Big HexCorp Patreon Changes (Patreon)

Hey all, Hex here.

I'm writing this post because a lot has changed for me in the last couple of weeks. I recently landed a part-time software development role and with it I've been re-evaluating a lot of what I've been doing this last two years in regards to HexCorp.

TL;DR Summary Of This Whole Post :: I'm going to be focusing the Patreon on solely video and photography. I'm going to be removing half the tiers so that when May starts it will be only dedicated towards this. I'm making this change partly due to getting a new job and partly because I adore making the photosets and my other work has very much fallen behind and I no longer want to be monetising it. In the rest of the post I'll detail exactly which tiers and why.

When I first started this all off, I didn't know the overall direction I was going to go in, so this Patreon very much constructed with a scattergun approach. I just put everything creative that I was doing onto here and distributed them across tiers. I think it's pretty clear after two years of doing this what aspects have been the most successful.

I've deliberately picked a part-time role because I want to continue to work on photos and videos. The Patreon has been making me enough money to live on, and for that I am incredibly grateful. However, I have been struggling in recent months to acquire the tools/gear that I need to keep on improving what we're creating. The main reason I am going with this job is to be able to fund more equipment for my content. Brainwashing apparatus is, unfortunately, not cheap!

A lot of why I'm doing this does also pertain to burnout. I have stretched myself pretty thin over multiple disciplines to make this work, and it is taking its toll somewhat. I've been thinking about changing things for a while, but was worried about how much my income might go down in the short-term as a result. Having the job gives me the financial security to make this change, and in the long-term I ultimately believe that being able to focus on just the main aspect that I really love doing will ultimately be a positive.

Tiers I'm going to remove

Tier 2 :: This tier started primarily for writing, until I added the random gift a couple of months ago. Don't get me wrong, I still love storytelling and world-building, it's entirely what HexCorp is all about. It's just become a struggle to try and produce microfics at a reasonable rate for this tier. My folders are filled with half-finished stories of me trying to populate this tier as much as possible.

This doesn't mean that I'm going to stop writing, I will just be doing when I feel up to it rather than to a monthly deadline!

Tier 3 :: Removing this one I feel I have to justify a bit, as it is the video/minisets tier. I'm primarily making this change to simplify how I create my work in future so that I can just do it with reckless abandon. The problem with splitting my output over several different tiers is that it removes that freedom and gives me this incredible feeling of guilt if I feel like I have created more for one tier than another that month.

For example, if I were to focus on making videos one month, then I feel like I have been rewarding tier 4 enough with the main photosets. Likewise, if I happen to focus on photosets one month, then I feel like tier 3 is no longer getting the video content they might have signed up for.

Having everything under one tier just significantly simplifies the whole thing. I can just keep making and throwing things out there with as few restrictions as possible.

Tier 5 :: So, this has actually been a lossmaker for me in recent months! Given this is only $5 more than tier 4, and I receive $4 of that, that then has to cover the stamps, envelopes, printer ink and printer paper. Turns out to get the good photographer paper and ink is not cheap! But I kept doing it because I loved seeing the responsse I got from some people, especially those of you who were collecting them and having them all displayed together.

I still have March and April to do in regards to the postcards. I'm waiting until May starts to get those all done in one go, and then that will be the last batch.

I completely understand if these changes mean you can't keep supporting, either because the content is changing or because the pricing of what you're here for is now too high. Regardless, I appreciate everyone's supporting throughout the last two years, I am incredibly thankful for all it.

In a couple of days I'm going to unpublish the above tiers. This doesn't mean they'll cease to exist, just that new patrons won't be able to pick them. I'll then delete them before the end of the month. Patreon does this weird thing where it doesn't just default you to the next lower tier, but instead places you into a strange limbo land where you are still supporting me but receiving no benefits for doing so (it does this because the tiers can be made so flexibily by creators that Patreon can't possible know what tier would be the next best option). So what this means is it's up to you to pick what tier you would then like to be on.

After all the changes made, the tiers will then be the following ::

Tier 1 :: Credit on the site.

Tier 2 :: All of my videos and photosets.

Tier 3 :: Just for those who want to support me a bit extra.

Thank you for reading, and if you have any questions please either comment or DM and I'll get back to them ASAP!

- Hex