5 Things You Need to Know About Using Patreon To Make Money as a Creator
When you’re an independent creator, it can be challenging to know how to make money. If you have a passion and want to monetize it, you should learn how to use Patreon. With the right approach, Patreon can be an excellent way to make money from home.
Maybe you want to make a career off of your social media, or maybe coronavirus shutdowns have left you strapped for cash. No matter the specifics, you can use Patreon to boost your earnings. If you want to learn how to use Patreon, use these five tips to get started.
1. How Does Patreon Work?
Patreon is like a subscription service for creators and their work. You create something, be it music, art, or even just an online personality, and supporters pay to access your content. You can use it to sell art, fund your YouTube channel, or whatever else you want to do online.
On Patreon, you decide the amount(s) supporters, or patrons, have to pay to access your content. When you collect this money, Patreon takes a small fee, which is how their side of the business works. Don’t worry, though, these fees are not substantial, so you’ll keep the vast majority of the money.
2. How to Start Your Creator Page
When you want to start a creator page, go to the site and click “Create on Patreon.” This button will take you through an account setup process, asking you questions like what you create. You can decide how you want patrons to pay you and establish a payment tier system if you wish.
During this process, you can also design your page to attract patrons. This is your chance to show the world what you have to offer. When everything’s to your liking, you can preview your page to double-check it then launch it.
3. There are Multiple Ways to Make Money on Patreon
All Patreon business models involve patrons paying you for content, but this can take several different forms. If you want to monetize your social media presence, you can use it as a sort of VIP access program. Patrons who pay more get to interact with you more.
Alternatively, you could use Patreon as a way to offer exclusive content you can’t get anywhere else. While your social media content is free, you provide various levels of premium content based on different payment tiers. There are plenty of other business models you can choose, too, so you can tailor your business to your specific needs and wants.
4. How to Market Your Patreon
Once you’ve got your page set up and your business figured out, you need to market it. You can’t expect to attract many patrons if they don’t know about you. One of the best ways to tell people about your Patreon is through your social media accounts.
YouTube is an excellent marketing tool, even aside from Patreon. It’s the second-largest search engine in the world, so it’s the perfect place to let people know about your Patreon content. Attract people to your content on YouTube and other social platforms and tell them about your Patreon while they’re there.
5. Patreon Is an Ongoing Project
Remember that you can’t create your Patreon and then leave it alone. It’s a subscription service, so you need to keep creating new things for your patrons. Although there’s no option for one-time payments, patrons can cancel their subscription at any time.
Your Patreon is a business, so it takes ongoing work to make money off of it. If you put in the work and keep marketing to new people, it can be profitable. If you just run one campaign, then ignore it, then you won’t get much out of it.
Fund Your Passion
With the reach of the internet, it’s now possible to make a living doing what you love. Above all else, that’s what Patreon is really about. It’s a platform for you to fund your passions, whatever they may be.
It takes work to establish a profitable online presence, but it’s not impossible. If you take advantage of tools like Patreon, you can live out your dreams of becoming an influencer.
