First Patreon Text Post!!! (Patreon)

We are so nervous to launch this Patreon. As we sit here typing this at 1am on launch day, we have a lot of fear and anxiety: what if no one signs up for this?? What if people sign up and we let them down??? These two questions have been the main motivators for why we didn't launch a Patreon back in 2019 when we first created the podcast. I'm sure a lot of you can sympathize with the feelings of self-doubt and imposter syndrome that we've struggled with for the past 5 years in this industry. We've had networks, parent companies, agents, & producers all reach out to us over the years with big promises, only to decide we aren't a good fit for whatever they're looking for. We've heard it all - we're too small, too amateur, too annoying, too chatty, too silly, too unpolished, and too niche to ever reach mainstream success. This year, we decided we're tired of waiting for a big agency to pluck us from obscurity, realize our worth, and help our podcast grow. Instead, we hope that this Patreon will help us achieve our dreams for the pod in spite of all the closed doors we've faced.

If anyone is actually reading this, please know that we are so beyond grateful you've even considered signing up for our Patreon. As all Haunties know, we are a DIY podcast and are still learning new things every day. We hope you will stick with us and grant us your patience and grace as we seek to improve and make you all proud of us! 

Our starting goals for this Patreon are:

a) Streamline donations. Previously, donors have been able to donate any amount they want whenever they want and in exchange they receive a shoutout. We hope that by incorporating Patreon into the mix, donors will feel a greater sense of community while also being rewarded with extra content. 

b) Be able to afford rent, office supplies, gas, and parking for our studio without relying on advertisers. We love our sponsors and believe in their products (don't forget to use our coupon codes if you're in the market for some new hygiene supplies or CBD products!), but we would also like the peace of mind in knowing that if all our sponsors dropped us tomorrow we would still be able to cover our normal operating costs each month.

c) If we end up achieving a) and b), we'd also love to be able to fund the production of consistent extra content, including vlogs, in-person investigations, collaborations with other creators, live shows, etc.

These are our three starting goals for the Patreon, will we be able to achieve them all? Who's to say??? Extra content goes live today 12pm PST on this page - I hope to see you all here!