Patreon FAQs
Over on Patreon, I'm creating unbiased, evidence-based beauty journalism (#NoAds #NoSpon) for the exclusive benefit of subscribers (who can also commission content). But because Patreon's website isn't wildly user-friendly, and doesn't make it very easy to understand what you're signing up to, I thought I'd give a quick intro here to make it a bit more straightforward.
If you're reading this and you're like "alright already, I know, just take me to the page", click here. But if you want a bit more of an explanation, either take a look at the video I made when I launched the site, or read on...
What is Patreon?
Patreon is a platform that allows creatives to get paid for their work. It basically does the financial side of things and hosts the content that I create. So in order to subscribe to access my content, you first have to sign up with the site itself, and then become one of my subscribers, or patrons.
Why did you choose Patreon?
I wanted to be able to have total freedom to write honestly and without any restrictions about aspects of the beauty industry that interest me and that I thought would interest my readers. Going down the subscription route felt like it gave me more editorial freedom, rather than having to rely on adverts or sponsorship. There are a couple of platforms out there that offer this sort of service, but after researching, Patreon looked like the best option.
What do I get when I sign up?
There are various levels, or tiers, of subscription. You can find out all about them here, but they start at £3/month for access to the monthly Beauty Geekery Newsletter, which is packed with anything and everything that I’ve found interesting in the world of beauty that month. Crucially becoming a patron makes you a commissioning editor, giving you the opportunity to tell me exactly what you want to see in the newsletter.
Pay a bit more and you'll get a weekly video reviewing a new, or newish, product. I've called this series "Yes, but is it better than..." because when something new comes out I think that all you really want to know is whether it's better than something that already exists, so each week, I compare the new product to something similar that I think is a "best in class" product.
Finally there's a quarterly long read — a deep dive on a topic that I think is particularly interesting and worthy of exploration, or maybe a topic that a subscriber wants to know more about. As the number of subscribers grow, I hope to be able to add more content, including a podcast, and more...
I still want to know more...
Well, there's the introductory video on Instagram that I mentioned above, there's also a video that tells you a bit more about it here, but if you still have questions, you can always drop me an email at patreon@clairecoleman.com.