7 Smart Ways To Use Patreon With YouTube & Make a Living! (2019)

Today I´m going to talk about how you can use Patreon with YouTube and monetize your content through effective crowdfunding strategies.

In case you didn´t know Patreon is one of the largest and most popular crowdfunding platforms there is, and it´s where big YouTube channels have decided to set up an account in order to recieve funds from fans.

That being said, there are a few things you can do to make a successful transition between YouTube and Patreon but still provide lots of value for viewers who are willing to support you.

Let´s start!

How Much Money Can You Make?

A lot it´s being said on how much money you can actually make on Patreon but the truth is that it all depends on the price (or different tiers) you set and how engaged your audience is, among other factors.

Now, if you want to break down a specific scenario let´s take Matt D´avella´s channel who has grown a large following of more than a million fans with well over a thousands of those supporting his work on Patreon.

(By the way… I am one of those Patreons)

So, I get to know a few “secrets” about his work and life, which is (in part) what I´m going to share with you and the reason why I´ve decided to write this post.

If you take his example, you can get a good idea of how much money you can make on Patreon if you are REALLY successful:

He offers three prices to get access to his exclusive content, the more you pay the more you get basically.

You can choose to pay $4, $8, or $12 U.S dollars, being the last price the most chosen by Patreon members according to what Matt says on his “secret” vlog, which I have access to. 😉

So, if you take those almost 2,000 Patreon and say that just half of them pay the highest tier ($12 bucks) and the rest it´s divided between $4 and $8, you got yourself a salary of $12.000-20.000.

Now, of course I don´t have the actual numbers, but since his channel is so massive, and he has that many Patreons for a low and very accessible price, I think it´s fair to say it is a good estimate.

How the heck can YOU do the same? That´s what I mean going to talk about next… keep reading.

1. Personal Branding Matters

One of the first thing you should think of is branding.

You can easily distinguish the big YouTube channels from the middle and little ones, and it´s not just due to their subscriber count, it is because of their branding!

That IS exactly what Matt has done with his channel by aiming for a specific group of people but with a message that can resonate with almost everyone: “having less but pursuing a life of meaning“.

In fact, his entire channel surrounds the idea of Minimalism in one way or another, although nowadays he´s trying to touch other important topics such as creativity, productivity, and such.

You should try to do the same, find you why, what´s the purpose of your channel, what you want to say, what are the core principles that guide your videos.

Also, working on a specific layout for your videos, like Matt has done with his color grading on post-production is another great way to stand out.

2. Give Value Upfront

If there´s anything that won´t ever change when it comes to online success is that providing value upfront so that people pay attention to what you have to say is not negotiable.

You want to give as much as you can, however you can, whenever you can, and for absolute free of charge.

In fact.

You´ll find that THIS is the type of advice that you´ll get from some of the most successful entrepreneurs out there, like Gary Vaynerchuk, who has been preaching this since he got first started on the platform.

Now, you should also ask for something in return, and that is what he talks about on his book “Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook” but I´m going to talk about more on this later.

So, if you want to stand out, get people´s attention, and make them to actually WANT to support your work, whether that is through Patreon or any other platform, you must provide value upfront without asking anything in return… at first.

3. Build Curiosity & Convert

Once you´ve set yourself apart from the rest by building a strong brand, and you´ve been providing tons of great value to people through high-quality videos now it´s time for this step.

You want to start mentioning your Patreon account, take it slow, and simply let people know that you have one.

Now, you can pitch to those who want to learn exclusive tips and tricks that make up your content, how you create your videos, maybe get insight on your creative process, or simply get access to your secret vlog.

One thing I would recommend you to do is to show short clips of your Patreon content when you talk about your account.

You just need to make sure that you use an interesting section of your video and briefly talk about what type of content they´ll find if they support you on Patreon.

Again, Matt´s example is great, he does not push people to his Patreon account, in fact, he usually goes through his entire video without even mentioning he has one until he gets to the end.

4. Make Sure To Deliver

Now that you´ve done a great job at leading people to your Patreon account and they are actually interested in what you offer and want to support your work you want to MAKE SURE you deliver what you´ve promised.

You should try to address popular topics, keep and/or improve the quality of your videos, and share the “secret sauce” of what makes your channel grow.

Last time, I promise! Matt D´avella does this rather well on his Patreon account by providing you the different types of content you´ll get if you sign up.

So, even if you are not that interested in his secret podcast and you want to learn more about his filmmaking techniques you´ll get the whole package for an affordable price and that way you´ll be able to choose.

You can divide your Patreon content into different tags or categories so that people will find what they signed for.

But.

What if you don´t know what people actually want to see more of?

A Simple Yet Effective Tip!

If you don´t know WHAT to actually offer on your Patreon account you can use the comment section to do some research and find out what people want to learn more about.

You can even directly ask them, find out what they want and how they want it, which is pure genius and 100% effective as it delivers what´s already been asked for.

Plus! It´s another great way to build long term relationships with your fans and increase engagement as well as exposure on YouTube as comments are one of those critical social signals the algorythm tends to look for.

5. Optimize Your Offer

This means that you should try to constantly update your offer by uploading more videos and better content as you go.

One thing I didn´t mention before is that Patreon works as a membership site, which means that people have to pay every single month to get access to your content.

So, if you want to encourage peolpe to stay as Patreons (or come back once they are gone) you NEED to keep up with your uploading schedule.

Now, it doesn´t have to be as constant as your YouTube channel, it might be as simple as uploading once or twice every month, but the good news is that it´ll make your Patreon account more and more compelling as it will offer lots of newer, exclusive videos for new comers.

The bottom line?

You should keep a Patreon uploading schedule and try to come up with new ideas that will offer great value to your audience so that they want to keep supporting you.

6. Don´t Forget to Ask!

One of the final steps you want to take (and don´t forget about) is to ask.

What do I mean by that?

Well, although you don´t want to push people to sign up to your account you should encourage them to support your work and let them know they can get tons of value from your Patreon content.

Now, this should be done after you´ve built a solid base of good videos that have proved to be of great value to your fans and you are seen as a trustworthy content creator within your niche/industry.

You don´t want to seem desperate or too eager for them to sign up, you should simply follow the steps I´ve described above and be patient.

Work on your brand, give lots of value upfront, build curiosity, deliver what you promised, and keep optimizating, that´s it!

7. Show Appreciation

Last but not least, you want to show appreciation for your fans.

In fact.

Patreon itself provides a template that you can set up every time someone decides to support you by becoming a member, and lets you craft a personal message for each new Patreon you get.

So, make sure to show your appreciation in every step of the way and let people know how glad and honored you feel for them to help you out to keep up your good work!

As it is a membership site that you want to grow over time and it´ll take months and even years to become a sustainable income source you want to keep your Patreons happy and feel that they actually contribute to your work.

The Digital Hustler

How To Use Patreon With YouTube & Make a Living!