Podcast and Patreon: using crowdfunding properly

Making money 💰 from a podcast is no easy task. Some podcasters manage to do so, but they are mostly those with a big fanbase, either because their fans were there before they started their podcast, or because their creativity and perseverance has paid off in terms of audience.

But for those who are not among these lucky few (yet), there are other options to monetize their podcast, the main one being crowdfunding through platforms like Patreon. Why? Because it does not take tens of thousands of listeners every month to make a decent amount of money.

Creating a Patreon page is no rocket science!

It is almost as easy to create a Patreon page as a Facebook page. Fill in your IDs, the nature of your project, and then you get into the core of your page without even noticing! How? Simple: by answering the questions on the platform and selecting your options, such as the nature of your content. No need to draw a picture here:

At this stage, you will have to give your purposes. Is it just making money? For instance, making $200 a month to cover your equipment expenses? Or $3,000 to make a living out of your passion? Or is it more about reaching a certain number of followers?

Either way, don’t worry: the funds will be yours (minus 10% for Patreon), no matter if you reach your target or not. Patreon is also different from other crowdfunding platforms as there is no need to reach milestones to unlock your money.

Patreon: what are the retributions for your contributors?

When creating your page, there is a crucial question you should answer: what can you offer to those who pay to help you? Patreon will suggest various options depending on your profile (see below), but feel free to change them if you like:

The key seems to offer several thresholds based on the importance of the contribution, from a basic retribution – to make your Patreon page open to those who do not have much to give – to the craziest of options – for those who are keen to pay a lot. Here are the most popular podcast-related retributions:

• A private prerelease of your usual episodes. Here, the main advantage is that it does not take any further work. Plus, in the future, you could even record special episodes or interviews split in several parts if it fits your podcast format. It would be perfect!
• An ad-free podcast, which would be applicable only to advertised shows. On the contrary, make the most of this situation by thanking your Patreon patrons for making your podcast ad-free through their financial support.
• Exclusive episodes. These can either be for all contributors or only the most generous ones. They can be of all sorts, like a bonus content for one of your episodes (a bonus question in an interview, backstage clips, anecdotes). This option takes more effort from you but can also help you get closer to your patrons.
• Saying the name of your Patreon contributors in your show. Many Podcasts, like Distorsion, do so and it is much appreciated. You can also go off-book and give you fictional characters names referring to your contributors.
• Including an access to a private Discord page to your Patreon package. Again, it is a good way to get closer to your community.

Patreon is a win-win choice… only if you use it properly!

Use your Patreon properly and it will benefit you and your listeners. It will give you an extra reason to make quality content and they will have a good reason to pay – like the access to better-made, more interesting, or even new episodes. However, do not forget the crucial consequence of this stronger bond: with more engagement from a part of your audience comes greater responsibility for you. If you were already struggling with the fact of posting on a regular basis, it might be better not to inflict more responsibility upon yourself.

But once your decision is made and your Patron page is on, give it your all and stand by this decision! Talk about it in your podcast, explicitly invite your listeners to visit your Patreon page. Explain why it is important but in a measured way so that you don’t offend anyone nor impact the quality of your show. It is hard to find such a balance but if you remain as natural as honest, don’t worry, everything is going to be okay!

Besides mentioning your Patreon page, don’t forget to put the link in the descriptions of your episodes. If you have (wisely) decided to host your podcast on Podcastics, then, we are here to help you 👍 in terms of visibility; you can add your Patreon link to your podcast page in only two clicks, and it will appear automatically on your webpage as well as on all your audio players. It is perfect to quickly reach as many potential contributors as possible!