Funding The Dream On Kickstarter

Uwe Eickert has a very successful board game company called Academy Games. He has launched successful Kickstarter projects, all with niche interests, but have done very well.His board game, Freedom: The Underground Railroad, has been a delicate topic, but extremely well received. Uwe tracks every aspect of his customer base. He invests in important tools to keep track of his most important asset, his customers.Take a listen and learn a lot. I always do.

I like to bring on a guest who is going through the steep learning curve of a first time Kickstarter Project. Bernhard Hamaker launched his project moments before we recorded the episode. We discuss how he got to this point and why he was wrong when he thought he was ready and months later felt the time was right.Japanese The Game is a project that teaches you to speak Japanese at the same time you are playing a card game. Well illustrated and meticulously researched, the project has shown signs of an early success.

I met Rich Karlgaard at an event where he encouraged me to write a book about Crowdfunding. He said it was going to save small business in America. Over the past year, Rich and I have continued to work together and correspond, and this topic continues be on both of our minds.As the Publisher for Forbes.com, Rich is involved with a wide range of people. Very successful people. He is writing a book, due out in April, called the Soft Edge. I realized that the insights I was gaining from my conversations with him should be shared with a much wider audience. Rich isn't going to teach you how to run a better Kickstarter campaign, but he is going to teach you some important business principals to help you AFTER you succeed on Kickstarter.

Jamey Stegmaier, co-found of Stonemaier Games and prolific blogger, joins as my co-host for our third episode together. In this episode we discuss how to build momentum for your Kickstarter project. You may have the best project but if no one sees it or is aware of it, you will fail to find backers. Jamey brings his expertise to the discussion to outline a method for building momentum and buzz.

Julie Hedlund is a multi-book author with a successful Kickstarter campaign. Her children's book, My Love for You is the Sun, is a illustrated children's book and she is using a hybrid model for publishing, turning to a traditional publisher.If you are thinking of doing your own book or project, listen to her advice about why you may want to look at a hybrid model.

Monty Singleton has a Kickstarter project called Ghosts N Goblins, but he also has a passion for sharing. As part of his campaign, he has launched a 20 days of 20 hours of tweeting to help promote his project.To stay that organized you need tools to make your job easier. Monty lays out the 10 tools he is using for his Kickstarter project and how he is maximizing their use. I love Monty's energy and enthusiasm. We also discuss how he went about getting my attention, which can give insights into my listeners who are looking for ways to get noticed.

My Co-host, Jamey Stegmaier from Stonemaier games, joins me again to talk about the impact that manufacturing can have on the Kickstarter project and shipping.Each and every add-on and stretch goal affects shipping. Project creators will often add on more stuff and create multiple versions of the product. Jamey argues that you should be focused on minimizing the number of variations and versions. This keeps the logistics simpler. DON'T DO T-SHIRTS is my advice. Jamey breaks down the difficulties of subtracting from the value of the core value of the product when you add to many extra things.Jamey is co-founder of Stonemaier games and you can find his blog and advice at www.stonemaiergames.com

Sandra Tayler is a children's book author and business partner in a successful artist focused company. Her and her spouse have built a successful business and life focused on the creation of art, while raising four children and paying the mortgage. Sandra's story is a fascinating glimpse into how you can thrive in today's sharing economy. Her project, The Strength of Wild Horses, is her second book and first Solo Kickstarter project. Her website is OneCobble.com

My co-host, Jamey Stegmaier joins me to discuss how to offer free international shipping for your Kickstarter Project. Shipping continues to be the toughest part of any Kickstarter project. Jamey shares how he does it. You can read about it on his blog at http://www.stonemaiergames.com/how-to-provide-free-shipping-worldwide-on-kickstarter-a-comprehensive-guide/

How do you create a podcast? My listeners have asked for some tips and advice on how to go about setting up a podcast. I address the fear of public speaking, finding guests, and setting up the equipment. If you are looking for expert advice, this is NOT it. But instead, I share how I've been able to create my podcast and the success it has had.Episode is inspired by a question from one of my listeners.

Two things do really well on Kickstarter: Zombies and Cthulhu. Zombies I understand but Cthulhu has me scratching my head. Hundreds of thousands of dollars has backed multiple Cthulhu projects. I have invited Dave Sokolowski (@sokolowskidave) to explain it all to me. And if you are interested, you can listen in.

Backers are always worth more than the money they provide for a project. Roger Hicks has created a Back it for a Buck campaign to help Kickstarter projects expand their base to backers willing to pledge a $1 dollar. Listen in as we discuss the strategy around this approach

Charles Luzar is Director of Crowdfundinsider.com as well as a member of the PR committee for the Crowdfunding Professional Association and a member of the CF 50, a Global Think Tank of Crowdfunding Industry Experts. We discuss equity-based crowdfunding and its role in the evolving world of Crowdfunding

Devin Thorpe is the author of the crowdfunding book, Your Mark on the World, and the host of the Social Enterprise & Crowdfunding Conference in Snowbird, UT. He joins me to discuss the coming changes in Equity-based crowdfunding as well as cause-based crowdfunding and how they differ from Kickstarter

Kickstarter and Table Top Gaming have a close relationship. Aldo Ghiozzi, Owner of Impressions, a Table Top Gaming Distribution company, discusses the impact of Kickstarter on the retails and distribution channels of board games and RPGs.He and I disagree on many points but always enjoy coming together to discuss.

Laurence O'Brien, the London Whisperer, returns to talk about Camelot: The Build and how old is becoming new and most of those old game designers from the 80s are still around. We have a fun time, come join us.

Hitting the Launch button on your Kickstarter campaign is usually the last thing you do in the long build up to your campaign. Jeremy Burnham shares the extensive prep that went into their launch of Stack & Attack, currently running on Kickstarter

Tracy Hickman joins me for Episode 161 of Funding the Dream on Kickstarter to discuss the importance of planning beyond the project. Your preparation leading up to your project launch must also take into consideration the bigger picture of what happens after you fund.

Every Kickstarter project faces a dip in the middle. It is the time between the beginning and the end where backers and money slow to a trickle. It is also the time when you have to decide to keep going or cancel the project.It is called the Dip and I discuss it in this episode of Funding the Dream on Kickstarter

This episode covers the 3 P's of Online Branding. We discuss how to become famous and to build your personal brand. Just you and I talking about to use Social Media to build up your identity. And of course, how it helps your Kickstarter campaign