What works?

[flutterbychild.livejournal.com]

What do you think distinguishes a crowdfunded art project that works from one that does not? Clearly defined goals? Incentives? Opportunities for audience participation? I am quite curious, as I work to develop a project of my own.

What is a landing page? If an artist has a single, ongoing (over multiple months) project, would it be beneficial to create one?

One more question: are patrons more likely to donate when they know where the money is going?

Comments

[aldersprig.livejournal.com]

Looking at visual art I've donated to and authors I have read/sponsored/interacted with, I'd say a couple things:
1) a product one wants
2) one's attitude in dealing with people.
I cannot stress the latter enough.

Donations for projects - people seem to enjoy knowing goals. Others can probably speak more to this.

Landing pages - I got this idea from ysabetwordsmith; here (http://aldersprig.livejournal.com/210626.html) is my landing page landing page. I write a lot, in various settings, so this helps people read through a single setting more tidily.

[flutterbychild.livejournal.com]

Ah, I get it! I got my landing page more or less directly from her as well. I have goals, but I'm loathe to identify them as they are directing related to helping me leave an abusive family situation.

[aldersprig.livejournal.com]

Aah, I see.

Could you do a ticker of "I am looking to raise XX$$?" without reason listed?

[flutterbychild.livejournal.com]

Yes, I think I'll have a target goal for each of the months of the project. I have some time, but not very much.

[aldersprig.livejournal.com]

That should work fine! Tickers seem to make people happy, too. Tickers, and donation goals. "If we reach $xx, then I'll make shinies happen."

Well...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>>I have goals, but I'm loathe to identify them as they are directing related to helping me leave an abusive family situation.<<

Not all goals need to be explicit. Consider such things as "personal growth," "improve family life," or "save up for moving expenses."

[red-trillium.livejournal.com]

As a sometimes-patron, I think quality over quantity, but at the same time you want to have regular updates (whether completed items or progress reports). Make it easy to know (1) your project, (2) your goals (financial and art), (3) any perks.

I like your landing page. If you are open for some suggestions? I'd suggest maybe just a little more explanation about each of the stories you have linked.

Also, where you say "donations help fund this project" perhaps a little information (ie--do you work on a certain project if you get a donation or does the patron get to put some money in your virtual hat and say "give me more of X story please"?). Is there a certain level of donation that gets you working on a story again or any amount?

Best wishes to you with your writing!

[aldersprig.livejournal.com]

Thank you, those are good suggestions!!

(edited to add) and I've done some updating, bot there and on my donor landing page.

[red-trillium.livejournal.com]

Glad to be able to help!

Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

As a patron, I agree that it helps a lot when a project's updates, goals, perks, and basic parameters are easy to find. If I have to hunt all over for those things, I get annoyed. This does not inspired me to shake out my couch cushions for coinage.

>>Also, where you say "donations help fund this project" perhaps a little information<<

Good point. The giraffe sale is a fine example ("I'm saving to buy a rug.") and I also like the way haikujaguar occasionally does a fundraiser to buy new paintbrushes.

Hmm...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>>What do you think distinguishes a crowdfunded art project that works from one that does not? Clearly defined goals? Incentives? Opportunities for audience participation? <<

Those are all important, along with some other stuff folks have already mentioned. I'll add a big one that hasn't appeared yet: persistence. Sometimes it takes a few tries before hitting on a project style that works for you. Other times you find a style right away, but it takes a while to build up an audience and donations. So crowdfunding success depends a lot on sheer staying power.

>>What is a landing page?<<

A landing page is where you want your project's links to point; it gives newcomers an overview of the project and may provide a table of contents or other links to important subpages within the project. This way people are not just dropped into the middle of something with no explanation. They have a starting point.

>> If an artist has a single, ongoing (over multiple months) project, would it be beneficial to create one?<<

Yes. Any project that expands to more than one page will benefit from a landing page to aggregate the information for new viewers.

>>One more question: are patrons more likely to donate when they know where the money is going?<<

Often, though not always. We still don't have a lot of hard data, but input suggests that people do like knowing where their money goes. This also lets them choose to support things they care about (i.e. putting a roof over a writer's head, vet bills for a sick kitty, buying new paintbrushes for an artist).

[red-trillium.livejournal.com]

I think any crowdfunded project that hopes to be sucessful needs to look like it's active. THis is one reason I haven't pursued the crowdfunding model for my photography at the moment, life is hit and miss with me and I would want to make it more regular so I haven't embarked yet.

Clearly defined goals is a draw for me. I want to know what the Creator hopes to achieve, either monetary or non-monetary (ie--finish this series, illustrate the Mahabarata set in modern cities, etc or reach X patrons sponsoring me or $x in donations).

I am shy so I want to know what participation a Creator would want from me as a patron and audience. Do you want comments, constructive feed back, happy with just "I like this part"? I don't like stepping on toes so I don't want to offer my opinions on something someone considers finished.

I like to know roughly where the money is going. I often sponsor for the "money helps me take time to work on this project" idea as much as "money buys materials for this project" and "money will help me get a heater/air conditioner/etc to make me more comfortable and able to create longer". I don't feel I have to know the details but at the same time I don't mind if someone shares it.