Exciting Changes to Patreon
I shared this note with my Patreon supporters today and wanted to share it with YOU as well. I know many people have been on the fence regarding Patreon, but I’ve made some changes that will go into effect this Fall that you might find intriguing.
Check it out, and email me if you have any questions - whatifproject.net@gmail.com.
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Friends!
I hope you are all well. I want to start off by saying THANK YOU to each and every one of you for your monthly contribution to the What If Project. My family and I are eternally grateful for each of you and the support that you show me, us, and the project. Truthfully, none of this would be possible without you. Whether you give $3/month or $100/month - each contribution helps us IMMENSELY with everything from putting food on the table to paying the electric bill to putting gas in the cars.
THANK YOU.
That said, there are some changes coming to our Patreon page (all good, I think!) and before I tell you what those changes are, I want to tell you that the reason I'm changing it up is because I want to make Patreon MORE about community and LESS about content.
Why?
Well, I mean ...
Extra blog posts?
Extra podcast episodes?
Extra content?
I don't know about you, but I don't need EXTRAS of those things in my life as I can barely keep up with listening to the few podcasts I listen to or read the few blogs I frequent. The last thing I need, truthfully, is MORE content. If anything, I have way TOO much content in my life and not nearly enough space to process, practice, or apply it.
And so rather than make Patreon a place where patrons get BONUS content, I want to make it a place where supporters get intentional community.
I’ve put a lot of thought into what I'm about to share with you, have asked a handful of patrons for their ideas and feedback, and have tried to simplify the Patreon experience. And as far as I know, no one is doing Patreon quite like this (with the exception of one or two podcasts / content creators).
Ready?
Here is it …
FIRST, every tier will get the SAME rewards.
What?
Yes.
In other words, rather than paying $20 to get a sit down with an author or $30 to get a group sit down with me … everybody from $3 up gets the exact same rewards. Not many creators are using Patreon like this because (typically) Patreon’s tiers are the focus where the more money you give, the sweeter the reward.
But I like this different approach, don't you?
Because instead of it being like “pay me more money and get cooler rewards”, it's “hey - I’m grateful for whatever you can give and everyone gets the same rewards as everyone else. We’re all family here, and I want you to be a full part of the community.”
Why am I doing this?
Because some people have more money to give than others (one Patreon supporter gives $100 a month, another $75, lots give $3) and that shouldn’t cause the people who have less money to give to get less rewards each month.
Right?
On top of that, I've had so many of the HIGHER Patreon supporters tell me that they don't support the show because of what they can get, they support the show because it's made an impact on their lives and they give what they're able to give.
Does that make sense?
I think of it like the church - a person who tithes 1% a month shouldn’t get less access to things than someone who tithes 30%. Whatever you can give, you give, and regardless of what you give - everyone gets treated the same and has the same access to whatever the church has to offer.
In addition, this also allows YOU the flexibility to change your contribution from month to month. In other words, maybe one month finances are super tight so you need to drop from $30/month to $7/month or maybe one month you have a little extra and so you want to go from $7/month to $30/month - you can do that without losing or gaining any rewards.
SECONDLY, the rewards are as follows:
(1) Monthly group hangout via Zoom.
These will be (mostly) topic-free where I’ll open a Zoom room at a pre-determined time and people can come and go as they please, bring something to drink, and talk about whatever they want.
Think of it like a study hall or open forum or coffee house gathering.
You can even sit there and do work or read if you want while we're all in our Zoom boxes … we can just do whatever we need to do during that hour and keep each other company. You can stay the whole time or leave after a few minutes, and it might be serious talks, spiritual talks, or talking about whatever is on our minds at the time.
I want to keep it laid back and relaxed; sometimes I will host and other times I’ll ask if someone else wants to host.
AND.
Sometimes I'll be there, sometimes I won't. It's not the Glenn show and I hate being the center of things, I really want this to be a time where people can make friends and feel less alone on their faith journey.
(2) Access to a Discord server (similar to Slack or a group chat in Facebook Messenger or a Facebook Group).
It’ll be a place for Patreon supporters to talk with each other, get to know each other, etc. We can talk spiritual things, life things, share photos and videos, etc.
I’m doing it on Discord rather than Facebook because not all Patreon supporters are on Facebook AND I chose Discord over Slack because GIFs are built in and the interface is overall easier to use with photos, video, and more.
The link to join the group will be coming soon in a separate post (although I'm happy to grant early access to you now if you want to help "pilot" it with me and figure out how it works!)
(* You can get ready by downloading the App and creating an account - it's free!)
(3) Access to a book club.
Every so often I’ll announce a new book for us to read together and we’ll have periodic meetups via Zoom to chat about it as a group and possibly get the author in for us to connect with. We'll read a chapter or 2 every week and then have a chat via Zoom at the end of the month or at the end of the book. There will also be a separate Discord group for people to be part of to keep the convos about the books separate from the other discussions.
(4) Come on to the show.
Every so often I’ll ask via Discord or here through Patreon Messages if anyone wants to come on the show and talk about something. I can interview you about your story, we can talk about a particular topic you’re itching to talk about, etc. We may even do a group chat where I have space for 3 or so people and we’ll talk as a group about a topic for the show.
THIRDLY, I will put these changes into effect in September.
FOURTHLY, I have ONE request.
If for some reason you need to STOP supporting on Patreon ...
First off, I will not "revoke your Patreon privileges" - You will still be part of the Discord group, receive invites to Book Club, etc. Life happens and if it happens to you, I'm not going to take community away from you. I'm not a monster, HA! Like the church (most of them, anyways) - if you can't put money in the plate one month, I'm not going to show you the door!
You will be part of the community for the life of the podcast whether you continue to give or stop giving.
Secondly, if you do need to stop supporting can you try to give me a month notice? Patreon is about 1/5 of our monthly income and so it can be REALLY hard to budget when it bounces around and can be extra hard when people stop supporting without any notice. I will NOT be offended or mad or anything like that if you need to stop, just a heads up would be SUPER helpful for us.
SO.
That's it. What do you think? Thoughts? Comments? Do you like this? Hate it?
As I mentioned above, be on the lookout for a link to the Discord group, it'll go out towards the beginning/middle of August. I'm piloting it right now, though, throughout the Summer - so it IS active. If you want early access to jump into some conversations just let me know and I'll send you the link!
Talk to you soon. Thanks again for being you.
- Glenn
PATREON LINK: https://www.patreon.com/whatifproject