[Blog] Thoughts about the Patreon experience thus far...
Added 2021-05-20 14:07:27 +0000 UTC
Dropbox - Concept Art: [01] [02]
Here is an overview of what the Patreon experience for May looks like:
I think that looks like a healthy distribution of content, but I do have a few more things that I’d like to do before the month is over. Fortunately, we’ve got 1.5 weeks left before then. For now, I’d like to share some of my recent thoughts.
Fan Art Poll
Since the poll was based on fan-art, containing popular characters I typically don’t draw, it might help me appeal to a broader audience. I hope our recent artwork performs particularly well on social media.
I love how the voting poll feels more collaborative than sketch suggestions ever did. Everyone gets to contribute, and the results are driven entirely by your interests. I’m eager to see what happens with it next month if we continue. Maybe the themes themselves could be suggested by patrons on Discord.
That said, I do wonder if it needs a bit more…?
I want the voting experience to be fun for everyone, but I think landslide victories discourage further engagement. If one option is clearly winning on day 1, then why bother voting when no one else has a chance? So, what if a voting poll could have two winners?
Runner-Up Victory
Inspired by a tweet from SuperSatanSon, I’m considering the addition of a “last place winner,” in which the next option with the most votes (between the two in last place) will also be drawn.
I think this could make voting more fun & complex. That said, I don’t want it to take up too much time, so perhaps it’ll have much less polish, but still add value to your experience. Maybe we can do this when we’ve got nothing else going on during the month.
What do you think about that?
Concerns: The $10 Tier
Since we’re shifting focus from quantity to quality, I worry that, with the absence of sketch suggestions, there may not be enough value in the $10 tier to make you happy. Is it enough to suggest characters for voting polls?
A lot of my support comes from that tier, so I don’t want to risk its stability.
Is the value provided by the $10 tier enough to satisfy you? Or do we need something else?
Introducing Commissions
I should really be taking commissions every month with how little I earn on Patreon. Hopefully, the recent changes will make it easier on me. The prices need to be accessible enough to reliably receive work on a regular basis, but still be sustainable for my health.
I’ll probably have to stream more often so there are plenty of opportunities, as well as a community around me. I’ve been very quiet & isolated with my work for the last few years.
The price I am considering is $80.
Don’t forget to eat & sleep.
Comments
As someone who supports SuperSatanSon on Patreon, I can confirm the last-place "winner" getting drawn has led to some engaging polls and some interesting characters being drawn. It's worked well for him. As someone who is at the $10 tier, I feel like I'm getting money's worth. Getting to suggest for the polls ends up functioning similarly to suggesting sketches anyway, I'm still happy. And as someone who would be overjoyed to commission you (and always misses the streams where you take them), I'd argue $80 is too low. You do good stuff, you should be paid appropriately. The lowest I feel you should go is $100.
Shawn Heatherly
2021-05-20 17:16:45 +0000 UTCI like the idea of a last place winner, as well. At least, coming from someone who almost always suggests characters that don't see the spotlight or have a large following too often in polls where other choices are the "flavor of the month" or "the fan-favorite standby," hahahahaha. As for commissions, I'm always down for your art, and bumping it up to $80 would make it a bit more meaningful for you to help cover expenses and I think you're totally worth it. Plus, it might help you not feel quite as bad about going over the 1-2 hour time frame you usually set for these. I still think you should look into using Google Form submissions for some ideas, say have either a monthly "submit your ideas now for this month" or an ongoing list to pull from. That way, you won't have to limit your potential client base to just "people who can see you online streaming now." Of course, that also carries with it a bit of a restriction of having to reach out, talk with, and confirm payment for a piece you feel like doing in advance a bit, as opposed to just "what you feel like doing at this point in time." Not sure how appealing that would be for you. In any case, I think you have a lot of good ideas here, and I'm interested to see what you crank out as a result. And I'll definitely be one of the first in line to snag another pic from you, hahahahaha.
Calsetes
2021-05-20 14:17:38 +0000 UTC
