{"id":5006,"date":"2014-12-03T21:16:21","date_gmt":"2014-12-04T04:16:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tommorkes.com\/?p=5006"},"modified":"2023-05-25T12:13:30","modified_gmt":"2023-05-25T18:13:30","slug":"the-complete-guide-to-crowdfunding-your-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tommorkes.com\/the-complete-guide-to-crowdfunding-your-book\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Crowdfund Your Book (11,079 Word Guide - FREE!)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

UPDATE:<\/strong> thanks to all your support, I finished my crowdfunding campaign with $12,979.00 in preorders<\/strong><\/a>. The last few days saw the crowdfunding campaign skyrocket - something I did not predict happening at all. This has been a whirlwind ride and I'm so grateful - so thank you! If you're interested in being notified about the book when it releases, to hear about its progress, or be the first in line to order the book when it's in all major online bookstores, sign up here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Icarus Deception: raised $287,342 in crowdfunded presales<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

In July 2012, Seth Godin started a campaign to fund the production of his latest book: The Icarus Deception<\/i>. Godin did this through a platform called Kickstarter.com, which allowed his loyal fanbase to pledge funds to the book before it was finished and ready for distribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Godin set a minimum funding goal of $40,000 (enough presales for a traditional publisher to take notice and sign the book for distribution).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the end of his 30 day campaign Godin generated $287,342 in presales of his yet to be finished and published book<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is crowdfunding. And crowdfunding is an incredibly powerful technique that any author can use to fund his or her book\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But only if you can effectively market and promote your crowdfunding campaign.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In today\u2019s blog post, I\u2019m going to show you how.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Crowdfunding Works<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Crowdfunding allows any creator the ability to pre-sell a product in order to raise the funds necessary to build and ship it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are three pieces to the crowdfunding puzzle:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. The creator (aka crowdfunder). <\/b>This is the author, artist, or entrepreneur who is attempting to fund the production of his new thing (novel, artbook, kitten mittens, whatever).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. The financial backer \/ supporter \/ pre-orderer (aka crowdfundee...I may have made this term up). <\/b>This is the person who commits funds to the production of whatever the creator is attempting to fund. This person does not get an equity stake in the project (not in the context we\u2019re talking about, although platforms like this are starting to appear), but generally receives some great rewards and discounts for being an early supporter.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. The platform. <\/b>This is the place where the exchange takes place (more on this below).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    In exchange for the support of early adopters, crowdfunding artists, writers, and creators have the opportunity to offer some pretty awesome rewards and discounts, exclusive for the length of the campaign (or until they\u2019re sold out).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    By crowdfunding, Seth raised $287,342 in just 30 days - before he had to print a single book. This was more than 7 times the minimum threshold required to fund his book production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ever since watching this success story in action (and many more just liked it), I\u2019ve wanted to crowdfund a book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Two weeks ago, I finally pulled the trigger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Collaborate: The Modern Playbook for Leading a Small Team to Create, Market, and Sell Digital Products Online<\/a> is now available for pre-order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In less than 2 weeks, I\u2019ve been fortunate enough to fully fund the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But just because I\u2019ve fully funded my project doesn\u2019t mean the doors are closed. If you\u2019re still interested in being a part of Collaborate <\/i>and want your advance, limited edition hardcover copy (plus access to some over-the-top rewards), go here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Click here to support Collaborate<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Thank you so much in advance for your support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    4 Reasons You Should Crowdfund Your Book (With Crowdfunding Examples And Success Stories)<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

    Simon Sinek<\/a>, motivational speaker and leadership instructor has a saying: \u201cstart with why.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    All great leaders and organizations - the ones people embrace and follow - have a compelling \u201cwhy\u201d or reason they do what they do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In my opinion, this concept ought to extend beyond leadership to anything you and I do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So before we get into the nuts-and-bolts of crowfunding, I want to show you why <\/i>crowdfunding matters - financially, creatively, and otherwise - so we can better understand the how <\/i>later on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    #1. Crowdfunding Lets You Activate Your Audience and Catalyze a Movement<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Crowdfunding isn\u2019t simply a pre-order process - it\u2019s an opportunity to get your biggest fans and supporters rallied around a singular goal.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    \"-\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

    The power of crowdfunding is this: it gives creators a reason to ask for support, contributions, and sharing, because we\u2019re not simply looking for sales (conventional presale), we\u2019re asking for help to turn an idea into reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For those who leverage crowdfunding the right way, it\u2019s a meaningful experience that lets your audience, readers, and supporters be an integral part of your project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When AJ Leon turned down a traditional publisher for his first book, some people thought he was crazy. A traditional publisher is the holy grail for authors, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Instead, AJ decided to activate his audience through a crowdfunding campaign and inspired them to be a part of the book he (and his happy readers) originally wanted to create.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Within a few hours of the campaign going live, AJ fully funded his book. Within 3 days, AJ had tripled his minimum funding goal<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Could AJ have been successful if he simply offered his book as a pre-order? No doubt. But by leveraging crowdfunding, AJ gave his loyal readers (me included) a great opportunity to share and spread the word. If AJ didn\u2019t hit his minimum funding goal, the book wouldn\u2019t exist. What an excellent opportunity to help a creator who chose himself (instead of waiting for a gatekeeper to choose him).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    #2. Crowdfunding Validates Your Book Before You Write It<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Ryan Hanley, the founder of ContentWarfare.com, has spent the last several years building an audience of people around the subject of spreading powerful, relevant messages that change lives.He\u2019s done this by consistently producing and delivering actionable content on a weekly basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And he\u2019s done it absolutely for free for years.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    \"-\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

    So when Ryan told me he was interested in writing a book, I directed him to Publishizer.com - a crowdfunding platform for authors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Because Ryan had an audience and had built a reputation for himself with the work he was doing\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But he hadn\u2019t written the book just yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What if he spent years writing the book only to find out his audience wasn\u2019t ready to pay? After all, when you deliver so much high value content for free, there\u2019s a chance that people won\u2019t pay for your work when you put a price on it (or so some marketers gurus would say).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Long story short, Ryan launched the book on Publishizier and raised over $10,000 within 30 days.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now Ryan knows for sure his book is something his audience wants. Even better: he has the funds to create and ship it professionally (just check out his cover<\/a> courtesy of Mars Dorian).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Books take a long time to write. Good books even longer. Who wants to spend years writing a book that no one reads?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When you crowdfund your book, you\u2019ll know within 30 days whether your idea is something people care about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Note:<\/b> I\u2019m not talking about hobby writing here. If you want to write a book just for the fun of it, you should, regardless if people read it. However, if you\u2019re in the business of writing (being a paid author), you can\u2019t ignore reach and sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    #3. Crowdfunding Creates Eager Anticipation<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Leo Babuta is the founder of ZenHabits.net.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    \"-\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

    For the past several years, he\u2019s built an audience of hundreds of thousands of loyal readers who resonate with his message of simple, healthy, better living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Because Leo has created so much consistently impactful content for his audience (notice a trend?), many of them line up to buy anything he creates no matter what it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If there\u2019s one person who doesn\u2019t need to crowdfund a book for financial reasons, it\u2019s Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Yet Leo is leveraging the power of crowdfunding to launch his latest book. He\u2019s already more than tripled his minimum funding goal<\/a>, raising over $140,000 in a couple weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In the same way that crowdfunding allows us to turn our book into an event that activates and catalyzes our audience, it also creates hundreds (or in Leo\u2019s case, thousands) of eager fans, waiting for your book. The cool part is, the person crowdfunding can include his supporters in the process of creating, printing, and fulfilling orders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now instead of \u201cHey, here\u2019s my book. Buy it.\u201d you have an opportunity to share your story and journey, and to make your true fans a part of the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Would it be nice to have dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of people eagerly awaiting your book before it ever hits the shelf?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Exactly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    #4. Crowdfunding Legitimizes Your Self-Published Book<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Let\u2019s be honest: there is still a stigma to self-publishing.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    \"-\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

    If you say you\u2019re a traditionally published author, peoples ears perk up. If you say you self-publish your own books...well, anyone can do that\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As a boutique publisher who has published multiple books, as well as someone who has self-published his own, I know firsthand this is an unfair response. The quality of self-published books are fast approaching the quality of traditionally published books. In most cases, there\u2019s no noticeable difference (especially if the self-published author invests the time and money to hire the right people to make it great: editors, designers, etc.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    However, a successfully crowdfunded, self-published book receives instant credibility through social proof:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. crowdfunding shows us how many people have ordered your book<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. crowdfunding shows us how much money has been raised to publish your book<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      And this type of social proof can be leveraged in many ways to build your personal platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      In 2013, Natalie Sisson, founder of thesuitcaseentrepreneur.com, successfully crowdfunded<\/a> her new book (appropriately titled: The Suitcase Entrepreneur<\/i>). Natalie already had an established platform with a devoted following, but crowdfunding her book gave her the opportunity to activate and catalyze this audience. Not only did she fully fund her book, but when it was officially released on Amazon, it became a best-seller almost overnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      She has since leveraged this success into appearances in major press like Yahoo Finance<\/a> (among many others).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Yes, anyone can self-publish, but how many can raise thousands from their supporters before the books been written?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The Best Crowdfunding Site for Your Book<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

      In the past few years, crowdfunding has blown up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The first crowdfunding platforms started in 2003 but really gained traction in 2008 and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      These included: ChipIn (2005), EquityNet (2005), Pledgie (2006), Sellaband (2006), IndieGoGo (2008), GiveForward (2008), FundRazr (2009), Kickstarter (2009), RocketHub (2009), Fundly (2009), GoFundMe (2010), Microventures (2010) and Fundageek (2011). (source<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      And the trend hasn\u2019t stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"crowdfunding<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      There are even more crowdfunding platforms today. In fact, it feels like there\u2019s a crowdfunding platform for every person, every niche, and every purpose on the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Just yesterday I found a crowdfunding platform for combat disabled veterans<\/a>. It doesn\u2019t get more niche than that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      When it came to crowdfunding my book, there were only three real options (since I\u2019m not combat disabled):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      1. Kickstarter.com<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      2. Indiegogo.com<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      3. Publishizer.com<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        I\u2019ll briefly cover each and the thought process behind why I chose the one I did (Publishizer).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Kickstarter.com<\/b><\/h1>\n\n\n
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        \"-\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

        Kickstarter makes the list for several reasons, not least of which is the fact that South Park ripped on them<\/a> earlier this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        In all seriousness, Kickstarter is one of the most popular crowdfunding sites on the internet. Like Google, Kickstarter is commonly used as a verb (\u201che kickstarted his latest book\u201d), and has become synonymous with crowdfunding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Every day, hundreds of new projects are started on Kickstarter. Of those, about 45% will be successful<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        A couple of great reasons to use Kickstarter:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        1. Discoverability.<\/b> Kickstarter gets a lot of traffic and there are some powerful ways to get your book discovered on the platform (creators can set where their project originated and visitors can filter based on location; every project creator you support on Kickstarter will be notified when you start a campaign, etc.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        2. Trusted name brand.<\/b> Kickstarter is known in the online community and is synonymous with crowdfunding. Trust is important when you\u2019re asking people to pay for something that doesn\u2019t exist yet.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          Lots of people and companies use Kickstarter to fund their projects, including many authors. The two books I\u2019ve mentioned earlier - by AJ Leon and Seth Godin - both used the platform for their books. Leo Babuata is currently crushing his book\u2019s funding goal<\/a> right now on the platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          That said, there are a couple reasons I didn\u2019t go with Kickstarter:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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          1. I\u2019d just be a number.<\/b> Kickstarter doesn\u2019t care about me nor would I get any one-on-one attention. I\u2019m not high maintenance, but when you\u2019re launching a product or service using someone elses platform, I like knowing I\u2019ll have support from a human being.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          2. I\u2019d get lost in the crowd.<\/b> Kickstarter\u2019s size is a double-edge sword - great that lots of people visit the site but not so great because your project can easily get lost in the crowd.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          3. Strict Guidelines.<\/b> Kickstarter has the most rigid guidelines of the three crowdfunding platforms mentioned. Because of this, I\u2019d be limited in exactly how I set up my crowdfunding campaign as well as what tiers and rewards I could offer. I wanted creative control over this process, so I chose not to go with Kickstarter.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

            Pros and Cons of Using Kickstarter.com to Crowdfund Your Next Book<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

            Fees: <\/b>5% + Amazon fee (3-5%)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Pros:<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n