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Polling: Subscription Services VS Discord
3 months ago
[UPDATE]: cellar-whales (DeviantArt) offered a very good compromise, as well as an alternate option, so I have posted an updated version of the poll to reflect the new choices (DeviantArt): https://www.deviantart.com/the-grea.....-tiers-8653942
Redirect subscribers to Discord to get their tier-based roles/ rewards
The original option (see PROS and CONS below the update).
Post rewards to all tiers; change tier access at the end of each month
The "new rewards only" tier(s) will only ever have access to that month's rewards. Once the month is over, the rewards tiers will be changed to only be available to higher tiers that have long-term access.
PROS: Doesn't force anyone to get a Discord account.
CONS: Lower tiers only get 1 month at a time; any rewards that come out near the end of the month may get missed. As opposed to Discord, where you get access to all rewards from the time where you become a member, as long as you remain a member.
Make rewards available to all, but give higher tiers early access
Flips the original idea on it's head. I'm honestly unsure if people would prefer this to the original idea, so I'm including it here out of curiosity. It would remove the opportunity for low-tier members to participate in livestreams, give higher tiers first dibs on subscriber-exclusive adoptables, and would make rewards like bases more valuable, but only for the time that it remains exclusive to higher tiers. If this option gets chosen, I would likely keep art progress available to all; Early access to early access WIPs seem redundant to me.
- - -
I've already hit my first snag; looks like it's new poll time (DeviantArt): https://www.deviantart.com/the-grea.....iscord-8653870
"Regarding new rewards VS access to everything tiers: It seems that the only way I can set this up is through Discord."
1. Redirect subscribers to Discord to get their tier-based roles/ rewards.
2. Scrap the separate tiers idea and keep patrons off of Discord.
3. Actually, there is another way to set this up... (please tell me).
I thought for sure that Patreon had the option to limit certain tiers to only seeing new rewards, but thus far, have been unable to find it. It's the same with Ko-Fi, and I doubt DA has the option, either. I was racking my brain to find out where the idea could have come from, when I remembered that this was a Discord feature! That's where I remembered it from. All 3 services allow you to connect a Discord server so this feature is still theoretically possible. However, I have mixed feelings about dealing with subscriptions this way...
Either way, I have to make this decision early on, and won't have much wiggle room to change it once I've decided. Once I start posting, I won't be able to take those posts back without angering everyone who's paid to see them.
PROS:
- I'd theoretically only have to update one place with exclusive content.
- I'd be able to easily set up and manage channels dedicated to adoptables and open commissions, as well as sales. Charity adoptables in particular complicate sales on subscription sites, as I don't want any money to go through me or any part of charity sales to be deducted from the service platform.
- I'd have extra freedom to play around with hierarchies, + I know Discord and have some previous experience setting up servers.
CONS:
- It forces everyone who wants my exclusive content to have a Discord account. I'm not sure if that's a problem with my particular fanbase, but I don't want to exclude anyone who is uncomfortable going through the extra steps.
- The subscription services essentially become a gateway to the Discord server, and don't contain much, if anything in words of content themselves. This may or may not effect traffic/ interest since you can't really see in advance how much you'll be unlocking by subscribing.
- I'm not sure if the price difference between the tiers warrants changing the subscription model.
Please vote in the poll either on DA or in the comments, it means a lot and will have a huge effect on how I handle DA, Ko-Fi, and Patreon subscriptions moving forward. In the meantime, I'll continue to think on it in my own time.
Redirect subscribers to Discord to get their tier-based roles/ rewards
The original option (see PROS and CONS below the update).
Post rewards to all tiers; change tier access at the end of each month
The "new rewards only" tier(s) will only ever have access to that month's rewards. Once the month is over, the rewards tiers will be changed to only be available to higher tiers that have long-term access.
PROS: Doesn't force anyone to get a Discord account.
CONS: Lower tiers only get 1 month at a time; any rewards that come out near the end of the month may get missed. As opposed to Discord, where you get access to all rewards from the time where you become a member, as long as you remain a member.
Make rewards available to all, but give higher tiers early access
Flips the original idea on it's head. I'm honestly unsure if people would prefer this to the original idea, so I'm including it here out of curiosity. It would remove the opportunity for low-tier members to participate in livestreams, give higher tiers first dibs on subscriber-exclusive adoptables, and would make rewards like bases more valuable, but only for the time that it remains exclusive to higher tiers. If this option gets chosen, I would likely keep art progress available to all; Early access to early access WIPs seem redundant to me.
- - -
I've already hit my first snag; looks like it's new poll time (DeviantArt): https://www.deviantart.com/the-grea.....iscord-8653870
"Regarding new rewards VS access to everything tiers: It seems that the only way I can set this up is through Discord."
1. Redirect subscribers to Discord to get their tier-based roles/ rewards.
2. Scrap the separate tiers idea and keep patrons off of Discord.
3. Actually, there is another way to set this up... (please tell me).
I thought for sure that Patreon had the option to limit certain tiers to only seeing new rewards, but thus far, have been unable to find it. It's the same with Ko-Fi, and I doubt DA has the option, either. I was racking my brain to find out where the idea could have come from, when I remembered that this was a Discord feature! That's where I remembered it from. All 3 services allow you to connect a Discord server so this feature is still theoretically possible. However, I have mixed feelings about dealing with subscriptions this way...
Either way, I have to make this decision early on, and won't have much wiggle room to change it once I've decided. Once I start posting, I won't be able to take those posts back without angering everyone who's paid to see them.
PROS:
- I'd theoretically only have to update one place with exclusive content.
- I'd be able to easily set up and manage channels dedicated to adoptables and open commissions, as well as sales. Charity adoptables in particular complicate sales on subscription sites, as I don't want any money to go through me or any part of charity sales to be deducted from the service platform.
- I'd have extra freedom to play around with hierarchies, + I know Discord and have some previous experience setting up servers.
CONS:
- It forces everyone who wants my exclusive content to have a Discord account. I'm not sure if that's a problem with my particular fanbase, but I don't want to exclude anyone who is uncomfortable going through the extra steps.
- The subscription services essentially become a gateway to the Discord server, and don't contain much, if anything in words of content themselves. This may or may not effect traffic/ interest since you can't really see in advance how much you'll be unlocking by subscribing.
- I'm not sure if the price difference between the tiers warrants changing the subscription model.
Please vote in the poll either on DA or in the comments, it means a lot and will have a huge effect on how I handle DA, Ko-Fi, and Patreon subscriptions moving forward. In the meantime, I'll continue to think on it in my own time.
