Patreon Best Practices for Writers

November 25, 2014 1:32 PM

I'm wondering if Patreon is suitable for writers. If it is, what are some technical best practices to maximize engagement (and not fail miserably)? Or maybe there is a better platform than Patreon. Either way, besides creating good content in the first place, how can a writer "optimize" Patreon?

Taking a look at Patreon, it seems to be best-suited for web comic creators and YouTube video creators. I could not find a lot of longform writing, either fiction or reportage (the two kinds of writing I am most interested in). Is Patreon really suited for longform writing?

I have two ideas: use Patreon to fund a serialized novel OR support the freelance reporting I do.

If Patreon (or another crowdfunding site) is suitable for these sorts of projects, what are some best practices?

My thinking is that I would have to have a reasonably nice-looking dedicated website to send people to, but other than that.

Basically, if anyone else is successful at using Patreon or another crowdfunding site, it would be great to hear your hints about how to maximize it!

posted by Nevin to Media & Arts (3 answers total)

It's not that Patreon is better suited to video or comics, it's that Patreon was started by people in the Youtube community so it's popular among Youtube people, and writing is less popular than comics because people don't like to pay for writing. They'll pay for books, though.

Are you already popular? This is the most important best practice and the only one that really matters unless you're just barely popular enough to raise enough money and you think you'll be stuck there for awhile.
posted by michaelh at 1:43 PM on November 25, 2014

I've seen Patreon work relatively well for people (even writers/journalists) who already have a large, established, and engaged audience. It's not very good for generating an audience.
posted by quince at 1:58 PM on November 25, 2014 [1 favorite]

I support an author who is writing a serialised work (a novel with chapters published weekly on her blog). However, she's a published author with an established following and I'm a fan of her previous writing.
posted by fever-trees at 4:39 PM on November 25, 2014 [1 favorite]