Yes, I am in Pre-launch hell, and I need your help.
I am getting ready for the September 7th launch of Margo Intergalactic Trash Collector: Apocalypse in Pink, a collection of my work on the series from 2017 to the present day, and things have been getting a little wonky.
Back into the Fray
I do a Kickstarter about once a year or every 18 months, depending on how long the production takes for a one-man shop. I wear all the hats. Writer, artist, designer, even editor, marketing, and sales.
That is a long time to jump back in, and I have struggled with the learning curve, something that can be hard and expensive. As I am currently relearning.
One of THE most important things to determining how successful your Kickstarter is who shows up on launch day. Bringing your audience to the launch can make or break a campaign.
Just throwing a project up on Kickstarter and hoping that everyone is dazzled by its brilliance can be a recipe for disaster. I have had my share of failed campaigns, wondering why my “super-cool” project sputtered and died before getting across the finish line.
The Digital Mire
Determined to get as many signups as I can on board, I have launched an email advertising campaign 30 days before the Kickstarter. You may have seen it. If not, I hope to fix that.
Going into the second week, I have to admit, I made some mistakes.
Watching these numbers, I have had to course-correct. Fortunately, I still have some time to tweak it.
It is strongly recommended to use a video in the ad instead of static images. “Better conversion rates” is the idea.
The video can be one of the most daunting things to get right for your project. Many creators choose to hire someone and get videos professionally done, which works fine for them. But to be honest, as much of a primitive video creator as I am, I do enjoy having my fingers in every aspect of the process.
A/B Testing
When running a campaign, you often have the option to create A/B testing. A way to create alternate versions and test which is more successful.
That is where you come in.
I created two videos and would like to conduct some A/B testing right here.
Which video would you use?
Version A: I was aiming for a Saturday morning cartoon vibe, using audio I created for the music and images screen-captured from the interior of the book.
Version B: I swapped out the images and shortened the playing time of each to create a faster-cutting montage, overlaying music I purchased a license to use.
I am hoping you will let me know what you think before an algorithm comes back with its findings. I will post the results in the next newsletter.
Thanks for helping me out here. The link to the Kickstarter Pre-launch page is below. I hope you will follow along.
Keep Creating,
New in the Vault…
Clive Barker Trading Cards
In 1993, Michael Brown, Clive Barker, and I created this set of trading cards, distributed and published by FantaCo Enterprises.
I loved designing this set from the ground up and having the opportunity to spotlight Clive’s striking artwork. Michael Brown worked closely with Clive to describe each image on the back of the cards, helping make this set something truly unique.
The set came in two variations: the regular 50-card set and the deluxe 54-card set.
I have unearthed a few of these from my collection and am now offering a limited supply in my online store.
Here is the link:
Video B, it gets right to the good stuff. Here's Margo. Here's the crew. Here's the weird sci-fi world. Here's the action. I think it is the most effective.
Video A is cool & unique but B would generate more excitement IMO.