How Do I Crowdfund My Comic?
In what might be the biggest “chicken or egg” problem that all creators must face, we’ve created this guide to help you figure out how to crowdfund your indie comic book project.
Below is a list of services that can help get you started on your crowdfunding journey. But also please note that Indie Comics Zone hosted a panel at the March ’24 edition of GalaxyCon Richmond, which you can watch in full here.
Backer Kit
Most think of Backer Kit as a way to supplement and manage some of the cool projects creators are trying to fund, but recently they’ve become a catch-all for everything crowdfunding. According to their site, Backer Kit provides the creator with everything they will need to “crush your campaign — tools, resources, even a whole crowdfunding platform.” They are known for their Pledge Manager, which allows for creators to manage pledges and “give your backers more opportunities to contribute to your campaign and buy more stuff.”
Comix.one
If you’re not familiar with Comix, please check out our interview with Saurabh Bhatia, the creative mind behind the site. What Saurabh has created is just wonderful. His site features some of the best indie comics on the web, and his goal is to make Comix.one a one-stop-shop for those who need distribution, promotion, and crowdfunding assistance. The site states that creators can “bring your work to life with our crowdfunding, sell back catalog and issues on our marketplace or add it to your crowdfunding campaign in just a few clicks!” Not too shabby!
ComixLaunch
Tyler James, aka “ComixLaunch,” is a not exactly a platform for crowdfunding, but a repository for best practices for crowdfunding indie comic book projects. Mr. James features interviews with creators, many of whom has launched successful crowdfunding campaigns. James offers guidance, resources, and a community of fellow creators.
Crowdfundr
A potential competitor to Indiegogo and Kickstarter is Crowdfundr. The company says they are the “Creator Friendly Crowdfunding Platform.” According to their site, Crowdfundr is “free, easy to use, secure, privacy oriented and full-featured.” The platform does have a comic book-specific area, which fans can use to explore the latest campaigns.
FundMyComic
According to their website, FundMyComic started out as an “alternative platform to the big crowdfunding platforms that [the FundMyComic creators] felt had become a place that no longer upheld the idea of independence and freedom of expression.” FundMyComic is solely dedicated to funding comic book campaigns, and boasts a 3% commission fee for those campaigns.
GoFundMe
Most of us are familiar with GoFundMe as a way for people who need help funding after sudden emergencies or personal causes, GoFundMe can technically be used by creators to raise funds for specific projects. The company claims that they are “the most trusted online fundraising platform for any need or dream.” That said, GoFundMe is known for its ease of use and wide reach.
Indiegogo
Another popular platform, and possibly as well-known as Kickstarter is Indiegogo. IGG, as many refer to it, offers flexible funding options and has a large community of backers. Fans and friends can do searches on Indiegogo to find a variety of different types of projects — any of these projects are not related to publishing or comic books.
Kickstarter
Adding this listing might seem obvious, since Kickstarter is arguably the most popular crowdfunding platform out there at this time. A ton of creators turn to Kickstarter for their crowdfunding needs, and it is likely because the platform is the “Netflix” of crowdfunding sites, according to the great Pat Shand. In a nutshell, Kickstarter allows creators to set funding goals and offer rewards to backers in exchange for their support. Like other platforms (Indiegogo), Kickstarter has a wide variety of projects that people can get behind, many if not most of them have nothing to do with comic books. However, Kickstarter realizes that comics are a growing part of their business, and they have a “Comics Outreach Lead” position within the company.
Patreon
Many creators use the Patreon as sort of a side-hustle, rather than as a traditional crowdfunding platform. You might see creators leave a Patreon link in their Twitter/X profile, asking for contributions toward their creative works. Patreon allows those creators to receive ongoing support from fans in exchange for exclusive content and rewards. While it might not fund a specific project, it can help a creator stay “in the black” between big pushes.
The Spaceman Project
Another alternative crowdfunding site for comic book creators is the Spaceman Project. All can agree that this company has the coolest name of the bunch! The Spaceman Project appears to be geared for supporting European-based Spanish-speaking creators and their books. The website states that they’ve combined crowdfunding with publishing, to “give the artists a more modern approach to be able to create they books.”
Zoop
A relatively newer name to the crowdfunding world is Zoop. This firm says that they all for creators to “customize [the] fan experience” of crowdfunding. They say that Zoop is “a user-friendly platform that redefines crowdfunding for comic book readers, creators and publishers.” Zoop is one of a few platforms that was created just to serve creators of comic books and related projects, rather than anything under the sun (like Kickstarter and Indegogo). Jordan Plosky is the Co-Founder & CEO of Zoop, and (at this writing) is looking for funding themselves in order to grow.
PLEASE NOTE: This list does not constitute any endorsement of products or services. This list is presented for informational purposes, and there is no guarantee or recommendation stated or implied.
Please do remember to thoroughly research each of these platforms to understand their fee structures, terms of service, and audience demographics to determine which one aligns best with your project and goals.
As this list is constantly evolving, and if we’ve left anyone off, please e-mail us.
