Editing The Pen Addict 124/transcript (section)

== Kickstarter Campaign ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. So you built out the Kickstarter and you're using this great notebook, which I think is a fantastic choice. I mean, I think it's just dead on perfect and it's such a good quality notebook, such a good brand. But, you know, once I saw the product, the Kickstarter launch, you know, I logged in immediately to the Kickstarter and backed it. And the thing I noticed at the time was it was almost like it was a fixed amount. Like I was looking at this and I was like, the way this is going, this is going to be sold out in like two days and there's no more physical products. And that's kind of how it was in the beginning. I don't know that that was necessarily the plan up front. So tell me, tell us a little bit about how, you know, the launch went, what the plan was, you know, what your expectations were, and then kind of how it changed like pretty quickly.

'''Ryder Carroll:''' Well, the expectation was I wanted to see if people wanted this website. That was really important to me. And that's kind of why I put the Kickstarter out there. I mean, this is what I do for a living. And like if I was going to spend a lot of time doing it, I wanted to make sure there was an audience for it, an audience that really was engaged. And that's what Kickstarter is perfect for. And I figure just to sweeten the deal, like why don't we do a limited run so they actually can hold something physical for their sponsorship, if you will. And then very quickly it became evident that the book was significantly more important than I had anticipated.

'''Myke Hurley:''' You can't rule out the pen and paper nerds. Like they'll get you, you know.

'''Ryder Carroll:''' Yeah. I mean, it was a pleasant surprise. But as soon as those books sold out, and that was like maybe 20 hours after the campaign launched, I mean, the email started flooding in and people were really, really disappointed. And that's really the last thing that I want to have, you know, happen. The whole idea with the bullet journal is that I'm trying to create an environment that provides tools that help people. And it seems that a lot of people felt that this could be that tool. I designed it to be as helpful as possible, and it made sense that like, why is it limited? You know, why is it limited? So I went back to the Lifetone people, and we discussed how we could do this. And so now there is the limited edition, which remains sold out. So that's a one-time deal. And then now this unlimited edition, if you will, which will come out later after the limited edition has been produced and shipped.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Just from the physical goods perspective, what's the difference between the two editions?

'''Ryder Carroll:''' The quality is identical. So there was no, that's something that neither of us wanted to scale back on. So it will just be about the detail and the packaging. So essentially, the limited edition has the bullet journal logo embossed on the front cover in a silver foil. And it has three bookmarks, this book. So one of the three bookmarks will be silver. So it will be black, silver, and white.

'''Ryder Carroll:''' And then the unlimited edition has a blind embossed logo on the back. So it's much less branded, if you will. And we'll have a black, gray, and white bookmark. The limited edition also has a thank you message on the inside, which will not be there for the unlimited edition. And then the packaging is different.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Gotcha. Now, is there a theory behind the three bookmarks that come in with it?

'''Ryder Carroll:''' Yes, there definitely is. One of the big things about that will happen as soon as the Kickstarter is over is that I will be releasing the revised instructions to the bullet journal, which add a couple little things, but mostly clarify things that I had introduced before. It's been a year of people asking me questions. And sometimes a lot of people ask me the same question. So I think there's an opportunity there to tell certain stories better or to make the instructions clearer. But one pattern that I notice a lot is that people usually have a bookmark in their month, in the day, and then in a project. It's something that I do a lot as well because I switch in my book a lot. Sometimes a project will be very long, and it will be at the beginning of the book, and I will be currently logging things much further into the book, and I don't want to keep going back to the index. So the three bookmarks just make your three priorities a lot more accessible at all times. The book will also feature an index that's built in, as well as a future log, those kind of things.

'''Myke Hurley:''' The three bookmarks, like the page markers, when I saw those in the grid, I was like, I know I want this book. Because I could just see, like, I know that there are always multiple things that I'm working on. So even just to have it labeling three different projects is just an idea that really works for me. So I've got, like, three different things going on. I've got different pages in the book. I'm accessing them enough that to have them marked out like that just makes sense to me. But I guess, as you say, like, one of the great things about this is the way that you can adapt this to work in your own style. So having that sort of, that tool there is just a real interesting flexibility piece that I quite like.

'''Ryder Carroll:''' Yeah, I'm glad that you point that out. That's exactly the point. I just know that one bookmark is always too little for me, no matter how I use the bullet journal and what role it's playing. Because, I mean, for me, the bullet journal plays many different roles at different times in my life. So it's really nice that I can just have that feature always there instead of digging around.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, it's just one of those little touches that you don't notice, you know, your first or fifth time through looking at it. But in practice and having that added into a system like this, it's like, that's perfect. It's like, it's exactly right. And I thought that was just one of those little things that was just so cool and makes this just a really, really good product. So thank you. I'm really glad to hear it.

'''Ryder Carroll:''' There's always ideas in my head, but once they're out there.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Oh, I know, right? That's the truth. So I have a few more things I want to cover with you. But we have one more sponsor for today, Michael, if you would like to talk about our friends at Squarespace.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Exciting news today, guys. Let me first tell you everything you should already know about Squarespace. They are the all-in-one platform that makes it fast and easy to create your own professional website, portfolio and online store. For a free trial and 10% off, visit squarespace.com and use the offer code INK at checkout. A better web starts with your website. Squarespace are the place to give you your own home on the internet. There's nowhere better than Squarespace for this. They put all the power that you need into your hands and take away the pain points like worrying about hosting, scaling or what to do if you get stuck with something. Squarespace's fantastic, clean, simple and beautiful designs really allow you to craft a home for yourself online. And it's about to get even better with Squarespace 7. Squarespace have applied everything they have learned from powering millions of sites on the web to upgrade their platform and make it even better than before. They have refined their system. They've made their platform even more awesome and easy to use. Squarespace 7 features more stunning templates that all feature responsive web design. They've even partnered with some cool musicians, artists, architects and chefs to develop new templates that cater to these professions. They've also have embraced something they're calling the cover page. This allows you to create single page websites. They're really cool for personal websites. If you have like a braddowdy.com which links out to all of Brad's different projects for example. There's an idea. You could have something like that. Brad, you should have something like that.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' It is in the works.

'''Myke Hurley:''' They're also really cool for announcement pages too. Maybe you've got a big birthday coming up or an engagement or something. A lot of people use Squarespace for this type of thing so that they're really embracing it now making it even easier and putting all of the power on Squarespace on one page. They've added some more really cool tools to their brand new redesigned site editor like something that I really like called Device View which allows you to very easily see your content and how it looks on all kinds of devices. You can kind of say I want to see how it looks on a phone, on a tablet. But I was playing around with my website MikeHurley.net. I think that's the name of my website. Who knows? Something like that. Yes. MikeHurley.net is actually now using one of the new Squarespace templates and I've played around with it a little bit and I'm super impressed. It's even easier to use than before and I didn't think that was possible because I loved using Squarespace and I've had any problems with it and they've made it even better. This is something that's really interesting. Brad, if you don't notice, I think you might find this quite cool. Squarespace have partnered with Getty Images now to provide you with awesome photography at just $10 an image. You can't get a deal like that anywhere else. This is just another thing that Squarespace have done to make their platform even more cool. As well as things like getting free domain names 24-7 support, the ability to add commerce to every single site. They have their logo tools. They have fantastic apps. Squarespace are the full package. Start a trial right now with no credit card required and you can start building your website today. Go straight to squarespace.com to sign up. When you do decide to sign up for an account with Squarespace, make sure that you use the offer code INK at checkout. That's going to get you 10% off your first purchase and show your support for The Pen Addict. Thank you so much to Squarespace for the support of this show and all of Reel AFM. That's where Squarespace, a better web, starts with your website.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Awesome. I got opted into the beta this weekend for Squarespace 7 and it's going good so far. I'm very happy with it.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Indeedy. Yep.