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[MillionDollar Belt Sander]

I set up a campaign on Indiegogo to raise funds for an idea I have... but I don't seem to be getting anywhere.

Anyone here used a crowdfunding platform successfully in the past?   Is there any secret to getting exposure?  I've tried blogs, twitter, facebook... all the standbys.   Problem is no one is sharing outside of my immediate circle.

Originally I had three "big names on the internet" willing to promote my project as it was something they were into,  but here we are a week in I haven't heard from them or gotten so much as a mention.

Going forward from here, any advice or how-to suggestions?     I don't want to resort to spam-listing my campaign,  as I hate it when other people spam me.

[LTK]

We're an audience. Why don't you share it with us?

[MillionDollar Belt Sander]

Wasn't sure if it was proper to link it directly... spam, advertising, asking for $$$ and all that. 

[pwhodges]

I think it's OK among friends; someone with no other interest in it might have a suggestion how to improve the campaign, for instance.

[MillionDollar Belt Sander]

http://www.indiegogo.com/plecogrouptoyworkshop/x/2091965

Notes:

1)  Person working on video vanished after slapping what we have together at the last moment.

2)  Person who was supposed to edit/proofread my text went poof as well.

3)  I had three "internet celebrities"  (A blogger, an open-source guru and a webcomic artist) lined up to push this idea.     Each of them pledged via email to donate $5 and either blog, tweet or otherwise expose this project to a wider audience.  Of COURSE promises mean nothing, it's just text on a screen right?

I have someone lined up for this weekend to produce a better video with animation,   and the text thing...  Grammar-Patrol DEPLOY!!!!   

In a nutshell,   my goal here is to acquire one or more lower-end 3D-printers for design tryout,  and build a website/forum/file-hosting platform.     What sets us apart from other 3D printer pattern-houses is I intend to take each design and with the help of the community OPTIMIZE each pattern.  We will the create a profile for two or more printers and offer said pattern as "point-click-print."

This eliminates the need to hack, fiddle, tweak and otherwise deal with the &(*&( involved in trying to make downloaded patterns work on your machine.

I chose building blocks as the primary theme as it is very easy to make compatible-style building blocks, as well as original designs.     Vintage Toy spare parts is my second theme,  as I collect original GI Joe and Transformers,  it would be nice to have some of the patterns in one place for making missing guns and wheels and other bits.     Finally,  space-ships.    My friends Borgman and Highway Hoss are avid makers of 3D spacecraft on Sketchup,   this would give them a chance to put their original works in the hands of people who like sci-fi space-craft.


Now,  if this is something you can get behind by all means donate.     That's not what I am asking here though...  what I need is exposure to a wider audience.   The more people I can get looking at my campaign the more I'll raise.

[nekowafer]

You might try people that play miniature games as well, like Warhammer. Being able to modify/make a part for a miniature would make a lot of geeks very happy.

[MillionDollar Belt Sander]

You might try people that play miniature games as well, like Warhammer. Being able to modify/make a part for a miniature would make a lot of geeks very happy.

As long as it's understood that I just provide the patterns,  not the pieces. 

Can you recommend any communities to visit?

[Abyssalin]

This is quite an interesting concept, but i am quite confused about the details in particular, is the campaign just about creating lego like products from a 3D printer or would this be optimised for almost anything.

As Neko pointed out rom a standpoint 3D printing would be a godsend in an area such a WH40k, Using the patterns would be great in people being able to build their own play tables and such.

[MillionDollar Belt Sander]

Initially the idea is to make building blocks (such as Lego) from a 3D printer at home.      There are a variety of designs out there and the geometries are simple enough that it wouldn't take long to create optimized patterns for each of the major printers.

Building blocks also have a fairly large following, and consumer recognition.     The goal here is to have something that the average person or average family can relate to.     In order to get 3D printers into more homes,  we need something for average folks to click on and print.

Once I get the community underway I see no reason why the concept couldn't be expanded to other toys or even gaming miniatures.   First we need a reason for Joe On The Street to buy a printer.    Once he's got it and has discovered that he can print as many "Lego Like Blocks" as he wants,  he'll be looking for other things to do with it.   Warhammer minis,  ships for Starfleet Battles (do people even play that anymore?!  I do!),  perhaps intricate puzzle pieces or completely unique toy items.

Each pattern needs to be optimized for specific printers.     What runs on Makerbot needs to be translated to run on Solidoodle.   Or RepRap.   Or any other printer.      You the average person should not have to deal with the CAD stage or ever have to deal with the raw code.     You the average consumer... want to point, click, print.



Some of the more down-the-road ideas involve licensing various toy franchises.    Perhaps your child collects Star Wars figures and toys.    Wouldn't it be cool to go to Star Wars Figures Dot Com (a division of Disney toys and such international) and download the patterns for additional accessories?      Background set-pieces,   action-stands,  additional gear and  armor?      Having grown up with an extensive collection of GI JOE I would have LOVED to have been able to do this.   

Another idea down the road...   Many people look at premium MMO items and go "eh I'm not paying to unlock ____ because it's just pixels on a screen."    This comes up on Star Trek Online quite often...     How would you like to pay to unlock that particular ship or weapon upgrade... and get the rights to print a model of said item for your desk?       This could be expanded to ANY MMO cash-shop.     Warcraft characters (with armor and gear),  Secret World (character in costume),   Champions Online (Action figure based on YOUR character) and so on.

These are down-the-road though.   We need to give people a reason to own a 3D printer first.     Start with something everyone enjoys...   building blocks.      Then expand outwards from there.


Does this answer the question or did I just confuse things more?   

[nekowafer]

Unfortunately I am not part of the Warhammer community; my ex is. All I can suggest is maybe the Games Workshop stores or forums?

[Barmymoo]

I find this a very interesting concept, but I'll admit that when I read your crowdsourcing post on the website I was a bit confused about what you were actually trying to get funding for - with your additional explanations on here I understand more but as a random person coming across it I wouldn't really understand.

I'd suggest simplifying the page a bit: cut out anything that isn't essential information at first, and then expand further down once you've got people's interest. It looks like you've actually changed it since I first read it, but maybe even just have a very short summary at the start like "Raising money to: build a database of patterns for printing 3D blocks. What it will lead to: the ability to print using a 3D printer without having to design the objects yourself". Something like that.

[MillionDollar Belt Sander]

I did change it,  and it is still confusing people.

I will let it go a couple more days and if people are still coming to me asking me what I am trying to accomplish,   I'll break out the "explain it to a cat" level of language.

It's frustrating.   The people in my immediate circle understand,  and folks have come forward with non-monetary help...  for example server space.     It's when I try to bring it out of that circle that people... I don't mean to be insulting but they seem to lack basic reading comprehension in many cases.

At least here on this forum you are taking the time ask for clarification.    Many people aren't doing that.   I have the traffic,  people are looking.   But they aren't donating.

EDIT:

I have reviewed other campaigns and my marketing language isn't different enough to be the cause.  Indiegogo seems to feed on the kind of emotional "dream building" appeals that I make.   There in lies the problem.  This is a long-term community building project,  not "send a slacker to college" or "raise six digits to save a sick puppy" level of project.   I'm not an established band, design group or master emotional manipulator seeking to generate funds with a cute picture and a sob-story.

The scope of my project doesn't fit on Kick-starter without massive retooling into something beyond the scope of community building.  Perhaps what I need to do is build the community first (simple forum, geocities level front page) THEN appeal to people to grow said community?

No idea... I'm stumped here.

[nekowafer]

Even going into it understanding what you want to do, I think it's a little confusing. On a very basic level, your spacing makes it difficult for me, to follow. One or two spaces after a period makes sense, more seems excessive. Same with after a comma, only one space seems appropriate.

But beyond that, I do think that a simple declaration of what you want to do is the perfect way to start. Many people don't want to read about all the background, as interesting as it is. I do still think that is important to include, just a couple lines further down.

[MillionDollar Belt Sander]

Nekowafer.   I broke it down further into three stages.    Is is still confusing?

[nekowafer]

I just read it before I posted and I see no difference - I could be missing something though? Another option is to bold the main thing you want to do:

"Pieces Unlimited will generate unique building block sets that can be produced at home on all 3D printers.   We will also make "compatable" pieces that work with the leading brands without angering the Vikings.  "

[MillionDollar Belt Sander]

Ok I'll go through and highlight some passages, and move some fluff around.

http://igg.me/p/311086/x/2091965

I am THIS CLOSE to making this about not being able to hold a "real" job because of kidney issues OH WOE IS ME FUND MY DREAM.      Some of the stuff I see getting funded on here is just beyond the pale.    I think I need to hire an emo to write for me.   

[nekowafer]

That looks a lot better, I think.

[MillionDollar Belt Sander]

Well I officially give up on this.

I just watched another sick pet raise more money than I paid for my house,  and the lazy student with "odds stacked against him" is going to raise enough money to buy himself an education.

Clearly my project is not indie or emo enough for this fundraising platform.

[Pilchard123]

Is there any reason why you haven't used Kickstarter? It's better known than Indiegogo, I think.

If it doesn't work out, give it a while and try again later.

[MillionDollar Belt Sander]

Part of the problem is the platform.  I chose Indiegogo because several friends had successful projects on here.

Problem is out of the 400 traceable invites I sent out,  only 60 people viewed the site. 

Some of these people I have regular contact with,  I'd ask them if they'd seen my latest blog post or if they had seen the new video.   Of course they had.   It was WONDERFUL.  The metrics indicate that only three people who are not me viewed the blog.  ZERO people checked the FAQ I had up.   Most of the hits on my video came from random youtube searches,  not link-follows.

I got suspicious when I asked a contact if he saw the picture of the machine I had in the video.   He commented of course he had, nothing like a Cincinnati Roboshot yes?   There is no Roboshot machine anywhere in my video.  Two other people who claimed to have read the FAQ I provided asked incredibly basic questions about the project.  Questions that would have been answered by the video or the FAQ.  The last straw was this evening:  one person who claims to have participated told me "you know what you should do?  figure out a way to make building blocks on the printer,  everyone loves those."   Uh, hello.

Of the 400 invites I sent out, 60 people visited the site directly. Of those 60, one person donated. The rest of the folks I have interacted with lied about participating.   Lied about reading the FAQ, lied about watching the video.  I called several of them on this and they laughed it off as "it's just a silly internet thing don't get so angry about it."

It would be one thing if the "big names" I asked to help me initially came through and helped me expand beyond my circle.  That was the first blow.  The second blow is finding out that people couldn't even bother to tell me the truth about their participation.   If you aren't interested in what I am doing just say so,  rather than string me along.

It's been 10 days,  I have yet to achieve more than a hundred hits.  No one is reading the attached blog.  No one that visits Indiegogo clicks on my project.

Why put any more effort into something that is going nowhere?  If I had a base of followers it would be one thing.   If I could get donors beyond one person who donated out of a sense of obligation rather than true interest...   See where this is going?

I'm going to let this fizzle out over the next 36 days.  I don't know if I'll try another fundraiser attempt... I may just build this community out of my own back pocket on a much smaller scale.