From zero To 18,000 Patrons In A 12 months: Doing Issues Media Is aware of How To Get Seen

“Going viral” is the 21st century goldmine. Whereas it may possibly look like each creator, model, and child yodeling in a Wal-Mart are on the identical golden goose chase, there’s sadly no formulation 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 received 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 Fuel No Brakes (AGNB) to their roster and inside a yr of launching, AGNB has racked up over one million subscribers on YouTube and over 18Ok subscribers on Patreon.

We sat down with Doing Issues Media co-founder + CEO Reid Hailey and Head Of Advertising Matt Stanton to speak about web fame, ideas 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 give attention to to assist your artistic content material take off. Followers must know they’ll hold coming again to your channel for the movies, artwork, or episodes they love. On the subject of All Fuel No Brakes, Stanton says constant, high-quality content material is vital. “I feel it actually comes right down to belief. Folks belief Andrew. They belief his tales.” It helps that AGNB has a utterly distinctive fashion. “He’s placing out interviews you can’t get wherever else,” Hailey provides.

Working example? The AVN Expo, the most important porn star meet-and-greet on the earth: “That was like our greatest shoot ever,” mentioned Hailey. To organize for the Expo, Doing Issues Media helped outfit Callaghan with an RV and received him to Vegas to conduct his signature everyman interviews. After which, they set him unfastened. “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 affirm his AVN episode could have you blushing up a storm.)

Now, you could be considering that broadcasting from a porn expo received’t work for each “model” (and also you’d be proper), however the concept nonetheless stands: protecting your content material recent, thrilling, and completely unique will hold 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 special model of your work. Hailey and Stanton mentioned first, they trim their content material down to actually quick stuff for Instagram. Subsequent, longer variations go up on YouTube and eventually, “the longest cuts on Patreon,” mentioned Hailey. That’s the place followers can discover the complete Monty.

Stanton says a number of All Fuel No Brakes’ followers come from pals passing across the “actually shareable, relatable content material” they publish on Instagram. “We get lots of people sharing these memes from our pages to their particular person buddy teams … And in case you have a buddy group of 5 individuals who have related likes and pursuits, and somebody shares a humorous meme of All Fuel, there’s a superb 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 develop into your greatest promoters. Stanton and Hailey each say you’ve received to deal with your followers proper, and that begins with communication. In keeping with Hailey, “A response means a lot to somebody. That’s well worth the 5 {dollars} a month for lots of people. I feel you might want to be very conscious of folks and make them really feel like they’re a part of a VIP membership.”

This may also help flip your followers into ambassadors in your platform. Stanton provides, “There’s an enormous All Fuel group, however there’s solely a sure subset that’s paying for a premium tier. And we wish to have the ability to give them an elevated expertise, and now have them exit to the remainder of the group and be like, hey, really that is actually cool.”

Identify Drop Your self

Be sure to’re persistently mentioning your Patreon group, each inside your content material and in your promotions. However Hailey cautions, “You don’t need to be so overt about it.” Mentioning your web page ought to casually circulation into the dialog and really feel pure. That approach it “doesn’t need to really feel identical 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 folks coated with censor bars on Instagram, then telling followers to search 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 take care of the creator’s integrity.

Streamline the Course of

Make subscribing to your Patreon as simple as potential. Hailey says whether or not it’s for e-commerce conversion or becoming a member of AGNB on Patreon, the massive query is: “How shortly can we get them to take a look at?” You don’t need folks making too many decisions on the best way 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 help – they only must resolve a easy sure or no. Whereas that one-tiered construction won’t work for each creator, the concept of simplicity does – be sure you’re not overcomplicating the choices in your patrons.

Hailey makes use of the identical concept for AGNB’s merch technique: “Each time we promote a chunk of merch and we’re like, ought to we do it in pink, black and inexperienced? No, we must always most likely simply do the one we really feel finest about, so followers aren’t having to decide on. Psychologically, when folks have to consider a purchase order for too lengthy, a number of the time, they resolve to not do it.”

Hold It Unique

Hailey’s greatest piece of recommendation is the only of all. “By no means, persistently publish what’s going in your Patreon wherever else.” It might look like widespread sense, however Hailey says he has to remind creators of this on a regular basis. “Make certain 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 among the greatest drivers for followers to develop into paying Patrons. So in case you’re already a video creator, Reid suggests you place longer cuts in your Patreon and tease viewers with shorter variations in every single place else. His advice: “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 group to help them. “Don’t restrict what you placed on social media at first.” Let your followers see all of it – totally free. Then, as you construct your group and construct your engagement, you’ll get able to launch your Patreon group.

Stanton provides that it’s not about having one million 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 for touring to new festivals and locations within the not-so-distant future, All Fuel No Brakes’ explosion is ready to proceed. And hopefully, with a few of these ideas, your Patreon group can do the identical.