It looks as though I’ll be starting a Patreon campaign soon, which I said I wouldn’t do until everyone and their sister had one, and since everyone and their sister now has one, I should really get my butt in gear. This means planning bonuses to entice readers to donate. Here are a few ideas I’ve been playing around with…
The Return of the Joshsmut
Josh has been married eight times (Mare was both Wife Three and Wife Eight… Look, they’re complicated), so there are seven novellas left in the series. I’d love to do these as some sort of serialized incentive program for Patreon donors, then turn these serials into a finished product for everybody.
The Disasterhouse Blog
This house, man. Today–this very afternoon!!!–a structural engineer will conduct an assessment of what must be done to keep the southern side of the house from collapsing. Guys, this house is literally falling down and the problems keep getting worse. We’re also trapped in it due to financial reasons: what was supposed to be an investment in cute structurally-sound fixer-upper has become a freakin’ nightmare. And we’re forced to live in it!So you can forgive me if I load up the home blog, look at all of the topics that would make a great (for you) update, and think, “NOPE.”
In addition to updating that blog at least once a week, Brown and I have been kicking around the idea of doing a podcast. Or, as he says, “I will happily argue with you in public if it means I get to review new tools.” Patreon donors would have access to this podcast before it goes live.
Speedy’s Kids
Speedy has over fifty kids throughout the United States, and will soon have a couple hundred more in Australia. None of his offspring can talk, and they aren’t quite as bright as he is, but they still have human-level intelligence. I’ve wanted to do a simple one-panel inkwash comic featuring four of these young koalas on Tumblr for ages… Think Chopping Block, only cuter and much, much darker. Patreon donors would have access to each comic before it goes live.
Other Stuff?
I dunno. What do you want from me?
Caveat:
None of this will happen immediately. Kickstarter fulfillment takes priority, and I need to also finish the thank-you gift for people who bought the serialized version of Digital Divide before it went live. Which was over a year ago and… ugh. Anyhow. In my opinion, it’s dickish to ask for more money before fulfilling prior obligations, so I’m at least going to get the bonus gift, the Digital Divide audiobook, and League Night (the .pdf of the Kickstarter bonus story) sent out before putting up a Patreon campaign.
Thank you for reading. Please enjoy these owls.
K.B. SPANGLER 
… sorry, *darker* than ‘Chopping Block’ ?
/me edges away from you very carefully.
He just murders people. He doesn’t devour their essence!
I was just poking through my (admittedly few) people I support on Patreon and wondered if you have one. I am completely on board to throw money at you!
I’m sure this will shock you greatly (hah): I’m ALL in. ESPECIALLY if “ALL in” means more Joshsmut and Speedy’s kids.
I would love to get my hands on more Joshsmut.
All that sounds delightful and I’d be happy to throw more money your way!! Especially Joshsmut!!
Hmmm, this is hard for me, because I have a kinda-promise to myself not to spend more than a $1USD per creator I follow on Patreon (otherwise I’d be broke, and my wife would be asking who these people are I’m throwing my entire month salary at), but I’d be happy to support you to the tune of $1USD/mo per comic – so if you’ve got AGAHF and Speedy’s Kids, then that’s $2USD… but, and I know I’m a bit odd in this, I probably won’t end up reading it on patreon in advance, I’m just using that to pay you for the comics that I’m already consuming.
So, if you turn out more Joshsmut, I’ll buy the book (but probably won’t up my patreon funding to get it early), likewise, the next Rachel Peng book, I’ll buy…
So, I don’t know if this helps motivate you to get on there? Or, if it, in fact, makes you less likely to get on there… but I wanted to say what I’m likely to do.
FWIW, I’m in the same “I’d love to throw a couple bucks a month for the comics your way, and will happily pre-order your novels” boat.
For me, I’d just be happy to get to support you more frequently than buying the novels in ebook and paperback or the occasional Kickstarter. What I’ve notice from the few other Patreons I’ve supported is that the bonuses end up taking more time than they initially think and stall out after a while. It might be prudent to pick something manageable to start out with and scale up from there. That being said, Mmmmm Joshsmut.
Just something to think about.
Yeah, not being able to meet obligations is my biggest fear. I’m already overtaxed and close to the end of what I can do already. That being said, Mmmmmm Joshsmut indeed.
Mmmmmm Joshsmut! I’d certainly like to see more of that!
I would say that Joshsmut should be one of the higher rewards, given how time-intense it is for you to write. It would also be a very gooooood reward 🙂
(That man has MOVES! I want to learn them all!)
For the rest, I’m with Peter + Stephen below: don’t overexert yourself with big-goals-up-front! (Then again, I’m pretty sure you know this already, with the Kickstarter and all. Don’t worry, we’re here for you!)
“Small steps make long journeys” and all that.
I’d support you with a few dollars for nothing but the warm, fuzzy feeling that I’m helping you publish your awesome comic. Continued existence of aGahF is a reward of itself!
I sometimes get the feeling you underestimate what quality work you provide, free of charge, to everyone.
That is some serious philanthropy on your side! Don’t feel bad about not providing anything “extra”.
In fact, having a few “premium” members pay for stuff, thus carrying the operation for the public-at-large is a legitimate business-model!
Jeff Atwood (co-founder of programmer-haven “stack-overflow”) does it; he makes his Discourse and Trello platforms free-for-all, but has some premium customers who are willing to pay for support and some custom features. Those premium customers effectively pay for the “free” hosting for the rest of the world.
Same for Elon Musk with his Tesla Motor Company. The large profit-margin on the Tesla Roadster electric car paid for the research on the Tesla S. the (smaller) margin on the Tesla S currently pays for the research on the Tesla X.
So the early adopters pay it forward for the not-so-wealthy.
Your “Goodwill isn’t to be taken for granted” opinion just shows again that you are a decent person, who will not squander that goodwill.
On top of that, you have shown good business sense in the past, and (like below) your desire to finish what you started.
I believe in you!
Don’t feel too guilty to let some willing “investment angels” support you into a better future position, a position with an AGAHF sticker on every bumper, and a chip in every head!
** This message brought to you by the Cabal for Betterment of AGAHF and Humanity at Large (CaBAHL) **
I would vote that you don’t add too many commitments/rewards too early and instead just open it up to people who love your work and want to support it. I think you’ll be surprised how many people want to pay to support the work you already do, especially if it will help give you the breathing space to produce more of it in the future.
It’s far easier to start off offering nothing but thanks/small rewards and then add big ones later, than it is to have big rewards at the start and feel bad when the inevitable flood of patrons means that you’ve committed to more than you can handle.
That being said, once you have got the breathing space back, I do love the redrawn strips.
PJW
I agree. We just need to be able to send you money.
I signed up for my first Patreon today – Gunnerkrigg Court – and the $2 reward was a “Thank you” and access to all the wallpapers, the $5 was maybe access to the sketch page, and higher amounts involved access to livestreams or sketches. I believe it’s not until the $50 amount that people are getting access to additional work he is doing specifically for the Patreon.
You could always set Joshsmut as a Milestone goal at first, or not offer it (or anything else) at all.
Also – please don’t feel dickish about asking for more money before doing a set amount of work. You’ve been providing us with comics for years, for free and, as a reader of the disasterhouse blog, it’s not like you haven’t had other things going on. If getting a Patreon income will help support the work that you already do, and possibly help provide more, I think people will get behind that.
@Stephen & Peter: It really is appreciated, but I have to complete some of these projects before I start taking money again. Goodwill is not something to take for granted! I’m aiming for launch on the 28th (my birthday).
One of the interesting things I’ve seen in Patreon campaigns is “if I raise (amount X), then I will be able to quit my job and do (creative thing Y) full time, which means that I will be able to produce this lovely creative work more frequently.”
Of course, that wouldn’t necessarily work for *everyone*.