IMPORTANT: Change In Patreon Payments (Patreon)

Hey gang! 

As of tomorrow (November 1st), I will be changing the way Patreon charges Patrons.

Instead of charging at the end of the month for the month just passed, it'll be paid in advance for the upcoming month. So for example, if a Patron joins now, they could in theory access everything first and then be charged for payment later. Now, they'll be charged before accessing the content.

What does this mean for you existing patrons? Pretty much no change. You still have the same access and perks as before and you're charged the same amount at the end of the month. You're not suddenly paying double for two month's worth at the same time or anything. Here's a Patreon article to explain it better but it's basically no change to you (unless you now decide to increase/decrease your pledge) or me, only to those who join after the change is made.

But why am I making this change?

Ever since I opened this Patreon 3 years ago, I've been allowing Patrons to join and access content with their payment taken at the end of the month. This was to be incentivising, I had hoped more people would join with fewer obstacles and then stick around if they wanted to. 

This however led to confusion. Patrons who expected shoutouts and names in credits weren't getting them because they hadn't been charged yet and I rely on Patreon's benefit tracker to let me know the list of people needing perks. But Patrons have been let down, thinking that by joining they get those perks immediately. 

And sadly I've seen people take advantage of this system, become a Patron but immediately quit just before payment gets taken, meaning they got to enjoy a free month of exclusive content without paying a penny. And they could technically do the exact same thing every single month and I couldn't stop them.

Also, I have some exciting Patron exclusive things coming up. This week alone has a major announcement (just for Mega Big Fans) and a discount for all-Patrons for an exciting piece of merch coming out on Friday. This is not stuff I want people getting for free - only to you as a thank you for supporting me.

I hope this makes sense. As I said, this shouldn't affect you in any noticeable way, but I wanted to make sure you were aware of the change before it goes ahead.