My Indiegogo campaign to raise money for my next book has reached its goal and I couldn’t be happier.

I’ve got a couple of thoughts that are worth sharing. First, a lot of people asked why Indiegogo and not Kickstarter. The answer is pretty simple: Kickstarter doesn’t let you fundraise from Canada. I didn’t mention this in the Indiegogo writeup because I wanted them to hopefully feature me on their front page (to date, they have not).

People also wanted to contribute more. My perk contribution tiers were $9 for the book, $18 for early access, and $100 for a writeup in the book itself. Lots of people contributed $50, but didn’t get anything extra for their contribution. In hindsight, I left a price umbrella of sorts. I’m still contemplating what I can do to thank people who contributed more than they had to to reach a park – I’m open to suggestions.

I was unabashed about sharing the campaign on Twitter to my followers, nor about asking influential people in the community to help me spread the word. Obviously, I didn’t want to be a nuisance, but I had a lot of positive feedback from people I contacted about helping me.

Indiegogo’s Field Guide has some suggestions for a successful campaign, including adding new perks. They point out that most repeat contributions are to gain newly added perks. I’m reluctant to do this just because it feels a little dirty asking people for even more money, especially where I’ve already met my goal.

If I had to do it all over again, I would not have launched on a Friday night and I would have included more perk levels – one at $50 and one at $250.

I’m incredibly grateful for everyone who has helped out, either by contributing or helping to spread the word. You all rock.