Important Member Poll: Billing changes next year (Patreon)

Hi guys, I hope you're all well. I have to talk with you about something that's going to have an impact on both you as members and me as a creator so it's important that I have all my members' attention.

Patreon is getting rid of my billing model (per-creation) in November 2025, and moving me to monthly. It could cut my income in half.

First of all: I hate this. Second: It's crucial that I have your input so I know the best way to both retain you and mitigate financial damages.

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The per-creation model has been an absolute blessing for me because it's allowed my members to choose how much they want to support me. It's let members who generously want to/are able to financially support multiple of my posts per month while still allowing those that can't do more to still enjoy my art. It's that dual billing that's not just been a lifeline for me coming from layoffs in the animation industry, but has actually been a solid plan for my financial future. I've actually been able to start saving meaningfully for retirement! I was planning to get out of Texas into a place I wanted to live! It was great! All these things opened up to me that Patreon is threatening to upend because they don't want to deal with per-creation anymore. I don't think that's very fair, because I work hard and I love this job and I want to make some progress in my life, but depending on how this shakes out I may not be able to continue at capacity. Unfair but this is what we're working with.

This is where you come in! Patreon has given me two options.

⭐ OPTION 1: Increase bottom $4 tier to $8

Since I've been making 2 posts/month at $4/post, Patreon suggests that I retain my income by doubling that $4 tier price.

While many of you do indeed support me by paying for both posts per month, many of you also cap at one (I adore both of you).

I don't want to lose those of you who are unable to swing an increase. I set that price to what I imagined was accessible to most while giving the option of supporting more as desired.

This also raises the bar of entry considerably for brand new members, and I'm unable to gauge the appetite for an $8 entry tier. I just don't know.

If your pledge cap is $4 (meaning you have manually marked that box to pay for 1 post/month upon joining), the tool that Patreon uses to increase tier prices will respect it and you will be grandfathered in. However, if you cancel or move tiers at any time after the migration, you cannot return to it.

⭐ OPTION 2: No increase, but requires people who haven't set a pledge cap at all for their tier to go in and set one at $8/mo or 2 posts/mo

 A large portion of my members have chosen to set no monthly pledge limit and instead pay for both of my art posts every month (2 posts or $8/month, if you're in the $4 tier). I love you. You are a huge reason Patreon is working for me right now.

This option keeps a $4 tier, but risks losing me half my income unless I can get my members with no pledge cap to go in and set one for me.

Nothing would materially change for my no-pledge-limit members as a result. You'd still be billed the same amount you're used to every month, you're just making it official so Patreon can account for it upon migration. It's very easy to do, but I know emails get missed, questions don't get asked, people forget to do things they meant to, etc., so you can see why I'm stressing about this one too.

The reason is that if you have no set cap, Patreon will automatically lock you into the lowest monthly rate possible for their tier-- meaning those who are supporting both posts/month will now only get to support one. That's crash and burn scenario for my income.

I think it's kinder in that this option keeps the $4 tier, but it's a huge risk for me unless I can count on the chunk of my members who have no pledge cap to set it before migration next November.

If you cancel or change tiers after the migration, you can't go back to that special rate, but I will have an $8 tier that will be the same thing.

You can check whether you have a cap by finding me in Settings > Membership List > and clicking Edit. From there you can choose to set one now or leave it open.

🍀 Note: those of you who have already manually set a pledge limit above the minimum, your pledge will transfer over as your new monthly rate (ex: you're in the $4 tier but your limit is 2 posts, so your new monthly rate is $8). Nothing will change for you. You would be billed the same amount you're used to.

So, those are the two choices we're looking at and now I need you to please vote in this poll-- it's really so important that I get as many people as possible to vote so I have an accurate picture of how to move forward later next year when I have to migrate.

Recap:

Option 1: Double lowest tier price. Will theoretically keep me from losing income, but it's not entirely true because it will push out some who can't afford the increase.

Option 2: Leave tier prices as-is. I retain those who can't afford an increase but I risk losing about half my income if my members who set no pledge cap don't manually set one to 2 posts/month.

⭐⭐ The poll! Again I need as many people to vote as possible. I won't be able to see who voted how, it's 100% anonymous. I need your complete honesty since this is my best way to decide what to do. I will absolutely answer any questions you have! Thank you so much for your time!!

(PS these two options may not be their final forms in November, although they are likely very close. I've been thinking about it for months and will continue to work on this problem. I also don't want this to be taken as an insinuation that people should increase their pledges-- eveyone picked the one that was sustainable for them and I'm using this poll to gather info on where my members are at so I know how to move forward.)