The Plan for Patreon! (Let me know your feedback :D) (Patreon)
Content
Hey everyone! I have some ideas for how to make Patreon even better, and I'd like to hear what you think about it! Nothing is changing right now, I'm in a planning and data-gathering stage, and you can help :)
Background
This Patreon started back in 2016, when Patreon itself was still a fairly new concept. I think it's fair to say that not many people back then knew what to expect from the platform (either as creators or backers!) People just knew that it was a clear way to support the content they loved. And that's great!
When I started, Wasted Talent was still updating every week. So, on Patreon, I could post comics early, I could post progress gifs of those comics, and I was trying to do vlogs and livestreams, with varying degrees of success... but I think it made sense for the time.
Shortly after completing Kickstarter fulfillment (mid 2017), I got pretty sick. I was pretty lost as an artist and as a person without my webcomic, and I knew that even if I could figure out what to post, I wasn't healthy enough to post regularly. So at that time I decided to turn Patreon "off" (changed the setting from "monthly" to "per creation"). Patreon has remained off for the past two years, and I only charged once for a completed comic, I believe. ("It's ok to sploot") During that time, I've been posting as often as I could, slowly building up my capacity to post regularly, and finding a new path forward for my creativity.
I'm pretty happy with what I've been doing lately as an artist, and I hope you agree :) I'm making lots of new zines and short stories, finding new stories to tell and new ways to tell them! I've been having a lot of fun with the process, and I'm really grateful that I've had a space to share it with all of you.
So now it's time, I think, to make this place a Patreon for the Jam that's here now, and make it an even more exciting place for all of you.
Key Issues with Current Model
- I find the current model a bit difficult to plan for and explain. It's not really clear to patrons (I think) "how much" people are getting for whatever they're pledging. I'd like to make this more clear. That will also allow me to plan a bit better :)
- It doesn't match what I'm currently doing/able to do. Some of it is out of date and I'd like to bring it more into alignment with what is actually happening.
- Higher tier rewards rely a lot on making "extra stuff" that's not comics. This has been really hard for me, and the goal is to get more comics made!!
My Goals
- Make my Patreon a fun and interesting place to be!
- Make a new structure that supports more comics getting made (this seems to be everyone's #1 request! hehe)
- Do a "soft relaunch" in 2020 where I can turn Patreon "on" :)
- Don't get sick again! (i.e. don't "overcommit")
Proposed New Structure
The new structure operates on a few key principles:
- If you pledge more, you should see more posts per month
- If you pledge more, you get to see deeper into the creative process
- As more people pledge, everyone gets more posts/month
- As more people pledge, more annual Patreon-exclusive 'events' unlock
Here's what that looks like:
Whoa ok, that's a lot! Don't worry... some key things to know are this is PRETTY close to what I've been doing for the last few months. In the current model, we are sitting below the "Hourly Comics Day" goal.
For reference, I made 8 posts in September and 6 in August. With a concrete plan, I think this is achievable.
The TYPE of content at $1, $2 and $5 won't change very much, but content will be posted more predictably/reliably. I think those levels are working, and I don't want to mess with them. The biggest change is at $10. I'd like to call that level "the Lab", and I'd like to give that tier even MORE insight (and input!) to the creative process. It might include things like:
- Scripts, thumbnails, and outlines that are drafts for comics - legible and ready for detailed feedback. This is similar to "beta read" I was doing in 2017.
- Prose short stories (that may become future comics)
- Better documentation of "experiments" that I'm doing that will inform future comics (like glitch stuff, mixed media experiments)
- Occasional prototypes in the mail! Stickers and other products I'd like to test, maybe early release of zines and things like that.
The other big change is that unlocked 'bonus' goals are now tied to a month! That way I can plan for it, and you know when to expect it :) The only exceptions is that Making-of PDFs release when new, finished comic projects release.
Timeline/Rollout
So this is stage 1 of data-gathering. What do you think? Does this plan make Patreon seem more exciting? More daunting? More clear? What can I do to make this plan even stronger?
I'm going to keep practicing at producing content with these targets in mind, to make sure it's reliable. When I've received and integrated your feedback here at the $5/$10 level, I'll ask for another round of feedback for all Patrons.
Then, when we all feel confident in what's happening, the soft launch will happen sometime in early 2020! Woo!
Thanks so much for reading this giant post, and for taking the time to review this. I'm so SO grateful to everyone who stuck around during this transition time. I seriously can't emphasize that enough. It means so much that you're here for my art and what I'm hoping to make with my voice. I'm stoked to make more comics :)