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Last Updated on April 4, 2021 by Daniella
Wondering if Patreon is a good way to make money?
The truth is, Patreon is a viable way to make money. You might wonder why people would open their wallets to pay a monthly subscription to your Patreon account but support is a real thing. And, if you find fans that love what you do, they will be loyal and financially support the work you create.
It’s why you follow your favorite influencers on Tik Tok or Instagram and send them hearts or digital gifts during a Live.
It’s the reason you check out your favorite bloggers websites and read their work.
You like the content they’re creating and you want to support what they’re doing because you like them, you like what they’re doing and you want to see them continue.
Well, with Patreon you get the opportunity to provide financial support to your favorite creators and if you’re a creator thinking about opening your own Patreon account, I have to tell you, it’s an awesome way to make money online.
In this Patreon review, I’m going to dive into it all. You’ll learn:
- What Patreon is
- Who Patreon is for
- How to make money with Patreon
- What you’ll need to monetize your Patreon account
- And, our final recommendation
Let’s go!
Table of Contents
What is Patreon?
Patreon is an online platform that makes it easy for artists and creators to get paid for their content. They support over 200,000 creators earning up to $4+ million dollars per month!
Your fans get a chance to make a mark on the work they love and support artists and creators they stand behind.
For you, you’ll get an opportunity to be creative, make work you love, share your process and shine a light behind the scenes for your fans to see. And, you can make money doing it!
Here are some of the perks of having a Patreon account:
- Build a steady stream of recurring income
- Connect with fans that support your work
- Make money online (even in your sleep!)
- Create an online community where your fans can find you (share news, make announcements, show off your work, etc.)
Here are drawbacks of Patreon:
- There are fees for withdrawing your earnings
- Patreon keeps up to 12% of your money from patrons
- Difficulty in getting discovered
Who is Patreon For?
Patreon is for creators. If you make stuff, whether it’s music, art, food, content, then you can use Patreon.
It’s great for:
- Video creators
- Bloggers
- Digital artists
- Chefs
- Gamers
- Local businesses
- Writers
- Musicians
- Podcasters
- And, more!
Creators of all kinds are welcome on Patreon.
Use the platform to deliver content the way you want to. There are a ton of ways to get inventive with it and in the next section you’ll learn how to monetize your Patreon account.
How to Make Money using Patreon?
Patreon works based around the strength of your fanbase. That means you do need to have an audience of fans that are crazy about you, in order to make money with Patreon.
When you look at some of the top earners on Patreon like Hoodied, Jerry Banfield, and Bite Size Vegan, they are all clearly doing something right.
Charging monthly subscriptions ranging from $1/month up to $115/month, these creators are offering valuable premium content for their fans to consume and it’s working!
Jerry Banfield gives you exclusive access to content that you can’t find elsewhere. It’s specially published just for his Patreon fans.
Hoodied gives you access to a ton of different things based on your membership level, from a vote on an upcoming hoodie design to exclusive tips and tutorials, designs, progress pics, and more.
And, Bite Size Vegan offers up vegan educational content including exclusive videos, photos, posts, and one-on-one interaction with patrons.
There are a lot of cool ways you can structure your Patreon account to suit the information and products that you’ll be sharing, while giving the most value to your patrons.
How to get started?
First, consider how you’ll structure your monthly memberships. What will you offer? How many tiers will exist? Do you have the time and resources to continue contributing value to your audience over a long period of time?
With Patreon, one thing is clear. It can be a great source of income but it’s not passive.
Passive income is about doing the work up front to generate recurring income in the future with no maintenance. An example would be affiliate marketing. You could write an article referring products through affiliate links and once it’s published, you’re done! But, as long as that article is published, you have the opportunity to earn money now and in the future, with no other work required.
That’s passive income!
Making money with Patreon is definitely active income. You will make content now and you’ll continue to make content for your existing and newly joining patrons that subscribe to you on the platform.
For passive income opportunities, read these 19 ideas that will help you stop trading time for money.
Next, hash out all the details of what you’ll provide, how much it will cost and how much you’ll charge patrons then start setting up your Patreon account.
Before you get set up on the platform, understand that an audience is going to be the driving force behind you making money. Whether or not you have fans now is not as big of a hurdle as you might think.
For creators with existing audiences, you want to share your Patreon account with your fans. Talk about it in your email newsletters, spread word on social media, add it to your business cards, etc.
For creators with no audience, while you can get discovered on Patreon and convert people who are already on the site to become your paying fans, it’s much more effective if you find your audience off Patreon.
How do you build an audience?
Hang out where your fans hang out. This could be on social media like Tik Tok or Instagram. It could be on Reddit, forums, online groups, or community-based websites.
Once you begin to cultivate a following, drive them to your Patreon account so you can start making money.
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Requirements to Make Money with Patreon
You’ll need a Patreon account, valuable content, and an audience.
First, the Patreon account is the easiest thing to set up. It’s free to set up your Patreon account and Patreon only takes a cut of your ongoing subscriptions so there’s no up front out of pocket cost to you.
Next, you’ll need content. You want this to be valuable enough to get your patrons excited to gain access to it and continue paying for it month after month.
Here are some examples of content you can share with your patrons on an ongoing basis:
- Access to exclusive videos, photos, and posts
- One-on-one interaction
- Merchandise you create like t-shirts, hats, etc.
- Thank you cards
- Behind-the-scenes content showing what you do
- Member-exclusive files, bloopers, music tracks, etc.
You can get really creative with this, offering some exciting stuff to your patrons.
Lastly, you’ll need an audience. These will be people that pay for a monthly Patreon subscription to access your content and you can use some of the methods shared above to find and grow your audience.
What are Patreon Starter Kits?
This cool feature is like a template for the content you’ll share. You can use the fully customizable starter kits for podcasters, musicians, video creators, etc.
It’s like taking a shortcut to setting up your Patreon account and it can save you a ton of time. I recommend you use them when you set up your Patreon account.
Head here to learn more about starter kits.
Frequently Asked Questions about Patreon
1. Is Patreon free?
Yes, Patreon is free to sign up to. They get paid on your recurring subscriptions, earning a cut of the income you receive.
2. Can I make a full-time income from Patreon?
Yes, you can. Many creators make up to six and seven figures annually from Patreon. It’s definitely possible!
3. How do I create content for patrons?
There are many routes you can take to create content. And, it’ll depend on what kind of content you want to produce.
For example, to create video tutorials, you can use screencast software like Loom or Screencastomatic.
For helpful posts and tutorials, you can use Microsoft Word or any other word processing software. You can also just post straight to Patreon.
The content creation process can be very exciting for you and it gives you an opportunity to create a lasting connection with your patrons, who will want to keep coming back for more month after month.
Patreon Review: Final Thoughts
Patreon is a great solution for artists and creators that are looking for a way to make money online. Attract the fans that adore you and your brand and reach financial freedom.
This is an untapped income source for a lot of creators but it should be fully explored as it can result in making you a lot of money.
Would you join Patreon? Comment below.
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