To run a successful Kickstarter campaign, you have to understand the concept behind the Kickstarter Ladder. I’ll use the Kickstarter for my next graphic novel — which is in full swing right now — as an example.

The Kickstarter Ladder works like this: You start your backer with a reward at a very low price. A digital reward works great here. Low cost and no shipping.

I’m Kickstarting two books at the same time, so the first rung of my ladder is actually two tiers at ten dollars each. Now, here’s where the ladder concept comes in.

For just fifteen dollars more, you can get both digital comics — which “saves” the backer five bucks.

And it’s a small. manageable jump to $25 dollars, which offers a whopping EIGHT digital comics. That’s a huge savings. All of these together would cost over sixty dollars in my store.

Here’s where I do something a little unusual… the jump here isn’t monetary — it’s a jump from digital rewards to a physical one… the book itself.

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Let’s stop and consider shopper psychology. Supposedly, I’ve already got my backer considering a $25 buy-in… now they can spend the same money AND get the physical book. It’s a no-brainer.

The NSFW version of my book has an extra 30 pages and it’s only five dollars more. Another easy step up the ladder.

And if you’ve been paying attention, you should have already guessed that I’d be offering both books for fifty dollars. My backer saves ten dollars.

Now that I have my reader considering a fifty dollar purchase, I start throwing in extras. For only five dollars more, I’ll draw a special illustration in the book.

For an extra ten, I’ll do the same thing, except with the NSFW version of the book.

And, once again, you shouldn’t be surprised to see artist editions of both books available for $110. That’s a saving of ten dollars if you had bought them separately

The ladder continues… each time offering more and more exclusive extras for reasonable increases in the price.

My highest reward tier is $500, at which point, the backer can actually write a five-page story that I will illustrate! I already have two backers at that level, and I expect to see it fill up before the end of the campaign.

If you take time to build your Kickstarter Ladder with an increased value at a reasonable jump in price, you will see each of your backers walking themselves up the ladder and stopping when their own perception of the dollars-to-value ratio hits its maximum. And that spells success for your Kickstarter

Having recently launched my first Kickstarter in over four years, I’ve been trying to get back into the swing of promoting. Here’s a list of ten promotional ideas that I generated to keep me on track.

Previews: I’ve built thirty previews that feature one- and two-panel excerpts from my graphic novel, and I display that in a consistent framework that pitches the Kickstarter and some key details. Here are a couple of examples.

Teaser Trailer: You can build very simple video previewing pages and share key details of your Kickstarter. I’ve used iMovie in the past, but I’m also a big fan of an app called vllo.

Character Introductions: Short, snappy intros can be a fun way of discussing your comic without seeming like overt promotion.

Quote Graphics: Books often use pull quotes, which are large displays of typography that feature a powerful statement or passage from the book. You can do the same thing with standalone panels from your comic that accomplish the same thing.

Behind the scenes: Bring potential backers into your creative process. Record a studio tour of your workspace. Share proofs when they arrive from the printer. This is a mystifying process for many folks. They’ll love seeing how this book comes together!

Interactive Polls: I would not offer a poll asking about preferences for rewards because, let’s face it, I can’t change those once the Kickstarter has launched! However, interactive polls on side issues in the book’s content can be a fun way of talking about the content without seeming promo-y! For example, If a character makes a decision in the storyline, you could ask if people thought that was the right decision.

Fan Art Features: Encourage and post fan art! It’s a great way for other artists to cross-promote with you. You have more reasons to talk about the Kickstarter, and you both get to expose your work to new followers.

Livestream / AMAs: Host live sessions — on TikTok, Instagram, Twitch, or a similar platform — where you discuss your excitement about the upcoming book. If you’re comfortable, you could even livestream yourself drawing an exclusive piece of art that will be added to the book! AMAs (Ask Me Anything) can also be a great way to drum up excitement!

Pinned posts and house ads: Here’s one I always forget. Go through all of your social media profiles and pin a post that announces your Kickstarter. Add it to your Linktree. Make sure there’s a prominent announcement of your website.

Reach out to previous backers: If you have operated Kickstarter campaigns in the past, go to those old Kickstarter pages and post an update. The people who supported that previous endeavor will get alerted to the fact that you have another project they might enjoy. You can also message Patreon backers who have canceled their pledge in Patreon’s Audience Manager. Remember, these are all people who have shown an appreciation for your work. They’ll want to hear about this new campaign.

A successful Kickstarter campaign requires constant promotion. Remember, it’s awfully difficult to repeat a message to a prospective backer when most social media algorithms are designed to deliver each of your messages to only a small portion of your followers. So you can’t pretty much put any worries of “spamming” people to rest. Moreover, keep in mind the old advertising axiom that suggests that a prospective buyer needs to hear an advertising message an average of seven times before they’re ready to act. Make a thirty-day plan and have the elements ready to execute before you launch the Kickstarter.