I don't want to link-bait, but I did write a blog post about the best crowdfunding practices.
I think there is a few good steps.

- Find your best competitor. (how did they succeed)
- Where does your market exist online. (reddit, facebook, instagram, specific blogs, etc)
- Create a trailer & landing page and try getting press aimed at your specific audience.
- Launch the Kickstarter with hype & have a marketing plan + press ready. With those you could easily hit $20k.

Here's the blog link if it will be helpful.
https://medium.com/p/9663e3bc8ed0

In no particular order, these are all super good.

#1 Noah Kagan talks about creating a million dollar business in a weeknend. http://fourhourworkweek.com/2011/09/24/how-to-create-a-million-dollar-business-this-weekend-examples-appsumo-mint-chihuahuas/

#2 Paul Graham on getting startup ideas.
http://paulgraham.com/startupideas.html

#3 Paul Graham on how to start a startup.
http://paulgraham.com/start.html

Most definitely. I actually highly recommend it so that you can collect emails before launching. This can be done through creating a beautiful landing page with content. Depending on your press approach, you could email writers or hire a PR firm.

I've hired a bunch of experts on Elance and oDesk. Just create a submission and guess what you think the qualifications are. Once you have responses you can see reviews from people before hiring them. You could also send messages before hiring them.