Getting Patrons To Your Patreon Page

Some people seem to have a very easy time finding patrons, but others struggle. You can’t just put up a Patreon page and expect people to sign up. There’s no good way for people to find you directly on Patreon unless you get popular enough to be featured.

Instead, you have to get out there and really promote and market yourself. You are building a brand that is recognized and that people
will become comfortable with supporting.

The method(s) you’ll use to market yourself will depend on what form of media you specialize in. For example, art can be promoted in many different locations, while videos can only be promoted via those channels that accept videos.

Social media is the easiest way to promote yourself, so that’s what we are going to concentrate on. Just keep in mind that each site has its own rules and policies, and its own type of user base, so what works in one niche may not work in another.

Facebook

Facebook’s gotten a lot of flak lately over some of the changes it has made to the way content is delivered. Fan page owners were the first to start complaining.

Because in many cases they had already paid for fans from Facebook, and then suddenly they were forced to pay for ads just to have their content seen by the fans they already paid for!

But now even group owners are seeing the same thing. Posts are not being shown to group members unless the member is extremely active in the group or the group owner pays to have the content shown.

Facebook is still a great way to gather fans, but you can’t depend on it alone. I recommend setting up a fan page and a private group for your work, but don’t count on it as your only traffic source.

YouTube

YouTube is a fantastic potential source of traffic in just about any niche you can think of. As long as you can demonstrate your talent or teach something through video, you can get supporters through YouTube.

In fact, YouTube is one of the most common sources of Patreon supporters, and a lot of YouTubers are making thousands of dollars a
month through the site.

If you’d rather not appear on camera yourself, you can still make a YouTube channel. Just show your hands, or your computer screen.

For example, you can show only your hands making crafts, or you can record your screen and show speed paints if you’re a digital artist, or you can just put together a video of stock photos to go with your music if you’re a musician.

Instagram

Instagram is another very popular source of potential supporters. Even if you’re into video, you can post screenshots, images, and even videos directly to the platform.

Keep in mind that you cannot link to anything in an Instagram post, however you can tell people to visit your profile for a link to your Patreon page, and put a link to it in your Instagram profile.

DeviantArt & Other Communities

If you’re an artist, the various artist communities like DeviantArt.com are excellent sources for finding patrons. It will be easier to get
supporters if you offer exclusive tutorials and resources such as brush packs and PSD files.

Tumblr

Tumblr is another good source for artists. Posting regularly and offering tutorials and resources can get you a lot of patrons quickly if your art is good.

Certain types of art fare better on Tumblr than others. Anime/manga is especially popular there, as are the more cutesy styles of art, but you can find fans of nearly any type of art there.

Keeping Patrons

It’s not enough to get people to pledge their support as a patron. You also need to do all you can to keep those people on board for as long as possible.

There will always be people who stop supporting you. It’s important to not take it personally and to realize they may be doing it because they can’t afford it anymore, or something came up and they need the money.

There isn’t much you can do to keep those people as patrons. However, you can do a lot to keep other people as patrons, so we’re going to take a look at a few of those things now.

1. Update regularly. One reason people sign up to support creators is to make sure they have the financial support they need to keep
creating content regularly without having to worry about spending a lot of their time at a job. Make sure you set a regular update schedule and stick to it.

2. Interact with your supporters. This is one of the biggest things you can do to keep people supporting you. The more you interact with them, the closer they will feel to you, which will keep them paying each month.

3. Over-deliver. It’s always a good idea to go above and beyond for your supporters, so try to deliver unannounced bonus content whenever you can just to thank people for continuing to be patrons.

4. Stay in contact during delays. Other than just interacting with your patrons, be sure you let people know if there are going to be any delays in posting new content, let them know why, and make sure they know when the next update will be. Most people will be
patient if you just stay in touch.

Conclusion

Patreon is a great way to get paid for doing whatever it is you love most. Even if you’ve tried to make money with your hobby in other ways and failed, Patreon could be exactly what you’ve been looking for!

Just remember that ultimately people are supporting you because they like you, not just your work, so be sure to let your personality shine through as much as you can.

Stay in touch with your patrons on a regular basis, even if you know your posts and rewards are going to be delayed. Most people will be
happy to hear from you, even if it’s just telling them you’re going to be a little late.

Keeping current supporters happy will always be easier than finding new people, so keep those people happy!