Donation Option Included in Support Program

WintreKitty 2015-09-04 22:04:28 UTC #1

I just want to get a feel of what people think of this. Currently, the support program is a way for fans to give a monthly fee to their favourite artists as a way to support them, with a little something from the artist themselves in response to said payment.

As a student -and I'm sure many others can relate- I can't afford to give money monthly to support artists as I am not sure if I'll have enough to do so every month. However, I really do want to be able to give something (even if it isn't that much).

Many of the artists here on Tapastic create comics for little to no monetary gain. They create comics because they love it, and they want to show their work to those that can appreciate it. As a reader, I want to show my appreciation to these artists. I don't require anything in return (i.e. support program) because they are already giving me the chance to read their work for free.

So what I would like to know is if a donation option is possible? Some artists may not have time to create extra pieces of work, or offer special deals for supporters because they have full-time jobs on top of the artwork they create. A "donation box" would be a way for readers to directly support their favourite artists with a one-time payment. They would also have the option of giving more than one donation if they wish.

I do believe that the current support program is a great idea. It allows for fans and artists to interact in a unique way. But it also leaves out a chunk of artists and readers that can't afford the support program (whether that be via money or time).

This is just an idea, but I feel that it may be beneficial to both readers and artists in the long run.

So what do you think? Is this a good idea? Is there a way to improve this?

UzukiCheverie 2015-09-04 22:12:44 UTC #2

The support program requires a minimum of $1. I'm not gonna be a cynic or try to sound selfish or anything, but $1 a month is not that bad.

But I do get where you're coming from, it's just that the minimum is not a lot to begin with, so it's not like if you start supporting a creator for $1/month, you're suddenly gonna be broke. And if you feel like that would be the situation, you shouldn't be supporting - put your own well-being before others, it's basic survival. You're also free to cancel your support after the first payment if you really just want to put in $50 and then disappear.

Who knows, it might be a thing that Tapastic does in the future, but it's up to the staff to decide whether or not that would be beneficial or just redundant lol

WintreKitty 2015-09-04 23:04:55 UTC #3

Yeah, and I thought about that too. There are pros and cons of both, and I can understand if they don't want to complicate an already functional system.

abbastudios 2015-09-06 10:00:05 UTC #4

You can withdraw support at anytime.

Give when you can.

nobody 2015-09-06 19:27:39 UTC #5

I've been thinking about the same thing. Although $1 a month isn't that much, it can become much if you have 20 artists you'd like to support. Then again, you have the option to stop supporting whenever you like of course, but I can understand that it might feel like you've given that artist a false hope of monthly income. But in a way it's kind of the same for artists who get their work published too. Just because someone bought last month's issue doesn't mean they'll by next month's issue, there are never any guarantees.