In today’s flashback post, we’ll look at articles about becoming a publisher, giving backers a voice, commenting on the internet, naming a project, and shipping.
Everything a Kickstarter Creator Needs to Know About Trademark Law (#131): The Board Game Lawyer, Zachary Strebeck, joins us for a lesson on tradmark law! In short, trademark law exists to protect consumers from confusion and also your investment in brands and the goodwill associated with them. The major test for trademark infringement is “likelihood of confusion,” to which the Supreme Court says such confusion is “incapable of exact definition.” So, that doesn’t make things easy! Check out Strebeck’s indepth analysis with real-life examples in the full article.
The 6 Core Philosophies for Great Customer Service (#132): Derek Sivers’ article on customer service provides these 6 points to remember: You can afford to be generous. The customer is more important than the company. Customer service is a profit center. Every interaction is your moment to shine. Lose every fight (in other words, don’t get defensive). And lastly, rebelliously right the wrongs of the world. The article reminded me that the true test of great customer service isn’t when you’re at your happiest, but rather when you’re stressed and short-tempered–those are the defining moments.
The Psychological Benefits of Launching and Ending a Campaign Within the Same Month (#133): The here is: this month, or this year feels like the present, while next week, next month, or next year feel like the future. We’re human, so we’re much more concerned with the present than the future–that is, we’re willing to act on our current needs and desires more often than those that seem far away in the future.
Pull the Tooth (#134): I can get so caught up in a specific project that I fail to realize it’s simply not going to work. No matter how hard I try, no matter how passionate I am, some ideas aren’t good enough. And that’s okay. It’s okay to not put a mediocre thing on Kickstarter just because you’ve spent a lot of time on it. The key is to remember I always have the power to get that idea out of my system–to pull the tooth–and move on to something better. By finally saying “no” to that idea that has dominated my time, I open meself to all those little ideas I pushed to the side in the meantime. And it’s guaranteed that I learned a lot in the process of pursuing the obsession that I can apply to those new ideas.
Why We Share (#135): My theory is this: we share things because we want to talk about them. Sometimes that means we want to converse with people. We’re either creating a platform for us to talk to other people or to incite discussion. How does this apply to Kickstarter creators? If you want people to share your project, don’t just leave it to the “share” button on Kickstarter. Create images that people want to talk about because they make that people look and feel awesome, clever, or funny.Share those images in project updates and on social media.
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If you have any questions or thoughts about these topics, feel free to share in the comments!
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