Starting a Cosplay Patreon? The reasons why I almost quit

OK, I have been in the Patreon game for well over a year now… And you know what? I still don’t think Patreon is for me. Yeah, I am making “some money” and considering my humble number of followers on social media, and compared to the big creators, I am doing OK I suppose. But I wish someone had told me a few things before I started.

For those of you who live under a rock I will briefly explain what Patreon is. Patreon is a membership platform that connects content creators with fans and supporters. Followers or patrons will receive rewards in exchange for a monthly fee (it varies).

Do you really want a Patreon?

It sounds like a good deal but, do you really want a Patreon? Before you answer this question, think about it for a moment. Actually, let me help you, probably the short answer is no… But wait! Let me explain myself! Patreon is a platform that needs a lot of time and effort. It is literally like having a full time job. It could easily become a burden unless you are absolutely sure you can commit to it. I just want to give you a fair warning early in the game. Before you open your Patreon ask yourself these questions:

• Do you have a large base of followers?
• Do they usually interact with you and your content?
• Are you making at least a new cosplay every month?
• Have you got enough monthly content to fill your Patreon?
• Do you have enough time to create, edit and post rewards in Patreon?
• Is there anything unique you can offer to your followers?
• Do you often get messages asking to see more of your content?
• Have you got other means of supporting yourself in case it fails?

If you answered yes to most of these questions, probably you are ready to go! However, if no was the main answer, you may want to take a step back and think about opening your Patreon at a later date. Personally, even after being in the game for many years, I don’t think I was ready when I opened mine! But you will never be ready enough until you give it a go.

The price to pay

Of course, Patreon is not going to share all its awesome features for free. It needs to make money somehow, and it is going to take a good chunk of your money. The biggest chunk goes to the Platform fees and how much they get will depend on the plan you choose (Lite, Pro or Premium). They will also keep some money every time one of your patrons makes a pledge, the Payment Processing fee. Both of those will be charged for each patron every month. The next fee is to transfer the money to your account, this is the Payout fee, that costs money too. Finally, if your patrons happens to use a different currency than your one, which is actually quite likely, you will also be charged a fee.

Did I mention that they also charge VAT and stuff directly to your patrons? Yeah… It’s starting to get pricey.

The table above is just an estimate. You will be able to access the exact figures when you choose your preferences. In particular, the payout fees greatly vary depending on your currency.

Let’s have an example taken from my own Patreon in the UK when I first started, if I have 2 patrons, one pays £3 and another £6 a month, I should get £9 a month but… £9 – 8% – 3.4% – £0.35 – 2.5% -£1 = £6.4. Basically Patreon was taking almost one third of my cake. And here it doesn’t even include the VAT my patrons may have been charged on top of my Tier Price! Doesn’t look like a great deal to me.

But let’s think that you actually get something like 20 Patrons which pay well, which is a good start, and you are making like £150 a month, which is fairly good for Patreon (not like I make that). That’s ok you may think. Or is it? How much are you offering on it? How much did it take you to prepare all the content? And the materials you used? What about the photoshoot? How many hours did you spend just uploading things to Patreon and creating files? If you were working for a company, would you accept that kind of money for the time you spent? I can tell you, in general I post almost daily. And I make new Cosplays every month, and photos, and tutorials, cosplay for me is a full time job, and I do spend a lot of time of my day just doing files for my Patreon and believe me, when I was working I was able to make that money in 2 days virtually just having to seat on a chair for a few hours, which takes me to the next point.

Preassure

Baby, if you can’t handle the pressure, you better get ready. Because this is going to get underwater.

As I mentioned before, when I first started I only had a couple of followers on Patreon. Which was kinda nice! Of course they were my friends so if one day I couldn’t post or if I was gone for a month for personal reasons, nothing happened. The real pressure started when I actually started getting new followers, and oh my, how it changed.

I found myself having to post daily, trying to think of new rewards to attract people. Getting as many pictures, and sketches, and videos and behind the scenes as I could. Setting myself stupid unachievable goals and falling short each time. Taking a holiday meant missing deadlines and followers, having a family emergency meant having to catch up. And being late for something lead to disappointment for everyone. I had quit my job to be free and now I was more stressed than ever.

My patrons in general are always very kind and forgiveful, and understand that I am human. But there was the occasional feedback that left you cold and hollow inside. All that work you were doing wasn’t enough…

Why carry on with Patreon?

I do not have a good answer for this. The most accurate would be, I’m stubborn and I don’t like to give up.

I would love my Patreon to become a hub where like-minded people can hang out and learn together. In where I can share the most tiny details of my Cosplays without getting lost in a sea of social media updates. And somewhere where you can find help to make your own cosplays even if I posted my own take on the same build years before.

Having Patreon is exhausting, I am always busy and always thinking of sharing new content. Even if you are the one patron that was there for 5 days and decided I wasn’t active enough. I mean, instant access to 183 posts is not going to be enough for some people. But that is fine.

I think from now on I am going to take it easy. And for me, taking it easy doesn’t mean slow down with my cosplays. I’m having a blast and that’s not likely to happen. However, I am going to accept me for how I am. I am sometimes late. I tend to put too much into my plate and I work a lot, but sometimes I need a rest too. Sometimes I get distracted from big builds to make little silly dresses, but I always come back on track. And above all, I always keep my promises.

If you can accept me for who I am, I will be waiting with open arms. And if not, try finding a better deal somewhere else. I bet you won’t find it.

Do you like my posts? Remember you can support my blog in many ways, using my affiliate links, buying me a Ko-fi, or visiting my Cosplay Store! Following me on my Social Media and sharing my posts helps too! With your help I can create more cosplays, articles and tutorials to share with you!