Illustration by Qiong Li
One of the most daunting parts of launching a Kickstarter project is “the ask”—asking friends and strangers to financially support your creative work. It can stir up feelings of self-doubt (“Surely there’s someone else out there whose work is more worthy”) and self-defeat (“There’s no way anyone will want to support me”).
You’re not alone in feeling this way; most creators go through it at some point. The successful ones work through it, and you can too. That’s what this edition of Working On It is all about.
Illustration by Qiong Li In a recent article for The Creative Independent, Siena Oristaglio of the artist support network Void Academy shared these tips for getting over the fear of asking for support: Notice how you feel when you give.
Reframe the ask as an opportunity.
Provide context by telling your story.
Make it personal.
Offer incentives.
Read the full article for more tips. To go deeper, this piece from the Void Academy team shares even more advice on asking for emotional and financial support. |
Narbi Price, The Lockdown Paintings
Kickstarter creators offer rewards as a thank-you to backers supporting their work. This might be the thing they’re making, like a book, a game, or the product they’re designing, or it might be related to the thing they’re making, like a postcard featuring an original artwork or a digital download of a song from an upcoming album.
Some rewards, like in-person workshops and tickets to events, just aren’t feasible right now. But this list of 70 ways to support yourself and reward your backers in lockdown offers some clever virtual alternatives to IRL incentives inspired by our creator community. Think digital sketches, PDF zines, custom playlists, online cooking classes, printable coloring books, and a whole lot more.