Comixlaunch: Crowdfunding For Writers, Artists & Self-publishers On Kickstarter... And Beyond!

Ever look at one of those huge Kickstarters and wonder where the heck did all those backers come from? If you've been listening to ComixLaunch for any length of time, you know that you can see of a successful campaign is only the tip of the iceberg and that most of what makes a launch successful is the work done in advance of the launch. In this session, Tyler breaks down in detail where the backers for his latest big Kickstarter launch are actually coming from, what actions he took to bring them out on day one, and the tools he uses to track and measure what's working at the start of a campaign.

After being furloughed from his job in the 2020 pandemic shut down, writer/artist Gary Parkin decided to finally go for it and publish his comic Vampocalypse #1. Fast-forward 18 months later and Gary has completed dozens of comics and raised over $100,000 on Kickstarter, which has let him focus on growing his imprint Underglow Comics full time. Gary shares his story of spending 15 years working dreadful jobs, to now making comics full-time and being 100% sure that this will be his life forever!

Backer adjustments are a normal part of any Kickstarter launch... but if you're not prepared for them, they can reek havok on a crowdfunder's mindset during a launch. In this session, Tyler shares the Three Laws of Kickstarter Backer Adjustments, and offers some helpful tips for putting them in perspective so that you can have an enjoyable, successful and profitable launch!

Offering variant covers has become the norm for comic book Kickstarter campaigns for a while now… but it seems more and more campaigns are offering risque or NSFW covers. In this session, Tyler chats with Rob Multari, creator of Night Wolf, about the decision to experiment with one such cover during his latest Night Wolf Launch. They're also joined by writer Charlie Stickney, creator of White Ash & Glarien, who's successfully offered NSFW material for his Kickstarter projects

Travis Gibb, a veteran of 13 amazing Kickstarter campaigns, spills his secrets about coming up with compelling "gimmicks" to entice backers to jump on board comic book Kickstarter projects, like his latest live anthology Cthulhu Invades Wonderland. Join Tyler and Travis as they discuss how to make strong projects irresistible!

If you had $500 to spend towards advertising your next Kickstarter launch, where would you put that money? And what if you don't want to throw it into Facebook ads? Are there better opportunities out there to get a stronger return on your marketing dollar? Let's discuss some options for the Kickstarter campaign manager on a budget!

As comic conventions pick up steam again after being sidelined during the pandemic, creators should consider them as strong audience growth opportunities. In this session, I'll share tips for creators to maximize audience growth opportunities at your next comic convention.

Years in the making, Bloom Pretty, a new fantasy comic from an all-female creative team, has had a breakout debut on Kickstarter this month. In this interview, Tyler James chats with writer/ creator Lisa Fowler about what went into bringing this new series to life. They'll also be joined by her partner Brant Fowler, publisher of Last Ember Press about sowing the seeds for a level-up launch!

Your crowdfunding campaign is over and it was a success! Before you can ship your rewards to all those amazing backers, you're going to need to collect some information from them to fulfill. In this session, we'll talk all about the tools Kickstarter provides creators to survey their backers to enable swift fulfillment.

For the first time in forever, comic book printing companies, and by extension comic book creators, are dealing with a global paper shortage, which has manifested in increased prices, longer production times, and greater uncertainty. Is it time for comic creators to panic? And what can comic creators do, other than panic, to adjust to the current paper shortage so that they can continue to move their creative projects forward?

Kickstarters are a TON of work and take a long time to plan, launch and fulfill, right? But, what if they didn't? What would a "quick and dirty" Kickstarter launch look like? And when might it make sense to launch one? In this episode, Tyler pulls back the curtain on his decision to serialize the ComixTribe series Happy Hill by Joe Mulvey and Rich Douek quick and dirty style!

Thanks to Kickstarter, we are in a "Golden Age" of the Comic Book Anthology. However, just making an anthology alone isn't a surefire recipe for success. In this mini-training, veteran five-figure anthology creator Russell Nohelty will break down 10 common mistakes creators are making with their anthology projects, and what to do to set them straight!

Is there an idea for a project that you've had for years that you simply can't let go? In this session, writer George O'Connor shares the process of bringing an original twist on the end-on-the-world genre to life in the form of the new anthology Toddler-Pocalypse. Find out how George worked with co-writer Diana Porter, recruited in-demand artists, and kept his blockbuster high-concept grounded in relatable human truths.

Want to charge your backers for shipping AFTER your Kickstarter campaign but not quite sure how to do it? Curious why some of the bigger Kickstarter launches use Backerkit to collect shipping charges instead of Kickstarter? In this deep dive, Tyler will share the pros and cons of charging shipping off of Kickstarter using Backerkit.

Many creators in the ComixLaunch community are experiencing bigger launch days than ever before… but some are also reporting that the Kickstarter "dead zone" seems to start earlier and last longer. This can be disconcerting for even veteran creators, which is why it's imperative that creators avoid attitudes and actions that turn backers off during a launch and adopt those that attract. In this episode, Tyler will break them all down and give some concrete, actionable steps creators can take today to right the Kickstarter ship.

Want to offer retailer bundles as higher end pledge tiers on Kickstarter? In order to do it right, you'll need to understand how retailers think and how to craft rewards that will be appealing to them. In this mini-training, Tyler will share some of his top tips for getting retailers on board your Kickstarter campaigns!

For decades, authors have promoted new book launches by going on tour, and in the past, Ryan Claytor has done just that. But in a pandemic era, for his latest launch for "A Hunter's Tale", he's pivoted to an online tour model. In this session, he'll share how he lined up 31 "online tour stops" in 31 days to get the word out about his project...and how you can do the same!

Coming off ComixTribe's most funded comic book Kickstarter launch yet, Tyler shares his unique approach and philosophy to stretch goals that help keep momentum rolling all campaign long.

In 2021, writer James Mascia performed the Herculean feat of launching ten successful Kickstarter campaigns within the calendar year! So, it should come as no surprise that James is interested in tips for overcoming the fatigue of constant Kickstarter launching. In this mastermind style session, a round table of ComixLaunch Pros facilitated by Tyler James shares both admiration for James' accomplishment and some advice for how to lighten the load heading into the new year.

The Oneshi Press team of Lynsey G. and Jayel Draco are looking to strategize on ways to warm their existing audience of primarily comic fans to some new offerings from them in other product categories and formats. Will a mostly comic audience warm to prose or other entertainment products? Or should they start they're audience building from scratch for new offers? In this mastermind style session, a round table of ComixLaunch Pros facilitated by Tyler James shares a wealth of tips for creators who offer a multitude of products to their fans.