Tag: Patreon

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About Toi

It’s time to bloom!

Just a head’s up… I’m going to talk about my Patreon plans for the next week. After that, you’ll never hear about it again unless you want to be part of it. With that said, I’m so excited to share what I’m doing.

So, hope you saw my other post related to this, but if not, check out The Dreaded Newsletter: part 1 and part 2 here. Needless to say, Patreon is not a newsletter and I don’t expect people who’ve been following me for free for years to all of a sudden start paying for my content. Everything I’ve always done for free, I will continue to do for free.

This Patreon page is something new. This project is an opportunity for me to create something for someone else, a chance to create something with someone else, and a chance to help others create something they’ve always wanted to.

My intent is to start with family, friends, and associates to build a community and hopefully grow from there. It is my hope to share my process with a community that’s invested in my success. I want to share my strengths and weaknesses as I strive to entertain. I want to share positive and negative critiques that come along the way and I want to take reader feedback seriously as I strive to create stories that readers want to read.

And while I don’t claim to be a master of anything, I’ve been writing, blogging, publishing, creating video content, and more for over ten years and feel that I have insights to offer someone just starting out. I believe I can help others avoid mistakes I’ve made and teach a few things I’m actually pretty good at. If nothing else I can point someone in the right direction to find all the experts and sources I lean on every day.

This is not something I plan to do for a few months to see if it works out. This is something I plan to pursue moving forward. I’m excited about the possibilities. I’m excited about the possibility to bloom as a creator in a way I never imagined.

Below you’ll find the introduction video that will appear on my Patreon page when it launches on January 1st. I’ll be back tomorrow to tell you, more specifically, about what I’ll be offering to my patrons.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter

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About Toi Newsletter

The Dreaded Newsletter part 2: Mistakes Were Made

You ever have one of those moments when you think something really cool is about to happen and you’re really excited, but then you find out it’s not what you expected? That’s what’s happening to me right now, but it’s mostly my own fault and I can totally accept that.

So, in my last post, I talked about my scheme to develop a Patreon page (which I still plan to do) instead of a newsletter. I had it all planned out but I didn’t have all the right information. Plus, I made some pretty broad assumptions along the way.

Patreon isn’t new to me. I participated in one a few years ago as part of a group effort. Needless to say, the platform has changed a lot since then and I didn’t take that into consideration. Then, I cited an article, that while very informative, was a bit misleading in its use of the idea “pay what you want.” Also, I came across a Patreon creator letting potential patrons know they could simply follow them for now if they weren’t ready to become a paid patron. It was totally my assumption that came with some form of benefit to the potential patron.

Basically, a feature that used to exist no longer exists and it throws my whole plan off. You can no longer offer content for free on the platform. And giving people the chance to follow a patron just means that person will see that creator’s profile whenever they happen to visit their own profile page.

So much for avoiding a newsletter. Time to come up with a Plan B that helps me develop my Patreon community ’cause I’m still moving on with that.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter

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About Toi Newsletter

The Dreaded Newsletter

Everyone, all the experts, and even the newbies keep telling me that an email list and or newsletter is the key to creator success and marketing. I’ve had newsletters before, and they were a headache and a complete disaster. I honestly didn’t know what to do with a newsletter or how to build an audience with it, but I’ve learned a lot over the years and think I get it now.

Now, here’s the problem I’m faced with. What service to use and how to make the process part of my creativity and not just another task to do? How do I make this process accessible to all with minimal cost? And how to address the potential for growth? So, what I write next may sound a bit crazy, but hear me out.

I’ve decided to set up a Patreon instead of a newsletter, and here’s why.

Click here to learn more about the platform.

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-Readers and fans can follow a Patreon easier than they can sign up for most email lists and it’s FREE. People who follow will have access to anything I post publicly.

-It keeps me from having to manage an email list. Pretty sure Patreon takes care of all that.

-It’s a platform build on the intent to create. If someone decides to upgrade from follower to supporter, they will do so with the clear expectation of the various kinds of content they will see. I don’t have to worry about whether I’m sharing something that some of my contacts want to see but not others.

-It’s a platform built for financial and community growth.

Well, if you haven’t said it out lout yet, go ahead. Yes, this is an odd little experiment.

Worst case scenario, I gather a bunch of followers who never upgrade to financial supporters and I have access to a community who’s rooting me on. That doesn’t sound so bad.

Best case scenario, some of my followers become financial supporters and tell some of their friends and family about what I’m offering. Sounds like a win-win to me.

I’ll be blogging more about this process in the coming days and weeks.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter