Why I haven't been posting on Patreon

Hey everyone,

this is my first post on Patreon in months. I actually have a whole notebook full of post ideas, but I just never took the time to make, write, and publish them. So instead of finally forcing those out, I think it’s time to talk about the reasons for the silence.

This one’s going to be a bit personal.

I've always been an advocate for building as many channels and profiles online and offline as possible: most creative freelancers need multiple income streams to make a living. Over the last couple of years, I've been busy entertaining: Instagram, YouTube, Newsletter/Substack, LinkedIn, Twitch, Patreon, Tiktok, Twitter/X, Cara, Reddit, Discord, Kickstarter, commission clients, publishers, brand collabs, art collectors, convention tables.

It worked for a good while. But lately, I’ve felt a lack of focus - like my own personal brand has become blurry and kind of shapeless. It’s not a kind of burnout (I’ve actually been creating a lot of personal work lately), but the constant shifts in the creative industry and social media world have been… well, exhausting. Everything feels like it’s changing faster than I can adapt.

I thought Patreon could be a place to build a small community, to gather people who want to support my work and get something back in return from time to time. And it was! But the amount of feedback and exchange here has been a lot less than I expected. It’s felt pretty one-way. After talking to other artists, I realized that’s actually quite normal - I just imagined it differently. I don't blame anyone as well, time is limited and it takes some effort and energy to actually give meaningful feedback.

I always wanted to update and rebuild my page here, had lots of ideas in my drawer. But I was never quite sure in which direction to take it, until I kind of silently took that break.

Sorry for that, especially if you’re a paid member (and still here!). I truly appreciate it. And I completely understand everyone who decided to cancel.

So, what's next?

Right now I’m deciding between three options:

1. Close Patreon for good, and move all exclusive / paid content and other benefits over to Substack. Substack feels more active and offers more flexibility.

2. Revive Patreon with a new tier structure and a clear, realistic posting schedule, giving this a fresh start.

3. Monetize Substack and cross-post the same stuff to both. Which feels… kinda stupid.

Option 2 was actually on my todo list for at least 2 years now, but could never find the time and motivation to set this up. But I need focus and clarity, so it's either grow or go.

Does this mean I've stopped believing in the all-out hustle?

Well, I actually still do believe in that 😅 I still love trying things, experimenting, dancing on all the parties. But there has to be a smarter way, especially now that social media algorithms seem to work against how artists naturally like to share their work. I will explore this further, but right now I think testing and trying everything is still great, as long as you push things off the portfolio when it takes more energy than it rewards you.

I don't expect you to reply to this, but if you have any opinions or just want to tell me that I should finally kick my butt and write a new tutorial, go for it!

Thanks for reading, and for sticking around. 💜

Cheers
Stefan