From a design improve to our final spherical of product updates, we’ve been working exhausting this 12 months to make Patreon the very best dwelling to your membership. With that objective in thoughts, we’ve additionally been exploring methods that can assist you achieve extra patrons and preserve them round longer.
However first, with the intention to be sure these concepts profit the total spectrum of creators on Patreon, we’re planning to look at and be taught by means of a sequence of managed checks. Learn on for a preview of our focus areas and the way we method experiments at Patreon.
A concentrate on gaining — and protecting — patrons
We all know that membership progress continues to be a high precedence for a lot of of you. 93% of creators who took the Creator Census this 12 months stated you’d prefer to get extra patrons and develop your Patreon earnings. 45% additionally ranked advertising and marketing and promotion as further help you need most from Patreon.
Based mostly on these indicators, in addition to different information and creator analysis, we began asking two key questions:
- How can we assist potential patrons clearly see the worth of your membership, so that they’re extra seemingly to enroll?
- How can we make it straightforward for potential patrons to enroll and get began, so that they’re extra prone to keep for a second month (and past)?
Within the subsequent few months, you and potential patrons might even see a number of the updates we’re testing to reply these questions. Right here’s a preview of what we’re pondering:
Methods to assist potential patrons clearly see the worth of your membership:
- Video previews and different sharing options – so that you may give followers on and off Patreon a style of the content material they’ll unlock as patrons.
- How tiers are displayed and highlighted – so potential patrons can extra simply perceive the worth of every tier as they select one.
Methods to enhance patrons’ preliminary expertise, so that they keep round longer:
- Onboarding moments that spotlight the very best of your advantages – together with submit web page design and onboarding emails, so new patrons can rapidly and simply have interaction together with your greatest content material.
- Less complicated signup and checkout experiences – so patrons can begin having fun with your membership sooner.
When you discover modifications in any of those areas, let our workforce know what you assume. You probably have concepts for enhancements to check, share them right here!
How we take a look at
Very similar to creativity itself, testing new concepts takes time and repeated drafts till we attain a closing product. (And even then, we’re nonetheless tweaking and enhancing!) When you’re curious, right here’s how we method experimentation at Patreon.
- Begin with targets. On this case, we wish to assist flip extra web page guests into patrons, and preserve extra patrons subscribing previous their first month. Based mostly on previous analysis and information (together with the function request kind, group conversations, help tickets, surveys, and extra), we kind concepts for a way we might obtain simply that.
- Type and take a look at hypotheses. A speculation is an assumption that we are able to take a look at. For instance:
- If we visually spotlight a tier to potential patrons, then they’ll be extra seemingly to enroll in that tier.
- If we provide potential patrons the power to see richer previews of patron-only content material, then they’ll be extra prone to subscribe to entry that content material.
- We then take a look at the speculation “within the wild” for a portion of potential patrons. All through the take a look at, we monitor each metrics we wish to change (for instance, whether or not there’s a rise within the share of holiday makers to your web page who enroll) and associated metrics to verify the take a look at isn’t having unintended unwanted side effects.
- Assessment outcomes and observations. As soon as we’ve collected sufficient information, we analyze whether or not we are able to confidently attribute the outcomes to the particular modifications we examined, somewhat than pure likelihood. Typically the information confirms what we had been pondering. Different instances, it surprises us with an surprising perception.
- Iterate primarily based on what we’ve realized. If a take a look at is inconclusive or unsuccessful, we’ll refine what we’re testing. We might use a distinct format, wording, or shade, or return to the drafting board. If the outcomes look promising, we might develop the take a look at to a wider viewers. As soon as we now have confidence that what we’re testing will profit nearly all of creators, we’ll roll it out.
Share your concepts
We’re excited to share our learnings with you as we take a look at, so keep tuned for periodic updates within the subsequent few months! And in case you have methods you’ve examined (or are curious to check) which have helped you entice and preserve new patrons, tell us right here.
