How many of us have Discord servers for our patrons & fans/friends? How do you use the server?
Since the Global Ick hit, I’ve not been able to get readings (which are a good bit of income). I’ve attempted some virtual readings on Discord and had success, but what do you guys think? Is it worth it to do discord readings, or Twitch/YouTube Live?
What do you do for reading your work? And what perks do you find work for your discord server as a writer?
Cheers!
Sapha
If you’re hesitant about it, you could always build an event around it, as a sort of one-time-esque thing to test the waters. If it’s successful, you can play around with introducing it more often. You could also ask for feedback too, to see if there are things to improve if you try doing more.
I did that with a paint along. I had been wanting to try it out, and finally did it. Had a nice build up to it, letting people know the date/time (mentioned it quite in advance, and reminded often), what supplies they’ll need, and what we’d be painting. It went really well, so I’ll likely do more in the future! But I never knew until I tried it how receptive people would be.
Though if you mentioned you tried it before with success, sounds like it could be worth investing in 
I do more art than writing nowadays, but this is how I currently have my channels laid out for my server:
(With some announcement/welcome stuff above that. But these are all the main chatting channels.)
I mostly want people to build friendships, chat, and cheer each other on. With a bit of my own interests mixed in (Like the language learning, politics, etc.)
For perks, I have posted a couple things that are too small to be an actual Patreon post. Just little nothings. Currently only stock photos, but I’m sure I’ll use it for additional things like random updates, sneak peeks, etc. I prefer my Patreon posts to have a bit more polish, so I can use this channel to be more informal. I also added a goal on Patreon for a private critique channel.
You could do similar things with your writing. A channel for small snippets, maybe previews of upcoming Patreon posts. A spot where other writers can chat about techniques or tips. Stuff like that
discord is not to bad really as long as you have active users i have a few outta 26 people but would love more to do watch parties and stuff with i also stream on twitch two but you need the content and time which isnt to to bad if your willing to put the work in you can make it im slowly making it
I haven’t tried making a Discord as I have too few patrons/readers to make it worthwhile. I did do a Facebook Live celebrating my book launch, where I did some readings and answered some questions, and it went really well. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I am considering more live readings in the future, although maybe not patron-only.