Replaceable Brands

Why use services like Patreon?

Today philosopher and neurologist Sam Harris deleted his Patreon account. Patreon is a membership platform that allows creatives to receive ongoing financial support. It’s a way to pay patronage to the artists you admire, similar to what the Medicis did in the Renaissance.

When I first heard of Patreon I thought about setting one up for my fiction stories, but didn’t. Any website can do exactly the same thing Patreon does. PayPal and Stripe offer the same subscription options. Plus, there’s no middleman taking your money. It made me wonder how this brand will survive.

From what I can tell is they’ve dedicated themselves in raising their brand awareness. More people today know what a Patreon is compared to 2013 when the company launched. It also provides a social network of sorts that shows other people using their service. So what you pay for is the brand recognition and potential spillover from other patrons, however, I wouldn’t rely on that at all. When Kickstarter launched everyone thought it was a wealthy network of people who would throw money at anything. This turned out not to be the case.

People fund what they admire, that’s what makes them a true fan. Sam Harris switched his website to accept subscriptions now. I’m sure his loyal fans have already started donating.

Brands don’t last forever. They eventually are replaced. As the new year approaches it’s worth evaluating your brand and see if it’s replaceable. If it is, it might be time to change.

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