Patreon memberships vs. website memberships

I've been a Patreon patron for many years but not at all in the crafting community. I think scrapaddict702 used to be part of the Inkie Quill patreon scheme. From what I remember, she really loved the content Adele produced and thought it was worth the monthly membership cost but she isn't around here much these days. Maybe she'll get a notification for being tagged and can hop in to let you know what she thought/thinks of Adele's Patreon content herself.

I am considering doing another season with Caylee Grey's Get Messy community but that's focused more on art journaling and mixed media creativity. I've really liked the get-busy-with-messy-creativity approach I experienced with them. It was super engaging and really helped me just do stuff and let go of plans, waiting for the right moment to get busy, etc. 

I can't think of anybody I would be inspired enough by to fork out a monthly membership. I'm already paying $15 per month for Photoshop and $15 per month for 2TB iCloud (both for scrapbooking) not to mention Netflix, Foxtel, Amazon Prime etc etc and I just cannot justify any more monthly memberships.

I was a patron of a scrappy person, but she always shares her finished project on instagram, and many of her videos go to YouTube after her patrons get a “first look” so I didn’t feel I was getting the exclusive content I was paying for and dropped it. While I enjoy watching process videos, I don’t need them to figure out how a layout is put together, especially since this scrapper started getting more and more simple in her pages (kinda just slapping them together for the sake of getting something done). I’m also not as inspired by her work anymore.

I was a member of Simple Scrapper, and there is a ton of great content, but I wasn’t able to really keep up. I don’t want to pay for something I’m not taking advantage of.

For both of these,it felt more like an obligation to have to check everything out (especially with the patreon once she started phoning it in) vs being excited to see the new content. It’s like the new “gym membership” - good intentions but if you aren’t using it, you’re just wasting your money. I much prefer to buy one-off classes, where I have long-term access to complete the content at my own pace vs a subscription model. The Scrap Smarter Experience is a wonderful example of that - I thoroughly enjoyed it and have been going back to watch and rewatch on my own schedule. But, I didn’t sign up for the Scrap Happy membership for the same reasons as listed above re: subs, even though it seems like a good community.

I am a patreon (1 or 2 dollars a month) for one scrappy FB group. But I do it mostly to support her not particularly to get content from her. She is starting out and has an every other week online crafty garage sale which I enjoy whether I purchase or not. So that works out for me.

Now, I am considering becoming a patreon for several non crafting YouTube channels that provide me hours of enjoyment with their content. But as far as joining other for scrappy content, I am overloaded with the free stuff I can get. I think you have to evaluate just how much the content provided means to you to make the decision.

I've done Awesome Ladies and did enjoy but recently dropped it. I like what Kristin is doing but I just wasn't using it enough. I will say she has it set up really easy to sub and stop whenever you want, unlike some subs. Way back in the day I did a year of the Paper Clipping Round table but hardly used that either. I've kicked around doing Simple Scrapper too but it comes down to time. I don't have nearly as much as I want/think I do. I have a long list of half-finished classes too so I'm trying not buy any more until I finish what I have. The only class I seem to be able to consistently stick with is One Little Word.

I do like to be able to support the industry and the individual creators so it's hard to balance. I typically buy Shimelle's classes for that reason, even if I hardly finish. I want to support her and what she's doing.

I've also heard mixed things from artists on how Patreon works/fees etc so that's made me hesitate but I've done zero investigating myself, so I'm not sure. I imagine like ETSY, the fees can be a challenge.

Curious what others have thought of Simple Scrapper. I didn't realize they used a different platform.

Now that I'm home 24/7 and don't leave the house most days, I have found myself wanting "community" more than ever (and I'm very much an introvert!).

I did briefly try out Victoria Marie's online content, including a paid 3-day weekend online crop. I was unimpressed and found the entire experience lacking.

I've never heard of Simple Scrapper before, but I'm very interested after watching a YT video walkthrough of the site and seeing what is offered. I think this might be a useful tool for me - thank you for sharing!

I didn’t realize Heba had gone to subscription! That explains why I haven’t been seeing her videos lately. 😐

I tried Simple Scrapper for 1-2 months. I liked it; but wasn't getting that much out of it. There are almost daily Zoom crops-which I don't participate in. There is a huge library of sketches. There are all the back issues of their magazine.I think I would rather take a one-off class or presentation with the abillity to watch later.

I sub to Janet/RTS on Patreon. I like most of her videos. She seems to enjoy organizing quite a bit and that doesn’t interest me so I don’t watch those videos. But I like her style, I’ve learned a lot, and it’s only $1 per month. She’s done a lot of series that have been great.
I haven’t found anyone else I’d be interested in subbing to on Patreon or on a website. I don’t feel like I need to. There’s a lot of free inspiration out there.

None. Given I choose not to participate in social media (& just starting watching a couple YT videos a week during the pandemic out of boredom), I have no interest in these types of memberships. Hope you find one(s) that fulfill(s) your crafty needs!

I am not interested in paying for content but I don't mind supporting people's content by being a Patreon.

By that I mean, I am a $1 Patreon to a guy I discovered through Tiktok last year. I really enjoy his content about his travels and his day to day life in a culture that's different to mine. I choose to support him with a small amount every month so he can continue to create content.

I have no interest in paying X amount per month to access someones videos but I don't mind being a supporter with a dollar or two a month.

I've never joined, but thanks for noticing my absence! I'm doing other crafty things these days so not much to contribute.

I wanted to see what you thought of Simple Scrapper? I’ve been listening to the podcast recently and was thinking of joining.