As any journalist knows, doing your research and gathering your resources is the best way to prepare for a project. So we've put together a slew of information about planning, developing, and running your campaign, from figuring out your goal to brainstorming unique rewards to coordinating your outreach strategy. Whether you're launching a new digital media empire, funding a new season of your podcast, or putting together a sweet little zine, these tips and tricks will help set you up for success.
As a first step, make sure to check out our Publishing & Journalism Resources page.
Next, we recommend taking a look at our Creator Handbook.
These writers and publishers share their tips on preparing for your project, creating a video, planning your rewards, anticipating hidden costs, engaging your community, and telling your story to the press.
Check out this roundtable discussion on the persistent value of neighborhood news, and what’s in store for the future of local storytelling.
The creators of three Journalism projects discuss the who, what, where, when, why, and how of independent journalism.
Writer, Jia Tolentino, spoke with TCI about writing for the sake of writing.
Thinking about starting a podcast? Check out this guide from Sean J Patrick Carney.
We’ve also got some useful advice on how to sound pretty good on a podcast.
Andy Mills, producer and reporter for The New York Times speaks about the creative potential and emotional reach of podcasts.
Our Senior Journalism Outread Lead, Oriana Leckert, took part in a webinar with Anxy Founder, Indhira Rojas, to share some insider advice on how to successfully kickstart a magazine.
After being fired for refusing to choose between journalism and activism, Lewis Wallace now wants to tell the stories of journalists who have challenged “objectivity”.
Tortoise’s mission is to change the news. They turned to Kickstarter in 2018 to bring their idea to life. Read about their unique crowdfunding recipe, which helped them raise £539,000 in 30 days.
Brooklyn-based freelance journalist, Alex Frank, spoke with TCI about writing, reading, and always making your deadline.
Andrea James created The Transphobia Project to map the people and platforms publishing biased content about gender expression and identity.
LAist joined forces with KPCC to bring back their website, read about how they adapted the public radio fundraising strategy for a digitally native audience here.
Don’t forget to check out our Publishing Blog for more great tips.
And finally, I Am Hexed comic creator, Kirsten Thompson, shares the 10 emotional stages of launching a Kickstarter campaign.
If you’re looking for some inspiration, take a look at the Journalism Explore page. We’ve also shared some of our favorite projects below:
Sludge is an independent, reader-funded news publication. In 2019 they ran a successful campaign to fund a project to expose fossil fuel lobbying.
Comprising a team of former editors and reporters from DNAinfo Chicago, Block Club Chicago is a nonprofit neighborhood news site.
The View from Somewhere is a single-season podcast about people who have challenged and changed journalism in U.S. history.
The Save Journalism Project, a non-profit advocacy organization, launched their Freelance Reporting Initiative project to raise funds to hire laid off reporters.
“What is a meaningful life in this rapidly changing world?” Kickstarter backers helped bring Lydia Laurenson's new publication, The New Modality to life.
Sign up to Kickstarter Reads to receive a monthly newsletter curated by Kickstarter’s Publishing team.
Ready to take the plunge and start your Journalism project? Go ahead and begin building it now - we're excited to see your creative idea come to life!