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In recent years the world of playing cards have been expanding rapidly
due in part to crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo.
This guide will help you navigate through the process of developing a
successful crowdfunding project and what steps are needed to produce
playing cards.
Using Kickstarter to launch your playing card project lets you reach a
large audience but its not going to be as easy as you might think. You
need to plan before you get started, craft your project and put the
effort into it. Just dont put together a few card designs and call it good.
Months of planning is needed to run a successful project. Always
remember that this will be a challenging and time-consuming time in
your life. So, before you get started, make sure you are ready mentally
and physically.
What is Kickstarter and How Does It Work?
With Kickstarter, projects must reach their goal or they get nothing.
This isnt always true with other crowdfunding sites. For example,
Indiegogo will allow you to keep any money raised even if its only $50
of a $10,000 goal. So, keep this in mind when you set your goal. You
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want to make sure you set a goal high enough to achieve what you
need to do, but not set it so high that it become a challenge to reach.
When you set up your project you need to:
Set the duration of the project (typically 30 to 60 days)
Set the financial goal you need to make your project happen
Put together a project page that includes photos and text
explaining your project (videos are highly recommended)
Once you have your project complete, youll need to submit for
approval with Kickstarter. Sometimes Kickstarter will give you the
option to launch immediately, but we still recommend that you have
Kickstarter review your project for any violations. Kickstarter wont
tolerate rule breakers!
Typically youll receive approval from Kickstarter within 24 to 48 hours
from the time you submit your project. If theres any issues you need to
change youll normally get the go ahead within the same day that you
make any necessary changes.
Now that you have approval, its time to launch? Not so fast hot shot.
The first 48 hours of your project are the most critical. You need to
make sure you get momentum and keep it for as long as possible. You
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do this by making sure your family and friends know about your project
and make sure they know when you plan on hitting that green launch
button. Its also very important when and what day you launch your
project. Everyone will have their own advice on this topic but we
typically get best results launching in the early evening hours (6pm)
near the end of the work week (when people typically have extra
spending cash from payday).
In addition to getting your family and friends on board, you should alsoutilize the forums that specialize in cards such as
www.unitedcardists.com and www.playingcardforum.com. Both of
these forums have design and development threads that you can post
your work in progress. Keep in mind, these places may be critical of
your work but they will give good advice. Listen to them because many
will become your customers. It also helps to start making friends on
facebook. For example, we do a lot of decks based on history so we find
people with similar interests to be friends with. Typically speaking
magicians love playing cards so they also provide a huge audience to
show off your work to.
Now that people know about you and your project youre ready to
launch. Go ahead and press that green launch button. Use
www.kicktraq.com to track the progress daily. Theres no better (free)
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way of tracking your project than this website. Like I said before, your
first 48 hours will make or break you. This isnt always the case but
typically youll know if your project will make it or not by the end of the
first two days. For our, Global Unrest playing cards, this wasnt the
case. The whole duration of the project was too close to tell. In fact, we
only got funded in the last few hours of the project in that case. But
weve had projects that you can tell right away wont make it. With
these projects you question whether you should cancel and re-launch
or let the project fail before re-launching. We typically let the project
run the full course so we can gather as much feedback as possible.
More About Social Media!
I cant stress enough how important facebook is when launching your
project. If you dont have facebook or if your friend list is small enough
you can count on two hands, you may want to consider fixing this
before launching your project. Make friends with anyone who will
expect your friend request. Each person is one more person that will
see your work. If they like your work they may check it out on
Kickstarter. Who knows, maybe they will even become a backer?
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Here are five must-have networking tools to sharpen before you start
your playing card project on Kickstarter:
Your personal Website: Start your own site to share photos or
maybe even start a blog.
Twitter: Connect with writers, readers and experts in your
industry niche. Create friendships and establish a rapport with
followers.
Facebook: Friends, family and acquaintances can easily be turned
into supporters for your project.
Google+: Another popular and useful social networking site for
spreading the word.
LinkedIn: Great for making professional connections.
Growing your follower base across multiple social networking sites will
greatly increase your chances of success. Another great tool to use with
social media is doing contests. Keep in mind each site will have its own
rules and regulations about contests. So, make sure you research
contests before doing one.
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Research Before You Start
Theres a lot to know about playing cards. You need to know about the
different manufactures, paper types, terminology, niche markets, etc.
We typically do historical based playing cards. So for us, we do a lot of
research about the historical topic were doing at the time. In addition,
we look into the design styles of the time period were studying. Also,
check to make sure nobody else hasnt already done what you plan on
doing. Get to know your fellow artists, their styles and the niche
markets they target. Also get to know the key players within the playing
card market (the buyers, the sellers, the manufactures, etc.)
The Manufacturers (not a complete list):
United States Playing Card Co. (USPC) Expert Playing Card Co. (EPCC)
Liberty Playing Cards
Quality Playing Cards
MPC
Apollo Playing Cards
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Crowdfunding Sites (not a complete list):
Kickstarter
Indiegogo
CardLauncher
Deckstarter
Playing Card Retailers (not a complete list):
Murphys Magic
Gamblers Warehouse
Ellusionist
Dan & Dave
Theory 11
Art of Play
JP Playing Cards
The Flush
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Issues Youll Run Into
Weve ran into several issues during the course of several successful
projects. Well give a rundown of a few of the problems here:
Make sure you estimate a high enough goal: With Civil Unrest we
had the goal set a little too low to properly cover all the
unexpected costs. Almost everything we budgeted for was higher
than we expected. Not to mention we didnt realize postal prices
were increasing at the first of the year. So, in the end we had to
dip into our own pockets to fulfill this project. If we didnt have
the funds personally to do this we would find ourselves in a lot of
hot water. On top of the postal rates being higher than we
expected, USPC has a clause in their contract that allows them to
produce 10% above and beyond the agreed upon amount. After
doing three projects with them, I can testify that they WILL go
over 10% all the time. So, plan on paying an extra 10% after
printing is complete.
Freebies, freebies and more freebies: When doing a project youll
have many people asking for free stuff. Most of the time theyll do
a service for you and in return you give them some free decks.
While this is a good way to help spread the word via articles,
contests and reviews you should be careful not to get involved
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with too many deals like this. Your main goal is to start a business
not a charity.
Have A Plan 2 Available: With Global Unrest, we had approval to
use the Bicycle brand but during the Kickstarter project they
(USPC) had a change of heart about letting us use the Bicycle logo.
So, half way during the project we had to change course. We lost
some backers but in the end we still were able to get funded
because we had a few alternative plans for our backers to choice
from.
Always Round UP When It Comes to the Post Office: In school I
was taught to round down if the number is .5 and below. Well,
this rule isnt true at the Post Office. After dropping off hundreds
of packages we got an angry call from the Post Office demanding
we come in to add postage to many of these packages. For them,
anything .1 and higher needs to be rounded up to the NEXT
ounce. If your package weighs 2.1 ounces. Guess what? It doesnt,
it weighs 3 ounces in the eyes of the Post Office.
Your Funded Amount Isnt Accurate: For Colonial Unrest we raised
$18,018 which was $18 past one of our stretch goals. The problem
is, when your project ends youll have many backers who will have
errors happen with their finical info they provided. While many of
these errors will be fixed before theyre dropped, many dont get
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fixed within the week deadline. After a week these pledges (and
backers) are dropped. In the case of Colonial Unrest, it amounted
to $300 less than the actual amount it shows.
Watch International Backers: With every project theres a large
amount of international backers that fail to add the needed
postage. While these may be honest mistakes you need to make
sure this postage is paid before items ship. If the project has
already ended, contact the backer via e-mail and send them an
invoice for the amount they still owe.
You Got to Know When to Hold-em, Know When to Fold-em: For a
few our projects we had to re-launch. We did this with both Civil
Unrest and Global Unrest. We knew we came close to our goal so
we listened to feedback, made a few improvements than got
those projects funded. With other projects you can tell that theyll
never get funded no matter what. With these projects, just put
them aside. Maybe a year down the road tastes will change with
the general public. Dont keep beating a dead horse.
The Real Work Has Only Just Begun: Getting your project funded
is only half the job. Now that you have a successful project, get
ready to start really working. As soon as your project ends you
want to get your files to USPC as soon as possible!!! Theyre so
backlogged it will take at least two months before you see your
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cards. Once you get your files sent to USPC you can move
attention to your add-ons (poker chips, coins, shirts, etc.) All your
add-ons will be complete long before your cards. So, make sure
you focus on finishing your cards before moving your attention to
the add-ons. When all items are in, devote at least a whole
weekend in doing nothing but mailing. When I say, the whole
weekend I mean 48 hours of nothing but packaging and labeling.
Even then, youll spend weeks finishing everything up. Then youll
have to spend more time resending items that get damaged. With
playing card collectors, they expect their cards to be perfect. So,
do yourself a favor and make sure you package very well.
Always Plan Ahead: The next project should always be at the back
of your head. Take your sketch pad to work or soccer games. That
way when an idea hits you, youll be ready to draw it. While we
run a Kickstarter project we have another project or two in the
pipeline. Like we said before, it takes months of planning to get a
project ready.
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To Add-On or To Not Add-On
Many playing card projects have add-ons while some dont. Its really
up to you the creator of the project if you want to deal with add-ons.
Yes, they are a HUGE hassle but at the same time they do generate
needed funds. We tend to offer poker chips, coins, shirts, dice, uncut
sheets and art prints. The purpose of add-ons is to entice more backers
to back your project not necessarily make extra profit. Some add-ons
you can order in low quantities (art prints, shirts, dice) while the more
popular add-ons you have a higher minimum quantities. With coins,
poker chips and uncut sheets you need to hope you have enough
backers of these items to break the threshold of profit. In many cases,
you take a loss on these items because its hard to gauge how to
properly get to that threshold. For example, with most coins you need
to order 100so theres a certain amount you need to sell to pay for
those 100. More often than not, youre spending more than what you
made on items like this. But at the same time you get a lot of requests
for these items. Weve found its best to commit to an item like this and
include reward levels that include these items already built in.
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About Playing Cards
A playing card is a piece of specially prepared heavy paper, thin
cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic,
marked with distinguishing motifs and used as one of a set for playing
card games.Playing cards are typically palm-sized for convenient
handling.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Card_gamehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Card_game8/11/2019 Sketchpad eBook
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A complete set of cards is called a pack (UK English), deck (US English),
or set (Universal), and the subset of cards held at one time by a player
during a game is commonly called a hand. A pack of cards may be used
for playing a variety of card games, with varying elements of skill and
chance, some of which are played for money. Playing cards are also
used forillusions,cardistry,buildingcard structures,cartomancy and
memory sport.
The front (or "face") of each card carries markings that distinguish itfrom the other cards in the pack and determine its use under the rules
of the game being played. The back of each card is identical for all cards
in any particular pack, and usually of a single colour or formalized
design. Usually every card will be smooth; however, some packs have
braille to allow blind people to read the card number andsuit.The
backs of playing cards are sometimes used for advertising. For most
games, the cards are assembled into a pack, and their order is
randomized byshuffling.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_%28illusion%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardistryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_cardshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartomancyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_sporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braillehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suit_%28cards%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randomizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shufflehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shufflehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randomizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suit_%28cards%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braillehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_sporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartomancyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_cardshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardistryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_%28illusion%298/11/2019 Sketchpad eBook
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Design of Playing Cards
Playing cards can be found with two-way designs (symmetrical) and
one-way designs (asymmetrical). Your sketch pad is help you to design
symmetrical designs (which is typical for playing cards).
Asymmetryis the absence of, or a violation of,symmetry.
Symmetry is an important property of both physical and abstract
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symmetryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symmetry8/11/2019 Sketchpad eBook
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systems and it may be displayed in precise terms or in more
aesthetic terms. The absence of violation of symmetry that are
either expected or desired can have important consequences for a
system.
Symmetryis agreement in dimensions, due proportion,
arrangement in everyday language refers to a sense of harmonious
and beautiful proportion and balance. In mathematics, "symmetry"
has a more precise definition, that an object is invariant to a
transformation, such as reflection but including other transforms
too. Although these two meanings of "symmetry" can sometimes
be told apart, they are related, so they are here discussed together.
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Pulling Blue Out
When you scan your image into Photoshop theres several ways to pull
the blue out, leaving your base drawing. You can either go into
Adjustments > Selective Colors or you can to Adjustments > Replace
Color. The idea is to reduce the blue as much as possible leaving your
sketch that you can now draw into Photoshop and/or Illustrator.
Back Design
For you back design you typically want something very intricate and
engaging. With our upcoming Titanic deck we used elements from the
actual ship with the back design. We also gave the colors the feeling of
dark and cold (which is was the night the Titanic sank).
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