Comic Kickstarter: How to Make More Money
Running a Kickstarter campaign to fund your comic? You may be missing this crucial step.
Once a week.
That’s about how often I have to say this. I find an amazing Kickstarter from a local, exceptional or even famous creator and there’s no way for me to support them as a comic shop owner.
I think using Kickstarter to get a self-published comic book or graphic novel off the ground is a great idea. It lets you control your budget and timeline as well as complicated processes like fulfillment.
However, when you are planning your Kickstarter and establishing tiers, remember to include a reward level specifically for retailers. We want to help you.
What is a Retailer Tier?
Retailer tiers are backing opportunities (aka Rewards) where stores commit to buy your book in bulk at a discounted rate. It’s as simple as that. Right along with your digital and print backers, or maybe tiers with original art or bonus swag, there should be a tier for independent book and comic shops.
After all, you make comics! Hopefully you spend time in comic shops. You network. You support. Now we get to support you back. It’s as simple as that. Without a retailer tier you’re leaving money on the table and ultimately limiting the reach of your comic. When your comic is in stores, it has a much longer lifespan to be noticed by new readers. And comic fans are the most devoted group out there.
Key Ingredients to a Successful Retailer Tier
Verify your supporters are retailers. Require a link to a website or a reseller certificate once the pledge is made.
Keep the pricing and ratios simple. The retailer tier should have approximately 5 books listed at 50% of the cover/retail price.
Whoa! That’s a big discount. You’re right. But that’s the discount we get from our distributors. You’ve got to be competitive, so price your books correctly.
Yes, you can charge shipping, even though many of our distributors don’t. We’d rather you wouldn’t, but keep it reasonable and it will be ok. It’s the cost of supporting another small business.
Deliver on your campaign. If you don’t ship the books, you’re burning an important bridge with stores that would continue to support you in the future. If there are delays, communicate them. When sending out packs to stores, include some extra promo items to giveaway or draw attention to your product.
Here’s an example from Level Ground Comics:
In most of their campaigns, it could be argued that the retailer tier is what pushed them over the edge to meet funding goals. It’s simple and easy. And you should be doing it too.
Do you have questions about reaching out to stores? Or how to price your books? Check out our presentation from IC3 on how to sell your comics to shops.
Pitching Self-Published Comics to Book Stores
It was a privilege to be a presenter at Indie Comics Creator Con 2025 in New Haven, CT. My talk focused on how self-published comic book creators can get their books on store shelves. The most direct route is to pitch the book yourself.