When you launch a Kickstarter campaign, you must set a fundraising goal, which should reflect the minimum amount of money that you need to bring the project to life.
If you hit that target before the campaign’s duration runs out, then you will be able to keep the funds that have been pledged by backers, and proceed to fulfill the promised rewards. If you don’t hit your goal, none of the backer’s credit cards will be charged.
However, what happens if you hit your crowdfunding goal when there is still time left before your campaign ends? This is where stretch goals come in. To give you an example of what stretch goals are, I’ve included a screenshot from the ‘Vidcode: A Coding App Created with Girls in Mind‘ campaign.
These creators promise that if the campaign hits $60k in funding, then they will create a programmer portal, where advanced users can submit sketches and lessons for others to learn from. If the $100k milestone is reached, then the creators will be able to create an iOS/Android version of Vidcode.
To give you another example of a different type of stretch goal, I’ve included a screenshot below of the ‘Notion: Be home, even when you’re not‘ Kickstarter campaign.
If the $250k stretch goal is reached for this campaign, then backers will have the ability to own a limited edition color version of Notion.
As you can see, you can use stretch goals to motivate your audience to continue to spread the word about your campaign, even after you’ve hit your goal. Stretch goals will also incentivize new backers to join your project and encourage existing backers to up their contribution amount.
Usually, stretch goals are enhancements to your project that will be “unlocked” if you hit certain milestones. While not always, these enhancements are often given to everyone who has pledged to the project and claimed a ‘perk’ or ‘reward.’
An example of a stretch goal might be that if the project hits 200% funded, then each backer will get access to an exclusive part of the video game or a bonus track on your album.
Do stretch goals always coincide with a funding target?
No! You can advertise perks or enhancements that will be unlocked if a project gets a certain number of social shares on Facebook or a certain number of backers. In this post, Jamey Stegmaier explained how he offered stretch goals for Facebook ‘like’ milestones and for reaching backer milestones.
How do you finance stretch goals?
All successful Kickstarter campaigns must spend a portion of their funds raised producing rewards that were promised to backers. For this reason, many creators don’t make a large profit from their campaign. If you are going to add stretch goals to a campaign, then you need to consider whether or not you can finance them.
It’s best to choose enhancements that are low-cost to produce or that don’t cost anything to produce (aside from a time investment) to minimize the chance that you will be put in the red from trying to make a great experience for your backers. If you are going to offer a signifiant upgrade, then plan carefully.
In this blog post, Kickstarter warns “Stretch goals, on the other hand, trade long-term risk for a short-term gain. Tread carefully. What should a creator do if their project is funded with significant time on the clock? The same thing every creator should do: make an unforgettable experience for their backers. Use updates to share the creative process as it happens. Make a connection that goes beyond funding. Money gets spent, but a strong community will last forever.”
When should you announce stretch goals?
This is a tricky question. On the one hand, if you announce them early on, it will get backers excited about what lies ahead for your project and might make them work harder to spread the word about your campaign and help you reach those targets.
On the other hand, it doesn’t give you as much flexibility as you are running your campaign to surprise your backers with new stretch goals or to reconsider which enhancements you are going to offer in exchange for reaching new milestones.
I would recommend researching similar Kickstarter campaigns in your category and seeing how backers reacted to their stretch goal announcements by looking through the comments section on the projects and the comments on the updates.
If you have a large following, I think it would make sense to announce your stretch goals ahead of time. If you don’t, I would give some thought to stretch goals, maybe hint at ideas for them, but spend most of your time on making the actual project and rewards awesome.
Important Conclusions
If you’re having trouble coming up with ideas for stretch goals, be sure to check out my other articles on Kickstarter campaign reward ideas or Indiegogo campaign reward ideas.
If you found this article to be helpful, let us introduce you to some more resources here at CrowdCrux:
- Subscribe to the CrowdCrux email newsletter and Youtube Channel for all the best insider tips, tricks, and secrets.
- Check out the Crowdfunding Demystified Podcast and this book for interviews with wildly successful creators who have run six-figure campaigns.
- For in-depth insights on an A to Z crowdfunding strategy, check out: The Kickstarter Launch Formula — through this book or this course.
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We hope that this article has been helpful for you! Good luck with your campaign. Use CrowdCrux as your resource going forward for all things crowdfunding!
