Growing on Patreon

by Kayla Lords · Published March 16, 2020 · Updated July 23, 2020

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 46:36 — 32.7MB)

A lot of smutlancers use Patreon as an additional income stream or consider it. It can be a struggle to find the sweet spot of enough patrons to make a difference in your income while also offering the right benefits/perks to entice people to pledge. I don’t have all the answers, but in this episode, I share what I’ve learned over the years about using Patreon.

In this episode:

Patreon is not NSFW friendly anymore. If you choose to use the platform, understand your very real risks.
Just because everyone else seems to be on Patreon doesn’t mean you have to be.
Patreon is a numbers game. The bigger your audience, the more patrons you’ll have. It’s important to continue to focus on building your audience even as you build your Patreon.
Promotion is just as important as what you offer because if no one knows you have a Patreon, it can’t grow. Link to it on your site. Post is on social media. Send it out in your email newsletter. Remind people it’s there. And yes, this means you’re asking for financial support and that’s difficult.
The most success I’ve seen on Patreon is when I decided to focus on it — but that focus requires time and energy. If you don’t have that to give, it’s okay.
People support creators for multiple reasons from basic support without expecting anything in return to access to the creator to extra content or actual stuff. There’s no right reason and there’s no right way to attract patrons.
- If you don’t have a lot of time and energy, create a single tier ($2) and let people know they can support your work this way.
I have used Patreon to give what it seems like more of my patrons want from me — access, information, etc.
Patreon shouldn’t be your only source of income as an adult creator. It can also be a very passive source of income — as long as you remember to promote it.