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This is the Creative Funding Show, a podcast for authors, YouTubers, and podcasters who want to fund the work they love without selling out. I’m Thomas Umstattd Jr., and with me today is Jacqueline Isaacs. She is the strategic director of Bellwether Communications, where she crafts measurable, well-researched content strategies for clients. She is also co-author of the book Call to Freedom: Why You Can Be a Christian and a Libertarian, which I’m sure is not controversial at all. It successfully raised $8,000 through Indiegogo in the summer of 2016.
Where did the idea for Call to Freedom come from?
Jacqueline: The idea dates back to around 2012. The six of us who went on to write the book, our editor, Elise Daniels, and five chapter contributors, met in a book club in Washington, DC. The club was sponsored by a Christian nonprofit and gave young Christian professionals a place to talk about faith, culture, and how to live out our beliefs in the highly political environment of DC. Most of us leaned toward the free market side, from conservative to libertarian.
A conference called the International Students for Liberty Conference needed to fill some panel slots. They reached out to members of our group, and the six of us proposed a panel titled something like, “Is Christianity Coercive?” In libertarian circles, coercion and the proper use of force are important issues.
Thomas: Libertarians are not big fans of the use of force.
Jacqueline: Right, especially not from government or authorities. That’s where tension often arises between faith and libertarianism, since being a Christian means accepting authority from God, the Bible, and the church. Some libertarians resist that idea. Our panel explored this question. It was at 9:00 a.m. against other interesting panels, so we didn’t expect a large turnout, but we packed the room. Students asked thoughtful questions. Some were from Christian campuses where being libertarian caused conflict; others were from secular campuses where being libertarian was fine but being Christian was the source of tension.
A recurring request from these students was for a resource they could take back to campus to explain how they could be both Christian and libertarian. We could recommend books on economics or faith and culture by great scholars, but there was no single book tailored to young adults who wanted to articulate both their faith and libertarian political philosophy.
How did you turn the panel into a book?
Thomas: You had this successful panel and realized the book you wanted to recommend didn’t exist. You decided to create it. What did you do next?
Jacqueline: It took us about a year to craft our proposal and pitch it to traditional publishers. We didn’t immediately consider self-publishing because there were six of us, all with full-time jobs, and no one volunteered to take on the logistics. Eventually, we were picked up by a publisher specializing in academic publishing, which was more focused on textbooks and classroom resources. They liked that we were targeting college students, but they didn’t offer much support for promoting or marketing the book.
Why did you use crowdfunding?
Thomas: Basically, they would make the book exist but wouldn’t sell copies. What was your plan to get the books into students’ hands?
Jacqueline: That’s when we decided to crowdfund. I had studied crowdfunding academically, and 2016 was when crowdfunding surpassed traditional venture capital in funding volume. We wanted to raise money to market the book and connect with our audience before release. Crowdfunding let us generate preorders and build buzz ahead of the launch.
Thomas: Crowdfunding creates urgency with a definite end date. It triggers scarcity and popularity cues, turning a launch into an event. You were going to publish anyway, but crowdfunding made it easier to get attention.
Jacqueline: Exactly. An unexpected benefit was that we were promoted from our publisher’s academic imprint to their main brand because of the campaign’s success.
Why did you choose Indiegogo over Kickstarter?
Thomas: You went from the minor leagues to the major leagues, so to speak. Why Indiegogo?
Jacqueline: We chose Indiegogo for a few reasons. At the time, Kickstarter seemed more focused on tech projects, video, and gaming. Books tended to do better on Indiegogo. Also, because our topic involved faith and politics, Indiegogo was more open to potentially controversial subjects. Finally, with six team members, some weren’t comfortable with Kickstarter’s all-or-nothing model. Indiegogo let us keep what we raised, even if we didn’t meet our $8,000 goal, which made everyone more comfortable.
Thomas: That’s the biggest difference between the two. Kickstarter has broadened politically a bit, but it’s still narrower than Indiegogo, which is more laid-back. What’s the downside of partial funding?
Jacqueline: Indiegogo takes a higher cut if you do partial funding. It also lacks the built-in urgency of all-or-nothing funding. We played down that feature and marketed it as though it were all-or-nothing to keep the sense of urgency.
Thomas: That makes sense. Kickstarter’s all-or-nothing model creates real consequences if backers don’t act, which motivates them to spread the word. That can lead to both positive and awkward situations, like strangers spamming on your behalf to unlock stretch goals.
How did you decide on rewards?
Thomas: What rewards did you set up?
Jacqueline: The rewards were interesting. We researched other successful book projects on Indiegogo and Kickstarter, looking at popular options like ebooks, physical copies, signed copies, book bundles and how they were priced. From there, we projected how much we could make from each category and then set our overall goal of $8,000. We worked backward from that projection.
Thomas: I think that’s the better way to do it. Some campaigns are set up to fail because their rewards are too limited, making it impossible to reach their goal. You have to ask, “How many people do we realistically need?” If your goal is $10,000 and your main reward is $10, you need 1,000 backers, which is more than most people can find. But if your main reward is $100, you only need 100 people. Starting with rewards and estimating from there makes sense. How close to your goal did you land?
Jacqueline: We ended at $8,025 on our $8,000 goal. None of us made that final donation to push it over. It was genuine.
Thomas: That extra $25 probably saved you a few hundred dollars in Indiegogo fees since their percentage is higher if you don’t meet your goal.
Jacqueline: Yes. Our rewards ranged from a thank-you at the lowest level to early bird discounts on ebooks and paperbacks for the first 25 buyers. One of our most successful options was a signed copy for $35 compared to $20 for the regular paperback. Just for signing our names, we earned an extra $15 per book, which gave us great margins.
If I could redo it, I’d look for more ways to add value like that without increasing costs.
Do early bird rewards work?
Thomas: You need those big margins to cover fixed costs like cover design and editing. Early bird offers make sense if you don’t already have a large platform. If you launch a board game that funds in eight hours and early birds sell out in 30 minutes, that’s frustrating for latecomers. But early birds help you reach 60% funding faster, and campaigns that hit 60% almost always reach 100%.
If you have weeks for people to grab early bird rewards, it works. But if you already have thousands of eager backers, early birds aren’t necessary and can alienate people who discover your campaign later. Most of the opposition to early birds comes from the board game space, where campaigns often fund very quickly.
How did you create your campaign video?
Thomas: You had a great campaign video, and I remember asking about it, expecting you’d used expensive software. How did you edit it?
Jacqueline: We filmed in our editor’s backyard and in front of her church. It looked like we had a professional setup, but she edited it on a $5 iPhone app.
Thomas: Do you remember the name of the app?
Jacqueline: I don’t. I should have asked her.
Thomas: This is a good reminder that you don’t need expensive software. Phones can be more powerful than older laptops, and mobile editing apps can be very capable.
Jacqueline: She finished the edit in about a week, working in her spare time. We filmed extra footage of several of us saying almost all the lines in the script at different locations, so she had plenty to work with.
Thomas: That’s the way to do it. More footage gives the editor better options.
What was the hardest part of the campaign?
Thomas: What was the hardest thing about running your Indiegogo campaign?
Jacqueline: Fulfillment. Everything was fun until the books arrived. I enjoyed communicating with supporters and promoting the campaign, but when my living room was overflowing with piles of books, the reality set in. My co-authors offered to help, but I told them I’d handle it myself.
Thomas: Just pour a glass of wine, spend 30 minutes, slap some labels on, and you’re done, right?
Jacqueline: Not even close. We had factored in the costs, but there’s more to it than shipping. You need bubble mailers, labels, and time.
Thomas: When I did fulfillment for my book, I found the best prices for mailers and labels at Sam’s Club. They were cheaper than Amazon. Ideally, your publisher should ship directly, which saves money by avoiding double shipping, but some publishers won’t do that.
Jacqueline: Ours didn’t. One thing I did was take a single book in a bubble mailer to the post office and have them price it with Media Mail before buying postage. That way I didn’t overpay, and when you’re shipping hundreds of books, that makes a big difference.
Thomas: Media Mail in the U.S. applies to books, CDs, and DVDs. It’s very slow but very inexpensive.
What would you do differently?
Thomas: If you could do the campaign over again, what would you do differently? How would you structure it or promote it?
Jacqueline: Finding additional ways to add value that didn’t cost us anything would have been helpful. We were limited because the manuscript had already been sent to the publisher, so we couldn’t add people’s names in the back as a thank-you, which is a popular option.
Another change would be timing. I ran the campaign in the summer because I was a college instructor and had more time then. But fundraising professionals will tell you summer is a dry season for giving. People are more generous at the end of the year with Christmas and end-of-year giving, and also early in the year when they set new goals. By summer, those resolutions have faded, and people aren’t yet thinking about holiday giving. They’re on vacation, kids are out of school, and it’s harder to get their attention. If I did it again, I’d run it in the fall up to the end of the year.
Thomas: That’s especially true if your target audience is students. The last thing they want to think about in the summer is another book to read. Games and entertainment products may do better in summer, but you have to think about your specific audience. If you have a lot of student email addresses, they may not even check those accounts over the summer. Knowing your audience and timing your campaign accordingly is key for any crowdfunding, whether Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or Patreon.
How do you choose between Indiegogo and Kickstarter?
Thomas: What advice would you give someone who’s deciding between Indiegogo and Kickstarter for their book launch?
Jacqueline: With either platform, have a support system in place. Some campaigns get a huge PR push and meet their goal in eight hours, but that’s rare unless it’s your full-time focus. A support network of friends and family can help you get early momentum. Getting to 60% funding is key. It triggers algorithms, boosts search rankings, and gets your project recommended to others. It also builds the perception that your project will succeed.
Thomas: Football stadiums for winning teams have more people than those for losing teams. People want to be on the winning team.
Jacqueline: Exactly. We had six authors—two married to each other, and the rest married to other people—so ten people counting our spouses. Each of us had friends, family, coworkers, and church connections. That’s the basis of networking. There’s a TED Talk and a book called Friend of a Friend that explains networking as connecting through people you already know rather than meeting strangers at an event. Crowdfunding works the same way. Someone is more likely to support your campaign if a friend or family member has already done so. Having that support in place before you launch is critical.
Thomas: Don’t underestimate the power of the personal ask. Call someone and ask if they’ll back the project. Early on, that’s more sales than marketing. Close friends might give $10 or $20, sometimes more, knowing they can reduce it later. Kickstarter makes this easier than Indiegogo, because on Kickstarter you can pledge a larger amount and adjust it later. Some campaigns use this to help hit milestones. Supporters pledge high amounts early to get the campaign to 60% or 90%, then lower them later. But remember, if you barely make your goal, Kickstarter will still take the full amount, so don’t pledge more than you’re comfortable giving.
What final advice do you have for creators?
Thomas: Any final advice for creators wanting to fund their art?
Jacqueline: Don’t be afraid to ask. Creators often discount the value they provide, assuming backers are just doing them a favor. In reality, the books, podcasts, and other creative work add real value to people’s lives. When you ask for support, you’re inviting people to partake in that value and become part of the vision.
There’s an essay by Henri Nouwen called The Spirituality of Fundraising that says asking for money is casting a vision for how the world could be different or better, whether through more beautiful through art or a new program. You’re inviting people to join that vision. People are looking for opportunities to make the world a better place, and you’re giving them one. It’s not just a charity case. What you’re doing matters, and that should be celebrated.
Connect with Jaqueline
- BellweatherComs.com
- Jaqueline on LinkedIn
- Jaqueline on X
Jacqueline Isaacs is the strategic director for Bellwether Communications, where she crafts measurable, well-researched content strategies for clients to achieve their goals. She also serves as the firm’s managing partner in Nashville, TN. She co-authored the book, Called to Freedom: Why You Can Be Christian and Libertarian (Affiliate Link), which successfully raised $8k through an Indiegogo campaign in the summer of 2016.
Jacqueline Isaacs
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