What Is A Stretch Goal?
A stretch goal is an additional goal you set for your campaign in case you exceed your initial funding goal, and is generally used to finance another specific aspect of your project.
Example: A video game project raises $50,000 to produce a game with 10 levels. Once they hit $50,000, they announce a stretch goal of $60,000 and use the additional $10,000 to add another level to the game. Take a look at the Skullgirls campaign for a great example of a successful stretch goal strategy.
Note that stretch goals are not a feature that is built into the Indiegogo product. Rather these are optional ideas for you to implement and are a way for you to incentivize your backers toward helping you achieve your new goals.
What Are The Benefits?
When your audience sees you've reached 100% of your initial funding goal, they may not see a compelling reason to contribute more. A concrete stretch goal is a great motivator to do just that — especially if it rallies around a specific purpose — and a hugely successful campaign might even have more than one! Stretch goals are especially helpful if your project has a high budget.
Example: A film project wants $60,000 to produce a movie, but can realistically make a bare-bones version for $30,000. They create an initial $30,000 goal, and once they hit it, add a stretch goal of $50,000 for “additional locations and cast.” When they reach that goal, they add another $10,000 for a car chase scene and an explosion, bringing their final stretch goal to $60,000 — the number they wanted all along! Take a look at Wong Fu’s campaign for a great example of successful film-related stretch goals.
What Makes A Good Stretch Goal?
It's Reasonable
Hitting a $10,000 goal on day one is great, but it doesn’t mean that a $50,000 stretch goal is reasonable. While there’s no rule of thumb, remember that you should be able to fund the main portion of your project with your initial goal. If your aim is to raise funds beyond twice the total of your initial goal, consider a series of stretch goals that breaks that total into smaller compelling steps.
Similarly, you probably don’t want to promise a stretch goal that will double the amount of work you have to do to fulfill your perks or campaign objectives.
It's Concrete
"We want more money" isn't a compelling reason to contribute. We recommend that you find another concrete goal for your project that justifies asking your funders for further support.
Example: Skullgirls had clear stretch goals — new characters and levels — that carried them from their initial goal of $150,000 to $828,000.
It Benefits Previous Contributors
The best stretch goals mobilize your contributors by offering them something else they want. Skullgirls built and distributed new game levels – and because that extra content benefited all contributors, it motivated everyone to share the campaign or contribute a second time because they wanted the new levels for themselves.
Some Examples of Campaigns with Well-Built Stretch Goals: