HELP! We’re looking for someone with experience of running a Kickstarter Campaign. Do you know of anyone? Can you help spread the word?

The aim of the campaign is to raise the funds to produce the book “Next Year’s News 2019”. This is our annual collection of historic and newsworthy anniversaries for the coming year. It’s used by several high-profile companies and writers. This will be the 12th annual edition. We have not run a crowdfunding campaign before, but have relied on sales direct from our website.

There was dismay when announced that we were discontinuing the series because we weren’t selling enough copies. Some of our regular customers had come to depend on it.

Here’s a typical response: “I am desolate at the thought of you stopping your wonderful book. It has enriched my website for years! Whatever will I do without you?”

So we’re considering a Kickstarter Campaign that will raise at least £15,000. The idea is that at least 1,500 people or companies will each pay £10 to order their copy of the book in advance. If we reach the target, we’ll drop everything and get it written by the spring of 2018. If we don’t reach the target, the series will be officially retired.

We don’t have the expertise to be able to pull this off ourselves, but we’re sure someone out there does. If not you personally then perhaps a friend of a friend. We’ll give that person a share of whatever the Kickstarter campaign raises. (However, they only get paid if the campaign reaches its initial target.)

The reward tier:

If the campaign fund fails to reach £15,000, you will receive £0.00

If it hits £15,000, you will receive 10% (at least £1,500)

If it hits £20,000, you will receive 20% (at least £4,000)

If it hits £30,000, you will receive 30% (at least £9,000)

If it hits £50,000, you will receive 50% (at least £25,000)

Achieving a figure of £50,000 (equivalent to 5,000 copies sold) won’t be easy, but it’s certainly possible if you have the crowdfunding skills to pull it off.

If you’re interested in running the campaign:

Please email us: [email protected] and tell us about your previous experience of running a successful Kickstarter campaign. (If it wasn’t successful, you need to be confident that it would be if you did it again – lessons learned, etc.)

We can supply any graphics or text that might be required – just tell us what you need.

If you require any additional items or services that we cannot supply, e.g. promotional materials, video, advertising, they must be funded by you.

If you want to see what the book looks like, here’s the link to the 2018 edition: www.ideas4writers.co.uk/2018

Or email us at the address above and we’ll send you a pdf of the 2017 edition.

The 2018 edition has only sold about 120 copies so far, which is why the series will be discontinued unless we can get the funding. The minimum number of copies required for a viable product is 1,500.

We think there should be a lot more demand for it. Previous editions have sold significantly more than the current one. But we don’t seem to be reaching the right people (admittedly our marketing in recent years has been minimal). We also believe that Google is preventing people from finding our website because it isn’t mobile responsive yet, and we haven’t had the time to fix it.

Another issue we have is that people regard the series as their “secret weapon” and keep it to themselves. Now that they risk losing it if they don’t spread the word, that ought to be enough to persuade them help. We have the contact details for everyone that has bought a copy previously, so you’d be able to email them and try to enlist their support.

The books are currently used by several international broadcasting networks, and they buy copies year after year. So the quality of the product, and our reputation, are both top-notch.

The key targets for marketing purposes would be media/production companies, newspapers, journalists, and article writers. Secondary targets could include event planners, libraries, and educational establishments.

If the campaign is successful, we will want to run it again in subsequent years to fund future editions. The campaign to raise funds for the 2020 edition would begin as soon as the 2019 edition is completed. We would aim to complete the 2020 edition by October 2018 – subject to it being funded.