The best way to Make Cash with Patreon
10 min read
We stay in a magical age the place artists, musicians, creators, and educators can earn a dwelling by sharing their abilities on-line. From social media platforms and Etsy to blogs and on-line programs, there isn’t a scarcity of platforms for monetizing your abilities and information. However one of the crucial highly effective on-line platforms for being profitable as a content material creator or educator is Patreon.
Patreon is a strategy to make recurring revenue month after month simply by sharing what you’re good at along 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. Usually, members both join as a result of they love what you do and what to assist you or as a result of they need premium content material or advantages that they get in alternate 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 beauty of the platform is it doesn’t price something to get began, and you’ll create a web page as a creator at no cost. 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 illustration, the Lite plan takes 5% however solely offers you entry to probably the most primary 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 final word quantity of flexibility when crafting your corporation 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’ll be able to withdraw your cash at any time by means of both Payoneer or PayPal.
The best way to Discover Success as a Patreon Creator
We’ve lined the fundamentals of how Patreon works, however how will you leverage it to earn cash? The reality is everybody’s Patreon web page is ready up otherwise, however there are some common methods that may make it easier to develop and preserve 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’ll be able to take numerous approaches to Patreon as a creator relying on the area of interest and sort of enterprise you need to create. For instance, in case you’re a YouTuber or influencer with a big viewers, Patreon can turn into a platform the place your followers can get extra entry to you. In alternate for his or her membership price, you would supply them with further 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 such a enterprise mannequin. He offers his fan base a say in what merchandise he’ll evaluation subsequent through 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 method to your membership, the place your patrons will obtain content material they need or want in alternate for his or her subscription price. As an illustration, Pet Foolery, creator of the Pixie and Brutus comedian, runs a Patreon account that provides its patrons 4 comics per thirty days for simply $1.
That will not sound like lots, however contemplating that the creator was reported to have over 13,000 patrons, it provides as much as a tidy sum!
The final sort of web page you possibly can create is for normal assist. Members don’t get something in return for his or her donation, but it surely’s a means for them to assist what you do. This mannequin sometimes entails smaller month-to-month contributions between $1-$3.
Except or till you might have a big following, a transactional method is one of the best 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 below are the weather you don’t need 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, brand, or – in case you’re an artist – an image of your work.
Cowl Photograph 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 ought to be about 1600 x 400 pixels. You’ll be able to 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’ll anticipate out of your membership. It doesn’t have to be lengthy, however make sure to embrace partaking copy that can make them need 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 elective, a video can go a great 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 crucial step within the course of, particularly in case you’re taking the transactional method to the platform. Most creators create a number of membership choices referred to as tiers.
Usually, every tier up ought to supply extra perks or advantages. For instance, in case you’re a graphic design artist, your first tier may supply a brand new month-to-month font for $9.99 per thirty days. Then you could possibly 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 thirty days.
Though membership tiers are elective, it’s really helpful that you just embrace at the very least two or three choices because it offers members extra selections and might improve your conversion price. For instance, some guests might not be keen to pay the $20 per thirty days in your top-tier membership however are joyful to hitch your $10 tier for fewer advantages.
It’s additionally essential to cost your choices appropriately. Consider what number of hours of labor go into every bit of content material you create each month, particularly in case you’re beginning out with a smaller variety of patrons.
As an illustration, 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 in your exhausting work. However in case 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 strategy to sweeten the deal in your members by giving them one thing above and past the standard rewards for a restricted time.
For instance, you could possibly supply bodily merchandise like a sticker or a mug. Should you’re an artist, your bonus supply might be a framed piece of your art work. Should you’re a author, it might 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’ll be able to schedule your supply prematurely if you want and put it on the market to your viewers. When the supply is stay, it will likely be highlighted on the tier it’s being provided on as a strategy to seize your guests’ consideration and encourage them to enroll!
5. Take into account Together with a Merch Retailer
Should you 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 baggage, posters, t-shirts, and mugs. The idea is just like print-on-demand in that you just solely have to add the design, and Patreon handles the success.
This feature is good 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 publish a public purpose. Objectives may be community-based or earnings-based, and you’ll embrace a pledge for what is going to occur if you attain that milestone.
For instance, you could possibly set a purpose for 100 Patreon subscribers and pledge that after you attain that purpose, you’ll embrace an additional perk within the month-to-month membership. When you’ve revealed your purpose, each members and public viewers will be capable to see it in your Patreon web page, in addition to how shut you might be to reaching it.
Objectives can encourage viewers to enroll whereas exhibiting members that you just’re actively working in the 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 put it on the market 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 electronic mail listing, if in case you have one.
8. Preserve Your Patreon Neighborhood
After you’ve launched your subscription and have a number of members, it’s essential to are likely to them. In any case, you need each member to remain subscribed for so long as attainable! To that finish, listed below are some ideas for protecting your members engaged:
Ship Promised Content material on Time
The primary and most blatant factor you are able to do to maintain your members joyful is to do what you say you’ll. So in case you say you’re going to launch unique content material on the first and fifteenth of each month, make sure that you comply with by means of.
Embody Some Free Content material
You’ll be able to gate all of your Patreon content material in order that solely members can see it, however you can too 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’ll anticipate 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 can present your members that you just worth their suggestions and are open to dialogue. When you have time, attempt to reply the questions they ask or give a shout-out in a future publish.
Run Polls
Encourage group 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.
Submit Recurrently
Even in case you ship all of your deliverables originally of the month, it’s a good suggestion to publish repeatedly so members can see you’re invested in the neighborhood. 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 improbable platform for rising a group 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!
Nevertheless, understand that it takes time to develop your Patreon account. You could get a handful of members if you launch earlier than it ranges off. Members will come and go, however in case you preserve your group 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, take a look at these nice suggestions from Carol Tice of the Freelance Writers Den!
