Filmmaker's Dream Blog

Kickstarter is a great website that lets you pitch your idea for anything to gain funding for your project. Kickstarter is also partnered with Amazon and allows you to set up your business account through Amazon to receive any money you gain through your Kickstarter campaign.
Website Review

• User Friendly: Kickstarter is a very user-friendly website and isn't too complicated to use. The layout is very simple, yet keeps you interested in the site. 
• Features: Kickstarter includes your own mail inbox for messages from contributors or other people. You're able to gain inspiration from other projects from the discover feature. A help page and a blog is provided on the top corner of the website to give you any resources or answer question you may have regarding Kickstarter.
• Recognition: Kickstarter has been featured through CNN, TIME, BBC, and Wired.
• Socio-Cultural: Kickstarter has a social network feel to it even though the platform is for funding. The website allows you to connect with so many different types of people and helps you build a fan base. (Malik, 2011)

Process

• During the process of gaining funding from Kickstarter you must have your idea formed and ready to show. The best way of getting your idea understood is by making a video of yourself to give your audience something to connect to. Promote your kickstarter campaign on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Set a goal for when you need the funding for your project as well as how much you want to achieve. You will also need to come up with some type of rewards for your contributors so they receive some sort of incentive for donating money to your project. The rewards can be big or small, but you will need at least 1 or 2 for the people who decide to help you out. 

Success

• Many people have gained a lot of success and funding from Kickstarter. Over millions of dollars have been donated to thousands of projects pitched. A new hit web-series, 'Awkward Black Girl' received over $60,000 from their funding campaign. 

Pros & Cons

• Pros: Kickstarter is one of the easiest ways to reach multiple people and pitch your idea. The amount you can receive is unlimited, all it takes is a great idea that encourages people to want to help donate. If you exceed your funding goal, you can still receive any extra money given. 
• Cons: If you don't reach your funding goal by the deadline, even if its $1 short, you don't receive any of the money that was donated. All the money donated will be turned over once the entire campaign deadline is reached.

Competitors

• A similar website to Kickstarter is Indiegogo. Indiegogo is the largest funding platform website. Indiegogo allows you to keep all of the money that you raise even if you don't meet your funding goal, but with a higher percentage cut. If you reach your goal, you must pay Indiegogo 4%. If you don't reach your goal, you have to pay 9% to Indiegogo. Indiegogo is used by over millions of people all over the world and considered to be a very successful website. The site is extremely similar to Kickstarter, but with a few minor changes. Check out Indiegogo here: Indiegogo

Start your campaign for your wonderful projects today! Don't let money become an issue, because if there's a will, there's a way. Visit www.kickstarter.com or www.indiegogo.com

References:
Malik, O. (2011, May 25). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://gigaom.com/2011/05/25/why-kickstarter-works/