Patreon Revealed

[createssienna]

Hi there! If you have a patreon, I'd like to ask you some questions regarding how to use the site. I have not established a patreon page yet, but I am interested. I apologize in advance if these questions have already been answered on the forum somewhere.

1. How many subscribers did you have before you decided to create a patreon? Should new creators establish a patreon right away, or wait until they have achieved a certain level of subscribers?

2. Regarding the tiers, what does the option Benefits to Track mean? This option suggests to add a benefit. Does this option automatically push out rewards to any pledges received for the corresponding tier? What happens if the option is not selected? Also, do you store rewards on the site each month and have it released on a certain date?

3. How do you separate rewards by tier? For example, if you have a patron who pledges $5 and another who pledges $10 how do you keep the $5 patron from access to $10 rewards?

4. What type of patreon only content do you post on your page, separate from Twitter or Facebook that all patrons have access to?

5. How do you setup the patron only polls? Is there an option within the site that offers creators the ability to create polls?

6. Is it better to establish community-based goals or earnings-based goals? Do you keep your earnings private or hidden from patrons?

I appreciate any advice or information you are willing to share.

Regards,
Sienna

[Iris-Grimoire]

1. I set it up as soon as I could because of the May fee alterations. I don't think I even had 10 subscribers at that time. Always open as soon as you can, you don't have to necessarily show it on public; you never know when Patreon will pull their next fast one.

2. Not sure, haven't had to use this yet, but it might be for physical rewards.

3. You can use the Select Tier option on a new post, just check which ones get what.

4. Whatever you want really! I post pages before release, WIPs that I really like, and extra sketches not shown anywhere else.

5. I believe there is, but you can also make a link hidden behind a patreon-only post with a preview text to hide it, if you can't find it.

6. I'm not getting any earnings so it's public for now :'D I think people like it better when you're transparent about it. Earnings based goals might be better for your sake, since things like extra pages need more money to account for the time you're not working on anything else.

[Merle]

Hi there!

• how many subscribers etc.

I had about 5000 subscribers. I did wait until I had a certain audience, but you really don´t have to. It´ll be a lot of work to build up your patreon, so you might as well build up patreon and Audience silmultaniously.

• Regarding the tiers, what does the option Benefits to Track mean? This option suggests to add a benefit. Does this option automatically push out rewards to any pledges received for the corresponding tier? What happens if the option is not selected? Also, do you store rewards on the site each month and have it released on a certain date?

To my knowledge, this is an option you only have for yourself that Patrons do not see. it helps yourself to track the benefits. It does nothing but remind you everymonth of what you have to deliver, and you can tick it off anytime.
When you "Add a benefit", this is a new object that will be "tracked"
If it is not selected, only you are affected and do not have the feature of being reminded/tracking your benefits.

• How do you separate rewards by tier? For example, if you have a patron who pledges $5 and another who pledges $10 how do you keep the $5 patron from access to $10 rewards?

Whenever you release a new benefit, you can tick off any tier individually that you want it to be released to. It´s pretty straightforward, and I´d suggest you test everything out before you "go live" to get the hang of it.

• What type of patreon only content do you post on your page, separate from Twitter or Facebook that all patrons have access to?

I post Patreon only sketches, early access to my episodes (5 episodes ahead) and some early access Illustration/NSFW content ;D

• How do you setup the patron only polls? Is there an option within the site that offers creators the ability to create polls?

Yes! It is one of the options whenever you release a new reward, alongside things like "image", "text" "video" etc.

• Is it better to establish community-based goals or earnings-based goals? Do you keep your earnings private or hidden from patrons?

I personally leave it to the world to see, bc I also like to snoop around and check what others are earning. I think a certain power for the community comes from being able to figure out how much others are earning. BUT I understand very well that some people are not comfortable with it. So it is very much up to you! (same goes for community or earnings based. Just keep in mind you have direct control over how much you are earning at a certain goal if you make it community based)

A personal tipp when you are starting out is to check out as many Patreons of people doing similar things like you as possible. You´ll learn a lot!

(I used to ask thousands of questions on this forum 2 years ago, only fair that I answer as many as I can now xD you reminded me off myself!)

Here´s some Patreons that are really neat:

Kayla Swain is creating Midwinter | Patreon

D. Shazzbaa Bennett is creating Art and Comics | Patreon

Anna Landin is creating Comics, Artwork and Games | Patreon

Der-shing Helmer is creating comics and tutorials | Patreon

John Vincent is creating Yaoi and Paranormal comics | Patreon

Good luck!

[createssienna]

Thank you so much for your suggestions, tips, and advice​! I will definitely take a look at all of the patreon accounts you have included in your message. I am still a little confused about how to release certain rewards to a specific tier, maybe this will become self-explanatory once I create my page.

Do you post random thoughts or messages on your page too, like what you would include in a tweet or do you prefer to limit your posts to your series' content only?

Are creators only allowed to create polls once they have chosen to release a reward? Is it possible to just create a random poll for patron feedback as a post on your page?

What do you mean by "live"? Are you referring to linking a patreon page to a series or are you referring to clicking the option to submit the page for review? Also, what do you mean by test your page? Will you please provide more details on what this process entails?

I greatly appreciate your time and feedback.

Thanks,
Sienna

[createssienna]

Wow, this is great. Thank you so much for sharing your ideas and personal experiences with me. What is the process after you submit your page for review? Also, how long did it take to have your page reviewed?

I understand the need for transparency, but I am still not sure about releasing earnings. What if someone feels I have already earned enough money, and decides not to pledge or give because of it .

Thanks,
Sienna

[Merle]

• I think it will. Once you go ahead with a post, there will be a bar on the right that you have to choose from before you can post. It says "who can see this post?" and you will have various options, from making it public, to only making it available for certain tiers.

• I usually don´t. When I want to share something with my Patrons, I do so on my usual weekly/monthly posts. Sometimes I will post something out of the ordinary/not related to my current project like little sketches for the next series, or a redraw of old panels. I don´t want to overwhelm them

• Hm, I think you can make a public poll once you´ve gone live with your patreon. You will not have ot have released a reward, but you might have to have created a tier (for your Patreon to become visible in the first place). Test it out

• I meant specifically testing things out after you´ve been reviewed and approved, so before you start linking to it. Make a first post beforehand, so you know how it works, things like that - it also looks good when there´s already content on your page before you link it, so people know you are "active" ;D

(referring to something you have asked in the second comment:

but I am still not sure about releasing earnings. What if someone feels I have already earned enough money, and decides not to pledge or give because of it

I think most Patreons will pledge because they want something in return. That is your most succesfull option, anyways! They don´t want to feel like they are giving charity - and you don´t want them to feel that way ;D when you earn a lot, they will think: Oh, a lot of people must be satisfied and paying you a lot of money!
I think the downside will be a different thing: possible jelousy from other creators

Choose wisely
Good luck!
Merle
PS: I love your name, I had a story with a character with that name, once. Do you know "Song for Sierra"? It´s a beautiful piece of piano. Cheers ;D

[Iris-Grimoire]

It got reviewed in less than 10 minutes after submitting a rough final version of description/images/tiers, but keep in mind it was a special case so they might've been approving pages to get as many people in as possible. It still should be pretty fast regardless.

That person is just as likely to remove their pledge the next month for other minor reasons. An audience that just watches isn't as fun as one that engages and tells you upfront that your work is nice and they'd like to see more in exchange for extra money. However, some people could use that information to try online harssment, so it is worth judging once you get to a certain high amount - but say, $100 per month? if they complain, they don't know how little that is compared to bills.

[createssienna]

I will try to setup my patreon page and have it reviewed before next Monday. I don't know how long it takes for a page to be reviewed, but I want to be able to link my page with my next episode on Tapas.

I understand. I will take a look at the patreon accounts you posted to get an idea of what type of posts to make for my page. I like the idea of weekly posts, so that viewers can see I am active on patreon.

My patreon will be for mature audiences, so I believe people will be unable to search for my page directly on the site without prior notice of my name or series. This can make gaining viewers and supporters difficult. You post NSFW content, so your page is for mature audiences too. How do you attract visitors to your page?

I will check out the option for polls once my page is up and running. Thanks a million​!

I am happy to know you like my name​. I have never heard of that piece, however, I love the title .

Thanks again,
Sienna

[createssienna]

Oh, that's fast. Hopefully, it is the same now. I plan to have my page available by next Monday, maybe if I submit it for review by Wednesday or Thursday it will be reviewed before then.

You make an excellent point. I think I will do a trial run to test the feature. I will leave the earnings public at first for maybe a month or so, and then try it hidden to see which option works best.

I appreciate your feedback .

Thanks,
Sienna

[Merle]

That sounds good!
Hm, luckily, Patreon is different in the sense that most if not all followers you have come from an audience you built up on different websites. Getting followers or backers through Patreon isn´t really your goal.
Post your link frequently, and let your followers know about the rewards.
Your biggest challenge will be websites that do not let you post links ;D or only one link like Instagram.

[createssienna]

I understand. You are right building up patrons on Patreon is not my goal for writing, or my sole purpose for deciding to establish a webnovel series. However, I do have goals that I want to achieve that will take the help of supporters as my series continues to progress. For example, I would like to turn my series into a webcomic. Unfortunately, my drawing skills are seriously underdeveloped 🤣, so I would like to hire a digital artist/illustrator to help me achieve this goal. Readers and patrons who are eager to see my series as a webcomic can help me achieve this goal by supporting me on patreon.

As for gaining visitors and potential patrons, I think linking my patreon page to my series on Tapas and posting it on my Twitter page will suffice.

Thank you for your insight,
Sienna

[Merle]

Oh sorry, I think I was missunderstood.
Getting Patrons is definitely a goal, but I don´t know that people get them "through" patreon. I think very few people search through patreon to find someone to back. They will usually find you on a different website, read part of your series and previews, become a fan, and then becoem backers.

That sounds like a fun plan! I have a friend who is a writer who is now getting into webcomics with the help of revenue and an artist, It´s definitely possible!

[createssienna]

Hey,

My mistake, but I was not upset if that was what you meant (which clearly it wasn't). Some people do prefer to write comics and novels for money or notoriety. I understand what you mean now. I thought that if your content was easily searchable on the Patreon website, it would be easier to gain supporters without the additional legwork. However, I will stick to my plan for promoting my Patreon page. I have already submitted my page for review, thanks to all of the advice I received from this forum. I think as my readership grows, I have a good chance of gaining patrons regardless of my story's rating.

Thanks,
Sienna

[ryoko]

1. I set it up when the first NSFW content of my comic was starting up and I think I was probably at maybe 300-400 subs on Tapas and around 600 on Webtoons. I don't think you need to wait to set up a Patreon. It doesn't cost anything and the earlier the better, since they keep changing their fee structure. Better to get grandfathered in before the next fee bump.

2. I don't know, but as someone said above, it's more for the Patreon creator than the patrons.

3. I only have two tiers, $1 gets pages ahead plus all pages uncensored when applicable and $3 gets the same as the first tier, but also includes bonuses, like NSFW monthly pinups and extra side comics.

4. Patron only stuff is pages ahead and NSFW artwork

5. I think there's a poll option when you create a new post. I haven't used it yet.

6. I made my goal what it would take to allow me to have one afternoon off from work so I could work on my comic. I have mine visible.

I have pay up front set for my Patreon as I was having problems with people pledging for maybe a couple of hours, then deleting their pledge after getting extra content for free.

Compared to some creators, I have a limited tier structure. My advice would be to only offer tiers with what you can reasonable handle producing content for otherwise you risk burnout from producing your novel as well as bonus stuff.

For me, 3/4s of my patrons have been with me for over a year, so it's been pretty stable.

[createssienna]

Thank you for responding Ryoko . I noticed quite a few creators prefer 1-3 tiers at the most, my guess is it's easier for the creator to keep track with rewards. I will have four tiers on my page. I verified that polls can be created anytime and I even received the option to create a poll for my first post.

I have already created my page and submitted it for review. I'm waiting to hear that my page is okay to launch. I decided to create community-based goals instead of earnings-based goals and earnings will be made public for patrons to see. I like the idea of transparency. I also chose the option for patrons to pay upfront, because I feared that same situation you mentioned in your post would happen to me.

I appreciate the feedback.

Thanks,
Sienna