Tipping vs Patreon

AdrenalineShots 2017-12-26 17:16:36 UTC #1

Quite a few people in here have been really creative in offering rewards for tipping and seem to have some success with this. What type of rewards on tipping have worked with you, and how would you compare it to Patreon: more or less work to maintain? Better interaction?

60Six 2017-12-26 18:34:34 UTC #2

Well for starters, I found people are FAR more willing to tip than pledge... Even if tipping kind of costs more!

I was pretty happy with the results of the tipping event a few days ago. During that time, I gave people the opportunity to get early access to pages, since chapter 9 of my comic is about to start. I showed them the first two pages for 400 coins and the first 5 for 800 coins. But in the announcement, I even told them "Or you could just pledge to me for $1 on Patreon and get all of this and more."

I got about $25 in tips (including from some people who tipped 1000+ coins) and 0 new pledges. So I think that says something about reader's overall reluctancy to join Patreon, vs. just tipping. It was a good learning experience and since people are so dang reluctant to hop on Patreon, definitely has me thinking about tipping events I can do for my own comic in the future again.

AdrenalineShots 2017-12-26 19:05:12 UTC #3

That's really interesting thank you. I remember reading somewhere that the further away from the site they are on the less likely people are to do something so maybe that applies: if they are signed into tapastic they are more likely to use tap?

YangKoete 2017-12-26 19:16:19 UTC #4

Patreon is more;"I love your stuff so much I will pay EVERY MONTH! I have enough to spend an extra dollar a month!"

Tipping is;"I like your stuff, you deserve a little something!" or "This is all I can give, I wish I could give more!"

AdrenalineShots 2017-12-26 20:26:18 UTC #5

Have people found that readers find the tipping function easy to use? Or do they tend to need it explained

SleepingPoppy 2017-12-26 20:28:55 UTC #6

Patreon has the advantage of everything being organized into one place. With the tipping rewards, you have to depend on your supporters reaching out to your for their rewards via e-mail or PMs- keep in mind mobile users can't get to profiles or see messages.

I think Patreon is easier and has more growth potential, but a tipping reward system has the advantage to reach young readers, and readers with less means to pull from their pocket. So if you can do both, both is probably a good idea.

If you don't have to content to maintain a patreon, though, you can still offer occasional tipping incentives.

(I offered two pieces of exclusive art for 1K and 3K tippers, plus a thank you page in the comic for everyone who tipped more than 300 coins during the event)

SleepingPoppy 2017-12-26 20:33:08 UTC #7

I would say some explaining is needed. Not all tippers realize the coins turn to real money for artists, and some get confused where to go to tip, or how to get free coins. That will probably get easier with time for most, though. I think its pretty straightforward.

However, it's definitely a little wonky that mobile users can't receive or give pms, which means you can't really contact them to hand out rewards. That means for tipping rewards you need tippers to either pm you themselves (desktop users) or e-mail you with their tapas user name (mobile users), so you can give them their rewards. Which is one advantage patreon has over tapas! However, if you're making enough in tips, it's not a lot of trouble.

Edit:
Went and found this, because its really helpful to those that want to make the most of tipping!