Newsletter# 1: How to make an Indie Comic Campaign Successful….A Consumer’s Prospective

By Kerry @nerdygirlcreates

I am not a comic book writer nor am I an artist. I am not an expert on planning, marketing or the financial investment behind launching an indie campaign. I am a comic book fan and a long-time consumer. For the past five years I have backed multiple indie comic book campaigns both on Indiegogo and Kickstarter. I believe to have a successful campaign you need to be open to input from buyers. Lately I have witnessed many campaigns fail for multiple reasons such as poor marketing, falling behind schedules, poor quality, and the lack of communication with the customer base.

Below I have compiled a list of the “Do’s and Don’ts” which I consider to be the winning components a creator should take into consideration when starting and running a successful campaign.

Have a schedule- This may seem like an obvious decision but unfortunately many campaigns have failed at sticking to a schedule. I still have books I am waiting on that I have back with a release date of 2021, and we are now in 2023. I recently interviewed Tim Lim and Mark Pellegrini, the creators of “Kamen America”. We discussed how they have successfully achieved getting their books out in a timely manner despite both having fulltime day jobs. They stated that they create a schedule where they can set time aside to work on their writing and art. They also create extra time in case of unforeseen circumstances. Mark gave example of a time he was sick and could have fallen behind on the script but instead doubled his hours for that week to catch up. The most important part I took out of this discussion was they held themselves accountable and knowing that if they didn’t stick to the plan it would result in them letting their fans down. The failure to keep a schedule and the inability to get your books on time will sour the relationship with backers. You might have one or even two successful campaigns at first but eventually the constant delays will affect the sales of future campaigns. Create a schedule and stick to it.

Don’t be consumed by outrage content- Many indie creators use YouTube as a marketing tool. Many have seen huge success in calling out the mainstream media on these channels. Yes, it is a great way to bring in viewership and to connect with like-minded people who are also frustrated with the industry; however, I have witnessed it get out of hand. There are a few, whom I will not name, that have gotten so caught up in the battle against DC and Marvel that they spend more time making videos regarding it and not enough time on producing their books. Another issue is many viewers are growing tired of the outrage. In the beginning a lot of people were angry over the treatment of popular franchises and the disrespect towards the fan. Now these same fans just want alternatives. People want content they can enjoy. It is the reason manga sales have exploded. If you’re not going to produce it in a timely manner, consumers will find it somewhere else. Now I am not saying you shouldn’t cover the latest debacle Marvel announced. My point is do not make it your top priority. Don’t let is distract you from promoting and finishing the book you are supposed to be fulfilling for customers. If you spend four hours on a livestream screaming about the latest MCU movie for months on end people are going to notice. They will think that your more invested in being a content creator then a comic book creator.

Promote yourself and build a following- Speaking of YouTube, it is important to get eyes on you before even deciding to launch a campaign. I can’t back your campaign if I do not know YOU exist. Not everyone has the luxury of having a successful career in mainstream comics, so it is important to build a fan base. Use social media and content sites like YouTube. Find an interesting way to bring in viewership. Do videos on current news, showcase your art, do reviews on current comics, and most importantly network. Nothing helps you build a viewership like networking. Reach out to other content creators and appear on their livestreams or participate in interviews. The more you do the more you will get noticed. Once that happens make sure that you have content people want to watch. Experiment with different ideas until you find what works. Communicate with fans on platforms such as Twitter and Instagram. Show off your talents and interact. Eventually you will bring in the views. Be patient it takes a lot of work, and it is easy to want to cave in and do what will get you the most views quicker; however, like I said before you don’t want to rely on those tactics to sell your campaign.

DON’T GO BROKE FULFILLING A CAMPAIGN- One of the biggest issues a creator faces are finances. Many are not fortunate enough to have the funds to launch a campaign right away. Others do not do the proper research regarding the cost that will be involved in producing their books. First and foremost, create a budget. List down every expense that will be part of the creation. That includes the small items like pencils and pens. Yes, it sounds crazy but once you have an idea of what the expenses are you can plan for it. A customer is only going to get frustrated if they see you’re falling behind on a campaign because your ran out of money before you could produce any product. They are also going to question what you’re doing with the money they gave you. It’s not a good look so be vigilant and make sure you know the cost that’s going to go into your campaign before you even launch. Also, you want to make sure you budget for the unexpected. No matter how prepared you are for the campaign something will eventually happen. You are going to want a safety net to make sure your campaign doesn’t end before you get to the finish line. Finally, if you can avoid it do not borrow money especially if you haven’t planned properly. If your campaign falls apart, you are going to be responsible for not only paying back the customers but the loans as well.

Quality is important- Backers are usually going to pay more money for a crowdfunded comic than they would a mass-produced comic they can purchase at their local comic book shop. Nothing is more disappointing to a customer than spending $30 on a book with cheap paper, bad art, and horrible writing. A lot of these customers that are coming to you have already experienced the worst thanks to current mainstream comics. They do not want to pay twice the amount for a book that is just as bad or worse. Budget in the talent you need to assist with the work (Artist, inker, colorist, etc.). Research where you can get the best quality paper, printing, shipping material, and more for a reasonable price. You want to keep bring customers back for each campaign not chase them away. I do a lot of indie comic reviews on my channel and some of my biggest complaints have to do with the writing. There are not many creators who consider bring in a professional editor to look over their books to see if there are any issues that need to be addressed. It is jarring to read dialogue that sounds less like a conversation and more like a book report. Also, I hate having to pull out the red pen to mark the spelling errors. I do not want to feel like an English teacher marking your grammar mistakes on an essay. Please hire an editor before you send anything to print.

And finally.

Do not be afraid of feedback- The biggest sin committed by creators who successfully funded a campaign is to ignore consumer feedback. I don’t know if it is because they feel backers have no idea about the creative process, think it is an attack on their work, or a vendetta to harm any future campaigns. Please put your ego aside. Not every person providing criticism is out to destroy or mock you. You can learn a lot about your work through those who have read it. Be wise enough to determine what is constructive criticism and what is not. This right kind of feedback can help you improve on the next campaign. Going back to my interview with Tim Lim and Mark Pellegrini, we discussed a moment when Tim read feedback regarding a previous volume of Kamen America. The critic was disappointed in the lack of character development and the need to focus mostly on the action. Tim recommended to Mark that they work together to improve the current volume by rewriting a large portion of the story. Through teamwork the duo was able to successful rewrite the story to create a balance between the action and personal development of the characters. That volume is one of my favorites in the Kamen America series and one of the most highly praised. Feedback is necessary to improve your work. Discrediting that feedback will only turn buyers off and stall your progress. I am not telling you to let them influence the entirety of your story. I am telling you to be smart and look at where you can benefit from these critics.

As a consumer and comic book reviewer it is frustrating to watch creators struggle to get their campaigns funded. It is also annoying when a campaign does fund but the product ends up either late or lacks in quality. I know this isn’t everything a creator needs to be aware of, but it is some of the biggest issues I have seen as a backer of multiple campaigns. Comic book production is not an easy task. Running a campaign and market it is also hard work. Content creating is time consuming. You need to plan accordingly. You want to impress the consumer and most importantly keep them coming back for each new campaign. If you can take my recommendations seriously and put in the effort, I believe you could have a successful campaign.