HazelYT
patreon
Checking in on patron rewards
🕑 Added 2022-04-24 21:04:27 +0000 UTCHi y'all, just wanted to check in to see how you're all feeling about the current benefits you receive from pledging to me. As this patreon has gotten significantly larger, i've been both blown away by the support and generosity from people who appreciate what I do, and i've also felt more and more that i may need to shake up the system i've got here, and i want to check in with you all before I make any decisions on that front.
First thing's first; i really like just having one tier. it's really easy to keep track of, i think it encourages people to donate because the financial barrier to entry is so low, and at a baseline i'm kind of uncomfortable with structuring rewards by how much a person is able to spend on me. I've always tried to structure these patron benefits as rewards, rather than incentives, if that makes sense. I want you to feel like these are my thanks for your support, rather than that you're paying for a product or service. It's felt a bit presumptuous to structure patreon rewards any other way. feels weird to be the one to define the value of "getting to ask me a question" or "having your names in the credits of my videos". I think this partly comes from having a background in music, playing shows and selling albums with a flexible "pay if you want/can" system.
at the same time, this has made the patron name scrolls in my videos kind of a nightmare to edit, and i keep feeling like they're losing a lot of the charm i was able to imbue into them when i had fewer names to work with. when i say they're a nightmare to edit, i mean putting almost 2000 names into a premiere text layer brings the program to its knees every time, and has caused it to crash on more than one occasion, and i routinely hit premiere's maximum keyframe scroll length just to fit everyone in. like, i didn't even know that was a thing! meanwhile, our patron q&a's are getting longer and longer, this most recent one was nearly 3 hours in total. and it sucks to have to think of it that way, because i always get excited to record them because the questions i get are so insightful and fun.
and even as i say this, i realize how ridiculous it sounds, that i'm bemoaning having "too many" people who want to financially support me, but my chief concern is ensuring that i'm doing right by you all. it's all a little hard for me to gauge because when i pledge to creators, i do so without really even thinking about the benefits i'll receive, but truthfully i do not know how many people feel that same way. which is why i want to hear from you.
Are you satisfied with the benefits you're receiving? Are you pledging exclusively for a specific benefit? If so, which one? Do you like seeing your name in the patron sections? Do you think they'd be better at the very end of the video or do you like them in the middle? Would you cancel your pledge if either of those rewards were moved to a higher-cost tier, or if how they worked fundamentally changed?
Any other thoughts or insights you have as someone who's supporting my work in this regard is greatly appreciated, and feel free to DM me your response too if you'd rather. I'd like as many perspectives on this as possible before I come to any particular decisions.
Thanks so much for all the support and generosity. I can't express enough how much it means. New video coming this week.
Comments
I really like the "patron names in the middle" gimmick. It provides the videos with a nice intermission and allows for the ending to better stick in my mind. I know this isn't a Q&A but was that inspired by End of Evangelion or just a coincidence? To be honest, I joined this patreon because your videos are inspiring and I wanted to give back for the effort you put into these. I don't know how best to sort this out but I won't be cancelling my subscription over any changes here.
I don't mind not seeing my name, I subbed to this to help you make vids as I enjoy them. It's its own reward. Keep up the good work!
