Upcoming Patreon Reward Changes (Patreon)

Hey friends! I spoke in-depth in my last Patron livestream about some upcoming Patreon reward tier changes I'd like to implement (starts at 1:12:00 in the livestream.) But for those who don't want to watch an hour of me yammering or who want to see it broken down more simply, here's the basic information!

Why make changes?

In short: It's become clear over time that I am unable to deliver the rewards I'm currently offering in a timely manner. I would rather adjust the tier structure, even if it means raising prices and/or removing rewards, than continue to be consistently late on reward delivery. It isn't fair to any of us for me to overpromise and underdeliver. This change is meant to ensure that these rewards are achievable and scaleable, so you get what you're pledging for!

What are the new tiers?

• $1 — Di-light
  • Discord access
  • Patreon feed & Patron IG access
  • Monthly livestream
  • 15% shop discount
• $5 — Di-sciple
  • Mp3s of new songs
  • Desktop & mobile wallpapers
  • Miscellaneous livestreams (crafting, makeup, behind-the-scenes, etc.)
• $15 — Di-votee
  • Early access to videos
  • Quarterly tutorial
• $35 — Di-ety
  • 1 8x10” signed print
  • 1 4x6” signed print
  • 1 polaroid
  • Annual calendar (3mo min pledge)

What's changing?

The $1 tier is remaining largely the same, except that the discount will henceforth apply to all products, not just prints.

The $5 tier is losing the "photo edit before-and-afters," not because I'm going to stop doing them, but because it feels silly to limit them to $5+ — they're just going to be a normal part of the Patreon feed now. I'm also going to be making a bigger effort to increase those additional streams every month!

The $10 tier is becoming a $15 tier, because the videos are by far the most time consuming part of reward fulfillment. Tutorials will also become quarterly, so that I can focus on bigger, more in-demand tutorials, rather than rushing through little ones to meet a quota. (Small tutorials can still happen, they'll just count as a regular ol' "early access video.") Also, the early access videos will not longer be defined as two per month. Instead, Patrons will just get early access to each video I make, which may vary month-to-month depending on whether or not I'm producing a big video (like a music video) that month.

The $20 tier and the $50 tier are combining to become the $35 tier. This will simplify mailing for me, which has become a big road block in reward fulfillment. This combined tier will get two prints (one 8x10, one 4x6 "blooper" or bonus print, both signed) and a polaroid*. This tier will also get my annual calendar for free, as long as they've been pledged for at least 3 months before calendar launch. The handwritten thank-you note has been removed, since it isn't easily scaleable to my growing Patron base. The t-shirt and photo edit rewards are also going, mostly just because triggering time-based rewards is extremely difficult to do manually. (Patreon has talked about implementing a feature for this, and if that happens, these kind of rewards will return!)

*Re: Polaroids — I'm still unsure about this part! Polaroids are time consuming, but also super cute. I don't want to eliminate that, but they are not infinitely scaleable, and even if I leave them in now, I'll probably need to eliminate them in the next 6 months to a year. Folks have given me some great suggestions (doing a quarterly Patron-only polaroid preorder; replacing polaroids with some other form of unique keepsake, such as small, printed behind-the-scenes candids; etc.) I'd love to hear more feedback on the polaroids and what, if anything, you'd like to see offered in their place.

Also, I've renamed all the tiers with "Di" puns, because I'm a monster!

When will these changes go into effect?

My current goal is to launch these new tiers for May. That would give us all of April to work out the kinks, communicate on the changes, and update graphics, videos, etc.

Thoughts?

I'm eager to hear your feedback! Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments or via private message if you'd prefer. I'm expecting most people to scale down rather than up if their tier has changed (e.g., $20 folks will likely become $15 folks; $10 will likely become $5 folks) and I have made peace with the associated financial loss, because my top priority is making sure I can actually deliver what I'm promising, so please don't feel the need to apologize or explain yourself if you'll need to drop down a tier — I totally understand. I just want to know what rewards do/don't interest you and why/why not!

Thank you guys for always being so understanding! I was very anxious about announcing these changes in the stream, but you all have been so supportive. I really do believe this change will be for the better for all of us. <3

EDIT: If you want to pledge the same amount...

A few people have asked if they can continue to send the same amount they're currently pledging, even if their rewards go down to the next lowest tier! (For example, if you are pledging $50 and want to keep sending $50, even while receiving the $35 tier rewards.) This is absolutely possible — Patreon allows you to choose a reward tier and then manually input an amount, whether that amount matches the tier or is higher. I'll give you guys more in-depth instructions on how to achieve this come May when I have the new tiers ready.