First efforts

[wordslinger.livejournal.com]

I'm nervously making my first steps into crowdfunding with a free short story, though I will add a "tip the author" link to the very last page. As an experiment, the serial will run daily for five days.

Any wisdom on how I could improve this?

http://wordslinger.livejournal.com/278838.html

Comments

Hmm...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

It helps to put a "donate" button on your post. You might also want to offer some kind of perk for people who comment, link, and/or donate. Long-term or recurring projects tend to fare better than short-term or one-shot projects.

Check the "Memories" for this community; there are lots of articles on crowdfunding there, and you might find them helpful.

Re: Hmm...

[wordslinger.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I put a "donate" button on the last page. I do have a longer story (several) I can serialize, but wasn't sure how to go building up the readership.

Re: Hmm...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>>I put a "donate" button on the last page.<<

I suggest first and last posts for a serialized short story. That way people know immediately that it's crowdfunded.

>>I do have a longer story (several) I can serialize, but wasn't sure how to go building up the readership.<<

Here's a post on boosting your audience:
http://crowdfunding.livejournal.com/102299.html
You might also like the crowdfunding "how to" section on my website:
http://penultimateproductions.weebly.com/how-to.html

Re: Hmm...

[wordslinger.livejournal.com]

(scribbles lots of notes) Thank you!

Re: Hmm...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

*bow, flourish* Happy to be of service!

I do what I can to encourage folks to try crowdfunding. Feel free to ask if you have more questions. There are plenty of experienced creators and donors on here to talk with. Check back after you've done a few rounds of your project -- it helps to share progress reports.

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

Very fun! I enjoyed that a lot!

One thing to note - it's not really posting as a serial if you forward-date the entries; they won't show up on friendslists at the correct times (which is how I'm most likely to read them...), and they're all there just by clicking 'next entry.' I don't think LJ has a 'release at this time' feature, it just sets the date into the future and posts it then.

I also don't think it's overkill to add your donate button more often. It's a cute graphic, not too pushy.

Thanks for posting this!

[wordslinger.livejournal.com]

Well, you can tell what my level of sophistication here is! Thanks for the comments, and yes, I'll tack up the donate button. Resize it a bit.