With countless new platforms being released every day, creators are often faced with needing to move their audiences onto a new platform. That might be Patreon, Facebook, Tumblr, etc.
I’d love to learn more about how you went about introducing the platform to your fans and any tips you have for other creators going through the same thing.
Please note that your response may be published in a blog post with a link to your Patreon page. 
I did mine a little differently. I only had a Deviantart page that I’d all but abandoned and had less than 100 followers. I started up my Patreon, a new Deviantart, Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook page, WordPress blog, and Instagram all at the same time. Patreon has the bulk of material and I post there first. I use each of the other social platforms for a different part of the process and direct fans to Patreon to see everything, so if they visit my Patreon because of some artwork I just posted on DA they will see several newer pieces.
I’ve heard several people say not to start a Patreon until you have a significant social media following elsewhere, but I am really pleased to have 19 patrons after a little over a year with virtually no following. It may not be the best way to go, but it can be done if you are patient.
Hey @ellie I think the real key for me has been creating, maintaining, and growing a mailing list. As things have changed over the years having the mailing list has allowed me to communicate quickly, clearly, and consistently with my audience and “fans” regardless of where I’ve moved to, or expanded to. Without question this has been the single greatest investment of my time and money I’ve made.
Hello everyone! This week I’ve started to make teasers from vocal/music improvisations that I share only on patreon to share them publicly. I don’t know how it will work out but I’m very happy with the idea - with a teaser, I only share publicly a bit (on facebook and soundcloud) and, eventually it might work as a nice (and non-invasive) promoter of my patreon page. And readding your idea, I will definitely try to include the mailing list medium as well, @jody 
Thanks!
@DiogoTomas if you haven’t already and need some help building your mailing list I’d be glad to share with you what has worked well for me. It’s a bit of an art in itself, but can be done.
Share with me too, please!
@jody , every tip will be very welcome! Thank you
Sounds like a system that works! Thanks for sharing, @Lochy.
This is incredibly helpful, @jody. Thank you for sharing!
Yes @ the email list suggestion!
Also - Mention it a lot!
I stick the link to Patreon in my email signature and in my newsletters at the bottom: “Do you like the content I create? Consider supporting me making more for as little as a $1 per month.” type of thing.
I change up the wording every once in awhile or it’s position in my emails (so it looks “new” and people don’t get content fatigue on that line & ignore it), but it’s always there.
I have a link on my main website’s navigation that goes to a blog post about what it is and why it’s a thing.
I’ve started mentioning it in workshops/classes, in my Facebook group, on my other social media pages, etc. I have found that lots of people who would support my Patreon just don’t know it exists, so you just gotta tell them about it. Talk about it. A lot.
And that really goes for any platform I might start using. When I started using Instagram, I mentioned it everywhere else, tied some content to it, etc., etc. Same thing! Creatives don’t like to talk about stuff because they feel it’s pushy - but not everyone who likes your stuff sees all your things, so you need to keep talking about it. One email or one Facebook post ain’t gonna do it!
I absolutely agree with this. You can’t just mention it once on each platform and hope that’s gonna do it. Artists have to be their own PR managers. If you hired someone to handle your PR and they only mentioned you on FB one time, you’d fire them because you know that won’t work. Same thing goes if you paid for a commercial and it only aired one time. Yet for some reason I’ve heard several creators ask why their Patreon doesn’t have any patrons after doing just that. You should be celebrating every creation and no one’s gonna come to your party if you don’t send out invitations.
@kenna , thanks for the suggestion on changing up the wording/position. I think I will try some new ways to say things so it’s not tuned out.
You should be celebrating every creation and no one’s gonna come to your party if you don’t send out invitations.
SO true. I get it. As creatives, we feel pushy when we talk about the things we make a lot. But you have to! Make it a conscious effort. When I first started, I actually scheduled sharing/mentioning my Patreon in various ways on my Google Calendar to help remind me to do it - like a To-Do list item so I couldn’t avoid it.
@Lochy, you are very welcome! I find that when the clicks drop on my Patreon link in those emails, it’s time to change up the wording or position. It’s easy to start ignoring something that is always the same.