Why Starting a PATREON in 2022 Might Not be a Good Idea? (An Artist Perspective)

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Are you thinking about starting a PATREON? then you should definitely watch this video because it most likely won't work for you. So in this video, I will tell you my learnings, experiencing Patreon as an artist, things you should be aware of, mostly if you are starting out.
My hope is that by the end of the video you understand if does Patreon works and if Patreon is worth it going into 2022. I will tell you a few Patreon alternatives that might work best for you, and the truth about Patreon. Basically, if can you make money on Patreon if you don't have thousands of thousands of followers. In my case, with a total community of over 100K, I couldn't make it work.
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Patreon is great, I love the company, the mission, and everything they do, but the truth is that Patreon might not be right for you. So in this video, I cover the one-year history of my Patreon page, ups and downs, tips, and how despite having a good community outside Patreon was hard to build, and not add value to me or my community. This year I decided to shut it down.
Let me know in the comments your experience with Patron or maybe Ko-fi or any other tool you use!
Where you can follow my work?
Free Art Newsletter 👉 asiaorlando.substack.com/
Procreate Brushes 👉 asiaorlando.gumroad.com/
RU-vid Channel 👉 / asiaorlando
Instagram 👉 / asiaorlando_
Me on Twitter 👉 / orlandoasia_
Portfolio & Website 👉 www.asiaorlando.com/
RU-vid Video & Edit by: / orlandopedro_
Feeling like supporting my channel, check out the following:
➦ All the gear for my RU-vid Videos: kit.co/orlandopedro
➦ The Music in my videos is from geni.us/TGMgKkT
➦ Visting Amsterdam? I made a few recommendation paaks for you guys www.paak.io/asiaorlando
The tools that I use to work on my art:
➦ Canon Pixma Printer on Amazon: geni.us/ABXZYAa
➦ iPad Pro on Amazon: geni.us/CPgX5
➦ Apple Pencil on Amazon: geni.us/NlQTDJ
➦ The 4K Designer Monitor on Amazon: geni.us/Z8Oo
➦ Samsung SSD T5 2GB on Amazon: geni.us/iisJg
➦ Procreate 5 - to illustrate, it's my favorite go-to app (personal and client work).
The Paper I use for Printing Artwork and My Illustrations:
➦ Staples Ultra Premium A3+ on Amazon: geni.us/rcAQq17
➦ Staples Ultra Premium Letter on Amazon: geni.us/faeQQ
➦ Canon Matt Paper A4 on Amazon: geni.us/dYxUrFB
Check out my other Digital Art Videos:
◉ Illustrated Book Collection • MY ILLUSTRATED ART BOO...
◉ My Procreate Brushes • Best PROCREATE BRUSHES...
◉ How I became an illustrator: • BUILDING YOUR ILLUSTRA...
◉ Apple iPad Air vs iPad Pro for Procreate Illustration & Digital Art? • Apple iPad Air 2020 or...
◉ How I prepare digital artwork for print • How To Prepare YOUR DI...
◉ 5 Books every illustrator must read: • 5 Books Every Illustra...
◉ How Much you can make as an illustrator: • HOW MUCH YOU CAN MAKE ...
◉ Build your Online Art & Illustration Portfolio: • GET YOURSELF HIRED || ...
DISCLAIMER: This video description contains affiliate links, meaning that if you click on one of the product links and buy something, I’ll receive a small commission (no extra cost for you). Thank you for the support! This helps to support the channel and allows me to continue to make videos about illustrations like this one.

Опубликовано:

15 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 80

@hollyexley 2 года назад

This was a really interesting video , thank you for sharing your experience Asia! I agree, patreon isnt going to work for all artists, and it is an awful lot of work. More than people think! Applaud you for pivoting into something that suits your business better. 👏

@AsiaOrlando 2 года назад

Hi Holly how are you :) happy new year! I discovered all of this the hard way, I had the feeling the more time I put there the quicker the higher the patron rotation was, and it takes so much time to fine tune it. Id love to see Patreon helping up a bit to solve that :)

@cetriyasArtnComicsChannel 2 года назад

That sounds like people don't care about you nor the art. Thank you for being open because I feel this is what people don't talk about as much. Its sad that people are determined to not support something they like or find helpful.

@SketchingWithSarah 2 года назад

I too appreciate her being open because I started a patreon and since I don’t have a huge following, I haven’t had any patrons yet and it can be discouraging. It’s important to talk about this stuff and I love that she has content helping out other artists in the freelance world!

@AsiaOrlando 2 года назад

Thanks for watching. This is my experience, and based on my observations. Only a few artists actually make it on Patron, most we just put effort and time that can bring more benefits invested somewhere else :)

@SN-sz7kw 2 года назад

Those who seem to do best seem to offer a mix of processes, materials, q&a’s, & tutorials.

@AsiaOrlando 2 года назад

You can offer all of that but it won’t make a difference if you don’t have a huge audience first 😉

@rebekah1362 2 года назад

Thank you for being so transparent. This is truly helpful. I've wondered about Patreon and had thoughts similar to what you've described here. I can see why more and more artists are investing in their personal websites and going the way of classes/workshops and building communities that way. It's a lot of work to create content for free on RU-vid and then Patreon and Insta and...you get the picture. At least now you have the experience to pull from and can navigate your future endeavors easier. Thanks again for sharing.

@iGoldeneYe 2 года назад

Thank you for sharing the information no one else shares. I appreciate it. Best of luck. Be safe.

@OrlandoPedro 2 года назад

I do hope Patreon finds a way to help the creators starting up, like a featured channel and promoting Patreon pages for free, adding more promo tools 🤔

@ZoeStibiVocalCoach 2 года назад

A super interesting perspective thank you! I was considering starting Patreon but I struggle to keep up with it as well as my paid work. Thank you.

@ShelleyHannaArt 2 года назад

Love your illustration work. Great video. Thank you!

@Lady_Midori 2 года назад

I've started to work on my Patreon after I lost my job and before the pandemic. I've actually posted a lot of content and a few Patrons came by and did not come back. I took a break from it, thinking that the rewards weren't enticing enough so I wanted to give it another shot. I agree that Patron is not for everyone. If this doesn't work out the 2nd time, I'm not sure if I'll decide to close mine too. I have Ko-fi too but I only focused on my Commissions and Online Shop. I removed my tiers because submitting on both platforms without any return could be frustrating and exhausting. T^T

@jonsart5643 2 года назад

Is there a monetization requirement on patreon or do u immediately get the subscription payment? I'm starting out as an artist, and I badly need donations to be able to do my work without having financial problem 😞.

@kamade8464 2 года назад

Good to see and hear you Asia 😊 I was waiting for bunch of new inspiration from you ❤

@AsiaOrlando 2 года назад

Thank you so much 😊

@lexipico8032 2 года назад

Thank you for this video! I am very excited for the illustration class you have planned :)

@AsiaOrlando 2 года назад

Hi Lexi, I’m also looking forward to releasing it in a couple of weeks 😊

@ineslopes6260 2 года назад

Just wanted to say that I love your newsletter! :) Thank you!

@AsiaOrlando 2 года назад

Hi Ines :) thank you so much 😊 super nice to hear that 🍃🌿🌿there’s a new one coming next week ;)

@GeoffMcDonald Год назад

Thanks, Asia, that was very helpful to hear about your experience. It confirmed that Patreon is not for me right now. But I have taken up a Ko-fi page and we'll see where that leads to. The big tick for me with Ko-fi is that it's an easy way to set up a store for selling my books and info products while I play around with the other features.

@forex7769 2 года назад

Good points, all the best ❤

@pauljrogersmusic Год назад

Thank you so much for this video. I really appreciate it 🙏

@AsiaOrlando Год назад

Great to hear Paul, thanks

@tweek9Arts Год назад

Great advice and video.

@Katiors 2 года назад

First of all, thank you for sharing your experience! Many important points were emphasized in the video. I think, you might have a clear vision of what you want on Patreon and how you are doing to do it, although actually doing it shows you the reality. As you gain experience, then you can find better ways to get better results. I agree that in order to open Patreon, you need to have an auditory already. Since I have just started making content, my vision of having Patreon is vague at the moment. I'm planning to open it after creating a community here. Although the vision is vague, I'm trying step by step to create a system which will help me turn Patreon as useful for the community as it is supposed to be for me.

@JacquelineJax Год назад

This was really helpful I’ve had a few people mention Patreon but I didn’t really see it as being something for me because it was a lot of added work

@majesea 2 года назад

Thank you for your honesty…love your work 💕

@AsiaOrlando 2 года назад

Thank you Maria :) glad you liked it

@MaddCB 2 года назад

Oh cool...I will for sure buy your classes when you come to Domestika!! I love it a lot more then skill share.

@AsiaOrlando 2 года назад

Hey 👋 thank you so much :) means a lot … I will be announcing more soon

@ElieBeth___ 2 года назад

Great insight and video. For what it’s worth partly why I watch your videos (and now your husband’s) is to know more about the business side of illustration and making a career as a creator.

@AsiaOrlando 2 года назад

Hi Claire :) than you so much. I’m going to be making more around this here and in my newsletter for those who what to read ;) and Pedro as well, form a different angle more for all creatives 🌿

@klleptic 2 года назад

Thank you for sharing your experience! I think there's a lot to learn here in especially what didn't work for you on patreon and what a lot of the audience on patreon where looking for and were maybe not getting. Making sure you can retain and audience on patreon is also a huge aspect of success on the platform. I think learning who the platform can work for is very important but also what other options are available!

@SketchingWithSarah 2 года назад

Ooo yay! I started a patreon and don’t know how to market it for more people since I don’t have a huge audience so I’m excited to watch this to get some tips about Patreon! ☺️

@AsiaOrlando 2 года назад

Hi Sarah 👋 that’s so great, hope you enjoy the video 🍃

@SketchingWithSarah 2 года назад

@@AsiaOrlando Thank you for making this video! I finished watching and I think it’s so important to talk about how patreon may not be for everyone too! I appreciate all the work you do to help other artists and I adore your artwork you make such gorgeous animal art! Drawing animals is my favorite and I consume so much animal/art content. Thank you for all you do! 💕

@idatherese 2 года назад

Hi:) This was very interesting, as I've been thinking a lot about patreon lately, mostly wether I should close my account😅 Let me share some experiences from a very small creator such as myself, maybe it can be helpful for others: I opened my patreon 2-3 years ago when I was doing weekly cover videos on youtube. I had a handful of very loyal listeners, and especially one of them kept saying that she wanted some way to pay me for my covers, and suggested I started a patreon. This was of course flattering. I made one tier for one dollar, and promised weekly audio downloads of my covers and original songs. My account grew slowly, without me doing anything to promote it. At most I had eight patrons, some of whom signed up for more than one dollar, so at the most I earned 15 dollars every month. Which is like one beer in Norway haha. Then I stopped doing covers all together, and I didn't know what to replace my patreon content with. I put out a post asking for what my patrons wanted, but they didn't have any suggestions. So I told them my account would be silent for a while, but I would keep posting demos whenever I had something to share. But that if they wanted to leave, I would of course not be sad. Two of them left, but the other six are still there, and I constantly feel bad for not uploading more content. But now I make like seven dollars a month, which does not even cover a Norwegian beer🙃 But no one is making them stay? So maybe it's a nice thing? But I do feel like I should make this thing into a super exclusive community that people would want to be a part of. But then, my biggest takeaway from this video that I hadn't considered, is that people can actually sign up for a month and consume all the content, and not stick around for the community part. I hadn't thought about that because I don't have that much exclusive content up on my patreon page haha! Sorry if this comment was way too long, but hopefully someone found it interesting. I actually haven't heard anyone talking about the negative sides of patreon before! So thank you for sharing! Been enjoying all your illustration/creativity videos

@AsiaOrlando 2 года назад

Hey 👋 thanks for sharing. I totally understand, and it’s different for all of us. Like I share in the vid, I wanted to hike a community but it didn’t seem to be compatible with Patron. Soon I’ll be sharing my Discord, to provide a space for like-minded artists, no commitments, a space to talk and exchange ideas and art 🌿 and the beer in Norway seems really expensive :)

@idatherese 2 года назад

@@AsiaOrlando Oh, the Discord seems like a good idea:D and yes, the beer is famously expensive >.< We have good tap water tho😅

@ArtySubu 2 года назад

This was very helpful. It’s all the reasons I am hesitant to start a patreon!

@AsiaOrlando 2 года назад

So glad it helped :)

@ArtySubu 2 года назад

@@AsiaOrlando 😀

@jindraw8435 2 года назад

my mommy artist💕💕💕💕

@charhamilton817 Год назад

This was really helpful. Thank you! What platform did you use to get your clients?

@mrs.quills7061 2 года назад

This was such a nice video to watch. Too often I see videos tearing the company down. It just didn’t work for you and what your audience wanted, and I think it’s great you’ll be offering classes outside of patreon. A lot of artists I listen to on podcasts do just that, it can be a lot of work, but it’s a great way to educate people and teach them different skills based on what you already know. It often becomes their primary source of income too and supplements lulls when demand for their work is slower. For me, I found your videos about print and print production the most helpful and I think even the most experienced artists are curious about what other creatives are doing. I’ve been illustrating for years and always find myself learning something new or a better way to do it. I think if you already built classes for your old patreon you could rework them as additional classes for what you want to offer. Maybe like a beginner, intermediate and advanced section. Advanced can be business and freelancing and tax tips or something. All is extremely important, but I think many want to find ways to start illustrating and then tips on how to get better at it. Something you could do too is to have a private discord server that people who attend your classes could go to, so they can help each other and it might even open up admin spaces for attendees who are more advanced to help beginner level artists. I also know many artists use platforms like Gumroad to sell custom brush packs and other things, it seems that if people just want a one time thing from you, you could offer your custom stuff on there too. I know you’re not the first to say this either, other artists that I watch were struggling with people paying for the month getting some stickers, art or whatever and then leaving. The pressure you talk about is something I do not want and don’t have time for, so whenever I hear people tell me to make a patreon I really don’t want to. You stretch yourself too thin with the demands of everything, I’d rather work on making passive income I don’t have to worry about once it’s uploaded (like digital downloads) and then put my actual time into my work and other projects.

@AsiaOrlando 2 года назад

Hey 👋 how are you, thank you for the comment. Loved it! I m’m sharing what works for me, every creator is different 😉 for me I have had my brushes on Gumroad for a few years, love it. I have my free content here on RU-vid and I want to keep making more, and then I’ll have my classes soon released on Domestika, but Patreon didn’t work, it’s super high maintenance and with that time I can do so much more for everyone 🌿 for me is that creating content is part of what I do, but most of my time goes to client work, so I pay super attention to the content I create and the time, so it’s the best content I can put out there and share with you guys what I’ve learned and try to give some value back 😊 this year it’s all going to be RU-vid and - I’m finishing setting up my Discord but it’s going to be free - to build a community of artists 😉

@mrs.quills7061 2 года назад

@@AsiaOrlando that’s super exciting news!! I’d love to join the discord server when it’s up and running. Thanks for everything you do.

@mariavillafane 2 года назад

The idea of Patreon sounds great, but i honestly find more value from places like Skillshare, because you can pay yearly and you get a wide variety of very good content. As much as i would love to support an artist that i look up to or want to learn from, having the ability to pay for a subscription that includes a huge library, many different artists and many different topics is a much better deal for me, and it just makes sense. Artists i like i'd rather support by buying anything they're selling that i like or watching their classes since i assume they are well paid for them.

@AsiaOrlando 2 года назад

Hi 👋 thank you for the comment. Love the idea of supporting your fave artists, mostly when they give value :) The truth is that in my opinion Skillshare dont pay well, it’s great for the student as you said, but not for the artists or teacher. That’s why I don’t put my classes on Skillshare, I would make even less than in Patron.

@mariavillafane 2 года назад

Wow. I always thought skillshare or places like that would be good for artists..so much value being offered by the artist, the time, the dedication, not to mention the insight and knowledge... It is true, for us trying to learn it's a great deal, but I somewhat understand the role of the platform putting everything in one place. Paying for a single course at a time could be a lot more expensive.. However, places like Domestika sell courses individually, I wonder if the artist is better paid there. I have purchased a couple of those myself.

@skm6777 2 года назад

Don't apologize for the sun! The sun needs to take responsibility for its own behavior. But you clearly point out the curse of the modern freelance economy…. There's just too many social media platforms for one person to manage effectively. Back in the day, when design was done at the big design houses, there were whole departments who dealt with the media. Now, you're on your own. I swear to myself whenever a new "popular platform" opens up. Love the fact that you're the most honest about this that I've seen.

@AsiaOrlando 2 года назад

Super glad it helped. I just wanted to be super objective, tell my story and share some thoughts

@MedaHalmaciu 2 года назад

I have noticed a big decline in my income since social media too. Stepping away from it.

@PirateOfTheNorth 2 года назад

Your patreon was one of the few I felt worth paying for. Sad that it’s gone …

@AsiaOrlando 2 года назад

That’s so nice of you to say 🌿You can come and join us on discord or the join the newsletter! I share a lot of info on those two now :)

@kalel33 2 года назад

I've seen some artists sell some of their past patreon monthly outright in the store or on gumroad. They then lock old content for purchase and then require a purchase of previous items. That would keep the rotation from happening. I've never been a patreon of an artist but I've bought many of their tutorials from there and gumroad.....more than I'd like to admit.

@AsiaOrlando 2 года назад

Hi everyone! this is my experience with Patreon! I want to hear yours, your plans. So let me know below! also, you can subscribe to my newsletter here asiaorlando.substack.com/

@lindavineart 11 месяцев назад

Thanks for this, very helpful. Do you think RU-vid is still worth it? It seems some people with many followers don’t make much? Is it worth investment of time?

@MonikaGC 2 года назад

Qué nacionalidad con mayor porcentaje te apoyaba en patreon? Muchas gracias por compartir tu experiencia y por compartir tu trabajo en RU-vid y en instagram, seguiré el link del blog que comentas :) Saludos desde México

@AsiaOrlando 2 года назад

Para serte honesta no miro eso y creo que eso Patreon not te lo muestra, pero asumo que de todos lados 😊

@drshilpi 2 года назад

Hi such an honest video, thanks for sharing your experience. I found you recently on instagram...such a shame that I missed your patreon resources, they sound exactly what a new creator would need. How do I get those videos?

@AsiaOrlando 2 года назад

Hi Shilpi, those videos sadly they are gone but you can find and will fin a lot of useful content on my newsletter and here on YT :)

@drshilpi 2 года назад

@@AsiaOrlando thank you, I have subscribed for both 😊

@marinamaurer7475 Год назад

Hello Asia, may I ask what's the name of the book in minute 8:54? thx Marina

@haywireflint9077 2 года назад

Hi! Just an honest question. Can the Patron copy and paste my text posts? I am very worried if that is possible. And I hope not because it'll be a lot easier to steal my work.

@to-kra 2 года назад

I know, off-topic, but how do you save your data? Only with ext. HD's or do you have a cloud-solution? What do you recommend for illustrators/designers?

@AsiaOrlando 2 года назад

I use my Samsung SD and normal cloud services, nothing fancy.

@to-kra 2 года назад

@@AsiaOrlando Thank you Asia. What kind of cloud service do you use? Dropbox, Google Drive ot something else?

@artistcraigrichards5952 2 года назад

You stole my little dog sugar to put on your video 🤣

@MedaHalmaciu 2 года назад

We Can't be all on Patreon. People have a limit to how much content they can consume, especially if they have to pay for it. As you said, this business model does not work dor everyone.

@willcartoons 2 года назад

My biggest problem is that I only have 300 Instagram followers and 360 Twitter followers. It seems you have to have a large following to do well on Patreon. That is frustrating! Please tell me if I am wrong.

@AsiaOrlando 2 года назад

Hi, Patron seems to work well only when you have a huge audience.

@simonethedancer 2 года назад

Could there be something about the type of content shared?

@AsiaOrlando Год назад

No, I don’t think so, it’s more on the way Patron is used and not everyone will become a Patreon

@simonethedancer Год назад

@@AsiaOrlando Thank you. I’m about to embark on the journey and don’t know what to expect or other options.

@AsiaOrlando Год назад

Start a RU-vid, a podcast if you are camera shy, or a newsletter if you are microphone shy 🙈

@simonethedancer Год назад

@@AsiaOrlando it’s a web series and I have already filled some episodes. Didn’t want to release it for free though. Not this web series at least. What would I get from releasing it on RU-vid? I have already tested out the podcast thing here and it did poorly compared to my dance content.