A while back I posted a link to a survey in the hopes of understanding how to make things more awesome for those of you supporting me on various patronage platforms. Some of the results were surprising, but I think I got a pretty clear picture based on the responses. Here are some of the takeaways:
• Most people are subscribing just to tip me, not for access to locked content.
• Most people are using platform-generated email to read my updates (instead of an app or the platform website).
• Surprisingly, just over half of you don’t read the content unless you remember to.
• 85% of you either don’t care about the community aspect, don’t have time to participate, or can take or leave it (!)
The responses as to preferred platforms yielded some interesting insights. The major ones:
• People like the Locals app/website better than Patreon’s, citing easier-to-use comment sections, more interaction, and better user experience and organization/layout.
• But most people, while reporting a dislike of Patreon, prefer to continue using it over dealing with multiple sites.
The latter was a drumbeat in response after response. ‘I don’t like Patreon, but I’m supporting multiple artists with a single payment a month and it’s just not worth the hassle to move/add another site.’
Patreon has years of inertia behind it, and I don’t think that’s going to change.
I continue to think Locals has potential, and am curious to see what they’re evolving toward, and as inconvenient as it is to have multiple sites to manage (for me, in terms of posting), I like to have diversified revenue streams. When I had all my eggs in the Patreon basket, Patreon going down, kicking me off, or changing its terms and conditions to something untenable was a major worry. Having my patrons split across Patreon and Locals has relieved some of those concerns (and it is nearly half split: 212 people on Locals vs 150 people on Patreon).
But given that the people on Patreon aren’t going to move, I’ve decided to standardize my content (as much as possible) across both platforms. There are some things that will only be on Locals because of the technology, like the livestreams and the better comment sections. But going forward, all free content will be posted to both platforms, and all locked Locals content that can be cross-posted will be available to Patreon patrons paying at least $5 a month (since Locals doesn’t allow me to set a lower membership price). I already have a $5 tier on Patreon, so that makes things easier; I’m debating removing the $1 tier to avoid confusion, but I’m going to wait on that decision to see how things work out first.
This is my intention, but since I have to do it manually I can’t guarantee I’ll catch every post.
The tl;dr version: I am sticking with two major patron platforms, Locals and Patreon. Locked content will be available on both platforms at the $5+ a month level. Content will be cross-posted unless the technology prevents it; Locals has some features Patreon doesn’t.
Here I mention that both Patreon and Locals have yearly as well as month-to-month payment options, so if you want to lump-sum things and get it over with, you can with both sites. And for those of you curious about Locals, here’s a promo code for a free couple of months: https://studiomcah.locals.com/support/promo/FEBCOFFEE
Thanks to all of you for participating in the survey! I really appreciate the window into your interests and pain points. I’m going to use that data to serve you better!
Questions, comments, and suggestions, as always, welcome!
