G'day everyone, I hope you are all well. I wanna take a few big steps with PATREON regarding the rewards on offer, prices and ensuring that this platform is at it's best for all of you!
I've been running this thing since late 2016 which is CRAZY, coming up on 7 years this September which is mind boggling and the things we've been able to achieve is all work I'm so incredibly proud of to this day.
However... my style of content is evolving, I feel like I'm evolving in my personal life and I really want the channel and all of my different avenues: Patreon, social media etc. I want them all to reflect that.
For a little while now I have felt like Patreon has been lacking, it's been inconsistent and somewhat outdated compared to what used to be on offer.
So let's fix that together!
I've got 3 MAJOR things I'd like to change and please, leave a comment, chat about it with me and others in the Discord server. I'd really like this to be a discussion rather than just being me laying down new laws or whatever ok. I'm open to all feedback good and bad on these ideas, as well as the general Patreon experience in recent months! 🙂
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1) DITCH the Behind the Scenes Tier ($2+)
This one is pretty big I feel. The goal with this reward originally was a place to spew my creative process both for people to see and learn, but also as a tool for self-motivation and appreciation (I have low self-esteem lol) for the work that goes into making these things. That's all well and good but I just feel like my content has evolved beyond that content being... relevant!?
I still wanna film things and do skits when I feel like it or have the inspiration but it's a far more infrequent style of mine than it was back in 2018, 2019 when I originally launched the reward tier. In the last year or so, the posts on EVERY SEJ episode often blend multiple videos into a single post as there simply isn't enough to talk about... or I just... I struggle to even have anything to say at all, which means people aren't getting the content they're paying for.
My solution:
- DROP the tier entirely
- If I have outtakes or behind the scenes stuff I want to share, either make it a video or Patreon exclusive and that's it
I feel like this will remove the burden of trying to turn "oh well I just had the idea while on the toilet" into an entire detailed post, which don't really get that much attention from paying patrons to begin with.
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2) REDUCE the cost of Early Access ($5+)
Early Access has been incredibly important to the success of the Patreon over the years. Some quick stats for you:
- Consistent 50%+ average of backers on their tier
- 75%+ of the Patreon income comes from this tier
- Highest post engagement
- Requires the least effort on my end to deliver the reward
This is the tier I've always promoted and pushed on the channel as no lie... it's a big part of my success. I don't like talking business but this YouTube thing is a job for me, I'm a fan funded creator and I think that should be celebrated. Like I've mentioned above, that price point and popularity is such a HUGE contributing factor to the success of this page and how that flows through into the channels overall success! It would be a significant cut to reduce the cost of it... HOWEVER... by removing the BTS Tier. There is a place for a NEW 'middle' option and Early Access would be great for that!
I feel that making it more affordable will attract more people to opt for it which I project would ultimately balance out it's performance to remain consistent with where it's at now, or possibly even take it BEYOND where it has been the past few years! Suggested new price: $3 - $3.50
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3) A NEW TIER: Merch Loyalty Program!
Patreon has this really cool thing where if you stay subscribed to a tier for an amount of time, then you can earn some merch to be sent out to you. Things like stickers, mugs, shirts and the normal stuff. I know every shmuck on the internet is trying to sell you a mug with their head on it but bare with me here...
The current Early Access tier includes the 10% merch discount on the Teespring store, I feel like that would be more appropriate for a loyalty tier. On top of that, Patreon prints, distributes the products all within the cost of your pledge over that period of time and I get what's left over. So even like... even if ultimately I got less for it than the Early Access tier, hopefully YOU GUYS would feel like it's a good deal to get something in the mail every so often along with discounts.
Full disclaimer: I have not tried the quality of Patreon's products and I WILL TRY EVERYTHING before offering it.
But yeah if that's an idea people think sounds good, I'm very interested to hear feedback on it. I know there are people who previously have pledged far beyond the minimum highest tier available for no additional reward. So this option is for those people who'd like something more physical as a reward.
Plus I'm thinking if people get a shirt and send me a picture, then I can whack it at the end of a video in the credits where I put community artwork, which then promotes the Patreon stuff further and gets YOUR MUG into one of my videos! 😁
I'm not sure about a price on this as it would depend on the cost of the items available so let's just for example say:
$10 per month - 3 months - You get a T-Shirt in the mail
(this is what the reward program would look like)
This can also extend to a new item EVERY 3 MONTHS for a full year if there is enough interest in the future!
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Alright people, please please PELASE let me know what you think of it. There is a lot to unpack but I'm happy to answer more questions and like I said, having this be an OPEN INCLUSIVE DISCUSSION between myself and all of you, is really important to me as I want to make sure I approach these things the best way possible! 🙂
Just a quick life update) I'm working on videos, been feeling more positive than usual and making sure to give myself down time and not beat myself up over not working on YouTube stuff at every waking moment. Got a review filmed for Clive N' Wrench which should be finished by the end of this week for Early Access patrons, then on YouTube the following week. I'm going to Sydney in June so before then, I'm gonna try and squeeze out 2 more reviews on a retro game and it's sequel. Then when I get back, it'll be Crash Team Rumble time!!!
Anyway as always, thank you guys for reading and all the support over the years. Much love! Please reach out with questions/suggestions and until next time, I hope you have a great fucking day. Cheers! 👍
