thereclusivecartographer
patreon
Proposal: Changes to Payment Model
🕑 Added 2021-08-02 09:04:21 +0000 UTCHi all,
I know what you are thinking, 'With a title like that, how could I not click on this post!?'
The excitement is pretty intoxicating I'll tell you that, but now to business!
As I’m sure you know, at present this Patreon Page is structured on a ‘Per New Release’ basis. Meaning you pay your pledge level every time I release new premium content, normally once per week. This was a great business model to begin with as I was unsure how much time I could devote to map making while still working full time as an animator.
Cut to a year and a half later and the Patreon has grown enormously and has become something I can increasingly put more time into.
With that in mind, I believe now is the time to seriously consider changing over to the ‘Per Month’ payment system. I believe this will simplify things for new patrons, not understanding how much they will be charged is a common question I get asked, and allow me to create more content for you guys.
Below I have detailed why I think switching might be for the best and a list of proposed tiers and prices:
- Simpler financial commitment, it’s one number, you pay it, job done.
- Weekly releases on a given day plus adhoc bonus content
- More accessible content as new patrons will have to pay an joining fee thus reducing the limited but annoying trend of people subbing downloading everything and then cancelling.
- More and varied content as I can devote additional time to mapping because I will have a more reliable income
Proposed Tier Levels
As I release 3-4 times per month on the current system, for the most part the tiers would be restructured to reflect 3 x current pledge levels per month. This will mean that many of you will end up paying slightly less, though those that have capped their spend at 1-2 times will see a small increase.
All rewards will remain the same as stated.
Initiate Mapmakers - Base maps Gridded and Ungridded
Current Uncapped Spend $4 per month
Proposed New Price $5 per month
Journeyman Surveyors - Additional Variants
Current Uncapped Spend $12 per month
Proposed New Price $10 per month - Saving 17%
Master Cartographers - All variants, PSD and Foundry Modules
Current Uncapped Spend $20 per month
Proposed New Price $15 per month - Saving 25%
Curator - Commerical Tier
Current Uncapped Spend $40 per month
Proposed New Price $40 per month
Unchanged
Chief Archivist - Custom Map
Current Uncapped Spend $60 per month
Proposed New Price $60 per month
Unchanged
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I want to emphasize that nothing has been decided yet, at this point I just wanted to get your opinion on the matter and an idea of those for and against, hence the poll.
I appreciate that money is tight for lots of people right now and I want to encourage anyone that has any concerns over this proposed change, should feel free to message me either on Discord or here on Patreon.
Please vote in the poll below and let me what you are thinking.
Have a great day.
Many thanks
George
Comments
Anastasia Williamson
I found your work through google images while looking for a map for a short adventure with my young niece. I didn't really like the idea of signing up for an open-ended commitment for one map, and I did consider that I could commit, get the map, then remove it, but I decided it would be better to let it run for a little while before unsubscribing so I could at least contribute something, and just hope I didn't forget about it. I think for my situation and maybe others like it, it would definitely be better if I could just sign on for a month (giving the payment), then cancel right away if I didn't feel like I needed anything else. That doesn't really help you with a steady long-term income, but it does make sure you get payment, and it gives me an easier way to make sure I'm not subscribing long-term to something when I don't need it long-term.
Auspician
While I enjoyed the option of downloading all of your content immediately upon becoming a member, having an initial fee of around 3x monthly membership seems reasonable and agreeable for the library of content you immediately make available.
