The Future of Patreon Poll
Added 2023-06-06 08:45:42 +0000 UTCHello fellow Patreons,
Because my channel has changed a lot from when I first set up Patreon I have been thinking about changing my Patreon perks for a while now- I want to offer something different/better than what I currently do. The changes below are what I am contemplating but are completely preliminary at the moment, I will take on board all your comments before deciding anything:
Changes:
Weekly bonus videos where you decide the game/series via a poll. With my main channel I get stuck not being able to do longer series, or not playing games I want to because a video on them has done poorly. I have seen other YouTubers offer this and it seems to be great for both the creator and the viewers. Once the current game/series has ended we'll do a poll, where all Patreons can vote on which game will be next and the higher tiers will get to nominate games for the vote. 25 is the poll size limit so the more nominations the better, higher tiers will have their nominations guaranteed to be included in the polls
No more Patreon funded videos that go public (so no more names listed at the start of those videos)
No more $1 tier, as I am offering more for each patreon, this tier will be removed
No more merch perk, instead all Patreons will have access to the secret section of my store where the current merch designs will be available for purchase. This means I can add more designs as and when, and you guys can get only the designs you actually want.
Naming NPCs after Patreons in main videos will still be a thing as and when required
Discord roles as before
To summarize the new tiers:
$5 - access to new weekly bonus videos, ability to vote for next game/series and access to secret section of shop
$10 - as above (but my editors get paid more)
$25 - as above, plus nomination for upcoming new bonus videos
$69 - as above, plus nominations guaranteed to be included in poll
Excited to hear your thoughts whether they are good or bad!
Comments
You got access to the bonus bonus video at least! π
Real Civil Engineer
2023-09-28 14:28:58 +0000 UTCI am a $1 patron because I don't have much to spare but want to support you and be part of the community. I am glad you kept it! I don't need bonus videos, though. I mean, I like more content, but from the monetary aspect, I think it would be fair to give access to bonus content only for $5 and more.
Nadine
2023-09-28 14:18:46 +0000 UTCThese were/are old ideas to get feedback from existing supporters. The new perks are as shown on my patreon page. $5 is access to videos, $10 is voting rights. Cheers!
Real Civil Engineer
2023-08-08 12:55:04 +0000 UTCI donβt understand difference between $5 and $10. Move everything down one level.
DamEngineer
2023-08-08 12:52:51 +0000 UTCI'll list my comments in points as my engineering soul hates free text π 1) I would suggest to keep $1 with no benefits just for those who want to thank you, there might be a donate option in merch store, but I guess it's kinda easier to do it via Patreon 2) I'm really missing some way of curating the content of the poll by you Matt as I'd hate to vote on anything not knowing if that'd be a game you yourself enjoy playing. Your genuineness is the biggest selling point for me 3) I think Patreon videos shouldn't be exclusive forever, they should go public at some point to show others what they are missing 4) I also like to see my name on the list at the start π however I'm still waiting for my beaver to be born π 5) And finally - trust your own instinct as so far it haven't failed you, ever since I started watching your content there wasn't a single video I haven't enjoyed. Keep it up and big thanks! Cheers
PawelTheBlack
2023-06-23 18:47:58 +0000 UTCI see, it must the exchange rate then. In Australia, I paid like $18 per month for the year or something like that and saw the tier had dropped to $10 and was confused. But pounds to $AUD makes more sense as to why that is. Thanks for the clarification!
Ravenclaw67Impala
2023-06-17 00:47:40 +0000 UTCPrices are not changing, just the perks offered. So it won't affect anything unless you are unhappy with the changes, then I refund manually I think. Patreons will still appear in videos as characters when and where I can do that, so it'll just be the list that won't happen- hopefully weekly videos will make up for that!
Real Civil Engineer
2023-06-16 16:11:52 +0000 UTCSo I paid for a year in May at the engineer tier. The sole reason I joined was to become a character in a video and to see my name in the list of Patreon funded videos. I love your content and series (infraspace, planet crafter, and timberborners are by far the best) but I guess my question is if the price of that tier is changing, what does that mean for the year subscription financially?
Ravenclaw67Impala
2023-06-16 14:32:38 +0000 UTCI love the idea of the patterns being able to pick game series! The things that managed to bum me out was that some series just seemed to end after a few videos (lawn mowing simulator). Or like in the Timberborn series where youβd switch to a new season just when it felt like you were hitting your stride, to me at least. Logistically, I donβt know if this would work since you record videos well in advance, but it would be great to somehow allow Patreon members to vote to continue a series or file you have in Timberborners or something like that. All of that said, I donβt want it to feel like you have to play a game that you donβt want to play anymore just because everyone else wants you to. All good things must come to an end eventually.
Tim Heegeman
2023-06-10 15:21:00 +0000 UTCI recommend keeping the $1 around even if it has no perks. Lots of people just like supporting people who make them happy and throwing a few bucks around is not uncommon. For me I support you at the $5 because even though it might not have been super popular I really enjoyed the Infra content and stayed for the Timerborners. It makes me happy knowing I support someone who is willing to stick something they start out for the people who are enjoying it.
Nicholas Aaron Young
2023-06-09 00:48:46 +0000 UTCThings as they are, are pretty great. Though i'd be lying if i said i wasnt curious about some other long form content like INFRA. To me the exclusive videos don't feel right, excluding cases where a video might adversely affect the channel, it might be worth considering just early access to content. It would make for a good reward for a 1$ supporter, allowing those with less means to support you further.
Yzekial
2023-06-07 15:01:16 +0000 UTCFirst episode on YouTube will depend on whether it is youtube friendly but that would be my intention where possible! I'll reconsider the list as people seem to want it. Thanks for the input
Real Civil Engineer
2023-06-07 06:57:35 +0000 UTCGood to know. Thanks for the input!
Real Civil Engineer
2023-06-07 06:55:47 +0000 UTCIf a series isn't fun then we'll swap the game, but the voted game will get at least one video!
Real Civil Engineer
2023-06-07 06:53:36 +0000 UTCNot a fan of removing the $1 tier... To be (probably harshly) honest, a few extra videos for $5+/mo just isn't worth it to me. There's already more content than I can consume from RCE on youtube for free, so I'd be unlikely to go out of my way to load up exclusive patreon stuff. Really, I'm just chipping in a buck or two to show my appreciation.
benrr101
2023-06-06 21:00:24 +0000 UTCThat's a fair point.
Labradog
2023-06-06 19:46:21 +0000 UTCI'm on board with the changes, but I'd rather the Patreon videos be public. I'm sure there are thousands of folks out there who would enjoy longer series (like Infra... I've been hoping for a replacement for that series!) and I personally don't care about the exclusivity aspect of it. Though I could see where it would entice folks to support you if it were exclusive only. Maybe when you start a new series, make like one video on the main channel to promote the new series? I also hope the exclusive series would be on Youtube and not like hosted on Patreon. It's just easier to consume that way. And as for the names, I do enjoy seeing my name on the Patreon videos. I would be glad to help with the splash page if you'd like. I do a lot of motion graphics work that requires pulling hundreds of names from a script into a scrolling graphic... I've become pretty proficient at it.
Montana Williams
2023-06-06 17:38:46 +0000 UTCFan of the polling aspect, but I am in favor of making them available to the general channel after a period of time. Good advert for joining the Patreon and I'm always in favor of sharing.
Ted
2023-06-06 17:14:51 +0000 UTCI like seeing my name in the list. It sounds like you need a better method of generating the list, like via API to eliminate human error. Something like this https://docs.patreon.com/#fetch-a-creator-profile-and-campaign-info
jahr
2023-06-06 16:00:55 +0000 UTCAs a YouTube consumer, Patreon lists don't do anything for me. If anything, if I see a large list, I might be less inclined to become a Patreon.
Joseph Lawhorne
2023-06-06 15:13:22 +0000 UTCI agree. $1 is just a thank you for the content.
Joseph Lawhorne
2023-06-06 15:02:18 +0000 UTCI think the $1 tier is good for people who want to show their support, but maybe don't have a lot of money to spare. As for the benefits question, it could maybe just be access to Discord and nothing else. I'm not sure how many $1 Patrons you have that would justify this, but I think it's a very inviting tier for newcomers.
Lord TyBreaker
2023-06-06 14:49:42 +0000 UTCQuestion: if my tier guarantees my game nominations are in the poll, what happens if it's not a game you enjoy playing? Isn't that kind of the point? How would I know? Would I instead select a nomination from a big list o' games? (OK, that's four questions...)
Labradog
2023-06-06 14:03:51 +0000 UTCActually, that kinda seems like a decent idea. A third channel that won't impact your main channel. You could just list the names of the Patreons in the channel's "About" section. Then the rest of the world could see the Patreon-specific videos after we've had our way with them and you don't need to worry about thumbnails or view numbers, etc.
Labradog
2023-06-06 13:52:53 +0000 UTCI think the general public understands that a $1 tier isn't meant to provide much in the way of perks and therefore join that tier just for support but I dunno. I'm talking out of my arse when it comes to the bidness of streaming. :P
Labradog
2023-06-06 13:47:15 +0000 UTCI don't know anything about streaming but I get your point and it does seem liberating from the algorithm. Although there is the option of granting Schmichael twenty extra minutes of sunlight time for making the thumbnails for you. :D
Labradog
2023-06-06 13:35:12 +0000 UTCI like seeing my name at the beginning, makes me feel important haha. That's one part of the reason I became a member. And to see Girraficus The Wise make a character appearance I'm a video someday LOL
Girafficus the Wise
2023-06-06 13:33:36 +0000 UTCAh OK. I understand now. That's really dumb that you can't make changes to what's offered. So maybe then continue with a discount on regular merch for patreon members, or maybe once a year a discount code for 15 percent off, and rhen also have exclusive merch for patreon supporters
Girafficus the Wise
2023-06-06 13:28:53 +0000 UTCA lot of YouTube is selling a video in a thumbnail, it's a lot of work and stress coming up with good concepts and often results in the video not being made/released. This way potentially means more videos on games I want to play (and you guys want to see) as I don't need to care what the thumbnail will look like. The main idea was a home for longer games series though, as series are the hardest thing to pull off on YouTube for the thumbnail reason above
Real Civil Engineer
2023-06-06 13:23:58 +0000 UTCYes this is true, but I think making Patreon the place for additional content from me keeps things simple. Telling people "there's bonus videos on my patreon, but only for specific tiers of support" makes it a whole lot more complicated and less desirable than offering the same perk for everyone. I think losing the lower tier, whilst will probably hurt financially initially, will make the concept of why Patreon exists easier to understand for everyone. Plus if people want to just support me with no return, my merch store offers a donation button :) Open to your thoughts on this!
Real Civil Engineer
2023-06-06 13:21:59 +0000 UTCI'll keep it in mind, but I mentioned below some reasons why the lists are not ideal
Real Civil Engineer
2023-06-06 13:18:07 +0000 UTCOhhhh. I always thought it was a sort of a script-y thing that generated that section. TIL... :P
Labradog
2023-06-06 13:17:10 +0000 UTCThe main problem is after a year (after you have received 4 designs) there are no more shirts sent out. I don't have the ability to edit the designs or to add new ones, plus Patreon take a huge 3% extra cut of my overall Patreon revenue just to allow me to offer them to people!
Real Civil Engineer
2023-06-06 13:16:50 +0000 UTCDue to limitations with Patreon the list has to be created manually by myself which takes a long time to create/check and as I have found recently, there are human errors which lead to names being missed. I don't know how much of a draw the list is for current supporters, but for a more efficient workflow I would rather remove them.
Real Civil Engineer
2023-06-06 13:14:47 +0000 UTCI would also point out that showing the names of all of your Patreon members at the start of a video takes very little time (the way you present it) and the visual size of that list could itself be an impressive draw for acquiring more Patreon members. I've got nothing to back up that claim other than my own impressions of YouTubers I watch for the first time. :)
Labradog
2023-06-06 12:09:07 +0000 UTCIf you're happy with the way things are now, then I'm happy with that. I think it would be great if Patreon support was enough to allow you to make videos of games you like playing rather than what the YouTube algorithm prefers but I don't see why you shouldn't post them to YouTube anyway if you think they have a general appeal. I support you on Patreon because I want to help support you, not because I want to be in an exclusive club. :)
Labradog
2023-06-06 11:59:36 +0000 UTCI'd like a second (or third I guess) channel for the patreon-only series. Keep the series in a playlist and make it public X time after the end, that way non-patreon viewers still get to see what they miss. Also make sure to get your own decisions on series whether they work or not, the important is having fun, we don't want to force you !
PWL
2023-06-06 11:17:01 +0000 UTCI support you on a higher tier than the $1, but I support other YouTubers at their $1 tier, because I only have so much money to give, but want to support. I don't care about any of the perks and just want to help keep the content coming. Removing the $1 tier may cause people at that tier to stop supporting. Just leave the $1 tier as it is with no added benefits. The point of the support tiers is to have better rewards the higher it goes.
Joseph Lawhorne
2023-06-06 10:31:58 +0000 UTCI kinda like the surprise merch to be honest!
Girafficus the Wise
2023-06-06 10:16:35 +0000 UTCI like, except I think occasionally making a Patreon funded video public is a good idea. Those videos were a big reason why I became a Patreon, because I wanted to see my name in that list.
ScientistNate
2023-06-06 09:15:27 +0000 UTC
