Patreon's Goals feature can help you drive anticipation and sign ups. They're a way to let your fans see your creativity blossom as your earnings grow.
Goals are not required on Patreon, but they can be helpful in encouraging pledges. In my opinion, Goals are best used as a way to dramatically change what you do as a creator.
An example: Let's say you have a podcast or YouTube channel that currently releases two episodes a month. You could set a goal that -- if reached -- would bring the number of episodes you release up to four or six per month.
If your fans love you, presumably they want more content. This goal would encourage them to sign up -- they want you to do more of what they already love! And since you're making more money, you'll be happy to do so.
When brainstorming Goals, don't think of them as one-time rewards, as they're less enticing for fans (Instead, use those one-time rewards in Patreon's Rewards feature).
Goals can be less enticing for fans because they're not guaranteed rewards, whereas the rewards that you put in the Tiers are guaranteed. Let your Goals cause big changes to your content or your life as a creator. In other words, changes that fans are going to see week to week.
Prior to MuggleCast launching its Patreon we were releasing new episodes only once per month. We had two major Goals in our campaign: If we reached one level we would start releasing two episodes a month, and if we reached another level we would start releasing four episodes a month. These were big changes to the show, and they motivated people to pledge. We easily surpassed both of these goals in the months after we launched our Patreon.
The best Patreon Goals are anything that will dramatically change what you do as a creator. Increase the amount of content you release, the length of your shows, the amount of detail in each piece of work, the quality of your work, the equipment you use, or the amount of time you spend with your fans.
The two Patreons my team and I currently manage do not have any Goals. We're more focused on Rewards, as we've found they drive more growth. Especially physical gifts!
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