How do you set a crowdfunding goal?

What goes into a goal?

Everything the first version needs, and nothing it doesn't:

• Making the rewards: materials, printing, production.
• Getting them to people: packaging and shipping.
• The fees: each pledge counts toward your goal after its fees, not at what the backer paid.
• VAT where it applies, and tax on what you raise.
• A small margin for what goes wrong, because something will.

Leave the dream version out. The goal is what makes the first version possible.

Why does all or nothing change the goal?

Because a campaign that misses its goal gets nothing. A goal you can reach with the people you already know is worth more than a bigger one you'd need strangers to fill.

Passing the goal doesn't stop anything. The campaign keeps collecting until its deadline, and what comes in above the goal is yours on the same terms.

How many backers does a goal need?

Divide the goal by the pledge you expect on average, then add a few for the fees. The goal planner does it for you, with fewer and more backers side by side. Pricing your rewards? The reward tier planner shows what each tier leaves you once it's made and sent.

Then count honestly: how many people you know would back you in the first week? The first pledges are what make strangers take a campaign seriously.

What if you pass your goal early?

You can claim as soon as the amount raised reaches the goal, even before the deadline. Say on the page what extra money would do, so people who arrive later know what they're joining.

Be careful with that promise. More money often means more to build, and more to build means later rewards. Promise only what you'd still deliver on time.