The Data-Driven Creator | John Ward | Substack

How to differentiate between horror and non-horror films

A quantitative framework to help creators trigger a fear response in their audience.

Aug 30, 2025 • John Ward

Day of the week effect and Kickstarter launches

Diving into my own Kickstarter data, and my desire to be a creative generalist not a creative specialist.

Jul 18 • John Ward

Publishing frequency has no effect on backer patronage, so what does?

Findings from a study of Patreon data explored which creator-driven campaign variables are associated with higher levels of backer patronage.

Jul 4 • John Ward

How I plan to escape my engagement bubble

The pursuit of optimization has trapped me inside an engagement bubble. I need to escape and this is how I plan to do it.

May 29 • John Ward

How do we overcome the creator+ paradox, where the way we describe ourselves is actually hurting our growth?

How a recent study on musicians and music creators reveals why your vulnerability is being monetized, and how to stop burning out.

May 23 • John Ward

Most Popular

How to fail as a creator

Sep 22, 2024 • John Ward

Are you seeing more cancelled pledges on Kickstarter?

Feb 16, 2025 • John Ward

October roundup

Nov 3, 2024 • John Ward

Are we witnessing the enshittification of Kickstarter?

Dec 8, 2024 • John Ward

Stop guessing, start building. Evidence-based strategies and case studies to overcome the friction holding back your projects.

Creativity

Day of the week effect and Kickstarter launches

Diving into my own Kickstarter data, and my desire to be a creative generalist not a creative specialist.

Jul 18 • John Ward

Why your best ideas are being killed by binary thinking

Creator advice is everywhere and often focused on binary, contradictory options. But a paradox mindset forces creators to integrate both options.

May 9 • John Ward

Working harder got me nowhere until I started using a logic model

I wrote every day but felt like I was getting nowhere. Here's the tool I used to align my creative output with my actual goals.

Mar 28 • John Ward

The Data-Driven Creator

The Data-Driven Creator

Stop guessing, start building. Evidence-based strategies and case studies to overcome the friction holding back your projects.

Science

The differences between digital and print reading strategies

Studies show people read digital and print versions of the same material in different ways. What does this mean for indie creators?

Mar 21 • John Ward

Books vs. Movies: which horror format is scariest?

What does the research literature say about which format is the scariest? What does that mean for indie creators?

Mar 7 • John Ward

Growing your audience using PDSA cycles

Growth without specificity is a vanity measure and potentially destructive, yet is a ubiquitous promise on every digital platform. How and what does…

Feb 7 • John Ward

Recommendations

Orange Cone Productions

Travis Gibb

Robert Reich

Ashcan Press Comics Corporation

Matthew Rosenberg

Jason Aaron's Beard Missives

Jason Aaron

Jonathan’s Substack

Jonathan Hedrick

horror

Books vs. Movies: which horror format is scariest?

What does the research literature say about which format is the scariest? What does that mean for indie creators?

Mar 7 • John Ward

It's launch day!

Are you hungry for horror? Consumed is now live on Kickstarter.

Oct 7, 2025 • John Ward

One week until launch

Early bird reward information for the Consumed anthology

Sep 30, 2025 • John Ward

Dialling up the fear

Lessons from research on how to make horror stories even scarier!

Sep 13, 2025 • John Ward

Crowdfunding

Day of the week effect and Kickstarter launches

Diving into my own Kickstarter data, and my desire to be a creative generalist not a creative specialist.

Jul 18 • John Ward

Publishing frequency has no effect on backer patronage, so what does?

Findings from a study of Patreon data explored which creator-driven campaign variables are associated with higher levels of backer patronage.

Jul 4 • John Ward

How do we overcome the creator+ paradox, where the way we describe ourselves is actually hurting our growth?

How a recent study on musicians and music creators reveals why your vulnerability is being monetized, and how to stop burning out.

May 23 • John Ward

What 8 years of Patreon data reveals about creator success

Why comparing yourself to viral hits is misleading, why specialists churn faster than generalists, and what the data says about your actual growth.

Apr 18 • John Ward

Roundup

Three insightful posts for indie creators

Here are a curated list of articles that inspired and challenged me this month. Each contains a fundamental truth to help indie creators.

May 16 • John Ward

Three insightful posts for indie creators

Here are a curated list of articles that inspired and challenged me this month. Each contains a fundamental truth to help indie creators.

Apr 4 • John Ward

Three insightful posts for indie creators

Here are a curated list of articles that inspired and challenged me this month. Each contains a fundamental insight that can help indie creators.

Feb 14 • John Ward

October roundup

Posts that caught my eye in October.

Nov 3, 2024 • John Ward

The Data-Driven Creator

Stop guessing, start building. Evidence-based strategies and case studies to overcome the friction holding back your projects.

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The Data-Driven Creator

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