We stay in a magical age the place artists, musicians, creators, and educators can earn a dwelling by sharing their skills on-line. From social media platforms and Etsy to blogs and on-line programs, there isn’t any scarcity of platforms for monetizing your abilities and data. However one of the vital highly effective on-line platforms for earning money as a content material creator or educator is Patreon.
Patreon is a method to make recurring revenue month after month simply by sharing what you’re good at together with your viewers. Right here we’ll check out the platform and how one can harness it to construct a enterprise that may generate a full-time revenue!
What’s Patreon and How Does It Work?
Patreon has been round since 2013 and serves as a membership platform the place you possibly can promote subscriptions to your viewers. Basically, members both join as a result of they love what you do and what to help you or as a result of they need premium content material or advantages that they get in trade for his or her month-to-month subscription price. Anybody can use Patreon, and it’s a very worthwhile platform for a number of niches, together with however not restricted to:
- Artists
- Musicians
- YouTubers
- Influencers
- Podcasts
- Bloggers
- Educators
The wonderful thing about the platform is it doesn’t price something to get began, and you may create a web page as a creator without spending a dime. Patreon makes its cash by taking a proportion of the month-to-month revenue you earn out of your members, along with the processing charges.
The share they take is dependent upon which plan you’re on. As an example, the Lite plan takes 5% however solely offers you entry to essentially the most fundamental options. Most individuals go for the Professional plan, which takes an 8% lower however offers you entry to extra instruments that may assist make your Patreon web page extra profitable, comparable to tiered memberships, analytics, and app integrations.
You get full management over what your memberships price, which provides you the last word quantity of flexibility when crafting your online business mannequin.
As soon as members subscribe to considered one of your membership reward tiers, they may get billed as soon as a month for so long as they’re subscribed. You possibly can withdraw your cash at any time by means of both Payoneer or PayPal.
The right way to Discover Success as a Patreon Creator
We’ve lined the fundamentals of how Patreon works, however how will you leverage it to generate profits? The reality is everybody’s Patreon web page is ready up in another way, however there are some common methods that may assist you to develop and keep a constant revenue. Listed below are the important thing steps for locating success as a Patreon creator:
1. Decide the Mannequin of Your Patreon Web page
You possibly can take numerous approaches to Patreon as a creator relying on the area of interest and kind of enterprise you wish to create. For instance, should you’re a YouTuber or influencer with a big viewers, Patreon can grow to be a platform the place your followers can get extra entry to you. In trade for his or her membership price, you would supply them with additional content material or perks for members solely, like unique entry to stay streams or behind-the-scenes content material.
James Hoffmann – who has a YouTube channel about espresso – is a superb instance of any such enterprise mannequin. He offers his fan base a say in what merchandise he’ll evaluation subsequent by way of polls and unique content material. As of the time of this writing, he has over 7,900 patrons.
Alternatively, you possibly can take a extra transactional strategy to your membership, the place your patrons will obtain content material they need or want in trade for his or her subscription price. As an example, Pet Foolery, creator of the Pixie and Brutus comedian, runs a Patreon account that offers its patrons 4 comics per 30 days for simply $1.
That will not sound like loads, however contemplating that the creator was reported to have over 13,000 patrons, it provides as much as a tidy sum!
The final kind of web page you possibly can create is for basic help. Members don’t get something in return for his or her donation, however it’s a method for them to help what you do. This mannequin usually includes smaller month-to-month contributions between $1-$3.
Except or till you might have a big following, a transactional strategy is one of the simplest ways to develop your Patreon web page as a result of it offers members a tangible motive to subscribe.
2. Set Up Your Web page
It’s important to be thorough when creating your Patreon web page so guests can be enticed to subscribe. Specifically, listed here are the weather you don’t wish to skip:
Profile image
That is apparent, however a profile image is crucial to making a professional-looking web page. You should use a headshot, emblem, or – should you’re an artist – an image of your work.
Cowl Picture or Banner
The duvet photograph is on the prime of your Patreon web page and is a chance to personalize your web page. The picture needs to be about 1600 x 400 pixels. You possibly can add a photograph of your work or create a picture utilizing a program like Canva.
The “About Your Web page” Description
This part is a chance to inform your guests your purpose with the Patreon web page and what they will count on out of your membership. It doesn’t have to be lengthy, however make sure to embrace partaking copy that may make them wish to join!
Intro Video
Though you possibly can’t add a video on to Patreon, there’s a part so that you can embrace a video hyperlink. Though this step is non-compulsory, a video can go a good distance in convincing somebody to enroll as they create belief!
3. Plan Your Content material and Create A number of Tiers
Planning your membership is arguably a very powerful step within the course of, particularly should you’re taking the transactional strategy to the platform. Most creators create a number of membership choices referred to as tiers.
Sometimes, every tier up ought to supply extra perks or advantages. For instance, should you’re a graphic design artist, your first tier may supply a brand new month-to-month font for $9.99 per 30 days. Then you can have a second tier that features the fonts plus new Canva templates and early entry to a brand new graphic design lesson for $19.99 per 30 days.
Though membership tiers are non-compulsory, it’s advisable that you simply embrace not less than two or three choices because it offers members extra decisions and might improve your conversion price. For instance, some guests is probably not keen to pay the $20 per 30 days on your top-tier membership however are comfortable to hitch your $10 tier for fewer advantages.
It’s additionally essential to cost your choices appropriately. Think about what number of hours of labor go into every bit of content material you create each month, particularly should you’re beginning out with a smaller variety of patrons.
As an example, if it takes you 10 hours to create intensive, high-quality tutorials each month, and also you give it away for $2 per member, you would want 50 members to make even $100, which works out to $10 per hour on your exhausting work. However should you cost $10 per member, you’d earn $500 or $50 per hour for a similar variety of members, and it’s nonetheless nice worth to your members.
4. Kick Off Your Patreon Web page Launch with a Particular Supply
Patreon has an array of instruments at your disposal that will help you market your Patreon web page, considered one of which is the provides function. Gives are a method to sweeten the deal on your members by giving them one thing above and past the standard rewards for a restricted time.
For instance, you can supply bodily merchandise like a sticker or a mug. If you happen to’re an artist, your bonus supply may very well be a framed piece of your art work. If you happen to’re a author, it may very well be a signed copy of your ebook. It may even be one thing so simple as a shout-out in your subsequent YouTube video or on-line occasion.
You possibly can schedule your supply prematurely if you want and advertise to your viewers. When the supply is stay, will probably be highlighted on the tier it’s being supplied on as a method to seize your guests’ consideration and encourage them to enroll!
5. Think about Together with a Merch Retailer
If you happen to go for Patreon’s premium plan, you possibly can open a merch retailer in your Patreon web page and have your designs printed on issues like tote luggage, posters, t-shirts, and mugs. The idea is much like print-on-demand in that you simply solely have to add the design, and Patreon handles the success.
This feature is right for artists or established Patreon accounts with a following. It’s essential to notice that members solely qualify for the merchandise as soon as they’ve paid the membership price for 3 months in a row.
6. Set a Aim for Your Patreon Web page
One other function Patreon has is the power to put up a public purpose. Objectives might be community-based or earnings-based, and you may embrace a pledge for what’s going to occur while you attain that milestone.
For instance, you can set a purpose for 100 Patreon subscribers and pledge that when you attain that purpose, you’ll embrace an additional perk within the month-to-month membership. When you’ve printed your purpose, each members and public viewers will be capable of see it in your Patreon web page, in addition to how shut you’re to reaching it.
Objectives can encourage viewers to enroll whereas exhibiting members that you simply’re actively working in direction of one thing significant.
7. Promote on Your Social Media Channels or Weblog
When you launch your Patreon web page, it’s time to advertise in your social media accounts. YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Fb, and Twitter are all nice locations to advertise your web page and speak about the advantages of the membership.
Different locations to advertise your Patreon embrace weblog posts, Medium.com, boards, and your e-mail listing, you probably have one.
8. Keep Your Patreon Neighborhood
After you’ve launched your subscription and have a number of members, it’s essential to are inclined to them. In spite of everything, you need each member to remain subscribed for so long as doable! To that finish, listed here are some recommendations for preserving your members engaged:
Ship Promised Content material on Time
The primary and most blatant factor you are able to do to maintain your members comfortable is to do what you say you’ll. So should you say you’re going to launch unique content material on the first and fifteenth of each month, be sure that you comply with by means of.
Embody Some Free Content material
You possibly can gate all of your Patreon content material in order that solely members can see it, however you may also make a few of your content material free. Together with a number of free posts in your web page may give guests a style of what they will count on out of your web page and entice them to enroll.
Welcome New Patrons
Everytime you get a brand new patron, it’s a good suggestion to ship them a welcome message in order that they know you recognize them. You are able to do this both by sending them a customized message manually or by utilizing the “welcome notes” function, which routinely sends them a DM after they be part of.
Work together with Your Patrons
When patrons remark in your posts or ship you a message, reply to them. This may present your members that you simply worth their suggestions and are open to dialogue. If in case you have time, attempt to reply the questions they ask or give a shout-out in a future put up.
Run Polls
Encourage neighborhood engagement by operating polls repeatedly. For instance, you possibly can arrange a ballot giving them choices for what they want subsequent month’s profit to be or to get their opinion on a subject associated to your area of interest.
Put up Usually
Even should you ship all of your deliverables firstly of the month, it’s a good suggestion to put up repeatedly so members can see you’re invested locally. Even when it’s only a image or a fast replace on what you’re engaged on, patrons like to know what you’re as much as!
Conclusion
Patreon is a unbelievable platform for rising a neighborhood of engaged people who love your content material. And because it prices nothing to arrange a creator account, you nearly don’t have anything to lose!
Nonetheless, take into account that it takes time to develop your Patreon account. Chances are you’ll get a handful of members while you launch earlier than it ranges off. Members will come and go, however should you keep your neighborhood correctly, it can develop over time. Simply be affected person and constant, and also you’ll see outcomes.
For extra data on making a membership web site, try these nice ideas from Carol Tice of the Freelance Writers Den!