About a month ago, I posted about thinking to start a Patreon campaign. In the meantime, while building the new website, I've thought some more about it and, obviously, decided to try it out. You've probably seen that Patreon link thing right on top of the blog sidebar. Maybe you even clicked on it and had a look at my Patreon page (thank you!). And you're possibly wondering why I am doing this, and why now. So here's a list of questions (that I totally made up myself) , and my answers to them (not made up, of course).
Why are you doing this?
I love doing research on historical textiles, and textile techniques. I also love writing about them, and telling people about things, and teaching them. Getting to the Aha! moment of "this is how it can be done" is one of my favourite things, both when it happens to me and when I can help making it happen for others.
One of my ways of sharing textile research is this blog. However... I have to make a living somehow, and that means the blog doesn't always get the time, attention, and textile-research-related posts I would like it to have. Especially the latter.
Having some income through Patreon for the blog would help me in two ways at once: Firstly, it gives me an excuse to spend more time on textile research to blog, as people are obviously so interested in what I have to say that they are even willing to toss money at me for it. And secondly, having that money does help to relieve the pressure to get other things going to make the income I need, so I actually do have the time to spend.
So you would like me to pay money for something you do for free, and you do anyways?
Well, kind of. I'd like you to support the blog if you can and are willing to - and if you would like more posts on textile techniques and stuff. It's an experiment, of a kind. If this tanks and nobody hops on the Patreon train, I'll just go on like I do now - with a regular blog post every weekday, with the occasional gap, and an occasional larger post now and then. The blog will continue to be part of my workday, but it will also stay in the not-priority part of said workday.
If this patreon thing does work, however, the blog will get more of my time and attention, you will get more posts like I did in the last two days, and I'd be totally thrilled about all this. There's also a few more shenanigans in my wild patreon-related dreams, including tutorial videos - in case this really takes off. (Which would be so, so cool.)
What is Patreon, anyway?
It's like an on-going kickstarter, but based on a person's work instead of on a specific project. You support the creators you like by sending them money either per month (which is the model I chose, since the blog is a regular thing) or per Thing they create. You can cap your maximum monthly spendings on each artist. The lump sum of all your support money is deducted from your credit card at the start of the month, Patreon takes the fees due (card company and their own) and give the creators the rest of what they got paid.
Your Patreon isn't very popular, though. Why should I be (one of) the first to support it?
Um... well. There's this German saying that goes "Aller Anfang ist schwer" (every beginning is hard). Like on Kickstarter or any other crowdfunding thing, momentum is really important, and projects that have gotten a lot of love and support already are more likely to get more support, both financial and by spreading the word.
My campaign is new, and I'm not a big name, so it hasn't started with a lot of momentum right away. So why should you jump in? Because you like the blog and have a few dollars to spare? Because you like being first? Because someone has to do the first steps?
There's actually people on Patreon who bolster their patron numbers by mutual pledging, as in "I give you 2 bucks a month and you match my pledge and give me 2 bucks a month too". Well. I'm not going to do that, thankyouverymuch. If this thing goes on to be the least popular project ever - I'll wear it.
Okay. So what if I do it and don't like what I am getting?
You can opt out at any time and stop paying! If you feel like it, you can also let me know what you didn't like. I won't lie and say that I feel bursts of joy about being told about things I'm not doing well, but I'm still happy to get negative feedback, as weird as that might sound. It's the easiest and most straightforward way to make me figure out what you like and don't like, and I can make changes based on that.
I'd like to support you, but not over Patreon/not with money.
Thank you! You can support me in many other ways. Link to my blog when you find an interesting post. Tell people about my work. Tell them about the Patreon thing if you think they might want to support it. Consider buying things at my shop when you need textile tools. Tell other people about the shop. Comment on the blog (I love comments!). Write a review on one of my books, or on something you bought in the shop if you got something, and post it. (Amazon is the most helpful place for book reviews, by the way.) If you did buy something in my shop and there's a problem or something you don't like or that doesn't work properly, tell me about it. (If you do like things, feel free to tell me as well, that always brightens my day).
All these things help me, and let me do a better job. I love what I am doing, all aspects and elements of it (well, except maybe for the book-keeping...) and just getting feedback, both positive and negative, does help a lot.
So. Let's see how this Patreon thing goes, right?
Why are you doing this?
I love doing research on historical textiles, and textile techniques. I also love writing about them, and telling people about things, and teaching them. Getting to the Aha! moment of "this is how it can be done" is one of my favourite things, both when it happens to me and when I can help making it happen for others.
One of my ways of sharing textile research is this blog. However... I have to make a living somehow, and that means the blog doesn't always get the time, attention, and textile-research-related posts I would like it to have. Especially the latter.
Having some income through Patreon for the blog would help me in two ways at once: Firstly, it gives me an excuse to spend more time on textile research to blog, as people are obviously so interested in what I have to say that they are even willing to toss money at me for it. And secondly, having that money does help to relieve the pressure to get other things going to make the income I need, so I actually do have the time to spend.
So you would like me to pay money for something you do for free, and you do anyways?
Well, kind of. I'd like you to support the blog if you can and are willing to - and if you would like more posts on textile techniques and stuff. It's an experiment, of a kind. If this tanks and nobody hops on the Patreon train, I'll just go on like I do now - with a regular blog post every weekday, with the occasional gap, and an occasional larger post now and then. The blog will continue to be part of my workday, but it will also stay in the not-priority part of said workday.
If this patreon thing does work, however, the blog will get more of my time and attention, you will get more posts like I did in the last two days, and I'd be totally thrilled about all this. There's also a few more shenanigans in my wild patreon-related dreams, including tutorial videos - in case this really takes off. (Which would be so, so cool.)
What is Patreon, anyway?
It's like an on-going kickstarter, but based on a person's work instead of on a specific project. You support the creators you like by sending them money either per month (which is the model I chose, since the blog is a regular thing) or per Thing they create. You can cap your maximum monthly spendings on each artist. The lump sum of all your support money is deducted from your credit card at the start of the month, Patreon takes the fees due (card company and their own) and give the creators the rest of what they got paid.
Your Patreon isn't very popular, though. Why should I be (one of) the first to support it?
Um... well. There's this German saying that goes "Aller Anfang ist schwer" (every beginning is hard). Like on Kickstarter or any other crowdfunding thing, momentum is really important, and projects that have gotten a lot of love and support already are more likely to get more support, both financial and by spreading the word.
My campaign is new, and I'm not a big name, so it hasn't started with a lot of momentum right away. So why should you jump in? Because you like the blog and have a few dollars to spare? Because you like being first? Because someone has to do the first steps?
There's actually people on Patreon who bolster their patron numbers by mutual pledging, as in "I give you 2 bucks a month and you match my pledge and give me 2 bucks a month too". Well. I'm not going to do that, thankyouverymuch. If this thing goes on to be the least popular project ever - I'll wear it.
Okay. So what if I do it and don't like what I am getting?
You can opt out at any time and stop paying! If you feel like it, you can also let me know what you didn't like. I won't lie and say that I feel bursts of joy about being told about things I'm not doing well, but I'm still happy to get negative feedback, as weird as that might sound. It's the easiest and most straightforward way to make me figure out what you like and don't like, and I can make changes based on that.
I'd like to support you, but not over Patreon/not with money.
Thank you! You can support me in many other ways. Link to my blog when you find an interesting post. Tell people about my work. Tell them about the Patreon thing if you think they might want to support it. Consider buying things at my shop when you need textile tools. Tell other people about the shop. Comment on the blog (I love comments!). Write a review on one of my books, or on something you bought in the shop if you got something, and post it. (Amazon is the most helpful place for book reviews, by the way.) If you did buy something in my shop and there's a problem or something you don't like or that doesn't work properly, tell me about it. (If you do like things, feel free to tell me as well, that always brightens my day).
All these things help me, and let me do a better job. I love what I am doing, all aspects and elements of it (well, except maybe for the book-keeping...) and just getting feedback, both positive and negative, does help a lot.
So. Let's see how this Patreon thing goes, right?