Potential Changes
Added 2021-05-12 21:13:48 +0000 UTCI've been kicking around some potential adjustments to my Patreon here, but wanted to consult you, my loyal supporters, before I did anything about it.
1. Changing to an "up front" payment method.
At present, patrons are not billed when they first join, but on the first of the next month. This effectively gives folks a grace period to check out the Feed and see if what I'm doing is worth their time and money. This appeals to the me that comes from a webcomic background, but does result in a number of people who cancel their subscription before they get billed and so get "free access." Which kinda sucks for me trying to make a living here. Changing to an up front payment method would charge new patrons when they first join and then at the beginning of the month going forward.
2. A high resolution tier.
A lot of creators post high resolution or even .psds of their work to their Patrons. I'm not comfortable sharing my .psds with folks, but if there would be interest from you all in gaining access to print resolution copies of my work that's a thing I could get behind. This access would come in the form of its own tier, and as well as becoming a perk of the Lifeguard tier.
I do not think either of these changes would negatively impact any of my existing patrons, but before it's important to me to make sure you all approve of any changes to this Patreon. So, if you've any thoughts, please share them in the comments below.
And thank you for all your support. You make this possible.
Comments
The idea of getting paid fine art prices for my art certainly has an appeal to be sure, but there's a lot to the whole crypto-currency thing that I'm just keen on getting involved with.
Garth Graham
2021-05-14 17:58:47 +0000 UTCUp front makes sense. I'd suspect most people check your twitter before subscribing, and it's all the evidence they need to know its worth.
LeQuebecer
2021-05-14 07:59:47 +0000 UTCUp front, definitely. Don't part with the PSD files. Sell the high res images as NFTs.
Douglas Graham
2021-05-14 01:31:38 +0000 UTCI think the up front payment makes sense. The suggestions to offer a sample portfolio or post a non-gated image (already paid-for commissions?) once in a while sound like great ideas to meet prospective patrons halfway.
2021-05-13 01:04:41 +0000 UTCI agree with the Love Cats guy. Well...not because he loves cats, but his suggestions and paying up front.
ShinobiDave
2021-05-13 00:56:48 +0000 UTCI agree with the pay up front. I do have a suggestion that might help with it as well. In your "About me" section include a few scraps of your work for preview so potential new members can see your amazing art style. As for the Hi-Res stuff I'm good with what you currently make. No need for it if you don't want to.
2021-05-12 23:52:27 +0000 UTCOh, hi! I'm one of the people in the 'not billed yet' margin, so I feel like I should add this thought: Honestly, I'm surprised that pay-up-front isn't the default for Patreon, given how much of a chronic problem the "cancel and run" problem is for artists who don't use it. The other side of the coin is that... it's not a great incentive to join campaigns (or tiers) when you don't actually know what a creator is posting. It's a bit of a trust exercise. I was an old Comedity reader (still have my paperback here somewhere, I think, retired a shirt not long ago), though Star Power didn't quite connect with me and I trailed off early. So I know your work and I was happy to join the campaign when I found you again, but for another artist I might be a little more hesitant. The way I've seen other creators handle that is to post occasional 'samples' that people browsing can look at, but I don't know how well it works or what Patreon's rules are regarding some of the more grown-up content. It might be worth thinking about?
Adrian
2021-05-12 22:56:29 +0000 UTCFine with either, although i admittedly I’m very much content with the current res.
Schattentod
2021-05-12 22:35:32 +0000 UTCGo for it.
Tom Clarke
2021-05-12 22:35:16 +0000 UTC1st topic; fully agree that you should get paid up front. 2nd topic; maybe have a decent res version and the ability to "buy" the right for a high-res printable version? Either that or time it so that it becomes available for the current tier after a few months? Just throwing out an idea.
Just Lurkin' About
2021-05-12 21:35:48 +0000 UTCSame here. Makes sense to me.
Longwing
2021-05-12 21:28:46 +0000 UTCDon't really need highres to be honest, but of course nice to have. But I really get the first topic and it's totally reasonable to change that.
Icedragoner
2021-05-12 21:22:17 +0000 UTCBoth changes sound reasonable to me.
Ben
2021-05-12 21:21:31 +0000 UTC
