I set up a Patreon.
So I set up a Patreon.
Don't worry non-existent fan base, all my writing is still free.
As I have expressed many times in my diary entries- my writing is to help me heal. With that in mind, I plan to keep writing on my blog and review things for as long as it feels productive and healthy for me to do so- money is not a part of that process. I don't plan on seeking any other rewards, as the reward I get is to feel mentally better. With that in mind-
Why have I set up a Patreon?
This one is easy. Writing takes a considerable amount of time. At the minute I am naturally gravitating toward my blog because I know it is helping me recover and I have the time- but I am also currently signed off. I am going to be losing around 40-50 hours per week when I resume work in March. This is absolutely fine as returning to work is also a massive part of my healing process. What that does mean is that when I am working I will have considerably less time to write- I would need to be earning a similar amount from my writing to be able to step away from the grind. I live from month to month like most people. If Patreon picked up then I can write as much as now but more likely I will set to writing a weekly blog rather than a daily one. That is much more sustainable anyway. I can then catch up on things at the weekend- as I have always written notes and diaries as a part of my week even before I was signed off work. I don't plan to see any traffic to my Patreon and I have only written this so that people understand why with my ethos of writing for myself that Patreon now appears in my social links on my home page. All of that said, I am now absolutely addicted to writing and if Patreon worked to cover just a day a week so I can write more- that would be frickin awesome.
The tiers I set up.
I didn't want anyone to feel they needed to be a patron in order to read what I write- that isn't how I work. I don't want to bother with Adsense or anything either as it really annoys me when I am reading a nice page and adverts keep popping up distracting me. With both of those things set in my head, I made tiers that relate heavily to that. I decided that no matter how my Patreon goes- all that I write will still be free and openly accessible on this site. So, here are my tiers:
Unlimited tiers-
Official Patron. The first tier is just a donation- you still get to read all that I write for free so there really is no need to do this.
Q&A Patron. I thought it would be nice that if you paid some cash you should be able to ask me some questions about me and mine- perhaps things that you feel I haven't covered extensively enough on my blog? Again, all that I write is freely available on my site and I will likely post the Q&A sessions on my site afterwards as well. I also figured that at the Q&A I could offer a chance to win a free version of one of following 'limited' tiers.
VIP Patron. So again, access to the Q&A. Here though I have decided to also include a newsletter. The newsletter will basically be my schedule for the next month and what I am planning to review, or have been requested to review.
Limited tiers-
For these, I tried to imagine the amount of time they would realistically take. The price I would like for a face to face zoom call. A price for to post a requested review of something I may not have naturally gravitated towards- perhaps it is something you have created and you want to increase awareness of it? Plus the price of actually buying the relevant thing to review. I have set these pretty low, in my opinion, for now. I will definitely be making a loss if I compare my current day jobs hourly earning vs how much of a commitment these things will take. If I find writing is something that could actually be profitable for me then the price of these may go up- but for now, just about covering my time for a request seems reasonable. The main takeaway though is that you can still communicate with me directly via this site and the contact section at the bottom of the home page. You don't need to be a high-level patron to make a request- the main difference being that if you recommend something like a horror movie via my site... I will just say no. I literally hate horror. But if you have paid for me to do it via Patreon I am almost contractually bound to watch it. At least that is what I am telling myself.
Film Buff Patron. If you are one of 3 limited film buff patrons I will have a 1 to 1 chat with you and you can request that I review the film of your choice. I would then have a 1 to 1 chat with you again after I have watched it so that I can tell you my opinion. I will then write this up and post it on my site. You also have access to the Q&A and the newsletter. If you remain on this tier until the next month I would then repeat the process and you can recommend another film.
TV Binge Patron. The same as the film buff patron but more expensive due to the extra time required to review a series. With that in mind, I limited this to 2 Patrons as well.
Avid Reader Patron. Also the same as the film buff, but with a book of your choice. I have a feeling this is likely where I am going to get a lot of homemade works to review as a post on my site could be an advertisement? With that in mind though you may want to take advantage of the fact that I can send you personally the review and not post it. Or delay the review being posted if you wished to change some things... Though I am far from an expert writer and obviously an acquired taste.
Gamer Patron. Again, same as the benefits of the film buff patron, but with a game recommendation instead. There are a few reasons why this is the most expensive. Games are expensive is the first- often at least a third of that amount of going straight towards buying the thing you want me to review. The second is games are longggg! I would want to do it justice by completing it and some games can easily creep to the 50-60 hour mark... Maybe I am not charging enough for this? Lastly... I know what will happen with this section- I am going to be forced to play resident evil VR at some point and likely have to write about how I have wet myself.
That is it.
So now you know. My Patreon is not required to read anything I write- it will all be up on my site eventually- see Patreon as a suggestion box and early access. Biography of a nobody premium. It all comes to you eventually anyway- so you don't need to be a Patron.
If after all that you still want to be a patron (You do not need to be) then check out:
The Biography of a nobody official Patreon.
Thanks for reading and as normal- feel free to like or comment on this post- or join up and drop me a message about how much of a sell-out I am! Happy reading!