Welcome to the world of Patreon, where content creators like you can turn their passion into a sustainable income stream. If you're a podcaster, YouTuber, blogger, or solopreneur looking to monetize your content, Patreon is a platform that can help you build a loyal community of supporters while earning money doing what you love. In this blog post, we'll walk you through everything you need to know to successfully make money on Patreon.
Whether you’re a Patreon creator or fan, connecting it with IFTTT, an automation service that lets you connect over 900 different services including Youtube, Facebook, Google Assistant, and more. With our Patreon integrations, you can optimize your experience and focus more on creating and connecting with your community. It will help you launch and track campaigns, posts, and memberships.
Here’s a few of our Patreon Applets:
- Keep track of Patreon members in a Googlesheet
26 - If new Patreon Post, then post a rich message to a Discord channel42
- Tweet when there is a new post on Patreon 14
- Get an email when Patreon publishes a new trigger or action 12
- If a new Patreon campaign is created, then Create a link post on Facebook Page1
- Get a weekly digest of new Patreon posts 1
Table of Contents
- What is Patreon?
- How does Patreon work?
- Why use Patreon for monetization?
- Creating membership tiers
- Offering exclusive content
- Engaging with Patrons
- Promoting Your Patreon Page
- Integrating Patreon with IFTTT
What is Patreon?
Patreon is a membership platform that offers creators a unique way to monetize creative projects from music, art, podcasts, and more. It allows your fans, followers, and supporters to become your patrons by pledging a recurring monthly payment in exchange for exclusive access to your content and other perks. These exclusive content and perks serve as incentives to keep fans engaged and support creators' ongoing projects.
How does Patreon work?
Patreon operates on a subscription-based model, offering different membership tiers at different price points. Your patrons can choose a tier that suits their budget, and in return, they receive exclusive content, behind-the-scenes updates, merchandise, and more.
You can read our blog on How does Patreon work, where we take a closer look at what Patreon is, how it works, and what benefits you can expect as a creator or a fan.
Why use Patreon for monetization?
Patreon provides a sustainable way to monetize your content, shifting the focus from one-time transactions to ongoing support. It creates a direct connection between you and your most dedicated fans, allowing you to focus on creating the content they love. This model offers several benefits:
- Direct support from your audience: Patreon allows your fans to directly support your work. Instead of relying on ad revenue or sponsorships, you can get paid by the people who enjoy your content the most.
- Recurring revenue: Patreon is based on a subscription model. This means that you'll receive recurring payments from your patrons, providing a more stable income than one-off sales or donations.
- Creative freedom: Because you're funded by your audience, you have more freedom to create the content you want. You won't need to cater to advertisers or sponsors, which can sometimes limit creative expression.
- Easy to use: The platform is user-friendly for both creators and patrons, making it easy to set up and manage your page.
- Flexibility: Patreon allows you to set up different tiers of support, so fans can contribute at a level that suits them. This flexibility can help attract a wider range of supporters.
- Community building: Patreon provides tools to engage with your supporters. You can offer exclusive content, behind-the-scenes updates, and other rewards to your patrons, helping to build a strong community around your work.
Creating membership tiers
Creating membership tiers on platforms like Patreon is a crucial part of setting up your monetization strategy. They allow you to offer various levels of access, perks, and rewards to your patrons based on the amount they contribute. Here's how you can create effective membership tiers:
- Identify your audience: Understand who your audience is and what they value most from your content. This will help you determine the types of rewards that will be most appealing.
- Decide number of tiers: It's good to start with a few basic tiers — perhaps three or four — to keep things simple and manageable. You can always add more later as your community grows.
- Set pricing levels: The pricing for each tier should reflect the value of the rewards offered. Remember to consider your time and resources when setting these prices. - Start small: Offer a low-cost tier as an easy entry point for potential patrons.
- Provide value: Make sure each tier offers meaningful benefits to your patrons.
- Define rewards: Each tier should offer something of value. This could be early access to content, behind-the-scenes updates, merchandise, one-on-one interactions, or anything else that your audience might appreciate.
- Keep it manageable: Don't promise more than you can deliver. Ensure that you can fulfill all the benefits of each tier without overstretching yourself.
- Review & revise: As your community grows and changes, so too should your tiers. Regularly review your tiers to ensure they continue to provide value to both you and your patrons.
Here’s a few examples of how creators are setting up their membership tiers:
Offering exclusive content
Offering exclusive content is a strategy used by creators to provide something unique and special to their loyal followers or customers. This can be an effective way to incentivize people to become paying supporters or subscribers. Consider these ideas for creating valuable content:
- Behind-the-scenes access: Share what goes on behind your creative process.
- Early access: Let your patrons see your new content before anyone else.
- Bonus content: Create extra content that's exclusive to your patrons.
- Keep the quality high: Just because content is exclusive doesn't mean it can be subpar. In fact, because people are paying for it, the quality should be as high, if not higher than your regular content.
- Promote your exclusive content: Let your audience know that this exclusive content exists and how they can get access to it. This could be through social media, email newsletters, or directly on your website or platform.
- Community involvement: Pay attention to what your audience is saying about your exclusive content. Are they enjoying it? Is it providing value? Use their feedback to continually refine and improve what you're offering.
Engaging with Patrons
Building strong relationships with your patrons can turn casual fans into long-term supporters. Here are some ways to engage with your patrons:
- Regular updates: Keep your patrons in the loop about your work. This could be progress updates, behind-the-scenes content, or just general news about what you're up to. Regular communication helps patrons feel connected to your work.
- Exclusive content: As mentioned earlier, offering exclusive content is a great way to engage your patrons. This could be early access to new work, bonus materials, or content that's created specifically for your patrons.
- Active listening: Make sure you're responding to comments, messages, and feedback from your patrons. This not only shows that you value their input, but it also gives you valuable insights into what they like and what they'd like to see more of.
- Community activities: Organize activities that foster a sense of community among your patrons. This could be live Q&A sessions, virtual meetups, contests, or collaborative projects.
- Personal thank yous: Take the time to personally thank your patrons for their support. This could be a simple message, a shout-out in a video, or even a personal thank-you note.
- Surveys and polls: Ask your patrons for their opinions on upcoming projects, potential merchandise, or new reward ideas. This not only involves them in the process, but it also helps ensure that you're producing content and rewards that they'll love.
- Use their feedback: Show your patrons that you're listening by actually acting on their feedback. If several patrons suggest a new reward idea, for example, consider adding it to your tiers.
Promoting your Patreon page
Promoting your Patreon page is essential to attract more patrons and increase your earnings. Here are some strategies you can consider:
- Leverage your existing platforms: If you have a good following on social media, a blog, or a YouTube channel, use these platforms to promote your Patreon page. Make sure to explain the benefits of becoming a patron and what exclusive content or experiences they'll get access to.
- Create quality public content: While it's important to offer exclusive content for your patrons, also continue creating high-quality public content. This not only showcases your work, but it also gives potential patrons a taste of what they can expect if they subscribe.
- Offer exclusive rewards: Make sure your rewards are enticing and valuable. The more unique and exclusive, the better. Make sure to clearly communicate these rewards when promoting your Patreon page.
- Collaborate with other creators: Cross-promotion can be a great way to reach new audiences. Consider collaborating with other creators in your niche who also have Patreon pages.
- Engage your community: Engage with your audience regularly, whether it's through comments, messages, or live chats. The more engaged your community, the more likely they are to become patrons.
- Share success stories: Share stories or testimonials from happy patrons. This can help potential patrons see the value in supporting you.
- Use Patreon's promotional tools: Patreon offers several promotional tools, including a Patreon widget for your website, a Patreon link for your YouTube channel, and customizable Patreon page banners.
Integrating Patreon with IFTTT
Making money on Patreon goes beyond simply creating content. It involves building a community, offering value, and engaging with your patrons. While it might seem challenging at first, with patience and dedication, you can turn your passion into a sustainable income.
You can create a better Patreon experience by connecting it with IFTTT, you can automate processes like posting updates and keeping track of your Patreon members, saving you time and effort.
So, what are you waiting for? Join IFTTT for free today!
Business
How to make money on Patreon
February 14, 2024
