Compared to most of the artists we have been featuring in our 100 Music Kickstarters To Learn From series, Hans York is old mature, both in years and in wisdom!

His Kickstarter project is fairly straight forward…

The video is very competent and includes a good, straight forward Call To Action.

His project description is artistic and transparent.

His packages look good enough at first glance and his $5,000 level, which drew one backer, is very remarkable:  first, someone pitching in $5,000 is just remarkable and, second, the fact that it is for a large, original, mixed media painting by Hans is rad!

But what Hans really has to offer is his wisdom.  Whether you have launched already or are still in the planning stages, hearing what Hans has to say can really set you at ease.

View Hans York’s Kickstarter

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HANS SAYS RELAX

I am going to include the transcript of our interview here simply because Hans hits on some great points.

OUR INTERVIEW WITH HANS YORK

L&R: What was the biggest problem/frustration/challenge/fear of hitting the “launch” button?

Hans:   did I say the right thing, did I make my goal clear enough, is there still a stupid typo somewhere hidden, is my video short enough and gets the message across, you get the gist!

With all the folks I had on my list and was sure they would pledge, I was stunned by who really came forward. All in all more folks that I did not expect to pledge did so, and the ones I would have bet my live on it did not. Why? I honestly have no clue, in a few cases it might be the resources. Some might be the medium and limitations of the internet and Pledge method. Some folks would have done Paypal – some hate Amazon:) You see there is always something.

Again, the best tip I can give to anyone going for a campaign is “DO NOT TAKE ANYTHING PERSONAL” This whole experience might actually be a spiritual awakening:)

L&R: How many people are on your mailing list and are you using it for your Kickstarter project?

Hans:   First of all Kickstarter has been a very humbling experience for me. I have been on the road for years and gathered a lot of fans on the way. My email list is about 3000, FB friends about 4700, FB-fanpage around 8000 and Myspace friends are roughly 25,000. The social media “friends” don’t always count as you can imagine they too have an adgenda. The Email list and FB friends (not fanpage) are more crucial for the success of KS. Actually – family, community and close friends are, because they have to listen to 30 days of doubts, ups and downs, and the general frustration about short term memory and lack of attention span! That’s where the humbling experience takes a hold.

If you’re attached to the outcome you’re doomed. There are so many factors that one impossibly can count in at the beginning. So the best attitude is grateful excitement to launch into an adventure!

L&R: Any other thoughts, experience or hindsight that you think would help?

Hans:  I chose the 30 days because a month seemed long enough and I did not want to post and think about it for any longer. Also, if you can’t do it in a month – you can’t do it!

If I had to do it again I would not have chosen the timeframe between Oct/Nov. Unfortunately it was pressing to get the album promoted and waiting until next year would have been not advisable. If you look at the successful campaigns you see which months of completion are favorable.

Express gratefulness even when you’re frustrated. Stay with the ones that pledged not with all the rest that YET have not come forward.

L&R: Thanks, Hans!

THE TAKEAWAY:  STAY POSITIVE

• Do not take anything personally
• Be grateful and excited in your new adventure, detach from the outcome
• Stay positive when you are frustrated.

Clearly, you need to be mindful in your Kickstarter campaign.  But getting down when things are rough or not going as expected is not a good response.

We have seen several Kickstarter projects over the past few months that were half way or further in and had only hit a quarter of their funding.

Some get discouraged, give up, and pack it in.  Naturally, they fail.

Others dig in, focus their vision, and keep reaching out to fans.  Almost all of them succeed.  It isn’t by accident!