Retiring the $1 Tier (PRISM) but you get legacy access! (Patreon)

Hey y'all! I've got big news to share today. I've been doing a lot of digging into new perks, goals, and rewards that I can offer to make ThreatWire a more impactful show. I've also spoken with a Patreon manager and asked for a healthy bit of advice to see how I should proceed. Obviously, my desire is to see this show grow and in order to do so I need to make the right choices for my patrons - y'all are my biggest supporters, after all!

I learned that a $2 (or higher) pledge tier benefits creators and patrons more because while it's $1 more for a patron, it's also a hefty boost for the show because I can offer you more. By upping a pledge by one dollar, ThreatWire earns a percentage more more that is no longer paid to processing fees.  My fees are 5% plus 10 cents for each payment for pledges between $1-$3. My fees are  2.9% + 30 cents for each pledge over $3.

That means:

If you pledge at $1 = ThreatWire makes $0.85 (85% of your pledge)

If you pledge at $2 = ThreatWire makes $1.80 (90% of your pledge)

If you pledge at $4 = ThreatWire makes $3.58 (90% of your pledge)

If you pledge at $8 = ThreatWire makes $7.47 (93% of your pledge)

 https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/articles/360027674431-How-does-Patreon-calculate-fees-for-creators- 

Put bluntly, the platform (and credit card processors) take less of a cut the higher the pledge. 

As such, I've decided to unpublish the $1 tier. 

So what does it mean? It just means that the $1 tier will not be visible on the page anymore. If you're currently in the $1 tier, YOU HAVE LEGACY ACCESS AS A FOUNDING THREATWIRE PATRON. New patrons will not see the $1 option anymore. On September 1st, I plan to retire that tier. If you're still in the $1 legacy hidden tier after September 1 when it's retired, you'll still be my patron but you'll be a "no benefit" patron, and won't have access to all the goodies you currently get on the page. You can choose to remain on as a "no benefit" patron, join the $2 tier, or delete your pledge entirely (though I do hope you'll stick around!). 

Here’s how to select a new Tier: How do I edit my membership?

I want to start that audio podcast as soon as possible, and that's the next goal on my page. So as an offer, and to show my appreciation for everyone who has pledged at the $1 and $2 levels for so long, I've merged everything from the $1 tier into the $2 tier AND I've added the shoutout on the show perk. For a limited time, anyone who chooses to pledge at the $2 tier and higher will receive a personal thank you video from me emailed directly to your email inbox. That includes anyone who decides to change their pledge from $1 to $2. After August 11th (which just so coincides with DEF CON!) this video perk is only going to be available to pledges at the $8+ tier offer, so once it's gone, it's gone!

I'm letting you know here first even though I'm technically not announcing it until the ThreatWire episode on July 23rd.  As of today, the $2 tier has 50% MORE patrons than the $1 tier, which tells me that the $2 tier is more popular already, so more folks find value in the added perks even with the added dollar. It's always a tough decision to make a major change to a page, but I also always transparent about plans, fees, and how the contributions are used in funding the show. 

If you have any questions, please message me or comment! 

-Shannon