Patreon Series Part I: Is it for You?

​Patreon has been getting a lot of hype over the past year. It's the newest way for cosplayers and artists to make an income, and for their fans to support them. This week, I have a 3 part series to help you get ready for the biggest addition to your 2017 success!

I always do tons of research before doing anything, which is why I have the knowledge and experience to write advice posts like this. Unfortunately, there aren't as many resources for Patreon as one might think, except for the awesome Toolbox Patreon has on their website and their own blog.

So I'm here to provide an outside voice to give you a bit more information and some tips and tricks to give you the information you need and the boost of confidence to get started.

Today's post is going to inform you if you SHOULD start a Patreon. You can't just launch a Patreon and hope people pay you money. Especially in this economy, that's not how people work!

So here is a list of the most important things to ask yourself before you even consider moving on to the next stage.

How many followers do you have?

This doesn't mean much honestly, but having higher followers increases the amount of patrons you can get with the least amount of work. So the fewer followers you have on social media, the more work and effort you'll have to put in to your page and content to get your first patrons. This also means, that if you have a lot of followers, AND you put in the hard work, you can significantly increase the amount of patrons you get.
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How much engagement do you get regularly?

Followers is always great, but the most important thing you can get from your followers is engagement. Not just likes on photos, but the comments and messages. You should be actively engaged with your community, your followers. Constantly replying to comments and messages. This brings them back to want to chat with you more, and it gives the sense of friendship. Friends are more willing to support you than random names on the internet. Start creating these relationships with your supporters and encourage more engagement.

Another thing to consider in this category is a Print Store. Do you have one set up? If yes, do you get a decent response? AKA this means have you ever sold a print? The print game is not as strong as you think and it fluctuates like crazy. But you should have a print store set up to gauge interest for a few months before you even consider starting a Patreon.

How much time do you have?

Patreon can be a lot of work. You have so much to consider before you start one, mainly what you can offer as rewards. The easiest and most common for cosplayers is exclusive content, or extra work in progress photos. You will know what works best for you. You will know how much time you can put into this and what you can offer your patrons.

If you want to test your ability to maintain the content you expect to put out, you can start publishing posts regularly on your Patreon. This requires you to launch, but hitting that scary launch button does nothing! You'll have to tell your followers about it.

So spend a month and push out your content as often as you plan to. See if you get far behind, or if you find yourself apologizing or making excuses. Then it's probably too much for you. If you are happy with how you did, then look at your monthly posts and consider what YOU would pay to see that total content.

I'll go more into this in tomorrow's post, but it's a great thing to consider. It really helps you see your own page through potential patrons eyes, and how to curate your tiers. Plus, when you officially launch, you'll have a month's worth of content as an added bonus for sign ups!

If you want to jump right in, consider how often you post on social media, or if you have a blog; the amount of time you already spend with your supporters. You'll have to add more to that. And it will have to become your priority social media. You can't let it slide. People are paying you money. Treat them like clients and treat them with respect! Give them the content their paying for.

What can you offer your future patrons?

Take the rest of the day to consider what you can offer your patrons. Feel free to check out my Patreon, and use the search feature to find other people with a similar niche and see what they offer as rewards, how often they post, etc.

Tomorrow we are going to go over some important tips about creating your bio page and creating reward tiers. Patreon says it best, so remember to check out the toolbox and blog!

Ready to jump in? Sign up for your patreon here!

Sneak Peak Ahead

Tomorrow we build your page, and Day Three we're ready to launch and get your first patron! Sounds intimidating? Don't worry! Day Three brings some great resources to boost your confidence and give you one on one advice specific to your page and your tiers, plus a free download!

​I'm pretty excited about this series since quite a few people have been asking me for advice despite my only two months of activity. I've put in the effort to do as much research as possible and to pick out the best tips as possible and now I want to share them with you.
Proceed to Part 2, or get your geeky 2017 planner now!