Publisher Lila LaHood explains her newsroom's recent Kickstarter campaign. Lightning Round presentation at INN@IRE Day 2014, Investigative Reporters & Editors conference, San Francisco, June 26.

1. San Francisco Public Press
@sfpublicpress
sfpr.es/pedalpowerednews

2. The Good News
• We made our Kickstarter goal!
• We’ve raised _________ from _________ people.

3. How We Got Here
• Michael Stoll
• We’ve been delivering papers since 2010
• Delivering downtown by car is difficult and
expensive
• Benefits of bike delivery in a dense urban grid
• Wanted to try crowdfunding again after early
success with Spot.Us
• San Francisco loves bicycles
• Being serious, charming and quirky
• INN

4. What Worked Well
• People liked the idea!
• Script and storyboard
• Custom illustrations for video and campaign
• Supporting material for ongoing promo
(videos, maps, trivia etc.)
• Social media team magically fell out of the sky
and into our newsroom (almost seriously)

5. The Hard Part
• Making the video took a long time
• We are not videographers.
• Not everyone understands Kickstarter
• “Can’t I just give you this dollar bill?”
• You have to ask again, again and again
• 1,000 is a big number

6. Will You Give $1 to Support
Pedal-Powered News?
sfpr.es/pedalpowerednews

7. How Much Did It Cost?
• $1,650 Videographer, video editor, illustrator
• $150 Hard drive to hold footage
• $300 Promotional postcards
• Borrowed:
• GoPro camera
• Bike trailer

8. Advice
(What We Will Do Differently Next Time)
• Making the video will take longer than you think
• Train EVERYONE in your organization to be part of the
campaign
• Distribute the work
• It takes a while to get set up with Kickstarter
• It can take MANY DAYS to get your campaign approved
• Figure out in advance what you’re posting when and where
• Your website
• Kickstarter updates
• Social media
• Newsletter blasts
• Personal emails

9. Surprises
• Our loyal fans gave us lots of money
• People who like your idea will still give you
money even after you reach your goal
• Personalized requests = highest rate of response
• You have to ask again, again and again
• Blasting lists didn’t help as much as hoped
• We picked up a whole bunch of new members!
• The campaign itself was an invaluable outreach
opportunity

10. sfpr.es/pedalpowerednews
THANK YOU!