Advice for Patreon?

[gexten_art]

Bumping this since I’m curious as well!

[GabiWolf]

I will tell you what I was told. "It's never to early to start a Patreon." If you feel like monetizing your comic is something you want to do in the future then start a Patreon as soon as you feel comfortable even if you don't have any Patrons.

When I started my patreon I started out with one tier that was just lore extras. After I got more comfortable I started adding early access, and now I'm up to two tiers. I'm sure in the future when I'm ready I'll add even more tiers, but don't bite off more than you can chew when you first start. You want to make sure you can keep up with what you are offering and that it won't cause you undue stress. The best way to figure out if what you are offer as benefits is something you can keep up with is staring a Patreon and not announcing it. I didn't announce my Patreon right away. Once I felt like I could actually keep up with it I started advertising for it.
The good thing about Patreon is that it cost you nothing if you don't have pledges, so it doesn't hurt to just keep updating and posting before announcing you even have one. Plus when people come to your page and see you have X number of post just waiting for them to unlock, it gives them incentive to pledge.

Also I would suggest not doing a $1 tier it's not worth it. With Patreon's new fee system you would get basically nothing, and even Patreon suggest you start your tiers at $2 or $3.
I have two tiers one at $3 with early access to pages and lore, and one at $5 which is a NSFW tier.
If you are sending out physical items make sure that the cost of shipping and shipping material is covered. Don't short change yourself.

Hope this helps and good luck!

[vothnthorvaldson]

I agree with Gabbie, be careful about the shipping.
Unless you clearly put all your advertising toward compatriots, you likely will have international patrons, and even light envelops can be expensive to send internationally.
As a patron I love receiving material things, though, so my advice would be one single annual shipping of a few cards and stickers, to reward people who stayed a full year. It is also good to encourage people who would think of stopping contributing after a few months, to stay longer.
One heavier envelop will very likely be cheaper than 12 lighter envelop, and you don't even need to send as much as you would have if you sent every month. I would offer something digital every month, plus the shipped bonus once a year.

[Gramkrackerhan]

I have thought about Patreon, but don't feel like I'm quite there yet. It's been good to read everyone's comments and advice! I really don't expect to make anything off my comic, but it is of course good to know that this is an option. Just wanted to say thanks

[BrambleberrySquirrel]

I’m really enjoying reading the insights you guys are sharing. The bits about the cost effectiveness of shipping are standing out especially as I do more research. Printing and shipping a single postcard or sticker pack is about $5 with redbubble where I have my merch up. Thankfully the shipping is basically the same no matter where it’s going on the globe. But the fact that Patreon takes a piece on top of the overhead definitely affects how and even if offering a physical benefit tier is feasible. I’ve got more thinking and prep to do before I can make this happen. But here is a great article about Patreon rewards illustrators can offer.

16 Patreon Rewards for Illustrators To Offer Patrons | Patreon Blog

[arpeggiomax87]

Way to be one of the lucky ones.

[WillowTree]

There's no big secret being hidden from you or anyone else. Everyone here is working hard for their subscribers, just like you. Some is luck, some is just a massive amount of time that they've put into improving their craft and finding their audience.

[BrambleberrySquirrel]

A big thing is consistency and producing material. I’m not going to derail this thread so this is all I’m going to say about this topic. If you want to build a following as a comic creator on any site you have to do a few things without fail.

1. Keep to a schedule. Release an update every week on the same day. This is pretty much the bare minimum you have to achieve. Life may try to get in the way, you have to beat it into submission.

2. Share sketches and other works in progress on social media. This isn’t hard. You’re already making this kind of stuff consistently if you’re doing number 1.

3. Support other creators. People notice when you’re positive and willing to lend advice etc to other creators. None of us are competing with each other. Everyone’s work is unique and stands on its own.

4. Be patient. Whatever your goal is with regards to time, at least double or quadruple it. You aren’t in control of how people respond to your work. It might take you years to get the recognition you want.

[WillowTree]

Stick drawings that nail their joke delivery requires skill. Cutesy art requires skill. Skill requires hard work to improve.

But this is all way off topic for this post.

@Golden_Acorn I have a patreon that is severely neglected. I'm planning on editing my chapters for The Demon of the Sea and getting them posted on this weekend then start really putting work behind it. As a novelist, the most I can really offer is early chapters at this point so that's my plan

Edit to add - I think your tiers look really good!

[SleepingPoppy]

If someone finds success easier than you, pandering or not, that's not an excuse to tear other people down. Everyone in here giving advice is just doing their best.

[aqua03]

You doing okay, dude? You seem a bit... Shook up. Everything going smooth?

[arpeggiomax87]

No. No I am not doing okay. I'm sick of having to come on here and have nothing but frustration panhandling me in such a demeaning way because I missing out on everything I could have gotten.

I am salty about it.

[migxmeg]

I can only speak as a reader so far :). But maybe avoid physical merchandise unless it's at a higher tier - between your time to prepare those and the cost of shipping that could become hard to keep up with.

And maybe you didn't start a comic to make money but it's ok to want to get paid for your work! I think you can start a Patreon whenever you feel ready.

[Jenny-Toons]

Hi everyone -- watching this thread slowly derail into the topic of "hardwork and pandering", when OP really just wants advice on making a Patreon. Please stay on topic and help them out.

---

For my own advice -- it helps to understand your brand:

What exactly are you selling to people, and why should people buy from you? Remember, there are other creators out there that can make the same tropes, topics, and items like you. So it helps to understand what do you do to make your brand your own?

Myself? I know I create cosmic horror romance. I wear this brand well -- I talk in fandoms that dive a bit into cosmic horror romance, I've talked about the ideas behind why I find it cool, and then I post that alongside my drawings. I do this for both patreon and my social media.

I also promote my Patreon within my comic -- kinda do some promotion updates and even some subliminal messages (like a sign that says "Become a Patron"). It's funny, people comment on it, and some even become patrons. Right now, I make around $47 - $66 dollars (after all, patrons come and go, so you kinda have to get used to that seesaw). That has been from promoting in places that benefit my brand, talking about my brand, and just offering different things.

Also helps to make stuff that you'd do anyway. Do you make progress gifs? Do you have script pieces you haven't published yet? Any behind the scenes? Post to the Patreon and talk about it. I'm a patron to others as well, and I eat that up plenty.

Also -- it just helps to keep it low-pressure and have several options. Nothing wrong with keeping it as a tip-jar. Patreon is nice, but it's not always guaranteed. Patrons come and go for different reasons, so it's always nice to look at other sites for donations (like Ko-fi or even paypal). Have tiers in Patreon, but also offer places where people can make one-time donations if they can't always stay monthly.

Another thing -- people are lurkers. They might not always comment on your work, but they watch how you interact in social places (like forums or Twitter). If they see you actively helping others, posting content often, talking about why you like your work, and so on -- even if they don't always comment, they're often willing to pitch in. It's what I do. Might not always comment, but I've definitely given money to peeps out there sharing their work and helping others.

So these are just some suggestions! Hope my rambling helped out!

[aqua03]

Dang, I'm really sorry that you feel that way. It sounds like you're going through a really rough time. If it makes you feel better, you're not alone in that feeling. A lot of artists have probably felt the way you have at one point or another in their lives. Frustration and burnout is natural and will pass eventually.

Please take care of yourself going forward. Maybe it would be healthy to take a break from comic art to do something you love with no pressure? That might help with what you're going through currently.

Just please, take care of yourself with whatever yo do going forward with your comics.

(If it makes you feel better, I think your art's really good looking and unique. So just try your best to stick to it and I'm sure you'll find a niche soon enough. Just stay optimistic and keep persevering. )

[BrambleberrySquirrel]

Thanks! This is all super helpful and insightful!

[a.g.meade]

@Golden_Acorn - I've launched (and subsequently unlaunched) a Patreon twice, so since there's already been a lot of great advice on rewards and tiers, I'd like to weigh in on potential pitfalls to consider.

• Launching too early - I do think there is such a thing as launching a Patreon too early. I think this mostly revolves around short-term vs long-term branding. Have you thought through how you want to present your brand not just now, but in the future? Is your Patreon going to represent you as a whole, or a particular comic series? If you're planning to do more comics in the future, which it seems like you do based on your bio, what does that mean for the themes of your current tiers?

• Commitment - This has definitely been mentioned already, but just wanted to reiterate it. Particularly for the physical tiers, make sure you have both the time and resources to consistently create and send these rewards out to your patrons.

• Don't undervalue your work - I think this has kind of been addressed already with shipping and handling for the physical rewards, but it's important all the same. Once you get a patron for a tier, you won't be able to change the cost per month. You can make new tiers or (I believe) discontinue tiers, but just make sure you're comfortable with locking yourself in to that dollar amount and that it's sustainable with shipping/supply costs.

I hope this is helpful as you move forward.

All of that said, your tiers look solid and well thought out, and I think they'll be quite exciting for your patrons. Best of luck on this new venture!

[BrambleberrySquirrel]

Thanks for this advice. I really appreciate it. There's a lot of great insight in this one reply. The branding piece is something I've put some thought into for instance when it comes to the short term. Figuring out what I want that to look like long term is another issue entirely. I also didn't realize that your tier price is locked in once someone joins up. That's really good to know!

[a.g.meade]

@golden_acorn - For sure, I'm glad I could be of some help!

[allenT]

Thanks @Golden_Acorn for this thread.
Sorry to butt in, I have few questions too cos' i'm also into this:

I'm have a Patreon account (Lite) and i see no rush to upgrade to Pro as i was hoping to draw a number people into it before getting to next phase. Also I don't want to provide much exclusive content/services in my hands at the moment.

Should i upgrade right away? Does having NO TIERS really drives people away? Is Patreon Lite version pointless-- for catering like-minded creators who may support others, and not for those who wants exclusives?

Thanks.