For some of us on Patreon, we're not exactly hoping or expecting that sort of success, either. I forget how my attention was first drawn to it, probably through Errant Signal actually, but now that YouTube's content claims system has gone super paranoid, I knew it would see an explosion of content creators looking for support since YouTube's partners system would no longer be reliable. Lo and behold, I was right.
I think the important thing is for Patreon to be an option, not a plan. If you have a good enough following, then sure, you'll probably be able to get enough out of it, but you're essentially asking people to pay a subscription to your content, which is very different from Kickstarter's sort-of-a-risky-investment-preorder system. There aren't a lot of people willing to put into that, especially with so many creatives, including well-knowns, vying for your dollar.
The second important thing is for Patreon to redesign their website so they aren't doing the same thing YouTube and Twitch does, which is putting everyone that's already a success or well known front and center. Or at least trying to figure out metrics in an Amazon like fashion. That side is doing little to really help the unknown yet creative folks, as, just as Twitter, any new entries can get shoved to the very bottom of the feed between hours to minutes. Meanwhile whenever I hit the page, I'm reminded that I'm competing with Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. Gee, thanks, Patreon! Way to lift my spirits by drawing everyone's attention to someone already getting over $7,800 per month.
