Thanks Cyndi! You have no idea how much better I feel about it right now. I was kind of getting overwhelmed over the thought process of hashing it all out.
@AffectedMind Those still seem nice for potential patrons. I like the idea of teasers as early access because I'm right there with you in the whole buffer department!
@CyndiFoster That twitter poll gave me a lot of great ideas! Thanks so much for linking it!
@aronthemason That's a nice idea - your novel as an added bonus, and that gets readers interesting in you as a creator and not just interested in one body of work!
@joannekwan I was actually curious if Tapastic's support program would carry over to Patreon (I heard they were different, in that the SP was better geared toward webcomics). I like the idea of mini-comic answers and cameos!
@AnnaLandin I definitely like the idea of milestones - and that opens up options for larger things like giveaways and events. Also like the idea of WIP/behind-the-scenes stuff, and that's fairly easy to do. Grassblades has it's own site outside of Tapastic, right? Is that where readers can see early access pages (may sound like a stupid question, but I've actually always been curious about that lol)?
@okellymx I'm sure creators are very grateful for your support! That's a very nice and selfless thing for you to do. 
@stephensharpe707 Honestly, I would do the same if I were financially able! And I like the idea you mentioned about commentary and concepts!
Nope, the early access pages are posted on Patreon before they go live on the main site/Tapastic! Which isn't super-optimal - Patreon's not really made for posting comics on - but without Tapastic's Supporter-locked content and lacking the website-y know-how to set that up on my main site (I'm a tech-Neanderthal - I'm amazed every time I do something with my website and it doesn't explode in my face >.<), it's the easiest way to do it.
Once I've finished a chapter for regular readers, I tend to go back and delete the early-access posts on Patreon, to cut down on the number of posts people have to scroll through to get to sketch-comics and Q&A's and concept-art posts. All those pages are now live for non-backers, so there's no real need to keep them sitting around on Patreon.
@ohcaptain I think you've definitely got a lot of good stuff already (and yeah, it can be a lot of extra work!). Things like early access and PDF's seem simple enough, and are still a nice bonus for a supporter!
@zwebb90 Those seem like really nice rewards, actually. I'm definitely liking the idea of cameos more and more...
@lizm Wow! I can barely manage to update once a week - I can't imagine how you can offer early access if you update daily! Considering that, it definitely does not seem expensive. Also, your $300 milestone sounds really cool - I can definitely see why someone would want to donate specifically with the goal of reaching that!
I could not agree more!
@fanyart I can see why people would enjoy your "adoption" reward. That seems like a really fun and unique thing you can do, based on your work! 
I just...there are no words LOL.
@marfivemai Luckily, I think the general consensus is a lot of people would support for support's sake, and any reward is just a nice bonus! And yeah, the poll really helped; I think trying to decide on the things you would be able to manage on top of the actual comic is the hardest part! 
@scythe To the point, as always! Haha!
I do not have a patreon nor will I probably set one up in the future, but I suggest giving some tangibles as higher-tier rewards. Wallpapers, sketches, etc. I recently released a printable papercraft playset10 for my comic which many fans have found quite neat.
Don't you think that these particular rewards are making you work harder to provide less content for the body of your followers to enjoy?? I mean 5 dollars for a mini comic - ouch. I offer a printed book to my 25$ Patrons, takes me a few minutes to run up on the interweb using work I've already done. I think that the rewards you offer should not be something you as a creator have to do more work to fulfill, but using work you've already done to reward with. I've got postcards, will be introducing original copies of my work (I work in traditional media), will eventually create greeting cards, and of course the glorious hardcopy book.
It's usually a good idea to minimize the amount of extra work you do to fulfill Patreon-rewards, yes - you don't want that extra stuff to cut into the time you spend on doing the actual comic, which is why most of us started our campaigns in the first place - but I do a bit of extra stuff I wouldn't otherwise. Like Q&A-sessons and sketch-comics between chapters. Those do take extra time, but I feel like it's worth it, because it's not a lot of extra time, and if I didn't offer at least some shiny things as a bonus, people wouldn't have much incentive to chip in with their money.
I personally am not a full-time artist, I am adequately compensated for my regular job, and feel like asking people to support me personally on a monthly basis is a bit disingenuous - so while I will offer purchasable goods and potentially kickstart a printed book, I do not think it is right of me to have a Patreon - if my situation changed, I would well consider it.
Haha, the thing is, I haven't done much work relating to my comics before publishing them.
Honestly though, these rewards don't take that much time for me to complete (aside from the commissions, but even then if I fully focus on one it can be done in 2 hours). For example, the mini-comics take at most 30 minutes. And by creating all of these extras, I could potentially collect them all into an extras pdf available to people one day.
I don't mind taking time to create something personal for my patrons, because I really do appreciate their support and want to thank them. Plus I have time to do so since I don't have a regular 9–5 job.
Thanks for clearing that up for me! The SP's locked episodes seemed pretty ideal for situations like that...too bad Patreon isn't as geared towards comics.
And I'm right there with you on tech-related stuff. The extent of my knowledge is "try turning it off and on again" and if that doesn't work... 
Yeah... But it works out okay, and my backers don't seem to mind! So it's working out alright.
Oooooh yeah! Last time I tried to back up my website and logged into my hosting site, I literally started crying out of panicked confusion. Good thing my brother his a tech-whiz and can save me when I need it.
I'm in the same boat with a full time art job, now my own money goes to paying bills and the mortage but the money from sales and patreon goes back in to funding the project, like printing comics booking tables, etc etc even then it's not enough and I put in motown cash but I hope one day for the comic to be self efficient
Fair enough. I find I have to be super cautious about how much I offer because I'm married with kids and a full time student. That takes up crazy amounts of time.
1 month later
I'd like to use this post to ask something: if there is a reward of a sketch/commission, does it need to be repeated the next month? I mean, if a creator offers a b&W sketch for, say, $5, would s/he need to offer this again the next month?
I know it seems kinda simple but I've seen some Patreon campaings with such rewards and I never understood if people donated an amount, received the commission-like reward and it was all done (if the supporter kept the donation even without reward the next month) or not.
I suppose it's up to the creator. They should specify it and be upfront though if it's a one-time thing.
I am probably a bad example, but as a reader, I really don't care about rewards. I support the artists that I want to support. Not because I want early access to comics, doodles or access to live streaming.
As to what is likely to make me support an artist? There are a few things:
- If i've been following a webcomic for years, entirely for free, and the author sets up a patreon, it seems decent to give a little something in return.
- Sudden crushes; art that I just WANT to support.
- Authors that somehow make me feel like I want to help them.
I tend to not support people who already have thousands of euros or dollars in pledges every months, even if I love their work.
10 months later
I've set up my Patreon page but havent launched it yet. I know this question might sound a bit silly, but "what would you consider high resolution?" I want to put together high resolution [PDF] copies of some of my other books to use on a couple of my tiers; I know 72 dpi obviously ISNT high res, but what would you consider high res? 300 dpi? Higher? Cant go TOO high, or folks will have a hell of a time loading/downloading these things- lol...
ALSO- looking for a PDF creator that will allow me to put the pages in book form and send the PDF files as book form. I've been trying to do this for a number of years, and have not found a program that is simple & easy to use.
Man, I've been wondering the best stuff too.
I just launched mine4 for Sinfully Yours recently and have several levels of rewards.
$1 is a thank you
$2 Patron only feed! In this feed, you will see layout breakdowns, speed paintings, sketches and more!
You will also help me get coffee and get a shoutout!
$3 Everything as above, but you also get early access to new pages. I will stay 2 pages (or more) ahead of everywhere else so you get to know what adventures (or mishaps) our loveable boys get into before anyone else!
$5 As above, but you also get to see the uncensored pages as well as all other NSFW art I post. Lucky you 
$10 All above rewards PLUS you will get a character sketch signed just for you. I won't even post this art anywhere else unless YOU say I can! limited
$25 All rewards from $1 - $5 dollars and you will get a professionally printed, full color print of any character, panel, or page of your
choice. This will be signed and sent straight to you! This is for the biggest fans of all.
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