I've been on Patreon for two years now and let me tell you. "IT IS VERY HARD WORK", I can't begin to tell you how many times I had mentally wanted to quit. like F@ck this SH*t and quit. but you REALLY have to be dedicated. its not one of those things you start then six months later you give up. there is a lot of physical drainage in it. I have a patreon and I struggle. I love my readers so they keep me motivated and lucky for me I've had some pretty dedicated supporters for 2 years now and they are awesome. but let me tell you, when I first started I had NO ONE. but you know what, I posted, didnt matter, I kept at it until I got that one subscriber for $1, I was SO HAPPY. and that was the beginning.
One thing I will say is, don't focus on the numbers, focus on the content and actually people who stay and support you because you will be disappointed, like really disappointed. you will have people who will come to take advantage of your work but you gotta grow a though skin and keep pushing. you will also have your ride or die supporters and those are the ones that make the experience worth while.
don't focus on how much you are making, focus on content you are producing. don't overwhelm yourself and thats something I had to learn in along run. provide what you can produce in a long run. don't dish out incentives or goals you can keep up with. I learned from my mistakes. keep it simple and accomplishable because like I said, you will be doing it for a long time and it does get redundant.
Be CONSISTENT! wow I can emphasize that enough. its the key to being successful. its hard but very important. and no matter how many people subscribe and unsubscribe to you always remember to appreciate the ones that stay and not get offended. one time I had someone sub for like 12 hours then left. I then said to my self, oh well, their loss because I have amazing things to offer. so remember to keep your self motivated.
anyway, sorry for the long message and typos. I just wanted to share my experience with you. good luck!