“Going viral” is the 21st century goldmine. Whereas it could actually look like each creator, model, and child yodeling in a Wal-Mart are on the identical golden goose chase, there’s sadly no components for viral success. However with over 60 million mixed followers throughout 25+ manufacturers, it’s protected to say the blokes of Doing Issues Media know a factor or two about getting observed.
Doing Issues Media is a digital media firm based by Reid Hailey and Derek Lucas who acquired their begin creating memes in 2015. Since then, their web empire has grown to incorporate accounts starting from @DoggosDoingThings to @MiddleClassFancy and extra. In 2019, Doing Issues Media teamed up with Andrew Callaghan so as to add All Gasoline No Brakes (AGNB) to their roster and inside a 12 months of launching, AGNB has racked up over 1,000,000 subscribers on YouTube and over 18Okay subscribers on Patreon.
We sat down with Doing Issues Media co-founder + CEO Reid Hailey and Head Of Advertising and marketing Matt Stanton to speak about web fame, suggestions for Patreon advertising, and a porn conference in Las Vegas.

Content material Is King
It sounds easy, however high quality is the #1 factor to concentrate on to assist your artistic content material take off. Followers must know they will preserve coming again to your channel for the movies, artwork, or episodes they love. With regards to All Gasoline No Brakes, Stanton says constant, high-quality content material is essential. “I feel it actually comes right down to belief. Folks belief Andrew. They belief his tales.” It helps that AGNB has a utterly distinctive type. “He’s placing out interviews you could’t get wherever else,” Hailey provides.
Living proof? The AVN Expo, the biggest porn star meet-and-greet on the planet: “That was like our greatest shoot ever,” stated Hailey. To organize for the Expo, Doing Issues Media helped outfit Callaghan with an RV and acquired him to Vegas to conduct his signature everyman interviews. After which, they set him free. “He’s capable of get insane content material … then trim it right down to the stuff that’s really allowed to be on the web.” (This author can verify his AVN episode may have you blushing up a storm.)
Now, you could be pondering that broadcasting from a porn expo received’t work for each “model” (and also you’d be proper), however the thought nonetheless stands: retaining your content material contemporary, thrilling, and completely unique will preserve your followers coming again for extra.
Get Your Channels Proper
Don’t be afraid to make use of your different channels to advertise your Patreon – strategically. Every social media platform requires a distinct model of your work. Hailey and Stanton stated first, they trim their content material down to essentially brief stuff for Instagram. Subsequent, longer variations go up on YouTube and eventually, “the longest cuts on Patreon,” stated Hailey. That’s the place followers can discover the complete Monty.
Stanton says lots of All Gasoline No Brakes’ followers come from pals passing across the “actually shareable, relatable content material” they submit on Instagram. “We get lots of people sharing these memes from our pages to their particular person good friend teams … And in case you have a good friend group of 5 individuals who have comparable likes and pursuits, and somebody shares a humorous meme of All Gasoline, there’s an excellent likelihood these pals are gonna convert to followers as nicely.”
Flip Your Followers Into Ambassadors
Whether or not they’re sharing your memes or recommending your work, your followers can grow to be your greatest promoters. Stanton and Hailey each say you’ve acquired to deal with your followers proper, and that begins with communication. In response to Hailey, “A response means a lot to somebody. That’s well worth the 5 {dollars} a month for lots of people. I feel you’ll want to be very attentive to individuals and make them really feel like they’re a part of a VIP membership.”
This might help flip your followers into ambassadors to your platform. Stanton provides, “There’s a large All Gasoline neighborhood, however there’s solely a sure subset that’s paying for a premium tier. And we would like to have the ability to give them an elevated expertise, and still have them exit to the remainder of the neighborhood and be like, hey, really that is actually cool.”
Title Drop Your self
Be sure you’re persistently mentioning your Patreon neighborhood, each inside your content material and in your promotions. However Hailey cautions, “You don’t must be so overt about it.” Mentioning your web page ought to casually stream into the dialog and really feel pure. That approach it “doesn’t must really feel similar to a plug, such as you’re attempting to promote us on one thing.”
For instance, when Doing Issues Media was selling the AVN Expo episode, Hailey and Callaghan initially thought of that includes bare individuals coated with censor bars on Instagram, then telling followers to seek out the uncensored content material on Patreon. However they modified methods after they realized, “simply saying all of the CRAZY content material was on Patreon made it appear low cost.” So that they reverted again to their conventional promotion ways, linking to Patreon of their YouTube descriptions and Instagram bio to keep up the creator’s integrity.
Streamline the Course of
Make subscribing to your Patreon as simple as doable. Hailey says whether or not it’s for e-commerce conversion or becoming a member of AGNB on Patreon, the large query is: “How rapidly can we get them to take a look at?” You don’t need individuals making too many selections on the way in which to turning into a Patron. Put merely, “the much less clicks, the higher.” It’s why they’ve chosen a single $5 tier for AGNB’s subscribers. Followers don’t have to decide on the extent of assist – they only must determine a easy sure or no. Whereas that one-tiered construction won’t work for each creator, the thought of simplicity does – be sure you’re not overcomplicating the choices to your patrons.
Hailey makes use of the identical thought for AGNB’s merch technique: “Every time we promote a chunk of merch and we’re like, ought to we do it in purple, black and inexperienced? No, we must always in all probability simply do the one we really feel finest about, so followers aren’t having to decide on. Psychologically, when individuals have to consider a purchase order for too lengthy, lots of the time, they determine to not do it.”
Hold It Unique
Hailey’s greatest piece of recommendation is the only of all. “By no means, persistently submit what’s going in your Patreon wherever else.” It could look like widespread sense, however Hailey says he has to remind creators of this on a regular basis. “Be sure that your Patreon subscribers are getting what they’re paying for.” Your followers must see the worth of turning into a Patron.
Unique content material is likely one of the greatest drivers for followers to grow to be paying Patrons. So in the event you’re already a video creator, Reid suggests you set longer cuts in your Patreon and tease viewers with shorter variations in every single place else. His suggestion: “If there’s a path to have longer variations of your content material and other people love the shorter, then that’s a no brainer.”
And Lastly…
Doing Issues Media’s Tip Prime Tip: begin with social. Too usually, Hailey has seen creators launch a Patreon too quickly, with out a neighborhood to assist them. “Don’t restrict what you placed on social media at first.” Let your followers see all of it – at no cost. Then, as you construct your neighborhood and construct your engagement, you’ll get able to launch your Patreon neighborhood.
Stanton provides that it’s not about having 1,000,000 followers. It’s about having sufficient followers who’re partaking with you and your work. The creators who have already got excessive interplay charges and devoted followers are those who’re “way more primed to expertise explosive progress on Patreon.”
If there’s anybody who is aware of about explosive progress, it’s these guys. With over 18,000 patrons and the potential of touring to new festivals and locations within the not-so-distant future, All Gasoline No Brakes’ explosion is ready to proceed. And hopefully, with a few of these suggestions, your Patreon neighborhood can do the identical.