Kickstarter Goal Calculator for Comic Book Campaigns

One of the hardest parts of any Kickstarter campaign is coming up with your goal. We’ve seen a lot of campaigns over the last few years, and one of the most common mistakes we see people make is not factoring in costs for postage or Kickstarter fees.

We’ve created a simple-to-use calculator that automatically gives you the amount you should set for your Kickstarter goal.

To use the calculator, enter in the minimum amount you need for each element. If any field isn’t relevant (for instance, you did the writing or artwork yourself, or you don’t anticipate any other costs) then just put a zero in the field.

If you’re unsure what to put in for the marketing costs, why not check out our Kickstarter Promotion Packages? We offer a range of bespoke packages to accommodate even the smallest marketing budgets.

Top Tips for Kickstarter Goals

When it comes to your Kickstarter goal, neither the value nor the importance should be underestimated. Here are our quick tips to make sure you set the right amount.

Ask for less, not more

As much as you may want to make thousands of pounds in your campaign, your goal should be the absolute minimum amount you need to make your project viable. I’ve seen lots of projects set high goals that they never achieve. But I’ve also seen lots of low-goal campaigns soar to incredible heights.

The reason behind this is simple: people see the percentage that a campaign is funded as the percentage chance they will actually get the book. If a project is 75% funded, then a potential customer sees that as only a 75% chance that they will get the book, making them less likely to donate. Conversely, any campaign that is over 100% funded means it’s a guarantee that you’ll get what you pay for.

It may sound silly, but it’s an important part of the mentality that goes along with marketing your Kickstarter.

Don’t go too low

While you don’t want to set your goal too high, you also don’t want to set it too low. How often have you seen a Kickstarter finish and then a bunch of messages from the creator about how they forgot to account for postage or the Kickstarter fees?

You don’t want to pay out of pocket at the end of your campaign. Your goal should be the true minimum amount that you need to cover all of your costs.

Set stretch goals

Stretch goals are a great way to keep up the momentum of a campaign after you hit 100%. Prints, badges, and shiny covers are all great ways to add value to an already successful campaign.

The main place where people save money to pay for stretch goals is printing and postage because of the way bulk pricing works. Here’s an example:

Let’s say you set the cost of your book at £3.00. Printing 100 comics costs £2.00 per book, but printing 200 costs £1.50. So if you hit 200 books, you will have £100 extra.

Setting a stretch goal gives people a reason to keep donating – or increase the amount they’ve already pledged, and help you go from 100% to 150% or more!