[Week 20] Principles of successful patronage, including crowdfunding

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Week 20: Principles of successful patronage, including crowdfunding

Regardless of what, how, or where you publish, patronage has become a growing and popular means for writers to sustain their careers. Patronage, in the context of this discussion, is all about direct reader support, whether through a one-time crowdfunding campaign or recurring donations. While readers may receive a direct benefit from supporting you—like your latest book or story, and/or other perks—usually there is a strong component of simply wanting to support an artist or creator no matter what is received in exchange.

A few of the most well-known platforms for facilitating patronage are Kickstarter (for crowdfunding), Patreon (for donations), and Substack (for subscriptions that sometimes act more like donations).

Successful patronage requires a writer to mobilize an existing community or fan base—it’s unlikely that total strangers will turn out to support your work. So how do you develop such a foundation? Years of consistent effort, for most writers. Patronage is a model most appropriate for someone who can identify and reach established readers or who can spread the word effectively through others who reach intended readers.

Is crowdfunding right for you?

Crowdfunding is best for projects with an easily defined and specific end point; people feel more comfortable supporting projects that have tangible goals. If your project is open-ended in duration, then a recurring donations model through Patreon or Substack might be a better fit.

With the classic Kickstarter model, the number-one factor in whether you reach your goal is whether you were smart about setting that goal in the first place. It seems obvious, but many people plug in a “nice to have” or otherwise arbitrary number that isn’t based on a realistic calculation of what they might hope to raise given their current reach or network.

Crowdfunding experts typically recommend that you look at the size of your email list and the number of people you reach via social media to determine how much you’re likely to raise. Depending on your average engagement, you can expect a 5–10% response rate on an email list with a good open rate, and around a 1% response rate on social media. That means if you have a following of 1,000 people on social media, you might get 10 people to donate over a 30-day campaign. Those using email service providers should factor in their list’s average open and click rates, which will help with accurate projections. Plan on a median pledge amount of roughly $20–$25 dollars per person.

Before the crowdfunding campaign even begins, you should have a few benefactors lined up who will make donations within the first day after launch—your mom, your best friends, your mentor—whoever would be most likely to offer enthusiastic seed money to the effort. This starting amount, if pledged immediately, inspires confidence for others who will encounter your appeal. Research shows that campaigns that reach 40% of their funding goal within the first day are far more likely to succeed.

Are donations right for you?

Crowdfunding is not appropriate for every type of project. Sometimes, it’s better to pursue donations, whether passively (e.g., add a “tip jar” to your site or newsletter) or more actively as part of a formal program, like Patreon.

As a stellar example of a donations-driven operation, Maria Popova of The Marginalian sustains herself through a combination of donations and affiliate marketing. At her site and in her newsletter, readers are encouraged to donate on an ongoing monthly basis or to make a one-time donation. And she calls her donors “patrons,” making them feel that they’re supporting an important artistic endeavor or cause, not just paying for content.

Literally anyone can put a “donate” button on their site or newsletter by signing up for a PayPal account or joining Substack. It takes little effort, but just having a button doesn’t mean the donations will start rolling in; most writers must be actively posting or distributing content, as in the case of Popova. You can expect the amount of donations to be strongly tied to your website traffic, newsletter subscriber numbers, or overall visibility.

Patreon holds particular appeal for those who write short fiction, poetry, and literary works that are hard to sell or monetize in the traditional literary journal markets, where such work might earn a couple hundred dollars, if that. As part of a patronage effort, such work can be worth much more. Literary novelist Monica Byrne has used Patreon since 2016 to help her create art. But to be successful there, writers must bring their own patrons. Byrne launched her effort around the time her first traditionally published novel came out, when publicity attention was high and people were interested in supporting her. Support doesn’t come out of thin air.

Most authors will tell you that the author-patron relationship is rarely a transactional one; your fans may not be all that interested in having “things,” but rather in supporting your work. Crowdfunding campaigns, on the other hand, can be far more transactional in nature, where you’re on the hook to deliver a project, like a book, by a certain date. Either way, it’s important to treat your fans well and, when appropriate, give them early or exclusive access not available to anyone else. If you don’t know what your fans will get excited about, ask them. Successful patronage efforts involve open and regular communication between author and reader.

To be sure, there can be considerable overlap between patronage and transactional approaches. Still, knowing which way you lean will help you establish the right expectations for your readers—and for yourself.

Exercise

Publishing projects posted on Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and BackerKit are as diverse and varied as writers themselves. Go peruse what’s currently raising funds on any of these platforms. Browse by popularity and see who’s succeeding. Look for clues for why their campaign is successful. Is the author already well-known or published? Does the project target a specific interest community?

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[Week 20] Principles of successful patronage, including crowdfunding