends and family6, 7, 8 - Are in the same bucket. Fabio is a graphic designer and works as a brand director for a digital agency in NYC. He used to be in the comic book industry for 8 years as an artist and did a little bit of everything there.  He worked for big companies, and self publish, allowing art and design to become a part of his life. When he thought of his game, that's where his focus was. Art and design. He confesses that he had ideas for how the game plays, that it was so simple that he put it on the back burner and laser focused on showing his art style for the cards. He didn't bother to explain how to play with the beautiful cards h

It isn't often a guest reaches out to share their spectacular success. But Fabio Redivo wanted to share his mistakes so others can learn from them.Fabio is a talented artist and graphic designer who decided to create a card game around his artwork. Usually, it is the other way around. A game designer seems to be always looking for a good artist, but seldom is an artist looking for a game.Fabio shares 10 was he screwed up his Kickstarter campaign. In this episode we cover the first five:1 - False first steps2 - Not have the crowd for crowdfunding3 - Not being involved in social media and game community4 - BGG what?5 - Not having backed many projectsAs you listen, see if there are other areas that Fabio could have been better prepared.

How do you find your audience for your Kickstarter campaign?It is a fluid thing on how to hone in on your core audience. Always remember it is better to find new products for your current audience rather than attempting to find a new audience for your products or services.This is why it is always a good idea to start small, to use your beginning as a learning experience and an opportunity to get feedback from your early adopters.Building a buyer's persona becomes much easier. Then build more products for that core buyer persona.Much more shared by John and me on how to build your audience.Richard also recommends reading the book "Crossing the Chasm" to help you identify that core audience.

What's a hearth throb kickstarter campaign? Two years ago thousands of backers were robbed of their money for backing the Evil Dead 2 Kickstarter boardgame. Now, Tommy Gofton is trying to bring it back by having fans and vendors chip in to cover the costs and get all those thousands of people a copy of the game that never was made.Sounds a bit crazy...No, it sounds a lot crazy...but Tommy may be able to pull it off. Take a listen and determine for yourself if this is a real deal or just some wishful thinking.Looking forward to hearing your comments.

Richard Bliss Got Married. Why the two-week hiatus? Because I was busy getting married. I occasionally share personal items in my show, but this episode was all about what is happening in my life. I also wanted to thank all of you for your support. Recent decisions in my life have made it possible for me to dedicate even more time to make the show a success. And when you, the fans, reach out and share your own stories, it helps keep me motivated to keep going.In this episode, I also ask a favor...Help spread the show. There are so many great guests with great insights, that it helps when you, the fans share an episode.Also, take a moment to go to iTunes and write a review of the podcast. This also helps a great deal.And finally, please continue to support the show through Patreon. Every little bit helps and my new wife is cool with me spending even more time doing this. I want to show that it is having an impact.There you go, a personal episode to say thank you.Richard Bliss 

You have one week left in your Kickstarter and you're at 85%. What do you do? Laurence O'Brien from Wotan Games discusses actions and steps he is taking to generate the interest and engagement to reach that critical last 15%.And we ask several questions: Why do people back out before a project is finished and give the excuse that they will come back if the project funds?Also, if you surpass your goal at week two, but then backers cancel to drop you below your goal, did you fund?And does Kickstarter prevent you from backing out at the last minute as a backer if it would cause your cancellation to fail a project?We ask the questions but don't necessarily have the answers.Maybe you do. Listen and let us know

Comics and Kickstarter with Tyler James on the podcast, ComixLaunch.Richard Bliss is a guest on Tyler's podcast about Comics and Kickstarter called ComixLaunch. A lengthy conversation about a wide range of topics, and the impact Kickstarter has had on the Comic Book Industry.

Success through Failure on Kickstarter.Success on Kickstarter can be such a problem when it leads to so many failures. And a good failure can lead to long-lasting success. These are the lessons, Host Richard Bliss, takes away from his conversation with Guest Brad Talton of Level 99 Games.Brad successfully raised $25,000 on Kickstarter with no business experience and lost about $25,000 on the project. He discusses the three phases Level 99 Games has passed through on their way from success to failure to success. Brad talks about the his growth from sole proprietor to bad manager to being a failed business owner. And how all of this led to his success as a business owner today.

As a woman in the board game industry, and a successful Kickstarter project creator, Heather O'Neil, President of 9th Level Games hears has become a local resource to new Kickstarter creator, especially for women who are looking to raise money for their projects.Her advice is usually focused on getting a strong understanding on the financials necessary to create your projects, and it is oftentimes focused on the playtesting angle, making sure they have a strong project.One question I ask is, "How often are people seeking advice disappointed with your advice"The first disappointment is when she resets their financial goals. There is a lot more great content.You can find 9th Level games at 9th Level Games

Co-Host John Coveyou and Guest Marc Specter join Host Richard Bliss to discuss the challenges of non-traditional board games on KickstarterJohn Coveyou, with Genius Games, has launched more than a dozen Kickstarter projects, yet his current campaign, Nerd Words, made some mid-campaign adjustments due to the difficulty of convey the game's experience into a Kickstarter campaign. While the project has funded, it has not met the bar set by many of John's spectacularly successful hard-science games that have come before.Marc Specter, with Grand Gamers Guild, has launched Endangered, a game that tackles the many challenges facing today's eco-systems. This is a significant divergence from Marc's previous successful Kickstarter campaigns and shares strong similarities in the challenges from John's campaign.Together, John and Marc, discuss how to address the gamers market with group games and educational games without having them carry the negative labels of failed efforts by other projects i

Host Richard Bliss and Guest Aldo Ghiozzi discuss the merger of his company, Impressions, with Flat River Group.Flat River Group is one of the largest distributors of board games online through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, Walmart and even Bed Bath & Beyond. In addition, Flat River Group is one of the largest fulfillment companies for Kickstarter projects. Aldo discusses the theory of wholesale and distribution being 60% discounted and you use volume to make up the difference.Aldo also challenges the assumption that a good showing on Kickstarter translates into good showing in distribution. This is also has become more complex and no longer an easy assumption.Aldo discusses the sales patterns he sees in the industry and how to predict how well they will do in distribution.

Host Richard Bliss is joined by Narek Vardanyan, founder of The Crowdfunding Formula, a copy focused on helping crowdfunding project owners expand the reach and influence of their campaigns. https://thecrowdfundingformula.com/Narek shares his insights on what it takes to be a successful campaign on both Kickstarter and IndieGoGo.What's interesting, is Narek's company is influencing and supporting projects all around the world, while being primarily based out of Armenia. He joins the show from literally the other side of the world.

Host Richard Bliss and Guest Laurence O'Brien from Wotan Games dig deep into Brexit and the mess it has become. But in this discussion we also talk about Brexit: The Real Deal Kickstarter project. A game about the consequences of Brexit and the break up of the United Kingdom. You can find the project here on Kickstarter: Brexit: The Real DealLaurence and Richard have a great time discussing a wide range of projects, Past, Present and Future, as well as if I Richard should spend his honeymoon at UK Games Expo working the Wotan Booth.Richard and Laurence discuss Richard's book, Stealing the Show and some of the ideas on how to be noticed at conventions. You can find his book on Amazon at Amazon.com/author/RichardBlissYou have to check out the video on Patreon. Laurence appears as a disembodied head during the entire interview.Patreon account located here: Funding the Dream Patreon

Host Richard Bliss is joined by Luke Gygax, founder of GaryCon and son of Gary Gygax, creator of Dungeons & Dragons.The conversation is centered on Luke's observations of the emergence of D&D as a streaming experience with fans by the thousands tuning in to watch.Discussed is Dungeons and Randomness, the previous guest, and the ability to make a living playing D&D.Luke admits that a little over a decade ago he did not see this aspect of his life developing. But now that it is here, he has embraced it fully, enjoying the surge of interest in D&D and the number of lives it has touched over the years.Luke was kind enough to stay on after the show to provide some additional conversation for Patreon backers of Funding the Dream. You can find that content here at the Funding the Dream Patreon Page. Become a backer and show your support.

Host Richard Bliss and Guest Jason Massey talk about the coolest job ever! In this episode of Funding the Dream on Kickstarter the topic is how to make a living as a professional Dungeon Master who plays live on his podcast.Jason Massey quit his day job and dedicated his working career to hosting a podcast called Dungeons And Randomness. In the podcast, he and many of his friends, play D&D in the world of Theria.What makes this exciting for me, is that Jason is able to support himself off of the generosity of his Patreon backers. Jason's Patreon project generates enough great content and engagement that his fans allow him to make a living playing D&D. You can check out Jason's patreon here: Dungeons and Randomness PatreonAnd if you would like to support this podcast, you can visit the Funding The Dream Patreon page here: Funding the Dream on Kickstarter Patreon

Host Richard Bliss discusses with Guest Robert Burke about creating timed stretch goals. These are called Flash Funding Stretch goals.How do manage a flash funding stretch goal? What happens if you don't hit your goal in the time limit.Robert talks about moving stretch goals around to respond to customer feedback.Robert's project is The Silver River, a 4x game. We discuss what makes a 4x game.Richard backs the project live on this episode and discusses with Robert which pledge level he should be backing.Richard also shares stories about buying upgraded version of the games as well as his Fiance buying him games early in their dating experience.You can back Robert's project, The Silver River, here on Kickstarter: The Silver River

Host Richard Bliss and Co-Host John Coveyou are joined by Michael Mindes from Tasty Minstrel Games. Michael had just launched and cancelled a Kickstarter campaign because he knew he had done something wrong. Within two hours of launching the Kickstarter campaign, Michael knew they had missed on the offer and needed to take immediate action. Within three days, Michael was close to his funding goal, but knew they needed to pull the plug. If they had crossed the funding goal, he would have felt morally committed to follow through.He refers to it as a micro-failure. What Michael saw as valuable was not recognized as something people were willing to pay for. This episode Michael walks through the mistakes made and what they are doing to fix them for the next campaign.

Host Richard Bliss and Co-Host Thomas Umstattd Jr. who hosts the Creative Funding Show podcast, deliver a CrossCast episode to discuss Patreon and the power of the crowd to deliver consistent financial support.In addition, Richard shares how he let his fans down and apologizes for how he handled the situation ( or failed to handle it), when life happened.The hosts cover the idea of Patreon and how you can take advantage of it. It is a fun conversation that you will enjoy as much listening to as the hosts enjoyed creating it.

Host Richard Bliss and Guest A.J. Porfirio discuss game books and their live Kickstarter project. They have launched Graphic Novel Adventures Vol 2 on Kickstarter. A.J. and Richard discuss how to license intellectual property, how to maintain a brand.Van Ryder Games delivers strong narrative-based games with a solo-play angle. They have expanded into Adventure books because it continues with their brand of playing games that tell a story.How do you find intellectual property? How do you get a license for a series of books? A.J. is always looking for new content and found the game book called Captive, a solo game book. He had a personal passion for this kind of game. The key part of the story is that the game was difficult to find. Demand was there but supply was limited. He saw this as an opportunity.Richard has backed A.J.'s Kickstarter campaign. Here is the link for you to do as well: www.kickstarter.com/projects/vanrydergames/graphic-novel-adventures-season-2/description

Host Richard Bliss and Guest Eric Price, owner of Japanime games, explain why to bundle three smaller projects/games into a single Kickstarter campaign. Eric has built a company with Kickstarter and continues to make Kickstarter tightly tied to the growth of their company. Their current Kickstarter project, Three Worlds of Mystery, is a bundle of three different games with a similar theme and artwork that brings them together.Eric has launched 20 Kickstarter campaigns, using the momentum from each to bring success to the company itself.