What sections should a Kickstarter campaign story have?

Six, in this order: the hook (one paragraph that says what it is, how far along it is and when it ships); what it is (how it works, in plain words); why now (what is finished and what the evidence is); who you are (names, track record, how many of you); where the money goes (the goal broken into its costs, with the quote dates); and risks and challenges (the one real risk, with your plan). Reward blurbs and the first three updates come after.

How long should a Kickstarter story be?

Between 600 and 1,200 words of text, broken by headings and images every few paragraphs. The hook is read by everyone and the risks section by the people who back at the higher tiers, so those two are written first and tightest. Longer than 1,500 words and backers scroll to the rewards without reading.

What should the first paragraph of a Kickstarter page say?

What the thing is in one sentence, how far along it is in one sentence with a number (plays, prototypes, samples, pre-launch signups), and when it ships. Backers decide in that paragraph whether to read on. “Tidewater is a two-player game where the board floods between turns. 214 people have played the current version. Copies ship in May 2027.”

Should I say what the money is for?

Yes, as a list of numbers that adds up to the goal: the production quote (with the month you got it), freight, platform and payment fees, a reserve. Backers trust a goal they can add up. Say plainly whether any of it pays you.

What goes in risks and challenges?

The one risk that is real for your project (usually manufacturing or shipping), what you have already done about it, and what you will do if it happens. Not a list of everything that could go wrong, and not “there are no risks”. A specific risk with a plan is the most trusted paragraph on the page.

Can someone write the campaign story for me?

Yes. That is our service: you send your facts (what it is, who you are, how far along, what the money pays for, reward tiers, dates, any draft) and within 1 day you get the full story in your page's order, a short blurb per reward tier (up to 8) and three update posts, for $69 (£54 incl. VAT, A$99, C$89). One free round of changes. Nothing is invented; every claim and date is yours, and we never touch your account.

Guide · 17 October 2026

What goes in a Kickstarter campaign story, section by section.

Six sections, in the order backers read them, what each one has to say, and the numbers it needs. Then a complete sample page for a made-up board game so you can see the length and the tone. The same shape works on Indiegogo and BackerKit; only the box names change.

Write my story, $69 Read the full sample

Tidewater, the game in the example, does not exist; its creators and numbers are invented and labelled as such. A real story is written only from the creator's own facts.

The short answer

A campaign story is six sections in a fixed order: the hook, what it is, why now, who you are, where the money goes, and risks and challenges. Each has one job and needs one or two numbers. Backers read the hook, scroll the images, read the money section if they are thinking of a big pledge, and read the risks if they have been burned before. Write those three tightest. Six hundred to 1,200 words in all.

1. The hook: one paragraph, three facts

The first paragraph is the only one everyone reads. It says what the thing is, in one sentence a stranger understands; how far along it is, with a number; and when it ships. Nothing else.

Tidewater is a two-player game where the board floods between turns. Every round the tide comes in by one row, and whatever you left on the shore is gone. Twenty minutes, one table, no dice. … 214 people have played the current version at four conventions and two game cafés, and 41 of them signed the pre-launch list on the spot. The art is finished … The money prints 1,500 copies at a factory that has already produced our sample, and ships them in May 2027.

What it is, how far along (214 plays, art finished, factory sample made), when (May 2027). The number is the part most first-time creators leave out, and it is the part that makes a backer keep reading. If your number is small, say the small number; “38 people have played it” is more trusted than “playtested extensively”.

2. What it is: how it works, in plain words

One or two paragraphs that let a backer picture using it. For a game, a turn; for a gadget, a day with it; for a book, who it is for and what happens in it. Concrete nouns, no adjectives that every page uses (“innovative”, “unique”, “beautiful”). Say what is in the box and what is new about it, in one sentence each.

Two players, one shoreline of 36 tiles, eight boats each. On your turn you move two boats, then flip one tile to collect its cargo. Then the tide moves: the lowest row of the board floods and every boat on it is lost. … A full game takes about twenty minutes, and the only thing in the box you have not seen before is the tide track.

3. Why now: what is finished, and the evidence

This section answers the question every backer has and few ask: is this real yet? List what is done, with dates, and what is left. The campaign exists because one specific thing (the print run, the first batch, the tooling) is the only step remaining. If that is not true, say what is left honestly; a backer who finds out later is a backer who asks for a refund.

The current version has not changed since January 2026: the last two conventions produced no rule changes and no broken tile. The factory sample arrived in August, the art was delivered in September, and the only thing left is the print run. Our pre-launch list has 1,280 people on it, 41 of whom played the game before signing. That is the number this campaign is built on, not a guess.

4. Who you are: names, track record, how many of you

Real names, what each person did on this project, and anything you have shipped before, with its number. If this is your first project, say so; “this is the first time we have asked for money” reads as honest, not weak. Two or three sentences. Backers are funding people, and they want to know how many there are and whether they have done it before.

Lena Marsh designed the game and ran every one of the 214 recorded plays herself. Tomas Reyes drew all 36 tiles and the box; this is his second published board game after “Milltown” (2023, 2,100 copies sold). We are two people, we have no publisher, and this is the first time we have asked for money.

5. Where the money goes: a list that adds up

The goal, then the costs that make it, each with a number and, for the big one, the month the quote was given. Production, freight, platform and payment fees, a reserve. Say whether any of it pays you. A goal a backer can add up on their phone is a goal they trust; a round number with no breakdown is the most common reason a page reads as unready.

Our goal is $24,000. That is one print run of 1,500 copies ($15,900, quoted in writing by the factory in September 2026), freight to our fulfilment partner in Ohio ($3,600), the campaign and payment fees ($2,400), and a reserve for replacements and damaged boxes ($2,100). Nothing in the goal pays either of us.

6. Risks and challenges: the one real risk, with a plan

Kickstarter requires this section and most creators waste it. Name the one risk that is actually real for your project (for a physical product, it is almost always manufacturing or shipping), say what you have already done about it, and say what happens if it goes wrong. Not a list of everything that could happen, and never “we do not foresee any risks”. A specific risk with a plan is the most trusted paragraph on the page, and the one experienced backers read before pledging at the higher tiers.

The real risk is shipping, not the game. The game is finished and the factory has made it once. Sea freight from Shenzhen to Ohio has moved between five and nine weeks in the last year; our May 2027 date assumes nine. If it takes longer, the delay will be weeks, not months, and we will say so. We have deliberately not offered stretch goals that add components, because every new part is a new factory step and a new way to be late.

After the story: reward blurbs and the first three updates

Each reward tier gets one line: the price, a name, what is in it, when it ships. The sample has eight, from a $1 thank-you to a $1,000 tier with the original prototype. Then write three updates before you launch, so you are not writing them at midnight on launch day: launch day (we are live, what it is, the price, the ship date, thank the people who got you here), mid-campaign (the number you are at, the question you get most and its answer, what has not changed), and the last 48 hours (funded or not, what is confirmed, when it closes, what goes away after). All three are on the sample page.

Five things that make a page read as not ready

No number in the first paragraph. Plays, prototypes, samples, signups, pages written: one real number.
A goal with no breakdown. If you cannot list what the money buys, backers assume you have not asked.
“Innovative”, “unique”, “game-changing”. Replace each with the thing it was describing.
Stretch goals before the goal. A plan for $80,000 on a page asking for $24,000 tells a backer where your attention is.
A risks section that says there are none. There is one. Name it.

See the whole page

The sample campaign story is the full Tidewater page: all six sections, the eight reward blurbs and the three updates, written from an invented fact sheet the way we write a real one. Read it once for the shape, then put your own project in it.

Would rather we wrote it from your facts?

You send what you have: what the thing is, who you are, how far along it is, what the money pays for, your reward tiers, your dates, and any draft. Within 1 day you get the full story in your page's order, one blurb per reward tier (up to eight) and the three update posts, in your voice. One free round of changes. Nothing is invented: every claim about your product and every date is yours, nobody can promise your project will fund, and we never touch your account or publish anything.

Write my story, $69

Also £54 incl. VAT · A$99 · C$89 · back within 1 day of payment, or a refund.

Questions

What sections should a Kickstarter campaign story have?: Six, in this order: the hook (one paragraph that says what it is, how far along it is and when it ships); what it is (how it works, in plain words); why now (what is finished and what the evidence is); who you are (names, track record, how many of you); where the money goes (the goal broken into its costs, with the quote dates); and risks and challenges (the one real risk, with your plan). Reward blurbs and the first three updates come after.
How long should a Kickstarter story be?: Between 600 and 1,200 words of text, broken by headings and images every few paragraphs. The hook is read by everyone and the risks section by the people who back at the higher tiers, so those two are written first and tightest. Longer than 1,500 words and backers scroll to the rewards without reading.
What should the first paragraph of a Kickstarter page say?: What the thing is in one sentence, how far along it is in one sentence with a number (plays, prototypes, samples, pre-launch signups), and when it ships. Backers decide in that paragraph whether to read on. “Tidewater is a two-player game where the board floods between turns. 214 people have played the current version. Copies ship in May 2027.”
Should I say what the money is for?: Yes, as a list of numbers that adds up to the goal: the production quote (with the month you got it), freight, platform and payment fees, a reserve. Backers trust a goal they can add up. Say plainly whether any of it pays you.
What goes in risks and challenges?: The one risk that is real for your project (usually manufacturing or shipping), what you have already done about it, and what you will do if it happens. Not a list of everything that could go wrong, and not “there are no risks”. A specific risk with a plan is the most trusted paragraph on the page.
Can someone write the campaign story for me?: Yes. That is our service: you send your facts (what it is, who you are, how far along, what the money pays for, reward tiers, dates, any draft) and within 1 day you get the full story in your page's order, a short blurb per reward tier (up to 8) and three update posts, for $69 (£54 incl. VAT, A$99, C$89). One free round of changes. Nothing is invented; every claim and date is yours, and we never touch your account.