The Podcaster’s Information to Launching on Patreon

So, your podcast has attracted a following, and also you’ve determined to construct a membership enterprise on Patreon. Congrats!

Launching on Patreon will be an effective way to monetize your content material and additional interact along with your listeners, however it may additionally really feel overwhelming at occasions. By no means worry. We’ve assembled a step-by-step information to assist podcasters such as you plan a profitable launch, beginning two months out and culminating on launch day.

60 Days Earlier than Launch

Drew Ackerman, founding father of the favored Sleep With Me podcast, recommends looping in your listeners early in your planning course of. He suggests asking questions like “What reveals do you assist? What rewards do you want or would you need?” Ask these questions wherever you talk along with your listeners, whether or not it’s in an emailed survey, social media posts, or a name to motion within the podcast itself. Listeners may counsel rewards you hadn’t thought of or introduce you to podcasts you didn’t find out about.

Nevertheless, listener suggestions has different advantages past market analysis. Ackerman says this helps listeners perceive why you’re constructing a membership enterprise and provides them an opportunity to “have some buy-in and really feel valued.” In the event that they really feel invested in you and the method, they’ll be extra inclined to assist you in a while.

Subsequent, begin supporting different creators on Patreon so that you perceive the patron expertise and grow to be a part of the ecosystem.

“Put your self in your future patron’s sneakers,” Ackerman says. “Did you ever use any of the rewards? Getting an thought of what the expertise is like from the supporter standpoint is basically essential.”

30 Days Earlier than Launch

After you’ve researched different podcasters and creators, now’s the time to create a draft of your Patreon web page. Patreon U may also help with this.

Additionally, begin planning your rewards and member tiers. Keep in mind which you can all the time add new rewards and tiers in a while, but it surely’s more durable to alter them as soon as members begin supporting you.

Think about beginning with two to a few tiers so that you received’t overwhelm your self or your members. Providing too many decisions can result in resolution fatigue the place they don’t make any resolution. People who do assist you could not be capable to sustain with a zillion rewards, so your efforts may very well be wasted. Plus, committing to creating too many various rewards every month will be a recipe for burnout. How a lot time are you able to realistically dedicate to rewards every month? What’s manageable for you that may add worth in your supporters?

Gillian Pensavalle, the creator of the Hamilcast, a podcast about Hamilton: An American Musical, has three assist tiers: The Pleasure of Mount Vernon for $1/month, a Thoughts at Work for $5/month, and the Ten Greenback Founding Father for, appropriately, $10/month. By preserving it to a few tiers, she retains her membership mannequin easy and doable. Those that pay $1/month get listed on the Hamilcast assist web page on the web site, and those that pay $5 or extra per 30 days get entry to a personal Fb group, which incorporates behind-the-scenes movies and an opportunity to ask questions for upcoming company.

For concepts on rewards for podcasters to supply their followers, take a look at the weblog publish.

Notice: Whereas a $1 tier works for some creators, we suggest your lowest tier to be priced wherever between $2–5. To study why, take a look at the weblog publish, Increase Your Backside Tier to Present Higher Worth and Bump up Your Revenue.

Different podcasters may provide rewards similar to early entry to podcast episodes, member-only or ad-free episodes, livestreams, or polls to vote on matters for upcoming episodes. Remember the fact that the simplest rewards —similar to personal Fb teams or the chance to ask questions of company — are those that assist drive engagement along with your members.

One month out from launch can be a very good time to suppose by means of logistics. The place are you internet hosting your podcast? Are you internet hosting elsewhere and linking to your Patreon web page? What about movies? Is the whole lot working correctly?

Fourteen Days Earlier than Launch

As launch day approaches, you could begin to really feel jittery. This can be a good time to examine in along with your fellow podcasters and your most loyal listeners to maintain you accountable to your plan.

Ackerman says he had a plan for launching Sleep With Me on Patreon, however as his launch approached, he acquired chilly toes.“As quickly as I launched my Patreon, I believe it was out of worry, I went away from my plan,” he says. “I acquired afraid of asking individuals for cash.” He’d deliberate to ask listeners to pay $5 or $10 per 30 days however as a substitute, he lowered his ask to $1 per 30 days.

Ackerman later realized his most loyal listeners would have paid no matter he requested, however a flood of early supporters had been solely paying $1. A number of months later, a listener set him straight, saying issues like “You’re actually devaluing your present. You place all this work into it and also you’re solely asking for a $1.” Ackerman went again to his unique plan. Now his lowest assist tier is $5/month, which incorporates two ad-free episodes per week early, amongst different perks.

“Should you’re feeling emotions, ensure you have individuals at Patreon or different podcasters and examine in with them,” Ackerman says. “If I might have talked to my listeners, I might have gotten a a lot better actuality examine.”

Many podcasters are uncomfortable asking their listeners for cash, so it may be useful to give attention to the advantages of membership. As an example, “prime listeners can get extra podcasts every month and different bonuses” or “patrons can go behind-the-scenes like reside video Q&As and different unique content material.”

Two weeks away from launch can be a very good time to tease the launch in your social media accounts and create anticipation in your podcast with a pre-launch announcement. You can too draft or schedule social media posts main as much as launch day.

Launch Day

You made it! Time to rejoice.

As soon as your Patreon web page is reside, you’ll be able to embody the hyperlink in your social media profiles, plug it in your podcast bulletins, put it on the market by way of e-mail, or wherever else you talk with listeners.

Ackerman suggests making launch day actions really feel extra relational than transactional. “It’s about making it enjoyable for the people who find themselves concerned versus doing a giant launch within the hopes that it’ll get you extra individuals,” he says, including that he nonetheless remembers his very first patron (she’s caught with him). Maybe you’ll do a livestream, a countdown, or podcast shout outs to your early supporters. “Do one thing enjoyable for the people who find themselves invested, even when it’s simply a few individuals,” he says.