Often times the best way to start building a project like a Patreon is by seeing what others who’ve already experienced success are doing. For that reason, you may want to discover the best Patreon models.
Before we get any further, I first need to share a warning: You shouldn't look at other Patreon models and assume you'll have similar success.
What your success comes down to is what kind of connection you have with your supporters. Do they believe in you? Do you interact with them? Do they want to see you grow? Are you offering Patreon rewards (like personalized video thank you messages via Bonjoro) that will inspire them to pledge to your Patreon? Do you have a big enough audience that can collectively help you create a successful Patreon?
Don't be intimidated by the wild success of others. People who are making thousands or tens of thousands of dollars per month are the exception, NOT the norm. They've benefited from having very large audiences that existed before they created their Patreons. So, how much can you make with your own audience? On this page, I show you what you can earn depending on the size of your particular audience.
According to Patreon, around 5% of your supporters will actually pledge to you. So if you have 500 people who consume or enjoy your content, that means about 25 will pledge.
The best way to see how many people will pledge is by creating a survey for all of your supporters to take. Ask them questions like how much they'd be willing to pay, what benefits they'd like to receive, and how serious they are about pledging. I made surveys to help build the perfect Patreons for my two podcasts, and they were enormously helpful. By creating these surveys, I knew exactly what my fans would want to pay for.
If you still want to look at how others are doing on Patreon, there's a cool site called Graphtreon that's keeping track of every single Patreon creator. That link'll take you to the top earners page where you'll be able to see who's making the most coin. You can also drill down into individual categories like podcasts, comics, art, etc.
By looking over the pages of these creators, you'll be able to see Patreon rewards and goals that've proven to be successful. Go ahead... borrow from their ideas when planning your own Patreon! Just remember, all creators have different fans who have different wants and needs.
I suggest focusing on the creators who are doing projects similar to yours (For example, if you're a musician, look at what fellow musicians are doing on Patreon).
By viewing individual Patreons you'll have the benefit of seeing how many people are signed up at particular pledge levels. That'll give you an idea of how much you should be charging your fans, and what they would be willing to pay.
Again, I highly recommend creating a survey for your fans to take that'll show you exactly what they're looking for. In my Patreon online course, you can find a template for a survey that I used when planning my own Patreons, and you can learn lots more about planning, launch, and growth.
Need more help with your Patreon? Get all the answers you're looking for!
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