Would / could Patreon (or something similar) work for Thurrot.com?

Would / could Patreon (or something similar) work for Thurrot.com?

Ultimately, it’s for Paul, Brad and Mehedi to decide of course, just curious about everyone’s thoughts on this.

Context: just watched a post on Youtube by Lindsay Ellis and apparently Patreon works for her (afaik), which made me wonder…

(if this question has been asked before, please let know, I couldn’t find it on the forums).

Conversation 9 comments

  • lvthunder

    Premium Member
    01 July, 2019 - 7:14 pm

    <p>With the model they have now they get to keep all the money (minus the credit card fees) and not give Patreon a percentage of it. What do you think would be the advantage of going with Patreon?</p>

    • Bill Strong

      01 July, 2019 - 8:37 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#439033">In reply to lvthunder:</a></em></blockquote><p>Not to mention, they work for another company, and are not doing the same thing as these other creatives.</p>

  • garyharrison

    Premium Member
    01 July, 2019 - 10:39 pm

    <p>Possibly. As someone who reads the site for personal satisfaction, I find the price a bit steep, so i don't subscribe. If I were in the industry, that would be no problem, but I'm not. I support other things like Daily Tech News Show via Patreon. I wonder if they would make up in volume what they lose in price.</p>

    • illuminated

      02 July, 2019 - 2:47 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#439064">In reply to GaryHarrison:</a></em></blockquote><p>I also have subscription fatigue. How many more subscriptions one can handle? Internet, cell, amazon, netflix, patreon, hulu, hbo, magazines, newspapers, MS office, adobe… A man's got to know his limitations.</p>

  • wunderbar

    Premium Member
    01 July, 2019 - 11:15 pm

    <p>why would they use Patreon when they already have a premium model they run in house?</p>

  • BigM72

    02 July, 2019 - 6:16 am

    <p>I don't know about Patreon but I would be interested in a pay-per-article model. So I only pay for what I'm interested in reading (which also gives Paul &amp; Co a steer as to what the market wants).</p>

  • jwpear

    Premium Member
    02 July, 2019 - 8:33 am

    <p>I'm pretty happy with the subscription model that's in place. I don't see the need to get a 3rd party involved, but I understand some might find the current subscription price steep. Would Patreon change that?</p><p><br></p><p>What if there were an additional subscription where folks could pay for a standard subscription that simply removes ads, but doesn't allow access to the premium content (and maybe also excludes forums)? Would this meet reader and Paul/team needs?</p><p><br></p><p>How might you pay on a per article basis? Not sure I like that, but it is interesting.</p><p><br></p><p>When I mull this problem over, I simply can't pay $30-60 per year for every site I read. It just doesn't fit the budget, so I have to be selective about who I give my money to. I honestly don't want to pay per article (that feels like toll roads to me and it just becomes a lot of friction). It also feels like this would ultimately be more expensive and too easy to exceed the budget.</p><p><br></p><p>If we're rethinking the compensation model, I suppose ads need to be re-evaluated too. I don't object to ads as a way for writers to help earn a living. I do object to intrusive ads–those that change the layout of content while you're reading/scrolling, those that basically yell at you (flash, move, block the content, and other stupid stuff), those that I have to wait on to see the primary content rendered correctly, etc. When I read a physical newspaper or magazine, I don't mind the ads. They don't shout at me and they don't block what I'm trying to read. Yes, I may have to page through a few pages of ads to get to the content, but it isn't actively obtrusive like digital ads. I also don't have to worry about those ads infecting my property/machines.</p>

  • karlinhigh

    Premium Member
    02 July, 2019 - 4:33 pm

    <p>Ben Thompson's stratechery.com has a monthly subscription option. Last I checked, it was $100/year or $10/month.</p>

  • Bats

    02 July, 2019 - 9:16 pm

    <p>Why this suggestion? Who among this community is (in Thurrott's words) "Cash Strapped" where they can't afford $4.50/month?</p><p><br></p>

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