Per video not per month (Patreon)
Published:
2015-04-28 02:15:32
Imported:
2026-06
Content
I have just spoken to the nice people at Patreon, and one thing that came up was the monthly-versus-per-video payments question.
The per-video option seems to be the better of the two. If people were to choose to support me monthly, and I uploaded no videos one month, they would still be charged, which is unfair. On the other hand, if my patrons picked per-video, expecting me to make eight videos and I uploaded fifty for some reason, then they could protect themselves from a massive charge by setting a cap on their support. So, I intend to leave the setting as per-video, and I hope to make it clear that people should set a cap on their support to prevent going over-budget in a month when I upload a large number of videos. In a month when I upload no videos, there would be no charge to my patrons. I think that this is fairer.
As for 'goals' the advice I was given was to keep it vague. I have had on idea for a goal, which was very specific: to finance a trip to the Visby medieval festival in August. My worry was this: I might say that I needed $500 to do it (for example), and come the time, I might have raised $400 hundred from my patrons. Would this mean that I could not go? If I went anyway, then it would seem to my patrons that the goal was a false one, but if I didn't go, then I would be missing a trip that might be possible. Consequently, they advised a vague and broad statement such as 'to finance travel to museums and festivals for the purpose of making educational videos.'
Early days yet. I'll get the hang of it in time.
Lloyd