How to Be Proficient on Patreon - 4 Steps |
Within Jeff Goins' book, Real Artists Don't Starve, it dispels the myth about the "starving artist" and discusses how, throughout history artists have used their creative abilities and their social influence to not just survive, but to thrive by their works. It's something to be watching in the economy of the creator because the web offers a variety of opportunities for creators to earn money from their work.
Another of these options are Patreon.
The moment Patreon first launched, it provided millions of creators new way to make income from their efforts. The idea was liberating. Find what you love to do, focus on being great at it, and the people who love your stuff are there to help you.
However, just because the concept of having patrons support you is wonderful, it does not make it easy. Every artist who wishes they could be making a full-time living off of their work There many others that make a small amount of coins every month or perhaps none at all.
The truth about Patreon is that simply being creative isn't sufficient. You also have to learn how to be successful on Patreon by delivering quality and efficiently managing your fans.
This is what we'll discuss in this post. The following article will give you the fundamentals for how to be successful in Patreon. If you are able to figure this out, you'll have time to dedicate to your work that you love. Isn't that really what it's all about?
Here's how to be successful with Patreon:
In this post...
1. Know why people are supportive of
1.3. To reap the benefits
2.1. Social media
2.2. Email
2.3. Other Media
3.2. Make merchandise
3.3. Access to
3.4. Create community
4.1. Your creations
4.2. Community
4.3. Events
4.4. Courses
4.5. Coaching
Find out why people use HTML0.
A good place to begin is Patreon is not setting up an account and just hoping that money will come. You must have a solid understanding of your personal brand and the craft you're pursuing. Patreon has an enormous range of choices. If you're looking to share advice on growing succulents or whether you're a fashion influencer, you can probably make a name for yourself on the platform. However, it's essential to understand what you're good at.
Behind every good Patreon account is a dedicated person to a art. The best place to begin is by asking the question, What is my forte?
And after this question, you can ask a couple of more questions: What makes people be drawn to my efforts? What benefits do they gain out of it?
Here are some reasons people will become customers:
for the love of the craft
This is what we usually think of when we hear the word patronage. It could be the most genuine type of support when donors give out of love for your craft and a desire to support it. We'll discuss this further below the past, patrons have enjoyed various gifts from creators who have supported them, however there may still be people willing to give you a helping hand for the simple reason that they appreciate the work you create and think they should be able to do it.
Passion about a cause
Some patrons will also be a fan because they are dedicated to an issue. Imagine if you have been frustrated by a social issue previously, but then you find someone who is dedicating their lives to solving it. This could be something you want to support. Giving through Patreon looks more like supporting an organization. Examples of this type of patron would include donating to an individual who advocates for refugee issues and bringing awareness to race-based injustice through social media platforms.
for the advantages
Many times, individuals tend to become patrons due to the advantages that accompany the privilege. Examples of these benefits might include guests or merch or face-to-face time with a maker, or taking a course. The details of this will be covered in the next section.
By the way, if you are hesitant in offering benefits for your supporters, DON'T! Contrary to what you think, it's not "selling out" and it doesn't dilute the "pure enthusiasm for your craft." Many artists offer some sort of benefit to those who appreciate their work. It's a fantastic thing.
Master audience building
If you're trying to determine how to be successful with Patreon one important thing to remember is to let people be aware that you exist. Therefore, the first thing to do is probably going to be one that is easy to some creators and hard for other creators: building audience.
There are many ways to accomplish this. There are some methods that require low-tech as well as some high-tech, but it is important to make sure you ensure that your Patreon account noticed by supporters who will support you.
Building an audience isn't always easily And even if you're great in your field doesn't suggest that you are adept at building an audience. If you are an influencer who is looking to join Patreon, you are probably already great at building an audience. If you've got at least 10,000 Instagram or TikTok followers, you're well on your way. If you're an artist writer, audience building might be a new thing.
Do not be afraid of the idea. Building a strong audience is a technique that can be learned, and if you are able to grasp it, it'll yield big dividends!
Here are a few examples of ways Patreon users choose to grow their audience.
Social media
One of the main feeders for Patreon patrons are social networks. The social media platforms, no matter what they may be, provide creators a way to build an following, expand an audience which in turn helps them gain loyal patrons.
Note that you don't need to be on every social media platform in order to build an following. In all honesty, you are probably better by focusing on only one or two. Influencers that appear like they're on every platform often are supported by teams of individuals them. Make it easy. Find out who the customers are that will benefit the most out of what you have to offer. Focus on that platform.
Here are a few options for different platforms to try and what works on these platforms:
- LinkedIn=Careers or business
- Instagram = Artists and creators Fashion influencers, inspiring figures
- TikTok is a great way to share just about everything
- Twitter=Politics, big ideas
- YouTube = Just about everything
It's the oldest types of internet communication, but email is still a great method to establish a following. Even better, it's an excellent way to build the trust of an existing audience. Social media changes and changes the rules all the time. However, if you've got an email address, it is possible to reach them (although spam filters can be an issue). ).
Email is personal. The majority of people go through it each day. If you're in the inbox of someone, you're in a great place to build a long-term relationship with the person. And it's the perfect spot to build trust with prospective future patrons.
Other Media
What if you could get to the attention of millions of potential customers without posting on social media everyday for years or working for hours to build a following? Many people opt for this opting to concentrate in utilizing the existing audience with their messages instead of trying to establish an audience from beginning.
Get your thoughts and ideas to other media channels, whether it's making op-eds and op-eds available to newspapers, or a guest blog post for a popular blog and trying to be on the news by signing up for Help a Reporter Out (HARO) is also the best way to grow your audience. You probably want to mix these with the ideas above, especially if you're trying to establish a connection that is deep enough to attract patrons, but using existing media outlets is an excellent way to get your message to the right people.
Bring the value of HTML0 to its members
The next step to becoming successful with Patreon is learning to deliver worth to your subscribers. If you take a take a look at Renaissance artwork, you'll see a large number of rich patrons with portraits incorporated within ancient scenes. They would have liked to get an image of Plato or someone who was mentioned in the Bible, and the artists created them into famed works of art. And these patrons' portraits are preserved to be displayed as some of the most enduring works of art created.
There's a lesson here. Learn how to deliver the best value to your customers. Patronage isn't just a one-way road where people give them money. Often, rewarding your customers will let them feel good about having them back, and, hopefully, encourage them to continue!
The other issue is delivering lasting value. Instead of crowdfunding websites that seek to raise funds to support a particular cause or project and it is time-bound on it, you're hoping to retain your customers for many years to come. It is important to know how to provide value not just for a week or month, but throughout the entire lifecycle of the person you support. That can be a tall job.
Here are some suggestions on how you can do it:
Set up membership tiers
One of the best alternatives Patreon offers to provide value to your members is through membership tiers. It is possible to provide predefined offerings, and members will be rewarded depending on their amount of donation. A visual artist might create membership levels that look something like this:
- Start-up cost is $5-10/month. (5 free printouts)
- Mid-level=$10-25/month (5 free printables + the monthly recording of a video art lesson)
- High-level: $25plus (5 free printouts and a monthly live art lessons that includes Q&A, recording and after + quarterly guest art lessons)
There are millions of possibilities to thank your customers, but finding ways that make them feel unique can be an incentive for them to continue supporting you!
Pro tip: Make sure to keep your rewards scalable. If you said, "I'll meet personally once each month with everyone in the top tier," and then 1,000 people joined then you'd have no chance of getting any other thing done. Better to give something you're only able to offer once (like printables, classes or courses, live streams, etc) that are beneficial to everyone.
Create merchandise
Patreon allows you to make merch available to your supporters. It might not be right for everybody, but if you're an artist or musician, or if you have a strong image or an inspirational quote that you'd like to promote, merch might be an alternative. Patreon recently offered the possibility to incorporate merch into your product offerings. They also manage the manufacturing and shipping.
Sending your supporters the opportunity to receive a free mug, t-shirt or even a is a fantastic way to deliver worth.
Provide access
One of the ways for creators to provide benefits to their Patreon patrons, particularly those who are fans of yours, is to offer them access to .... YOU. You might think it's a bit Hollywood initially however, people often appreciate the chance to meet people who are the makers and take lessons from the best of them.
If you're an admired HTML0 creator, you might find that people are excited by having the opportunity to meet you, ask you questions, and get more face-time.
Build community
Another strategy that a large number of creators are choosing is to build and grow the online communities. It's the ideal options to offer your fans accessto, value and easily manage different members' tiers. If you have the best community platform that allows live streaming posts, share ideas, and even discuss topics in the forum. You can also serve your members with an application! We'll talk more about this further down
We're hugely in favor of this strategy because you don't require 100,000 users to create and monetize successfully. You might be surprised to learn that you don't require a huge marketing team or the presence of social media to start an effective community. All you require is a simple benefit proposition to those who join your community, and they need a reasonable expectation that being in your community will help achieve their objectives.
Linking this to your Patreon levels can be an easy way to add worth to your donors.
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Create extras
One final step that you can use to give something of value to your Patreon patrons is to offer extra bonuses. It is possible to do this absolutely free in their Patreon subscription, however a lot of creators choose to utilize their Patreon audience to springboard into various other activities, such as arranging specific events, courses and much more. Actually, the sale of access to one-time benefits can be a major source of money for certain Patreon creators.
In business, it's well-known that it's easier to pitch an offer to a customer who is already in the business as opposed to someone who has never purchased before. This is the idea behind the upsell. That's why your favorite burger joint typically asks "Do you wish fries? that ?"
Therefore, regardless of how you want to handle pricing, implementing additional bonuses for your members as well as charging them for, could become a crucial component of a sustainable Patreon financing model.
Here are a few ideas for extra things you could offer:
Your creations
This is logical if you're an artist, your patrons on Patreon won't expect a free oil painting every month. So if you have an actual big product to sell, something amazing you've designed, your current customers are likely to be the ideal people to buy it. Offer discounts to members of your group if you'd like for an even greater added value (e.g. "Members get 5, 10, and 20% off depending on membership tier .")
If you're a creator who builds and sells either digital or physical products using your current Patreon members to generate sales can be a fantastic benefit.
Community
The topic of community was discussed in the past, but creating an online community that your customers can join, or maybe even upselling an existing membership to a community is an excellent way of giving your patrons access and extra benefit.
Events
Another way that many creators choose to add an extra benefit for members is through the occasion. The option is to sell tickets for a discounted price to members or give them an early access or a special privilege. And whether the event is the result of a speaker series or an educational session you lead, or an actual performance, you are able to use it to expand your reach and your income potential.
Courses
Giving your followers courses such as "Building your Instagram Following" or "Secret Watercolor Techniques," is another method to provide more value to your current audience as well as increase your Patreon earnings. Many of the authors on Mighty Network do amazing things with courses and make great money from it!
Coaching
Some creators also opt to include coaching as an additional benefit to their Patreon activities. It could be a small group coaching session, mastermind group, or 1:1 coaching, it's a bonus which allows creators to work closely with a select group of people to provide an even greater value.
If you're looking for a super-easy way to run classes, events or community events or even coaching, consider it ! It's great to partner with Patreon to help you squeeze additional value from your followers.
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Conclusion
If you're new with Patreon the platform can seem difficult to navigate. If you look up other creators, and you'll see those who earn a substantial income from of the platform, and it's difficult to believe that you could get there. But if you work to build your audience and provide value to your customers, you can definitely make Patreon one of your revenue sources.
But it's important to understand the things Patreon does and doesn't perform. According to their statistics, Patreon estimates that a creator who has a following of around 30,000 could earn approximately $315 to $1,575 per month. If you're making zero this sounds like a great deal. It's certainly not enough to sustain your lifestyle. If you're hoping to earn money from your work it's likely that you'll have to consider making Patreon a part of your overall income, not the entirety.
And that's where the extras mentioned, like creating an online community, hosting events, or even selling goods, have to be part of the overall strategy to monetize. The platform we've developed is one that you can utilize for this, that will give your members a great deal of value, and allow you to sell more memberships, subscriptions to courses, subgroups as well as events. It gives you great ways to serve your members such as live streaming, polls, and discussion forums, as well as many artists are making a full-time living off of groups of between 40 and 50 members.
It is possible to try the program for free to get a sense of what you can do with it!