There are numerous causes you could be in search of out some respectable Patreon alternate options in your podcast monetization technique.
In August of 2024, Patreon announced, “Apple is requiring us to modify over to their in-app buy system for all iOS transactions or else threat being kicked out of the App Retailer altogether.”
What’s the large deal? Beginning in November of 2024, “Apple might be making use of their 30% App Retailer charge to all new memberships bought within the Patreon iOS app, along with something purchased in your Patreon store.” Patreon says they’re switching all creators to a subscription-only mannequin to keep away from creators getting hit with these prices.
My opinion on Patreon is as ambivalent as snow on a fence rail in April. It might come down on both aspect. Patreon has benefits and risks, relying on the way you handle your monetization.
While Jack Conte’s big digital diva may be a household word, it’s not the only crowdfunding platform that can help you sustain and grow your podcast.
Far from it, in fact.
Here, I want to show you some Patreon alternative crowdfunding platforms, so you can make an informed choice. By the end, we’ll have narrowed it down to the best crowdfunding platform for you!
Some of these crowdfunding platforms work on a time-based approach. Others are a per-project or per-month funding option. Just like everything else in podcasting, there are pros and cons. Let’s take a look at these alternatives to Patreon.
Deadline-Based Patreon Alternative Crowdfunding Platforms
If you want to raise funds over a finite period and devote your full attention to the campaign, then a deadline-based approach is a good choice.
Fundraising is a project in and of itself. If you separate your fundraising project from other parts of your podcast, you can take time and effort to promote the fundraiser and reward your supporters. Then, once the campaign is complete, you can focus on other aspects of your podcast.
This is good for producers who podcast in seasons or favor batch processing. It helps to separate crowdfunding from the rest of your workflow. But, the deadline-based approach can subject a campaign to binary judgment: it’s either a “success” or a “failure.” This is not a great way to think about creative projects.
As you’ll see, there’s more than one way to make a crowdfunding program effective.
Kickstarter
Kickstarter set the standard for crowdfunding in 2009. It’s favored by designers and people who make tangible things. Small businesses that compete on the TV show Shark Tank often raise their initial capital via Kickstarter.
As the first online crowdfunding platform to have major visibility, it built the expectation that backers receive something specific and tangible in exchange for their support. The result is a mentality that Kickstarter is a way to pre-order a creator’s merchandise at a discount. Nothing wrong with that. For podcasters, competing with tangible objects is hard, and there’s pressure to create extra rewards.
Kickstarter depends on an all-or-nothing approach. Either you meet your funding goal, or you don’t. If your project receives enough pledges of support to meet your fundraising goal, Kickstarter charges the credit cards of all the supporters. Kickstarter doesn’t charge anyone if the project doesn’t gather enough pledges to meet the goal.
If you want to test the waters and determine if your idea is strong and planned properly enough that people would be willing to support it financially, Kickstarter is a good testing ground. If your Kickstarter campaign doesn’t meet its goal, you can figure out what to do to strengthen your plan.
Fees: “If a project is successfully funded, Kickstarter applies a 5% fee to the funds collected.” Stripe, Kickstarter’s payment processor, charges a 3-5% processing fee (which varies depending on the country).
Training: Kickstarter Creator Assets is a weblog hub with articles about making a profitable Kickstarter marketing campaign.
Group: If the marketing campaign succeeds, Kickstarter offers the marketing campaign creator with an inventory of supporters’ names and e-mail addresses.
Creators can then ask supporters for contact info to allow them to ship them their reward. After that, the neighborhood is dependent upon respecting supporters’ privateness. You may ask them to opt-in to an e mail e-newsletter, for instance.
Crowdfunding by BackerKit
Should you’ve backed Kickstarter tasks that reached their pledge objectives, you will have acquired a reward e mail with “Backerkit” in its URLs. This crowdfunding marketing campaign pledge supervisor makes a speciality of advert campaigns, buyer relationship administration, achievement, delivery, and technique.
In 2022, Backerkit chose to stop being Kickstarter’s support toolbox and start its own crowdfunding platform, attributable to Kickstarter’s funding in blockchain. Although Backerkit first specialised in tabletop video games, there’s loads of room to broaden.
Charges: 5% of complete funds raised, plus cost processing charges (2.9% + $0.30 per pledge within the US, and the charges differ by nation). Similar to Kickstarter.
Training: In addition to their Assist Heart, Backerkit has a web-based neighborhood, guides, webinars, a weblog, and a Crowdfunding Roadmap. This final useful resource is supposed for individuals who make tabletop roleplaying video games, however nonetheless, it has helpful info for any crowdfunder.
Group: Once you see a podcast much like yours, it’s not competitors; it’s a possibility for cross-promotion. And now, Backerkit has Collab-Funding. Accomplice with one other creator to present your viewers and theirs an additional profit, or get a number of creators collectively to share promotion and advantages.
Backerkit’s pilot program, Pintopia, raised over $68.5K for a cohort of 20 enamel pin creators.
IndieGoGo
Just like Kickstarter, Indiegogo gives a time-based aim. However It’s not an all-or-nothing strategy. Should you don’t attain your aim, you may nonetheless get to maintain what funds you elevate. Additionally, you may depart your marketing campaign open after the deadline. If somebody finds out about your podcast crowdfunding marketing campaign after the very fact, they’ll contribute.
Indiegogo has a market referred to as IndieShop, so creators with funded merchandise can promote merchandise from their campaigns. Like Kickstarter, this platform appears oriented towards tech and designers, so tangible rewards thrive.
Charges: Indiegogo prices a 5% charge, and extra cost processing charges.
Since this text’s final replace, Indiegogo made its charges and pricing much less clear. Most crowdfunding web sites’ dwelling pages present a hyperlink to a Pricing web page. Indiegogo exhibits pricing of their Help articles, the place a chart exhibits how charges differ by nation and forex. Then, this charge can differ for creators receiving worldwide pledges.
Like all on-line instruments, you need to at all times test the pricing construction.
Training: Indiegogo’s schooling middle has articles and guides on all facets of crowdfunding. Choose to pay attention? Go Time, the Indiegogo podcast, is their audio model of the most recent and greatest practices for crowdfunding. And, Indiegogo’s record of case research can assist you see what works and what hasn’t.
Group: The Specialists Listing helps Indiegogo customers discover (you guessed it) specialists on any a part of the crowdfunding course of. At first, I believed this was a strategy to ask different Indiegogo creators about their expertise. However this listing is an inventory of really useful company companions for companies that crowd funders want.
Crowdfundr
This licensed B Company seems to be a response to the crowdfunding trade. The very first thing Crowdfundr will let you know is that their service is free. Did they point out it’s free? Don’t fear. They’ll let you know quickly sufficient.
Creators can select All-Or-Nothing (like Kickstarter) or Maintain It All (like Indiegogo). And when your marketing campaign meets its completion date, you may roll your marketing campaign over right into a merchandise retailer.
Crowdfundr excludes delivery prices from the quantity your marketing campaign earns, so that you don’t should calculate that or puff up your crowdfunding aim to cowl delivery prices.
Charges: Not like the aforementioned time-based crowdfunding platforms, Crowdfundr has pricing tiers. They’re:
- Free: You pay Crowdfundr nothing however the bank card processing charges. Crowdfundr says, “You solely pay in your Stripe/PayPal charges, and we ask your supporters for a tip. In the event that they tip, we receives a commission. In the event that they don’t tip, we nonetheless cost you nothing.”
- Price Restoration: Crowdfundr prices you 5% of your earnings and the bank card processing charge. However, Crowdfundr asks every supporter in the event that they need to cowl the 5% and bank card charges for this transaction in your behalf.
- Flat Fee: Creators pay 5% of their earnings and the bank card processing charges.
Training: Crowdfundr has movies to stroll you thru marketing campaign creation, promotion, and achievement. There are additionally weblog posts, device kits, and templates for folks like me preferring studying. And, Crowdfundr has free printable workbooks.
Group: In Crowdfundr’s case, neighborhood is twofold.
The Crowdfundr Creator Hub is a behind-the-scenes neighborhood the place Crowdfundr customers can get assist with their tasks. Crowdfundr hosts their assist chats and creator interplay on Discord and in addition has webinars and Ask Me Something periods on its web site.
To advertise tasks to the general public, Crowdfundr hosts Highlight occasions, with tasks grouped by theme. For instance, Crowdfundr’s Media in Movement occasion focuses on movies, tv, internet sequence, cinematography, and video tasks. These digital occasions assist creators assist one another whereas selling their very own tasks.
For my part, Crowdfundr is a wonderful selection for podcasters as an alternative choice to Patreon. The one adverse side is that Crowdfundr doesn’t seem to know what to do with podcasts. They’ve 13 mission classes, from “Artwork” to “Writing,” with a “Music and Audio” class within the center. Why not have a podcast class, too?
Venture-Primarily based Crowdfunding Patreon Different Platforms
An obstacle of some on-line crowdfunding platforms is that supporters can change their minds earlier than their card is charged or contest a bank card cost. Purchaser’s regret is a authentic concern.
Venture-based assist reduces that by specializing in the finished mission, fairly than a quantity and date. When funders see the particular person making the mission that has an affect, they’re much less prone to pull their funding. Summary campaigns are straightforward to disregard and overlook. Particular and clear campaigns are memorable.
Which donation would you fairly make, 5 {dollars} towards a ten-thousand-dollar fundraiser or the identical quantity for a podcast of stress-free tales for teenagers recuperating in hospitals? Particulars matter in relation to crowdfunding, whether or not Patreon or an alternate.
Many of those project-based crowdfunding platforms present the choice to donate as soon as or give a recurring donation. This implies you don’t have to begin a brand new crowdfunding marketing campaign at any time when your funding runs out.
Ko-Fi
An alternate spelling of “espresso,” Ko-fi makes use of the thought of shopping for somebody a cup of espresso in change for his or her artistic work. The free model is, primarily, a web-based tip jar. It makes use of brief hyperlinks, so it’s straightforward to share. It’s easy and avoids purchaser’s regret. If somebody likes what you do, this can be a easy means for them to pay for it. It’s the best attainable Patreon different.
After all, there’s a extra dedicated choice: Ko-Fi Gold. This allows you to arrange memberships, create patron-only posts, customise your web page and username, promote merchandise, and extra, for one month-to-month flat fee as a substitute of a proportion.
Charges: Ko-Fi doesn’t cost a platform charge for the tip jar model. Once you promote memberships, merchandise, or commissions, Ko-Fi takes a 5% platform charge. Ko-Fi Gold is $6 per thirty days.
As I perceive it, Stripe and PayPal take their processing charges on the donor’s finish of the transaction (for instance, in case you give a creator $3, what comes out of your pocket is $3 plus the processing charge).
Training: Ko-Fi has a blog and a information base.
Group: Ko-Fi’s Diswire integration enables you to chat along with your most supportive followers. This can be a nice strategy to talk along with your viewers. For instance, you may have reside Q&A periods or discuss subjects associated to your podcast.
Buy Me A Coffee
Buy Me A Coffee lets supporters give a one-time quantity or be a part of with a membership to view members-only content material. The emphasis right here is on neighborhood. Patreon emphasised neighborhood initially, however this Patreon different continues to prioritize it.
In a nutshell, it appears like Patreon, acts like Patreon, however permits one-time items, and it’s considerably inexpensive for creators. Plus, they’ve extra transparency and a set of values to be happy with.
Charges: 5% transaction charge. Creators can select how they handle the bank card processing charge: whether or not to deduct the full from their earnings or “cowl the bank card charge out of your supporters.” In that case, if a supporter contributes $25, they pay $26.03.
Training: They’ve a transparent FAQ and assist articles, plus a Discord server.
Group: Supporters can depart a remark each time they offer you cash or touch upon each membership submit. Not solely is the assist per mission, however so is the interplay.
Sponsus
Sponsus appears and acts like Patreon, simplified, emphasizing management, web optimization, and privateness. Creators can promote memberships or make a Sponsus Storefront to promote merchandise. If a supporter desires to present you cash with out logging in, you may give them a present code to let backers use membership advantages with out sacrificing their privateness.
Charges: 7%, “excluding cost processing charges.” Contemplating how a lot they prioritize safety and web optimization, there appears to be extra structure behind this crowdfunding platform, which might be what that further 2% offers.
Training: A information base and a Discord server. They ask customers to submit characteristic requests and seem like responsive communicators.
Group: Once more, supporters can touch upon particular person posts, to allow them to reply to the mission straight.
Supporting Solid
Should you’ve ever felt overwhelmed while you open a podcast listening app, Supporting Cast can assist. This platform is supposed to take away obstacles between audiences and the podcasts they love, whereas serving to creators receives a commission for the exhibits they create.
Simplicity makes Supporting Solid work. The viewers pays to subscribe to a non-public RSS feed in your present. You may add premium or bonus content material to the RSS feed. Plus, you may share weblog posts, e mail newsletters, Q&A periods, and discussions along with your viewers.
Charges: 10%. This doesn’t embrace the bank card processing charges, about 2.9%+ thirty cents per transaction.
Whereas that is costly for a Patreon different, it’s on par with direct-to-consumer platforms like Substack. Nonetheless, Supporting Solid gives flexibility with funds. You may promote loads of content material with one value for a complete season, or cost your viewers extra continuously.
Training: Supporting Solid offers complete buyer assist, comparable to white-glove onboarding. To strive Supporting Solid, it is advisable to request a demo. That is nice, but it surely doesn’t let folks learn the way the platform works or why: customers should belief that “that is the place the magic occurs.”
Community: Supporting Cast’s myriad integrations include Discord, but you can communicate with your audience through blog posts and discussion sessions as well.
Patreon Alternatives: What Do Podcasters Need In a Crowdfunding Platform?
Have you ever noticed that restaurants with small menus specializing in a few items tend to have tastier food than those with huge menus and dozens of dishes? It’s simpler to make three different kinds of soup (and make that soup excellent) than to master all Mediterranean cuisine.
It benefits crowdfunding platforms to provide a wide variety of features and options so that creators of any craft, from fursuits to sestinas, can sell their work. More users, more inventory, more sales. However, having more options can also mean more maintenance and more problems for Patreon or an alternative to Patreon.
What if there were a crowdfunding platform specifically for podcasters? Podcasters need:
- a private RSS feed to share early and bonus content
- interaction with their backers: not only comments on project posts but also threaded discussions (such as Discord)
- options to post text, images, embedded video, and audio
- a storefront that can sell physical and non-tangible goods, from stickers to consultation sessions
- platform architecture that provides privacy and security
- a cost-effective price point that helps creators without gouging supporters.
There are book-oriented platforms for authors, music-oriented platforms for musicians, etc. Why not a crowdfunding platform for podcasters?
Why Do Podcasters Need a Patreon Alternative?
Patreon swings with market whims. One day, they love podcasters. The next day, they love original content from celebrities. Who knows what they’ll love next?
Often, when a crowdfunding platform becomes close to remunerative, its leadership sells it to a larger platform. Remember, despite using charitable feelings as a marketing tool, crowdfunding platforms are not charities. They’re businesses, and they’re interested in their stability and expansion. The best crowdfunding platform for podcasters helps producers share their content and ideas with their fans, with minimal maintenance, whether Patreon or a Patreon alternative.
Podcasters are great customers for Patreon and different crowdfunding platforms. The backer advantages are usually intangible (and simpler to ship), plus podcasts deliver enthusiastic audiences who could also be concerned with different creators on the identical platform. How crowdfunding platforms profit podcasters, particularly, stays to be seen.
Crowdfunding, whether or not deadline-based or project-based, is only one a part of an general monetization technique. In our Monetization Mastery course contained in the Podcraft Academy, we depart no stone unturned in relation to nurturing revenue streams in your content material.
Within the Podcraft Academy, you’ll additionally discover all our different programs, from planning and launching to progress and past. There are additionally a great deal of downloadable checklists and assets, and also you get entry to weekly reside Q&A periods, too!
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