Business Questions

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

This is an opportunity for folks to discuss the business aspects of crowdfunding. What would you like to know about cyberfunded creativity and how it works? Do you want advice on a current or planned project? Ask your questions in a comment on this post.

Comments

[flutterbychild.livejournal.com]

What are some best practices for planning and executing a crowdfunded visual arts project?

Hmm...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

The most successful examples I've seen have included:

* Free art days. People can leave a request and a get a picture. Usually donations make it fancier -- starting with pencil, then moving to B/W ink and finally color. Sometimes donations get you a bigger print. Other times a sketch may be refined in stages as people send donations toward it.

* Pick to publish events. A sample of things, such as sketches from a sketchbook or photos from a photo shoot, will be posted free. People may get to vote on what types of things are in the free sample. They can donate to publish more images, and these are usually cheap.

* Supply drives. The artist needs replacement brushes, paper, paint, a new gadget, etc. and raises money for it. Donors get such perks as photos of the newly purchased item and scans of art produced with it. These are often step-by-step details for art mavens.

* Feedback loops. New projects that connect with older projects can draw on existing audience pools -- for instance, illustrations of characters or scenes in stories, creating digital props for use in 3D art programs, etc.