This YouTube artist is mid way through her second Kickstarter campaign to raise $10,000. What can we learn from a musician who’s done multiple Kickstarters?

Melissa’s Story

Over the last four years Melissa has been posting video performances of her own music and a few covers on YouTube.

Two years ago she launched her first Kickstarter campaign as “an experiment” and raised over $4000. She’s now in the middle of her second Kickstarter project to fund a full length record.

What We Know About Her First Kickstarter

• She offered one $10 reward that included a signed physical CD
• She had 256 backers which raised just $4,099 ($16 average pledge-per-backer)
• A $40 average pledge-per-backer would have given her $10,240!

What We Know About Her Second Kickstarter

• She’s offering 33 rewards this time (probably 15-20 too many!)
• The signed physical CD reward is $20 instead of $10
• She got a $42 average pledge-per-backer

Our Interview with Melissa

Levi – What specifically did you learn from your first Kickstarter and how are you incorporating that knowledge to conquer the current Kickstarter?

Melissa – When I did my Kickstarter campaign 2+ years ago, I didn’t know what to expect. I knew of a few musician friends who used it but the platform wasn’t as widespread as it is now. What I learned from that experience is that I should’ve opted for more rewards. Fans and supporters love different kinds of perks. All I did during my first go around was a $10 with the CD release. I figured to make it simple but I quickly realized that I should’ve at least added a little bit more money for the reward to cover for shipping and handling. They add up pretty quickly.

Levi  – How many people are on your mailing list and how have you been using it for your Kickstarter project?

Melissa – I didn’t use a mailing list last time but this time around, I’ve been using it. I have about 3,000+ email subscribers right now. However, a lot of my interaction have been on social networks (i.e. Youtube, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and etc.). Every avenue of communication, I think, helps get the word out.

Levi  – Would you consider doing a Kickstarter for every album release indefinitely? Any other thoughts on that idea as a DIY business model?

Melissa – To be honest, I go along with the flow. I don’t really know if I can do a Kickstarter with every album release. I think doing a crowd-funding project is fun because fans/supporters get more involved than usual. By the time your project gets released, they help spread the word about it already.

My approach has always been grassroots but whether you’re mainstream or an independent artist, I think there is great importance for marketing/getting the word out.

Kickstarter is definitely conducive for independent musicians because the way I look at it, it serves not only for funding but also, marketing is already integrated. It’s like hitting 2 birds with one stone.

The Take Away

Specifically, this is a very extreme example that shows the importance of an optimized rewards matrix and the power of a high average pledge-per-backer.  Music Kickstarters average $70 per backer.  The low end is usually around $30 and we’ve seen some projects hit $110.

This is also a cautionary tale about the dangers of low reward margin through lack of reward planning and design. If you don’t take this part seriously, you could raise $20,000 but absolutely screw yourself by not leaving enough margin for completing your project. It happens far more often than you can imagine.

A more broad but important take away is that those who’ve experienced a Kickstarter project have a massive advantage over those who’re first time launchers.  As Melissa eludes to, going through the entire process gives you a feel for the scope that almost no amount of preparation can show you.

Most of us learn best by doing, so it’s not until we’ve completed a Kickstarter front to back that we can register those big aha realizations about how it all works. I guess you could say that’s what this “100 Music Kickstarters to Learn From” series is all about!