Fan Funded with Laser: Recent Episodes
Laser Malena-Webber, The Doubleclicks
Let's help you build an audience full of true fans who are excited to actually support your music and art! Laser Malena-Webber (the Doubleclicks) talks to musicians, comedians, artists, authors, podcasters, and creators of all types about how they Kickstart-ed, side-hustled, Patreon-ed and grassroots-ed to success—their own way.
Make your book better! All the things that make writing hard: finishing a draft, revising, connecting with an audience, self-publishing or getting published, those are all the areas of expertise of this week's guest, Jacque Hamilton. Authors and writers of all kinds, enjoy her awesome advice!
Get Jacque's special advice about finding time to write: https://bit.ly/TimeToWriteFreebie
Resources Mentioned:
- Bird by Bird
- The Story Grid - what good editors know
- Story Grid Podcast
- The Emotion Thesaurus
- Scrivener
Telling your story, using Spotify, and deciding about PR, these are all the things our guest this week is an expert about. Cristina Cano is a musician, PR expert, and event organizer in the music business, and will tell you about her journey and experiences in this episode!
Check out Cristina:
- Website: sirenandthesea.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/sirenandthesea
- Twitter: twitter.com/sirenandthesea
Resources mentioned:
- Canva
- Ableton
- Yamaha motif s8
Check out laser at lasercampaigns.com
Tracy Barnett is a queer game designer, editor, and podcaster — and the best person I know at finishing things. They are amazing at creating tiny games, releasing them, moving on and making another game! We talk about their transition to full-time game designer and stay-at-home parent which is awesome, their awesome profit-producing Kickstarter for "You are the Dungeon," and their advice for creators!
Check out Tracy:
- https://theothertracy.itch.io/
- https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sandandsteam/iron-edda-reforged-season-one
- https://www.theothertracy.com/
Resources mentioned:
- Alphasmart Neo: https://www.ebay.com/b/AlphaSmart-Neo-Typewriters-Word-Processors/25326/bn_7116105163
- Jay Dragon Thread: https://twitter.com/jdragsky/status/1441436862476922882
Amy Spalding writes incredible novels — YA, romance, queer fiction — and is also a marketing genius. When she officially launched her editing/consulting services, I knew I had to snatch her up for an episode to give some advice for the listener on how to navigate the world of books! Want to get published? Want to get an agent? Want to navigate a day job and a creative career? This episode is for you!
Follow Amy:
- https://www.instagram.com/thatames/
- https://www.instagram.com/getyourbookoninsta/
- Her books: https://www.theamyspalding.com/
- Her services: https://www.getyourbookon.com/services
Resources mentioned:
- Save the Cat Beat sheet: https://jamigold.com/for-writers/worksheets-for-writers/
Check me out:
- https://lasercampaigns.com/
- I'm teaching a free class this Saturday!
- https://www.crowdfundingschool.org/fanevent
Meredith Graves is a musician and writer, has been an MTV journalist, and is now the Director of Music and Magic at Kickstarter. I talked to them about what makes a Project We Love (AND what makes Meredith, specifically, love a project). We also delve into sewing, creation, magic, and many wonderful things.
Follow Meredith:
- https://www.instagram.com/gravesmeredith/
- https://www.kickstarter.com/music
Follow me:
https://lasercampaigns.com/
Anita Sarkeesian and her nonprofit feminist frequency fight for inclusivity in games, game culture, the game industry, as well as fighting systemic barriers for marginalized folks in many more ways. We talk about her journey through activism, video creation, podcasts, Twitch, non-profits, and management, to her current project: the Games and Online Harassment Hotline - and her future as a director!
Check out Anita:
https://feministfrequency.com/
https://www.anitasarkeesian.com/
Recommendations mentioned:
- Never say you can't survive by Charlie Jane Anders: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250800015
- KVM - dual monitor connection system :)
Amy Vorpahl wants to go from being an employee to being a boss, and she came to my course to help her launch her first Kickstarter. In this interview, we talk about how she went from an actor to a badass D&D personality, and how she's leveling up to boss mode now with her album "Behold, Her Dreams!"
Check out Amy:
- https://www.amyvorpahl.com/
- https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/amyvorpahl/behold-her-dreams-musical-album-from-amy-vorpahl
Resources mentioned:
- Scarlett / focusrite 212i: https://amzn.to/3DnHiKu
- The hero's journal: https://theherosjournal.co/
- Website design: https://www.msmorganpeters.com/
Parry Gripp's song are streamed a half million streams times every day - but this career was a "lucky accident," he says. A lucky accident full of persistence, joy, and tacos! Let's find out how he went from Nerf Herder to writing for kids tv, and why he works for himself now!
Check out Parry Gripp:
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/parrygripp
- Website: https://www.parrygripp.com/
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Just Press Record App
Take my FAN FINDING QUIZ and get your next steps to find your fan-finding superpower!: bit.ly/musicsuperpower
Submit your questions and suggestions for future episodes: fanfundedpodcast@gmail.com
Work with me/get my newsletter: https://lasercampaigns.com/
Selina Muriel went to school to make video games, but found her passion in designing clothes and lifestyle goods. She has followed her passion to being a brilliant young entrepreneur with wildly successful Kicsktarters, a 5-person company, excellent collaborations, and her products in a real-life store! It all comes from a brilliant knack for community-building on social media and a brilliant grasp of her aesthetic. Let's talk about building an online audience, following your passion, and why it is that Gen Z loves frogs!
Check out Carmico:
- https://carmico.ca/
- https://www.instagram.com/carmiico/
- https://twitter.com/carmiico
Resources mentioned:
- https://coolors.co/
- https://www.notion.so/
C. Spike Trotman runs the midwest's biggest comics publisher, Iron Circus Comics. She has run 28 Kickstarters with $2 mil raised. She is an indie powerhouse full of success stories, knowledge and opinions that you MUST follow and believe. I can't tell you how excited I am to have her on the show today.
FOLLOW SPIKE:
- https://twitter.com/Iron_Spike
- http://ironcircus.com/
- Read Spike's Current Comic!: https://www.pillowfort.social/ironspike
- https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ironspike/lackadaisy-the-animated-short-film
RESOURCES MENTIONED
- Spike’s comic about running a Kickstarter:
- https://ironcircus.com/?product=let-s-kickstart-a-comic
- Slack
Backerkit: https://www.backerkit.com/ - http://www.superfanpromotions.com/
MEDIA MENTIONED:
- CAKE Chicago: https://www.cakechicago.com/
- Hazbin Hotel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zlmswo0S0e0
Every creator has a weird journey - that's just the truth, and it's certainly true for Lillian Karabaic. She's made careers for herself from band-merch-person to tea-seller to finance-expert to radio-host... and she has tracked her data the whole way. We talk about why she decided to Kickstart her incredible book, how she built a mailing list online and on the radio, and more!
Check out Lillian:
- A Cat's Guide to Money! - this book is amazing!
- https://twitter.com/anomalily
- Ohmydollar.com - podcast and blog
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- YNAB - you need a budget
- http://anomalily.net/life-stack/
- Discourse - forums
- Shopify - online store
- Convertkit - email lists
- Fortune City - a gamified finance app
How do you get people to listen to your podcast? How do you know who to collaborate with? Hal Lublin is an expert on voice acting, podcasting, improv, and being a friend, and this episode is a delight and a master class. Join us!
Check out Hal's things!
- https://twitter.com/hallublin
- https://maximumfun.org/podcasts/we-got-this-with-mark-and-hal/
- http://www.nightvalepresents.com/goodmorningnightvale
- https://maximumfun.org/podcasts/tights-and-fights/
How to get collaborators, how to get asked on tour, how to build a team, and where to start — these questions and more are answered on this episode with MC Lars. Lars has collaborated with Weird Al and Wheatus, been on the Warped Tour and toured the world - this dude is amazing. He is deeply into literature, music and ICP. Please enjoy this interview with the best in the biz, MC Lars!
CHECK OUT LARS:
- Mclars.com
- patreon.com/mclars
- Lithop.academy
- Nerdcoretour.com
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
- CAL NEWPORT - digital minimalism
- How to rap - paul edwards
- Quickbooks
Laser answers all your burning questions, including: Why is my podcast not getting more listeners? Should I Kickstart to get more fans? What contract should I make if I'm playing an online concert? And how, how, HOW do I launch a Patreon without it taking up all of my time?
Join my newsletter: https://www.crowdfundingschool.org/letter
Get in touch to talk about my program: http://summer2021.lasercampaigns.com/
More about me: https://lasercampaigns.com/
Rob Neill and Julia Melfi from the New York Neo-Futurists took a hit when their theatre company's normal way of "doing things" was halted by the pandemic. However, their organization is run by a strong mission—and that mission helped them adapt and create even when they couldn't make "live theatre" anymore.
This interview was extremely fun, and I hope you get a lot out of it... I know I did!
Check out our guests:
- http://www.nyneofuturists.org/
- https://www.patreon.com/nynf
Resources mentioned:
- Beth Pickens - Your Art Will Save Your Life
- The War of Art
- Bird By Bird
- Mynoise.net
Games, geekery, and acting—these are Becca Scott's skills and interests. And she's a flipping brilliant businessperson. Becca turned her love of games into a career where she gets to play games, hire her friends, and make videos about games. Learn about her Good Time Society Empire in this episode!
Check out Becca!
- https://www.instagram.com/thebeccascott/
- https://www.twitch.tv/thebeccascott
- https://twitter.com/thebeccascott/
- To Boldly Watch Podcast: https://goodtimesociety.podbean.com/
- Black Dice Society: https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/events/black-dice-society
Becca says read the book "Utopia for Realists" by Rutger Bregman
Kevin Cole is the founder of SuperTry Studios, creator of MANY video games, and successful crowdfunder of several different kinds of projects. He kicked off with a project that helped him become a full-time artist and hasn't looked back. We talk about everything from A to Z, including a lot of audience relationship building, prioritization and finding one's unique career. Enjoy!
Check out Kevin:
- https://supertry.itch.io/
- https://www.patreon.com/supertrystudios
- https://twitter.com/realkevincole
- https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/supertry/space-kings-the-book
- https://pretendfriends.libsyn.com/
If you have any questions at all, please send them on over to fanfundedpodcast@gmail.com - and we will do a special Q&A episode later this season, or bring on a guest to answer your questions!
Join my newsletter: http://lasercampaigns.com/
Mega Ran is at the top of his field - a record-holding, touring, album-releasing, book-writing, Twitch-streaming creative powerhouse. I was so excited to be able to talk to Raheem Jarbo about all of the amazing things he's doing, his creative and business mindset, and more. Please check out this episode, and then check out Random.bandcamp.com!
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
- https://www.eztexting.com/
- Distrokid
- Bandcamp
- SmartUrl.it
- Canva
- Reaper
- Ignite hospitality services
CHECK OUT MEGA RAN:
- Megaran.com
- Patreon.com/megaran
- Megaranmusic.com
- Megaranmerch.com
- twitch.tv/megaran
- Twitter - @megaran
- Instagram - @mega_ran
Yes, there is a balance between being productive and being happy. Please don't hurt yourself! Recording this episode with the incredible pianist Rebecca Hass changed my whole year - she has such good insights on how to spot burnout coming, how to take care of yourself and enjoy creating.
Check out Rebecca's Stuff!
- 5-day creativity challenge: http://bit.ly/creativity5day
- Coaching website: coachingforcreativewellness.com
- Music website: rebeccahass.com
- Being A Whole Person podcast: coachingforcreativewellness.com/podcast
- Why We Resist Rest and How It Helps Our Creativity - https://www.coachingforcreativewellness.com/podcast-blog/how-rest-helps-creativity
- The 12 Stages of Burnout - https://www.coachingforcreativewellness.com/podcast-blog/12-stages-burnout
- Moving Forward Creatively in Low Power Mode - https://www.coachingforcreativewellness.com/podcast-blog/moving-forward-replenish-creative-energy
Recently, Amy Dallen was hired by D&D Beyond, but before she got that incredible new gig, she sat down with me (virtually) to talk about her adventure launching a Twitch channel, live-streaming, playing games and reading comics professionally, and taking an acting career in new and wild directions. Learn all kinds of things about community building, live-streaming and more from one of the post enthusiastic humans on earth, Enthusiamy herself!
- http://twitch.tv/enthusiamy
- https://twitter.com/enthusiamy
PS: I'm opening up my class soon, so make sure you're getting my newsletter so you know more about it, and you can even go ahead and apply by clicking the "work with me" button! All of that and more at:
http://lasercampaigns.com/
How can having a manager or assistant completely transform your creative business? Want to know the secrets behind a huge podcasting/book/comic/tv empire? Well, Amanda Freberg is the person to know!
Check out the McElroy Family: https://www.themcelroy.family/
It's currently MaxFunDrive! Check out how they do it, you will learn a lot!
https://maximumfun.org/join/
Here's Amanda's podcast: https://alls-fair-in-lava-and-floor.simplecast.com/
Richard Malena-Webber is a writer, game and puzzle designer, and last year started an online Dungeons and Dragons summer camp on Kickstarter. In this episode, he talks about taking the jump and going from being a teacher to a full-time games man, and all his Kickstarter tips.
(Yes, he is my husband!)
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rmalena/academy-of-adventures-2021
I loved answering your questions! Here's what we dig into in this first Q&A!
How do you divide time between marketing and creating your own art?
How big is your mailing list? How many fans do we need?
Can you crowdfund vinyl without a large email list just being found on Kickstarter and maybe adding Facebook/IG ads?
Do Facebook ads work / are they necessary?
I see a lot of RPG Kickstarters where a large part of the backers (40-50%) came through Kickstarter itself. Is there anything we can do to increase Kickstarter serving up our project to their audience?
I'd like to start a Patreon but feel that I don't have enough time/energy to make extra rewards that could be exclusive to patrons. What kind of rewards could you suggest that still give value to supporters but won't require a ton of time making extra content?
How do I find an audience for my weird niche thing?
How do you make yourself pick and focus on a project that is feasible in the limited time that you have, despite having too many ideas?
I run a small animation studio. We’re preparing a crowdfunding campaign for an animated short film. As the director what should I be doing 3 months away from the campaign?
I stream games on Twitch. How do I grow my audience from 10 (half of whom are family) to 100 and beyond while maintaining that small community feeling?
If you have any questions at all, please send them on over to fanfundedpodcast@gmail.com
How can you grow an audience for your writing on the Internet? Sharing books, stories, and writing is impossible on social media, isn't it? Peter Chiykowski has cracked this game, and so many other things. This episode is for anyone who wants to build an audience for their unique art, or who is curious how such a thing is done!
Check out Peter's stuff:
https://shorteststory.com/
https://storyenginedeck.myshopify.com/
Peter's things: https://lookitspeter.com/
Join my creator newsletter: https://www.crowdfundingschool.org/fans
Send in your questions: fanfundedpodcast@gmail.com
Human joy machines Zach Reino and Jess McKenna (Off Book Podcast) join me to talk about finding their niche in comedy with their musical improv podcast, the decision to leave their podcast network Earwolf, moving to the Patreon-backed website Memberful, creating tiers for their existing audience, and how focusing on spreading joy has helped them direct their creative endeavors within a sometimes-toxic comedy world.
- Check out Off Book: https://www.thezachandthejess.com/podcast-off-book.html
- Off Book Clubhouse: http://offbookclubhouse.com/
- Send Questions to fanfundedpodcast@gmail.com
- Get emails: http://lasercampaigns.com/
Paola Harris of Paola's Pixels started with one design for a Dungeons and Dragons t-shirt, a tumblr, and a day job, and is now a full-time creator with an online store. I absolutely love everything she makes, and I needed to have her on this podcast. She has launched five Kickstarters, put her designs on ties, shirts, skirts, and designed pins for popular D&D podcasts. In this episode, she gives us all her tips for artists who want to launch a business!
Resources recommended in this episode:
https://www.printful.com/
https://cottonbureau.com/
https://www.etsy.com/
https://paperandspark.com/
https://www.gooten.com/
Check out Paola's amazing stuff!
https://paolaspixels.com/
https://www.patreon.com/paolaspixels/
https://www.etsy.com/shop/PaolasPixels
https://www.instagram.com/paolaspixels/
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/irrel/natural-defenses-enamel-pins
https://twitter.com/Irrel
My sister Aubrey Turner joins me to talk about the Doubleclicks, my 10-year band that's raised half a mill on Kickstarter and Patreon, full-time employed two delightful people (us), all through the creation of very specific nerdy, queer, cat-themed songs for our gorgeous audience! How did we do it? Why do we love email so much? Is the music industry allowed to be fun?
- Send your questions to fanfundedpodcast@gmail.com
- Check out the Doubleclicks: http://thedoubleclicks.com/
- Sign up for emails at http://lasercampaigns.com/
- Peep our first-ever Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/angelar/the-doubleclicks-new-album-dimetrodon-weekly-songs
Fan Funded is a new podcast by and for independent creators. Curious how to build an audience full of excellent people who actually want to support your music/art? This is the podcast for you! Subscribe now as we launch in April 2021!
Send your questions to fanfundedpodcast@gmail.com!
Get my awesome inspiration newsletter: http://lasercampaigns.com/