Episode 112, The Patreon Show
What is Patreon? Who is Patreon for? How does it work? What are my plans for using Patreon?
What is Patreon?
According to their website: “Patreon is a membership platform that makes it easy for creators to get paid.” Patreon.com is a website/online community where creators sign up for a free account and build a membership website or blog that can be used to create new content or showcase content already created. Those want to support the creator and find value in their work can pledge a certain dollar amount. They are called Patrons. So there are creators and patrons on Patreon. https://youtu.be/bKO_NoGAb8E
From The Patreon Blog:
For creators: Patreon is a way to get paid for creating the things you’re already creating For patrons: Patreon is a way to join your favorite creator’s community and pay them for making the stuff you love. This usually means a dollar or a few bucks per month. The creator gets paid regularly and you become a bonafide patron of the arts.
Who is Patreon for or who is using Patreon?
Designers Letterers Painters Filmmakers Gamers Musicians Podcasters Vloggers Bloggers You-Tubers
Stats:
There are: 50,000 Creators There are: 1,000,000 Active Patrons Per Month The average patron pledge is: $12. Patreon projection for 2017: $150,000,000 paid out to creators by their patrons.
How does it work?
It’s free to join and start building a Patreon website. Patreon takes 5% of fees and a small processing and handling fee, but the creator does not pay until the creator gets paid. The front page on every Patreon site is essentially an About Me/Landing page where the creator can post photos, videos and text and explain who they are, what they do and what patrons can expect if they decide to pledge a dollar amount to support the creator. Patreon works on rewards and pledges. Creators come up with perks or rewards they think their supporters will find valuable. Patrons pick the reward level they want and pay the pledge amount via credit card or Paypal.
Why do Podcasters Use Patreon?
There are a lot of podcasters using Patreon to offset the costs of running and maintaining a podcast and because getting sponsors and/or monetizing a podcast is not easy for many. Patreon is a good fit for podcasters because it is all about building and nurturing a community, which is the foundation of podcasting. Patreon RSS Feed Patreon gives podcasters the ability to create a special private RSS feed so their patrons can subscribe to this bonus podcast in their pod-catcher of choice (Apple Podcasts or Overcast, etc).based on what is the best bang for the buck What are some examples of Podcaster Rewards: Mp3 downloads of podcast recordings PDF downloads of show notes Shout outs on the podcast Promotional opportunities for patrons who might have a brand or business. Discounts on services or books or courses Private webinars Access to live recordings of the podcast One on one Skype calls Coaching calls. The pledge amounts and levels can vary, but it seems like all Patreon pages have a $1/level and I’ve seen them go up to $100 or more but the majority stick at $1,2,5,10 and $20/month. Illustrators or designers might offer sketches for downloads, or behind the scenes live streams of them creating artwork as a reward. YouTubers and vloggers might upload bloopers or bonus footage. Writers may give their patrons early access to articles or books. Musicians may let patrons hear new material before anyone else.
My Patreon Page:
http://patreon.com/mikemurphy Truth: I never thought I would use Patreon because I did not think it fit my style and I did not want to seem like I was ‘begging’ for money. That is not what Patreon is about. So why did I change my mind? My only goal in my business is to create useful content and share my knowledge and insights to solve problems for people or to motivate others to go after their thing. Patreon allows me to do this. There are people online that I really like and follow and would love a one on one conversation with them or a behind the scenes look at how they do what they do or just become part of their inner circle in some way. Maybe people want to have more access to me. I get a lot of direct messages asking for my advice on gear or Adobe help or the best podcast host, etc, and I realized maybe there are people who would benefit from more direct access to me, but it is not possible for me to give away all of my time for free (as much as I would like to). I am going to start with a $1/month level just as way for people to show support and who want to be more involved in my little online space and community and it will give you access to locked content on the page and probably a thank you shout out on the podcast and my eternal thanks. If you want to check out my page it is patreon.com/mikemurphy and you can browse around the whole Patreon community and see how others are doing it if this is something you are considering.
Conclusion: Patreon.
An online community of creators and patrons of the arts or podcasters or everything in between. It was built to make it easy for creatives to get paid for their work from fans or supporters who want them to keep making things and want to be more connected with the creator. Pretty powerful and cool concept when you break it all down and if used with good intention there is really a lot of positivity and potential for great results. Questions? mike@mikemurphy.co
Questions, Comments, Feedback?
mike@mikemurphy.co
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