This is the first in a 3-part series on how to make an income using Patreon. In this post, I’ll be covering how to make money on Patreon.

You’ll also want to check out my 9 tips to get more Patreon supporters and also Top tips & advice from Patreon creators.

To give you a bit of context…

I’m Bex Band an adventure blogger and founder of the women’s adventure community, Love Her Wild. My passions became my full-time job! You can read more about me and how I built my dream career for myself here.

Starting a Patreon page – which supports my Love Her Wild community – was one of the best things I ever did. Now with over 250+ Patron’s, it remains one of my biggest sources of income.

If you have any questions, please do use the comments box below. And for ongoing tips and inspiration, make sure you follow me on Facebook and Instagram.

**I’m writing a book on growing an online community!!** I’ve just signed with a publisher! In spring 2023, I’ll be releasing a book that shares everything I’ve learnt from growing the UK’s largest women’s adventure community, now with over 30,000 members. Covering launching, fine-tuning loyalty, social media, sponsorship, and monetising your community. Sign up to my newsletter to hear when it becomes available!

Making money with Patreon

On paper, you would think that Patreon shouldn’t work. It just doesn’t make sense that people would choose to pay someone each month….especially when it’s supporting content that, in most cases, is available for free anyway.

Initially, I was reluctant to set up a page as I didn’t fit the usual Patreon creator profile. I founded a women’s adventure community called Love Her Wild where I organise a lot of community initiates from free meetups, a monitoring program and online support for women.

As the community grew so did my expenses to keep it running. While I started to earn an income by other means (mostly running paid-for events) I was spending more time on the community projects which didn’t bring in any money but provided great opportunities for women and were at the core of why I started Love Her Wild in the first place.

Patreon seemed like a great solution. It would bring in money that would allow me to keep providing those free opportunities, without needing to put up a paywall. I was sure it wouldn’t work but as it’s free to set up an account I had nothing to lose so went for it.

I launched my Patreon page in 2018 and it has since become my most steady form of income. I now have 140 Patreons bringing in over $800 a month. I have learnt during the process of launching and growing my page on how to make money on Patreon. So this post was put together to share all my biggest tips and thoughts to help you reach your financial Patreon goals that little bit quicker!

You can read more about me and how I built my dream career for myself here.

If you have any questions, please do use the comments box below. And for ongoing tips and inspiration, make sure you follow me on Facebook and Instagram. I’d appreciate it 🙂

Understand the beauty of Patreon

I guess the easiest way to explain Patreon is it is like a membership. Followers can choose to sign up to support you each month. You decide on different levels of pledges and rewards that they get depending on how much they choose to give.

My tiers are set up starting at $3 then $5, $10, $25, and $100. Patreon’s can also choose to set their own amount entirely and to not get any rewards in return.

My Patreon page differs from memberships in that most of my content or what I am offering (in this case a community and adventure opportunities for women) is given for free. I think this works for a number of reasons:

  • It’s been proven that if people set their own value on a product they will pay more than if you set the price on a product/service
  • It feels way more personal than just paying for a membership or buying a product. It’s a real demonstration of support
  • The core of what I’m doing is good and kind
  • It empowers the consumer by cutting out the middleman. This gives you more control as a creator but also means it only works if you are successfully providing value for your followers….which should be the whole point in the first place anyway

Another great feature of Patreon is it is no obligation. Patreon’s can cancel at any time and are completely in control of the price they set as supporters. Make sure you make this clear to your supporters as it takes the pressure off signing up.

Understand your value

At the core of Patreon is value. Ask yourself ‘am I providing my follower’s value?‘ If the answer is yes then making money with Patreon should be possible for you.

Once you understand why your followers get value from what you do, this should help the approach your Patreon page. When you ‘sell’ Patreon to supporters you want to make clear what it is that they are getting from it.

If you are an artist and you produce tutorials on doing drawings then your value is in the tutorials. Keep mentioning this. Highlight how you are helping people and what ways you might be adding value to their lives and this may encourage them to sign up.

Setting your lowest tier amount

You’ll see I didn’t bother with a $1 tier.

To most people, the difference between $1 and $3 is nothing so start your tiers at $3 or maybe even $5.

The creators I know who have done this end up with significantly higher monthly income.

Be transparent with your supporters

Another thing that makes Patreon great is that it is transparent – it makes money and spending very black and white. Consumers appreciate this!

Spend some time on the wording you put on your Patreon page and be completely honest. Explain exactly what you are hoping to get, how much time you put into doing what you do and what Patreon money will pay for. If the goal is that it will be a salary for you then say this – explain that you want to work on this full time.

Use all the features

Make the most of all of the features on your Patreon page.

I think it’s really important to include lots of photos representing you and your work. Remember that people sign up to Patreon because they like you – they want to personally support what you do – so the more you can make the page personal, the more you will tap into this.

The goal-setting also helps to demonstrate what you are hoping to achieve and gives a target for followers to help you achieve.

Don’t skip the video

I want to put special emphasis on the video feature on Patreon. It sits right at the top of your page, the first thing someone will see. When I made a Patreon video my rate of sign-ups increased. Why? Because a video is the most personal direct way of reaching your audience. I introduce myself, and my work and explain up-front why I hope they will be my Patreon.

Keep it short – you Patreon supporters don’t want to sit through a 10minute video!

Think of attractive rewards

Initially, I put a lot of effort into thinking up rewards for different tier options. I’ve come to realise though that I think this is secondary when it comes to people signing up to be a Patreon. In most cases, I’d say that feeling of connection and wanting to support you as an individual is a far greater draw than getting a free video once a month, etc.

I set my rewards too high initially and shot myself in the foot because fulfilling them then used up a chunk of the money I was bringing in (not to mention a lot of my time). Don’t offer too much or promise gifts that relative to the money you are being given is too high. And don’t forget to include postage when you weigh this up.

One of the most effective rewards I have is a ‘behind the scenes’ newsletter. This goes back to my point that supporters are signing up because they are interested in supporting you on a personal level. A regular newsletter keeps my followers engaged and gives them a sense that they are getting additional information that no one else sees…I always make sure to include personal updates that I don’t share anywhere else.

It’s up and down

In the process of making money via Patreon, you’ll probably find your journey is not linear. Rather it will be a lot of up and down. Losing Patreons is just part of it. People’s interests and circumstances will change. Sometimes I felt like it was 2 steps forward, and 1 step back.

Anticipating that losing Patreons is inevitable will help you not take these as too much of a blow. If you are losing a lot of support then this might be a sign that you aren’t engaging enough. Remember, Patreon is not just about getting new supporters – it’s just as important that you keep the engagement and support of existing ones too.

How to make money on Patreon

I would guess that most people reading this who are thinking about setting up Patreon are all going to share the same biggest barrier in doing so…….yourself!!

The first obstacle with setting up a Patreon page will be getting over those negative feelings you are likely to incur. The first will be the embarrassment that it might not work….especially as the page is so public.

Then there will be that uncomfortable feeling that many of us have when it comes to asking for money. This was something I had to get used to quickly as I began to create a career for myself. It is ok to ask for money to pay for the time you put into things. Don’t be ashamed of that!

If you haven’t already I can really recommend reading the Art of Asking. It will help you view value in a different way and help with that fear of asking for money. The author used the Patreon setup to transform her career as a musician and she has loads of amazing insights.

Confidence in your product/service and confidence plugging your Patreon page will be key to you making money so make sure you don’t skip this part!

Time to start getting Patreon supporters

Great….you’ve got a page set up and are ready to go. Now it’s time to start growing your numbers. My 9 tips to get more Patreon supports will help you start to build those sign-ups.

I hope my insights on how to make money with Patreon and sharing my own journey has been useful. Patreon, for the most part, is slow and steady progress. But if you tap into its potential the outcome really is incredible. It has allowed me to keep doing what I love and to help others without needing to rely on branding and advertisements.

Do check out my own personal Patreon page and if you have any questions ask away in the comments box below.

Useful resources to help you with Patreon:

I also put together this helpful short video for anyone looking to grow their Patreon page:

If you found this blog helpful, follow me on FacebookTwitter, and Instagram. Or you can subscribe to my YouTube channel. I give all my advice out for free on my website. If you want to say thanks, you can buy me a coffee!

*Any women reading this?* I founded a women’s adventure community called Love Her Wild. Check out our private Facebook page and see what adventures we have coming up.

5 thoughts on “How to make money on Patreon

  1. What a really lovely and extremely helpful post. I love the fact that you’ve identified people can feel embarrassed and apprehensive about putting their content out there. That’s actually a good thing because it means they care about what they do and that’s in sharp contrast to what a friend of mine called “ the self promoting narcissists “!
    You’ve also helped me get my head around how I wanted to do my Patreon page for my podcasts The Enterprise Iain Show. Hopefully I’ll now get that launched early June.
    Thanks again
    Iain

    1. This is very true! For me the ongoing battle with Patreon still remains the internal battle I have with myself to get over all those insecurities.
      Good luck with the Patreon page…it’s a perfect fit for podcasters. I look forward to seeing how you get on!
      Bex

  2. I’m an indie game dev, that should have used social media sooner to build a community. Now I’m facing financial hardships an may have to cancel this project altogether. Any advice?

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