Last Week of a Successful Kickstarter + How Do You Do It?

Alliteration Works!

What a great start to 2017! Starting with a Kickstarter that funds in two days, January is almost at a close and so is that Kickstarter. Dungeon Delvers Lost in the Dungeons of Doom! 2!! has basically followed that same template as the first DDLitDoD! and apart from being 19 days long instead of 33 days, the backer trend seems to be similar also. Lots of action initially and then a plateau. "Day after day, day after day, We stuck, nor breath nor motion; As idle as a painted ship. Upon a painted ocean." to quote Samuel Coleridge.

What do you do? How do you get more interest? How do you get beyond this inertia? When backers change their pledges up/down/sideways or worse yet... drop off altogether!

With extraordinary strength of purpose. Or, in one word: Faith. Not just in God (although that certainly helps me!) but also in the creative process and being ready to begin right now. Why wait? You're probably as ready to start something now as you'll ever be. And you keep on communicating. Discuss the project with your backers. Ask what they like. What they would love to see. Keep working on it, and be patient.

I have no doubt the second Kickstarter will fund and I didn't even before it went live. What is the secret of my success? Hard to be sure. Obviously having "Dungeons" in the title has helped. People recognise the genre just from that work. Alliteration may also have contributed. What do I think is more important than all that? I love sculpting these miniatures (a new skill, though I've painted them for decades) and have enjoyed fantasy roleplaying since childhood. I let that love shine through. Be passionate! People get that. I really would love my miniatures in your hands and on your gaming table! Because I believe the world is a better place when people come together. Games are one way to enable that.


I have also made some new friends from around the world. The internet makes collaboration easy and with their encouragement and support, I offer something better than if I did everything myself. It also means word gets out in different places, like France and Germany (and America) for example. Friends closer to home are equally important because the Kickstarter isn't over when it hits the funding date. Without my gaming group, collating addresses and packing boxes would've been a nightmare!

A shout out to a few fine fellows my be in order here:

Lewis, Grant, Greg, Blair, Dennis and Dave for their inspiration at the gaming table (and help packing boxes).
Erik Tenkar, for letting me sculpt his famous dwarf, Tenkar Calishun.
Ken St. Andre (creator of Tunnels & Trolls), for his advice on Trolls and encouragement throughout this project.
Rick Loomis (Flying Buffalo) and Liz Danforth for their blessings and support.
John R. Lehman for his review.
Rom from Cult of Game, for his mad graphic design skills and another cool review.
Will from The Grinning Skull: Grim’s Dungeons of Doom, who is definately a kindred spirit!

My loving wife and our awesome children who don't mind having a crazy sculptor around.

God bless you and have a fantastic week!