UnitedCardists.com - The forum for Cardistry, Magic, Custom Decks and All Things Playing Cards.

Hi Guys,

I am currently in the process of designing a deck of playing cards. Now I am aware that in general you don't get rich of playing cards design, but ofcourse I want my project to succeed as does every designer.

However I am still a bit unsure as how you can increase the odds to succesfully fund a project. I am also at the disadvantage that I live in Europe where you have less market in custom playign cards and where the shipping to US customers is generally higher.

Now I learn a lot from reading about the comments in the Custom Deck Drafting Board and the New & Custom Decks boards. But most of these comments are design related. As in mirror your courts, don't make the border too wide, complement colours etc. And a bit about prices and shipping costs ,but it seems to me there is more to a good campaign then a good deck and a good price, which is marketing and exposure.

This is something that is kinda hard to estimate on a campaign.

For example, this welcome back deck https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/48 ... ards-white" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. In the New & Customs decks board people are not very positive about it, but it still managed to get 30% of the funds in just a few days with 28 days to go.

And for example this wolfram campaign got over 20000 USD in fund https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/38 ... -set2019ss" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; with mostly marketing on the packaging.

Then you have for example this Equality and Justice campaign https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pa ... d-by-uspcc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; or the buckaneer playing cards. Both seem really solid campaigns, nice art, nice renders, clear theme. But as it looks these will not be getting funded.

There are many more examples to find on kickstarter. https://www.kickstarter.com/discover/ad ... ory_id=273" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; As what makes me curious is that some seemingly boring or not particular well made designs are funded within days. While other more sophisticated campaigns seem to fail.

So what is the succes or fail factor? Is it really that the Buccanneer courts are one way that made this campaign slow? It is really just the case and some good marketing that makes the Wolfram cards so succesfull? I am just curious as to why some campaigns are succesfull and other are not.

Besides that it is maybe usefull (not only for me but also other designers) to gather some tips and tricks about how to reach your target audience effectively.

I think this is an interesting and worthwhile discussion on multiple levels.

There are, however, many layers to this. First is the obvious: UC is a very narrow group of buyers; not merely collectors, but collectors invested enough to monitor new deck releases, discuss them with other collectors, and comment on them with designers. As with any focused fandom, the ones who get involved represent a minority of the potential market.

Another is the fact that quality and marketing success are not directly related. You mention Wolfram, which is a pretty solid example. The cards are objectively not worth the asking price by any reasonable measure, when comparable or better cards are available for half to a third the price. It comes with an impressive amount of marketing material, going so far as a "certificate of authenticity" as though there's a real chance this is going to be traded in the aftermarket as a valuable commodity.

And indeed, look at other hype decks and you'll see some of them have held value surprisingly well, or at least asking prices would suggest so. Fontaines are a good example, constantly the butt of jokes - which I agree with, they look like ass - but they evidently sell. Why? I don't know. People have bad taste, if you ask me - why do trashbag pop musicians make a fortune and receive showers of adulation while a serious virtuoso on a traditional instrument can expect a life of relative obscurity and a middle class income if they're lucky? The truth is the average person is more swayed by things like celebrity endorsements, fancy packaging, and conforming to what everyone else is doing than by any serious evaluation of what they're spending money on.

As for why seemingly good projects fail, that's another good question. Buccaneers probably suffered from oversaturation of uninspired pirate-themed decks; by the same token, an artist could produce an extremely good Lovecraft themed deck, but right now would probably suffer from audience boredom with pop-art junk Cthulhu cards. I can't really guess why Equality and Justice failed other than just not getting the train rolling hard enough, or maybe just bad luck of coming out in between several other really good campaigns when people are feeling tapped out. I know I've dropped hundreds on recent campaigns, nevermind that I'm new to the hobby and still spending a lot filling in the decks I feel like I must have from the past few years, so right now I'm generally in a mood to pass on things unless they really stand out enough to make me cut my throat yet again.

I suppose it's a question of what kind of card designer you want to be - the guy who anonymously cashes in on Wolfram, or the one who engages with fans and produces great work for love of what they do? As well, ask how many such campaigns you can "get away with" before the hype train crashes and you can't fund a campaign for ice water in hell.

Thank you for your interesting reply.

You make a good point about different collectors and type of customers. I did not realize how versatile playing cards actually are. Still it's hard to estimate which groups are most activate on kickstarter.

Also there is such a huge amount of new playing cards that it is difficult to keep up with all developments like themes that are getting boring or over used.

I am going to think about it a little more.

To add something to the question : are those "not very good decks" which gets funding are buyed by random people or friends of the deck designer? Probably a little of both and cenrtainly not by collectors. Right?

A second question is how much paid advertising could help?

Marketing is one of the most challenging aspects of a good crowdfunding campaign, especially because there is so much competition, and so many good decks.

You need much more than just a good product, but you have to find ways to get the word out, and that is hard work. Steve Brooks has some excellent things to say about this in a recent interview that I just listened to (not yet published). He points out that many people running projects know about designing playing cards, but don't know anything about basic business practices. And as a result, their projects can quickly get into trouble.

Great topic. I currently have a kickstarter campaign live and would love advice on effective promotion and sharing - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/th ... ds/therian

Agree with comments here with soo many projects in market its very hard to get traction and cut through