My Crowdfunding Campaign In a Nutshell - Shell Number 2: Store Guide
When I decided to start my crowdfunding campaign on PledgeMusic.com, I didn’t want it to be purely about financing the upcoming EP. Despite the fact that securing the funds was an essential part of the plan and the initial reason for going to Pledge Music in the first place, the launch of the campaign symbolised so much more than a mere fundraising opportunity. I was starting to build my own community that was full of people who felt passionate about music and who wanted to join me on what could be the most exciting adventure of my career so far.
When I was designing the items for the store on the Pledge Music website, my main priority was to ensure that the idea of going through the project together really stood out. While brainstorming the options, I tried to provide as much variety as possible so that my amazing supporters from all over the world wouldn’t feel limited by locations, price ranges or the selection of the experiences that they could choose from. I also tried my absolute best to include extra little things like thank you notes, personal letters, badges and online events in almost every item that’s in the store to show how grateful I am for every purchase made.
(Please refer to the description boxes for more detailed information on what’s included in each item - https://www.pledgemusic.com/riatimkin).
So without further ado, let me jump right into my own classification of the store items and offer you an insight into why these particular items were included. I also hope that it will potentially help you discover something new that might have previously gone unnoticed.
EP AND MUSIC RELATED ITEMS
1. Access Pass
Before I tell you about the more unique items of this campaign, I wanted to draw your attention to this very simple and very basic item called Access Pass. It can be found in each campaign hosted by Pledge Music and provides online access to the digital download of the new music and to all the exclusive updates of the campaign that are only available to the community members who have signed up. The “outsiders” don’t get to see the full versions of the updates and can only access a short preview to get the taste of what’s going on. If you purchase any other item in the store, Access Pass will be automatically added to your order for no extra charge.
2. CDs
The whole campaign revolves around making a new EP, so naturally there are plenty of options with different price ranges when it comes to the choice of a CD. Whether you’re going to go for a standard copy or a signed and numbered one, whether you’d like to have a thank you letter or some merchandise delivered with it, you can definitely count on receiving the best quality CD carefully placed in a jewel case with some beautiful artwork and a lyric booklet. If you like, you can even order your name to be included in the credits so that the world can see what an amazing music supporter you are.
3. Homemade Demos
It took me a while to get the courage I needed to include the option of sending the demos that I made in the safety of my home. Usually they are not meant to be heard by anybody but the people with whom you’d be working in the studio later. There is something really vulnerable about those works. They lay bare your ideas without the guise of production and layers, exposing any flaws in its raw form. They show what you’ve designed initially and it can be really terrifying to reveal your first drafts to the public. However, I’ve promised you the full transparency of the project and it would have been ridiculously unfair of me to hide from you the magical process of creating a song from scratch. Hence the homemade demos are available for you to download and, in all honesty, I think that it might be one of the most intriguing items in the store.
EXPERIENCES
I’d like to continue my classification with the items that convey the main idea of the whole project as they invite you to see the behind the scenes of making the EP and encourage you to become an integral part of the project.
1. Studio Experience
I’ve always been very dedicated to showing you through my social media and updates what’s going on in my music world. However, there is nothing like being present in the moment and being physically “there”, especially when it comes to the magical process of creating a song. The atmosphere in the studio is so unique and so vibrant that I really wanted to find a way to invite my wonderful supporters to experience it too. I’ve managed to allocate only 3 spaces due to the time restrictions in the studio, but who knows; maybe next time I’ll be able to do more.
2. Business Talk
Another experience that I really wanted to include in this campaign was an invitation to one of my business meetings. Talking about the business side of things might sound exceedingly boring, but actually it can be quite intriguing. I could never understand why so many artists would try really hard to keep things quiet. We never get to hear much about how they managed to meet their team or how they got certain opportunities presented to them. Personally I’ve always found those behind the scenes stories fascinating and that’s why I’m so eager to share my own planning, strategising and targeting ideas with you.
3. Rehearsal Experience
Ever since I started the journey of a one-person band, I’ve been getting a lot of questions about my live setup. The more it evolved, the more queries I was getting. That gave me an idea to organise this experience to invite you to a space where I could easily show you the secrets behind my loop sequences.
UNIQUE AND CRAFTY STUFF
I really wanted my campaign to have a personal feel, so I decided to add a number of items that would not only be handcrafted by yours truly but also would be absolutely unique and created specifically for their future owners.
1. Lyric Books
I feel really excited at the prospect of creating 5 absolutely unique lyric books that will contain the handwritten lyrics of the songs from my new EP, exclusive photographs from the studio, some notes and comments about the songwriting and some other fun insights about the EP.
2. Lyric Sheets
To provide a little bit of variety I’ve also added handcrafted A4 lyric sheets, for those of you who enjoy collecting artsy stuff, which also has an option to add personalised lyric quotes instead of a full song.
3. Thank You Letter
I’m particularly thrilled about this item because I really like the idea of writing personal letters to my amazing supporters. When I was younger I would post letters to my friends and family all the time. Unfortunately, with the modern world of technology, handwritten letters have ceased to exist; but they’ve never lost lost their charm in my eyes. That’s why this item is included not only as a separate option in the store but also as a little addition to most orders on the website.
MERCHANDISE
I’ve never had my own merchandise before, so I jumped at the opportunity to include some items to promote the upcoming EP. Among the options you can find 10 exclusive latte mugs to brighten up your morning and a number of A2 posters to fit perfectly in your living room (don’t worry, the posters are the art in their own right and not the duplication of the EP artwork). I’ve also added some free colourful badges to coordinate with the EP’s artwork.
OTHER ITEMS TO LOOK OUT FOR
1. Secret Listening Party
I’ve always liked the idea of exclusive pre-release screenings and album listening parties, so I really wanted to have something similar but with a little twist of mystery to it. That’s how the idea of a secret location EP listening party with some insights, chats and opinion sharing came to me and you can still get your ticket if you’d like to come.
2. Music and Russian Lessons
Teaching is something I’ve been really enjoying doing for over 5 years now and I really wanted to include a music lesson in the campaign (even though it might not be directly related to my actual EP). Sharing some techniques of playing an instrument, providing singing tips and introducing people to the musical grammar have always been so interesting and rewarding for me that I couldn’t resist adding a music lesson as one of the options.
Another stand-out item in the store is an introductory Russian class. It always brings me lots of joy to introduce my language and culture to everyone who takes healthy interest in Russia and, because of the deeply personal nature of the campaign, it felt right to include this option. After all, it constitutes a big part of who I am and what I do.
3.Personalised Songs
As well as including the items that would promote the EP, I also wanted to add something that would challenge me as a musician and a songwriter. So I decided to include the options of a cover song of your choice for me to broaden my horizons and a song written just for you to really test my songwriting capabilities that I really hope would never let you down. So if you’re up for an idea to challenge me creatively, definitely head to the Pledge Music store.
3. Commentary Video and a Skype Chat
For those of you who can’t make it to the studio, the listening party or any other experience but would still like to hear some insightful and fun stories about the songwriting process and the creation of the EP, I included the items such as the track by track commentary video and a Skype chat to keep you informed wherever your are in the world.
4. Exclusive shots from the disposable camera [Sold]
If you’re into photography, you might really like this item that gives you the access to the exclusive shots from the studio, rehearsal spaces, business meetings and my home practices. The cool part is that no one except you will have those photographs!
There are lots of options in the store for you to choose from, all with different targeting and price ranges. I really hope that now the whole setup of the store looks much less intimidating to you. If there are multiple things that have caught your eye, I seriously recommend checking the bundles at the end of the page that could help you save some money and make the most out of your purchases. I’d like to thank each and every one of you for going through this guide and if you have any queries, please feel free to leave a comment.
Please check out my campaign, browse through the exciting pledge rewards and if you liked what you saw, please let your friends know about its existence.
https://www.pledgemusic.com/riatimkin
Kommentare