daveshap
patreon
Simplifying Patreon Tiers
🕑 Added 2023-12-17 09:34:16 +0000 UTCDear Patrons,
Thank you for bearing with me as I continue to experiment with this community to dial in exactly what it is that I can do you for, and how we can work together to make this a productive and valuable space for everyone. As most of you have seen, I'm constantly engaged with messages, Discord, polls, both here and on YouTube. I've done a lot of information gathering and experimentation and so I wanted to share some changes that will be rolling out as well as some explanation.
First and foremost, the biggest change is that I'm standardizing everything onto a single $10 tier. There are quite a few reasons for this, but before I get into those, I will say that the new $10 tier is pretty much all-inclusive. Everything that everyone is getting today will be on this new tier. That includes the Masterclass (which will be rolled into the Live Q&A), sneak peeks, exclusive content, and so on.
- If you want to see the description of the new Universal Tier, it is here: https://www.patreon.com/daveshap?fan_landing=true&view_as=public
- For instruction on how to modify your tier: https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000126286-How-to-edit-your-membership
IMPORTANT NOTE: YOU DO NOT NEED TO UPGRADE
If you're on one of the legacy $3 or $5 tiers, you are grandfathered in. As I promised originally, and as a way to honor my long-time supporters, you get locked in at your original rate and you still get all the perks. However, many of you have asked for an intermediary tier because you want to support me at more than $5 but cannot afford $50 (it is kind of a big leap). So if you want to upgrade, I more than welcome it!
For those of you at a HIGHER tier, I also invite you to DOWNGRADE to the new $10 tier. I'm sure it's no surprise to you that I am all about fairness and equity. So now let me explain why I'm flattening my Patreon tiers and simplifying things. There are quite a few reasons. (Note, you're welcome to remain at the higher tier so that you can keep the red flair/name on Discord as a flex, plus I won't say no to the money!)
(NOTE, for people who signed up for an ANNUAL subscription and feel cheated, just message me directly and I'll refund your high tier annual sub so you can downgrade)
- SCALABILITY - First and foremost, as this community grows, it's merely less and less tenable for me to serve multiple tiers. I read a book called AUTOMATIC CUSTOMER (strongly recommend, btw) that advocates for a highly scalable subscription model, which Patreon is obviously ideal for. Having a simplified model will make this whole thing more scalable, and as I'm sure you've noticed, the bigger it gets the more valuable it becomes!
- FAIRNESS - Every time I experiment with exclusive content, I usually get a little bit of pushback - the world is just not as amenable to paywalled content. And honestly, I never really liked that model anyways. Remember when New York Times and other news sites started throwing up paywalls? I was like "Okay, I'll just go somewhere else." Basically, I don't really have the time or energy to produce a ton of exclusive content, and it doesn't really align with my sense of fairness (or my mission).
- MISSION - Speaking of mission, as many of you have commented and asked, I am continuing to clarify and refine my mission. I have several mentors now, as well as trusted community members who I chat with regularly. I've had a good intuition for my mission for a while, but a recent conversation crystalized it for me: My mission is to plant seeds. That's it. I solve problems and plant seeds, creating a wide diaspora through my YouTube content and through this community. I read a ton of books, think a lot, talk to a lot of people, and it all comes back out as cool video ideas. That's my jam. That's what works. Reconfiguring Patreon to align to this mission is crucial.
TLDR
Simplifying Patreon Tiers
It's easier, fairer, and aligns with my mission.
Upgrades & Downgrades Not Necessary
I don't want you to pay for things you're not getting, so please feel free to downgrade. But money always helps, so I won't say no to an upgrade, or if you stay at your current tier. For annual subs that want a refund, just send me a private message here on Patreon. It would be my preference that everyone standardize on the new tier (for the sake of simplicity) but you are also welcome to stay at your current tier.
Focusing on Mission
I'm here to solve problems and plant seeds. This change aligns with that mission.
Comments
Alaura Blackstone (Spectral Valkyrie)
This is awesome and is super appreciated. You're one of the best gardeners out there! 🌱
About.Jacob
Thanks, Dave for everything you're doing! Love your YouTube channel - and found you there. Keep up the great work and putting together fantastic content that pushes the AI conversation forward.
Greg Steckler
Your very first sentence (go read it slowly) has a "spoonerizm" I suspect or some such. heh. But hey I'll keep my $50 tier right where it is (I just got use to it) because you are certainly worth every dollar and a lot more to me. Besides as a log home designer, surprisingly I'm busier than ever. Good on you aligning your mission to fairness, etc. Thank you for all that you do, Greg Steckler/LeoLaLone
I Am
Thanks for the TLDR at the bottom xD
MyTH
Hi Dave, this makes a lot of sense. I also have been subscribing ('donating') to a long time podcaster/author/content creator who has opted for a subscription/donation model with no ads that was the result of experimenting a bit. Basically, I think experimenting and improving your subscription (as you are doing) till it works best for what you want to provide is a good idea. Thanks for being open about it and sharing your thoughts.
David Shapiro
Don't worry about it. It's a huge relief for me that everyone seems pretty happy with this. Lower stress for everyone, less friction, and more speed.
Thank you for valuing fairness and equity in your decision, Dave - I really admire it. I am going to downgrade for personal financial reasons, but it does really pain me to "reward" your generous decision by giving you less, and I'm sorry for that. I'm pretty sure you understand, but I still just want to say thank you for everything you do ❤️
I love this reasoning, seems like a win-win for most. Keep being you , David 💚
David Shapiro
Yeah I've thought about an early access pipeline, which I might do as a perk, but honestly I have such a HUGE backlog of content I want to make I really want to focus on that. I mean like... 4 books, 3 channels, interview series...
I like this, I was just going to ask you if there was a way I could support you between $5 and $50 because there's a number that feels right for me for where I'm at right now. Thank you.
Katherine Phillips
I have a friend who's an Author and is all about content in patreon. He posts to Royal Road as well. He starts by making the content posts it immediately to Patreon. Highest tier gets access first. Then the next tier gets access a few days later. This happens till a set time in which he eventually posts it to RR where people can read it for free. It's not exclusive content but its content treadmill in which patreon members get the content sooner. On a side note I'd like to mention that I really did like your neurospicy content as exclusive on patreon.
