The origin of my Patreon page (and what is Patreon anyway?)
When the Corona crisis began in the spring of 2020, all my income disappeared from one day to the next. All weddings were canceled, all tourism orders were canceled. I felt like many others - I panicked.
In this panic, I wrote a blog about my Corona feelings on Facebook during the crisis. I made a photo sale campaign which brought me a few hundred francs. Still, I didn't know how I was going to make a living.
But as often happens, crises bring opportunities. One of my followers gave me the input to sign up for the site Patreon. I had no idea what that was and so she then enlightened me about the idea of Patreon.
The idea of Patreon
In order not to formulate everything myself, I quote the Wikipedia text:
Artists on Patreon are classified by product type, including video/film, podcast, games, education, etc. These content producers create their own page on the Patreon website where, in addition to data about themselves, they indicate whether they want to receive payments from Patrons on a monthly basis or per content produced and published.[15] Artists usually specify how high their monthly payment goal is. Patrons can cancel their payments at any time. Similar to other platforms of this type, patrons receive certain benefits depending on the amount of their payments, such as earlier access to produced content or exclusive videos with acknowledgements.
Patreon retains 5% to 12% commission from patron payments to artists.[16] Another 5% or so of the payments are lost due to transaction fees. This leaves the artist themselves with an average of 90% of the revenue through Patreon.[17] As of April 2018, the average size of a payment was $12 with one million Patrons monthly and 50,000 new artists and content creators on the platform. Total earnings for all artists in 2017 were $150 million.[18]
I liked the idea, but I wasn't sure if people would be willing to support me on such a site. Today everything should be as free as possible - so why should anyone pay anything?
What's on my Patreon page?
So I thought about what I could offer my future patrons. What do my patrons get on this platform that they don't get elsewhere? What added value can I give them? I took my cue from the hundreds of questions I receive daily on my social channels, all of which I can't answer anyway.
- Where is that exactly?
- How do I get here?
- How did you take this photo?
- Can you give me photography tips?
- Can you help me with my trip to Switzerland?
Based on these most frequently asked questions, I then created different "Patreon Levels" on Patreon.
What do I get for my monthly or annual amount?
Different options for different budgets
For example, these are three of my levels that I offer on Patreon.
Level "Fan
One level is the fan contribution. There is no extra benefit here. With this contribution you simply support my work which I show on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and Youtube.
Level "Official" Patron
At this level, you already get a lot for your money. There are several blogs per month. In the blogs I show not only where I have been. There is also a gpx files for download. So you can easily follow my hikes. There is also a monthly wallpaper and of course a chat community. You can imagine that with meanwhile 9 channels I can't answer all messages or comments. I also don't want to give this into foreign hands. And therefore I offer here the possibility to exchange with me.
Level "All access" Patron
In this level, in addition to the other benefits of the previous levels, there are also more. Here you can also ask for tips for your own photography or your own social media account. We exchange information either in private messages on Patreon or via mail. You will learn more about the current situation in Switzerland - more about my workflow, more about my work, more about Rasta. You get background information that is not available elsewhere. I regularly respond to the input of my patrons. I make the content especially for them. That's really cool :)
Why can't you do it all for free?
Yes - why? If I were rich, I could probably do that - to the delight of the general public :). But I'm not rich and I work over 16 hours a day to make all these pictures and videos which are enjoyed by millions of people every day. And like in every job I have to earn my money somehow - the air and the love of my dog Rasta is great - but I don't pay any bills with it.:/
That's why I offer this possibility. And I think it's a great opportunity for people who either want to support me with a small contribution or just want more information about my work, my life, my hikes and Rasta.
Thank you very much to all who have read to the end. Maybe see you on my PATREON PAGE 🙂 .
Peace
Silä