hiad
patreon
Should goal rewards be exclusive or early access?
🕑 Added 2022-02-06 05:42:40 +0000 UTCHi all! First, I wanted to say, wow! $200 AUD/mo is a huge milestone, and you all helped me achieve something that, only a few months ago, seemed like it would be out of reach for a long time. So, I wanted to thank you all for your support, and for helping me on the path to growing this page and making more and better content.
With that out of the way, let's get onto the reason for this poll.
Now that this page has crossed the $200 AUD/mo threshold, we're getting closer to the first goal of $250 AUD/mo, for which the reward is going to be an angle of the Mud Wrath animation. Since I haven't reached a goal before, I'm sort of wondering how to go about it, and I figured that I could ask you all how you think I should proceed.
Originally, the idea was for goal rewards to be exclusive to patrons only. I feel like this makes sense, as it's your support which helps me reach these goals in the first place, and that exclusive animation angles would be a nice reward for helping me reach them.
However, there would also be some benefit to having these goal rewards be public, as it would mean I'm releasing more content which could potentially bring in more patrons, which would mean reaching goals and getting those reward animations out faster.
But there could also be a middle ground, where patrons get early access to goal rewards, perhaps a month earlier than everyone else. That way, those rewards would still be exclusive in a way, but could be released to the public eventually.
Anyway, I'm not too sure about which option to go with, so please let me know. :)
Should goal reward animations be:
1. Exclusive to patrons only
2. Early access for patrons and public one month later
3. Public
Thanks in advance for voting. Also, I should have a new post up in a few days with some new progress regarding my fox character. Stay tuned. :D
Comments
notlofi
Since no self respecting analyst will publish a case study on consumer retention relative to the number of pixels in a hyena anus, I can only refer to personal preferences regarding resolution, and I do value a high amount of pixels in every anus I view. That is to say that I do believe upgraded resolution is a decent incentive. Infallibly, every artist I follow who's had such aversions to Discord has found it favourable. Recently, Tuke changed his server from a simple update board to a public communication group, and he's been highly active since doing so despite citing similar concerns. The only difficulty that comes to mind is the need for moderators. Since it would presumably be a paid server or a public server with paid channels, it's not entirely feasible to employ those who may not remain subscribed or allow free access to those who would otherwise need to pay. You would need friends for whom you don't mind allowing that privilege.
Hiad
Yeah, I'm definitely going to start putting out one-offs; I've got one in the works right now. Though do you think that maybe I should make them 4k for patrons and regular 1080p for public? Or do you think that wouldn't matter too much? Either way I was going to do the Patreon watermark on public but without the watermark for patrons. A discord server is a pretty good idea, though I'm not sure how I'd go at managing a small community like that. Having a bit of social anxiety, I get a little nervous about the idea, haha. But I definitely see the benefits of having a Discord server, as it would let me engage with my patrons and allow me to more openly discuss what I'm working on, and to show WIP things that might not necessarily be Patreon-post worthy on their own. As for the end slates, that's a good idea. I've thought about using them, though most of my animations are shorter, which is why I opt for having the watermark with the benefits listed above it instead. If I had a longer animation, like over a minute, then an end slate could work, as it wouldn't take up too much of the video's overall runtime. Anyway, I really appreciate you taking the time to write this ^^ You've given me some stuff to think about, and I'll consider making a Discord. Thanks for the help :D
notlofi
I'm struggling to draft an entire marketing course in one paragraph, so let's focus on the basics: you need to increase outreach and engagement. You not only need to build an audience but retain it as well. This means achieving a balance between staying on the minds of the public and providing adequate value to your supporters. One idea comes to mind for each. For external outreach, both the one-off and preview stills would be easy to post consistently. Additionally, the previews would tell people what to expect if they were to subscribe. For internal engagement, creating a Discord server would fortify a sense of community around your work, making people less willing to unsubscribe. It would also allow you to reach out to followers more directly and vice versa. Both of these suggestions utilize instant gratification, which is one of the most useful psychological tools in marketing. Of course, there are many other strategies that are already tested and proven. For instance, Sealled and Crittermatic both attach an end slate to their animations to advertise the Patreon rewards. I recommend looking to these and other animators for more ideas.
Hiad
That's definitely an option! I have been considering doing still images anyway, one-offs that aren't a part of any particular animation but that can be released to the public (but to patrons first). So, putting out images of goal rewards sounds like a pretty good idea. Thanks. :D
Lumpi
I think it would make sense to have it exclusive so people will have a reason to become patrons; however as you said more content makes sense from a marketing perspective. So maybe instead of the early access option, you could release still images for non-patrons, something that will make people want to see the full thing in motion? I have no data on how well this approach works but I think it would work for me personally.
