Rebooting my Patreon Page

With my Patreon channel operating for more than six months now, I’ve recently made a few changes to how I run it, and to the rewards schemes. After struggling for a while, it became obvious to me that I had bitten off a bit more than I could chew with it, and I had also made it a bit too complicated. So, I’ve simplified it considerably, and I’m trying to get back to what I had originally intended to do with it, which was for it to be like a “directors commentary” on my main blog and various other photography activities.

The biggest problem for me was constantly coming up with content. I set the initial expectations too high, both for readers and myself. Most of the people that I follow on Patreon post once a week at most, and sometimes only two or three times a month. I’ve been trying to post three times a week or more which didn’t always happen, and a few people left and felt like they weren’t getting what they were paying for, which was fair enough.

Originally I had 4 reward tiers, each with various different rewards, and they were a bit confusing as to what would go to what tier. So I’ve now simplified that down to just two. 

The $2 tier will now be all about behind the scenes information, with occasional tutorials. It will be what I had originally envisioned for this page, in that it will be a “directors commentary” on my main blog. It’s sort of what I was doing anyway, but it was a bit scattered. This will now be more focused. 

The $5 tier will now be the above plus downloads. I will aim to have at least one good quality download a month. Either presets a full ebook, or something else. As I have with my Fuji jpeg guide, those on this tier will get access to some new releases from my store when they are released or in advance. I've just started a new photography book, and patreon members will get to see the writing process as it unfolds, including access to drafts, and the ability to comment and give feedback as I write it.

I will also be doing more public posts on the Patreon page too. This is because it helps grow the channel. It won’t take away from the regular content, and will often be links to existing posts and so on. So even if you don’t want to be a paid subscriber right now, you can still follow me for updates.

I am now aiming to publish twice a week. If I can do more I will, and sometimes there may be less (If I’m sick, for example) but I will generally try to get at least two dedicated Patreon member only posts out a week. 

I really want to thank all those who have stuck with me on it over the past few months, and if you had been turned off by it or the complexity, or weren’t sure what the value was, then maybe consider giving it another look.