How the flub does Paypal work, and how do you deal with donations?

DTSaranya 2016-05-11 01:08:51 UTC #1

Hello, you majestic sunflowers. I would like some guidance while trying to navigate the world of internet money, if any of you fellow creators can offer it.

I recently set up ads on my site (using Project Wonderful) and have reached a point where I can start making withdrawals. I've also had a few readers message me on reddit/imgur asking if there's a way for them to donate, be it through Patreon or directly through Paypal.

So, I've logged into my Paypal for the first time in like 600 years to try to figure out how the frig it works, and after a bit of reading, I realized I have no idea what I'm doing. Would I need to upgrade to a either a premier account or a business account to accept donations? I assume that it'd need to be premier because I'm not actually a business?

So, for those of you who have sites that generate ad revenue, what kind of paypal account do you use?

I'm also working on setting up a Patreon, and while that's more straightforward to me, any advice or insight would be appreciated. I upload once per week (though I'd like to increase that to twice per week) and I'm not sure if I should be using the pledge-per-thing-created system or the monthly one.

I'm also having some trouble reconciling the idea of people giving me money for what I'm doing. I know it's entirely voluntary on their part, but I already feel a lot of pressure not to let them down, and I'm not currently accepting any donations, so I can only imagine that anxiety would get worse. The idea of people paying me for the comic makes me feel guilty, like I don't deserve their money, especially since I know my art could use some work.

Do any of you have the same issue? Does it get better over time?

I uploaded my comics on a whim and created a site because people on imgur said I should, so I went into this entire thing not really knowing what to expect, or preparing myself for the logistics of making it work long-term.

If anyone can give me advice on how to not balls it up, that'd be lovely.

PS: Here are some kittens as thanks for reading.

joannekwan 2016-05-11 01:24:17 UTC #2

I use a normal paypal account and so far have not encountered anything that limits my activity. Here's a link from Paypal on how to create your own donation button. Anyone can accept donations as long as it's not for profit.

I don't know, I don't feel too much guilt. But sometimes I worry about my Patrons and I think they deserve more than I'm giving them. I suppose I can start doing giveaways or something... but Patreon rewards is a different discussion.

DTSaranya 2016-05-11 01:32:52 UTC #3

I've read through the guidelines for the different accounts, and the restrictions involved. But, none of them seem to give much information on how these rules apply to things like webcomics. I don't know if a webcomic counts as "fundraising" or "not for profit."
I imagine the end goal for most people doing this kind of thing is to go full-time, and even for those who don't reach that level, if they're at all supporting themselves from their work, or even just using the money to support the site/equipment costs, can that really be considered "not for profit?"

It seems like the "no need to prove yourself until you make over 10,000" will keep most people safe, but if this system is not intended for this purpose, I don't want to be using it that way.

PotooGryphon 2016-05-11 01:36:18 UTC #4

I have just a generic personal paypal account, not a business one, however I don't think it'd make much of a difference either way. It's just serves as an online bank account.

As a supporter on Patreon, I prefer the once a month system because it's easier to manage and know exactly what will be charged to me each month while the per creation system can flux from month to month. I don't like the idea of possibly going over budget on supporting an artist due to them making more creation post in any given month.

As an artist on Patreon, I charge per month for the curiosity to my backers mentioned above and also I have my account setup as a tip jar where backers can donate as much or as little as they want and all rewards are unlocked for them. Through several questionnaires and polls I've run with my backers and asking people on social media, people back an artist for the love of what they're creating and rewards aren't very important. Most say that they'd gladly back an artists even without rewards. Another determining factor that hinders people from backing is just they don't have the money to, so I keep it open for them to pledge what they can and remind new backers that they can become patrons for as little as $1 a month. Nothing is that cheap!

It takes some practice and time to build that confidence about your art. There's no need to feel guilty about it. You're providing a free service to people by posting a webcomic and donating is just a way for supporters to show appreciation and help grow this service. If you're feeling guilty about it still, you can always heap lots of love on your supporters through one on one livestreams, sketch requests, and more fun rewards (but for most people, rewards aren't necessary). Gratitude is always appreciated and great to heap on backers.

At first yes, but after trial and error, several polls, and the chance to get to know my backers, I no longer get anxious about it. I know each one of my backers and consider them friends. So for me it got better with time and I was able to build confidence by getting to know my backers.

It's a good sign when people actually start asking how they can back you. That's awesome! Definitely give them a place to do that whether it's a patreon page or a paypal donate button.

Ah! Kittens ♥♥♥

DTSaranya 2016-05-11 01:42:47 UTC #5

Thanks for the thorough answer.

I'd probably take a similar approach as far as Patreon is concerned, as I imagine most would. The way you've explained the per-month thing does make it seem like the better option.

I've been very lucky in terms of how kindly the internet has treated me. I suppose the "joke-per-comic" approach with the silly humor works well for imgur and reddit.

carloswebcomic 2016-05-11 02:01:41 UTC #6

Take the money and run. Don't look back, don't question why, just keep running.

shazzbaa 2016-05-11 03:19:44 UTC #7

I'm selling books, not taking donations, but I also have a generic paypal account! There are a lot of things where my accountant has assured me that it doesn't matter until you're making above a certain amount of money, and even if that's the point I want to get to, I don't have to worry about it until I get there. (I do pay taxes on it, though!)

Re: per month vs per creation

Most people prefer Per Month -- but here's the thing. Patreon has a feature where you can say, when you pledge to a per-creation campaign, that you don't want to spend above a certain amount per month. So you can say "I'm pledging $5 per page, but I don't want to spend more than $20" so that if the creator posts, like, 5 pages that month and marks them all as paid posts, you don't end up going overbudget. That means as a creator, your money might fluctuate more.
But there's benefits, too. I had another friend who couldn't get past the feeling that he was asking for free money, so he set up his patreon as a per-creation instead of per-month, so that he could say "You can see what your money is paying for -- if I don't get an article out that week, you won't be charged for it." He promised up and down that he would only post X number of paid articles per month, and any extra content he created would just be posted as freebies, and he pointed out the "max per month" feature in his patreon campaign description so that anyone who was worried about fluctuating charges could use it. It required him to do a lot of extra explaining, but it's what helped him to feel okay with starting up a patreon.

It's something to consider -- I think if you look at it and decide that per creation would make you, personally, more able to make art without feeling pressured and obligated, then it might be worth it. And you can always change it later!

Please keep in mind that everyone can see your comic!! It's free to look at! If anyone looks at your comic and thinks "nah, this isn't worth my monetary support," then that person will not pledge to your patreon.
If your patreon is just "People asked for a way to support my comic so I made a patreon, thank you so much, I'm blown away by your kindness" then you can just say that; you don't have to make it a hard sell. ;u; I also try to keep in mind: this money isn't expectations of what you must live up to -- it's thanks and support for what you're already doing.

DTSaranya 2016-05-11 03:32:50 UTC #8

Thanks for the thorough response. Whenever I see you on here, you're always being so helpful!

I get worried about the paypal account type only because it specifically says that the donations for a personal account are meant for fundraising, and I don't think this qualifies as "fundraising," so it makes me feel like I'd be abusing a system meant for something else.

I don't think I'd get in any legal trouble for it, especially since so many other people here are saying that they use personal accounts, but it would make me feel a lot better to be 100% sure that I'm using the features provided as intended.

Thanks as well for the Patreon advice.