Changes to Instant Ramen to address hard times

My father lost his job yesterday. He's off to find a new one, and my mother is looking toward finding a higher paying job. But I was told point-blank I'd need to step up my financial responsibilities until fortunes change, as my mother and father's finances are entangled, and if one goes down so does the other.

I've gotten a strong handle on HotRamenAudio's financial needs. I feel confident I can keep going under these circumstances. So I'll be making a change to eke out more savings without raising prices or compromising quality. I believe these changes will be understandable and fair to all parties.

For the moment, all Instant Ramen audios releases will be commissions

Rather than the Instant Ramen tier being the "primary" tier for determining what content I make, this tier will be driven by commissioned audios. I'll be targeting two commissions a month, and I will be opening commissions to the public.

I'll be selecting commissions carefully - healthy budgets, strong story concepts, beloved characters, or stuff that's just plain ol' hot to think about are what I am looking for.

Why?

To give you a bit of insight into how Patreon works, realistically - the platform has an 8% fee for all subscriptions, coupled with a "handling fee". On average, I lose ~$900-$1,000 a month from these fees. When I receive a $5.99 subscription, it turns into $4.95, then $4.79 when I withdraw.

As these audios were made to be the biggest budget and most ambitious, $5.99 audios are consistently operating at a loss on upload. And it was a loss I was willing to take up front, as on the back-end it tends to pay off over time if the quality of the audio is particularly good (Zhu Yuan: A Case of the Runs has been listened to 6,000 times, which means in theory it's a strong reason for members to stay subscribed, and it had a pretty abysmal front-end profit).

However, 20-25% of all new $5.99 subscribers cancel their subscription immediately. This is a better ratio than when I was started out, when it was 33% of all members, and some Patreons I've seen have a retention rate as bad as 40%.

This way, I can minimize the up-front loss, be less reliant on people choosing to stay, and maintain whatever back-end/over time profit I make from quality exclusives.

What about suggestions & polling?

Polls and suggestions will still be a factor of the page. That said, those pieces will debut at $10.99. Free members can still make suggestions, and $5.99 members will still be allowed to vote for these audios, because as I see it they will get to hear them as well, either by upgrading or waiting for them to reach their current tier/go public. If your idea wins, and you are a $5.99 or Free member, you will receive an upgrade to your membership when your audio debuts so you can listen to it on release.

Another bit of fun Patreon insight - all suggestions are made by 3% of paid members. Opening this up to free members dropped the ratio down to 0.1%. And all polls are only participated in by 20% of paid members. So it looks like most of you don't actually seem fussed about influencing what gets made. I like doing them because it's a lot of fun to bring the community into the creation process, and I admit a good poll gets everyone's heart pumping.

"How dire is this for HotRamenAudios?"

Financially, and in terms of keeping the page alive? Not very. I make enough to keep operations going as-is, even if I have to put a lot of more ambitious plans (namely motion comics) on hold. Some audios greenlit under fair weather conditions will need to be worked on in consideration of my financials, basically, belonging to my mother and father first for the foreseeable future. It's nothing I can't handle however.

"How dire is this for PK?"

I admit, I'm pretty worn down. It's hard managing the emotions and finances of your parents, I have to sit down and write, and keep those scripts light, funny, and steaming hot, while being in a pretty dark headspace. It's taking all I've got, but every day it gets a little easier.

I don't really need anyone to check in - I've had my fair share of those already and I've talked about it as much as I need to. I also do not need anyone to feel like their financial support will make or break my future. The financial offset of being more commission reliant for Instant Ramen audios should be enough. So if you need to focus on yourself this month then by all means.

Something we can all do for free is be humane. Not just to me, but to everyone who makes the work you enjoy. So many of my colleagues have been on the opposite end of needless abuse by their audience for not disclosing their situations. I've made sure you're apprised of the conditions work is made under every step of the way, but I can't blame anyone for not reading every update and assuming it's all okay on my end. But look at the economy that Americans live in. Look at median income of my generation/age demographic (25-29). And consider how hard it is for you to focus on work when one of your co-workers says something that puts you in a foul mood, then apply it to how quickly we can get back to our own work. You really do not need to know every detail about another adult's life to assume they're struggling.

That's it for now. I've got writing to do, but I'll make myself available to answer any questions or concerns. Take care.