What you it take to make YOU a Patreon supporter?

[Daedalus]

There was talk before about VN review sites and the relative low number of especially decent ones and I decided to get one up myself to try and fill that void (see the sig). And while everything is slowly starting to come together nicely it's impossible not to think about the future and how much running such show will actually cost overall.

First of all there are the usual domain and hosting costs since I've done with .co domain ($22/yr) and shared hosting (about $50/yr, but shared with my other small projects), but those are not the biggest concerns of mine at the moment. The bigger thing is getting the content for review, i.e., the actual VN's. While the point is not to turn away free content, a lot of the free content tends to be more or less just "practice" works of new developers, which are great to exist obviously, but lots of readers would definitely prefer to know where to put their money to. For this you could say that indie games go for $10-20+, whereas bigger (read: localized) VN's go $20-60+ easily. And then there's actually taking the time to finish a novel, writing about it and handling the publicity. All this takes quite a lot of time, and.... well, you know where I'm going with this.

Now despite working with online advertising I hate ads on websites as much as the next guy, and I wouldn't really like to completely cling on to AdSense and MangaGamer affiliate income to run the show, so I was thinking about Patreon as it would fit nicely - I think. But I must admit that I'm not really that familiar with Patreon, and especially with what kind of push people would need to start supporting a 'cause' like this one via it. E.g., Kickstarter would be something I get, but that doesn't fit now, I'd say.

So, what would you expect to get in return of shedding some money (let's say $5-10 a month) to support a VN review site? A weekly podcast going over new releases and news, maybe some developer interviews occasionally? Some 'guaranteed' amount of content each week? Giveaways (these I have planned already, but meaning Patreon-only)? Using some of the money to support VN Kickstarters? Something else?

I would go and estimate that we'd be looking at at least something like $500 or so a month to have a steady stream of new content in terms of only new reviews, but that'd help to lessen the burden of using "own" money to get the games to review in the first place as well. This might, or might not, ease up later down the road with larger following being enough for developers to start handing out review copies, but that's still quite far away.

This is not in any way binding anyone, so just let me know your ideas and let's see if we could find a way to get a solution that would benefit everyone!

[trooper6]

VNsNow has reviews, news, podcasts, end of year best ofs. And it is free.

Another site would have to deliver more than VNsNow and have a philosophical take I think is underrepresented and important to me before I would even consider a Patreon. But it is unlikely.

[Vegos]

An increase in my paycheck I don't lack motivation, but living on a budget sucks. I might be more of a penny-pincher than is warranted, but life hasn't been kind to me in the past decade and has only recently started to change, so it would take time.

[Zylinder]

You would have to generate exclusive content I absolutely cannot find elsewhere.

The pool of VNs is for me, small enough that after you apply the filter of taste, you're left with a handful of games you actually want to play. Reviews for the paid ones are easy enough to find without a VN-exclusive review site.

The only Patreons I support are the ones that generate exclusive content - i.e, artists who share advanced tutorials that no one uploads for free. How this translates - or if it can even translate - into a VN reviewing site, I'm not sure. As Trooper6 pointed out, most of the stuff we need are available for free.

[trooper6]

I also agree with Zylander about the exclusive content I can't find anywhere else. Also, if the Patreon is going to be monthly? Then it needs to have regular monthly content and regular monthly exclusives.

The Patreon I give money to is the web comic Young Protectors. It:
1) Is a gay superhero comic with great art and writing and that isn't common. I comes out twice a week regularly no exceptions. This matches my feeling of wanting to support something I philosophically believe in.
2) The comics are free, but I get crazy exclusive content:
a) Free copies of any Kindle e-books the creator makes, including the already published Artifice!
b) Hi Res Full Monty Art
c) Script, Thumbnails, Pencils, (and finished strip everyone gets to see) for each comic
d) Art Sneak Peaks every Sunday
e) Some kind of cool exclusive thing on Wednesdays. Often it is art, but it has also been short stories.

I get all of this for $10 a month.

Any other Patreon that wants me to give them money on a monthly basis is going to have to compete with Patreons like that.

[Kuiper]

Please note that the views expressed below are only my opinions, and may not be the opinions of the audience you are trying to reach. (In fact, several of the views I express below are actually in disagreement with sentiments others have expressed in this thread, such as my opinions on "premium" or exclusive content.)

First of all there are the usual domain and hosting costs since I've done with .co domain ($22/yr) and shared hosting (about $50/yr, but shared with my other small projects), but those are not the biggest concerns of mine at the moment. The bigger thing is getting the content for review, i.e., the actual VN's.

If you establish yourself as a reviewer and get a decent readership, you could just ask devs/publishers to provide you with review copies. Many indie devs will give out free copies of their stuff to well-known reviewers in the interest of exposure, so if you can prove that your review site has a certain readership, you could have a much stronger case for getting review copies.

If you are reviewing games that you receive free copies of from developers, as a reader I would appreciate full disclosure of this. Many sites like Polygon note things like this at the end of their review. Of course, it should go without saying that you should communicate (both to devs and readers) that providing a free review copy does not assure a positive review score, and that scores are based entirely on the merit of the game itself; e.g. you won't give someone a higher score just because they were nice to you.

Using some of the money to support VN Kickstarters?

I wouldn't want to give money to someone who is just going to redistribute it to someone else. If I wanted to support VN Kickstarters, I would just fund them myself directly, which would have the benefit of allowing me to choose which KS campaigns I did or did not want to support. Furthermore, it's just plain wasteful to use a middleman to process what is effectively a donation. I give money to you on Patreon, then you have to pay taxes on that income, then you donate that money to someone's KS, and then the KS people have to pay taxes on that income. (And apart from taxes, there's also the fee taken by the payment processors.) How would I benefit from you re-donating the donations you receive? If I donate to your Patreon, it's because I want to support you. If I wanted to support VN Kickstarters, I would be donating to those myself directly (and getting all of the benefits of donating to those respective Kickstarter campaigns).

So, what would you expect to get in return of shedding some money (let's say $5-10 a month) to support a VN review site?

When I support someone on Patreon, I don't expect to get anything in return. I treat it as patronage. It's effectively a recurring donation. All of the Patreons that I support give away the bulk of what they do for free, and the bonuses include things like a daily news feed of what they're working on, behind-the-scenes photos and outtakes, and lots of other things that are incredibly boring to most people and appeal only to the most dedicated of superfans. If I feel like I'm missing out on anything substantive by not donating to your Patreon (you're trying to gate "premium" content behind a paywall), that makes me not want to donate.

If it feels like you're trying to sell me "premium" content, then the Patreon feels less like a donation and more like a transaction, and if it's a transaction, then I'm going to perform a cost-benefit analysis and determine that seeing your "premium" content really isn't worth $X per month. When I treat my contribution like a donation, then I get to be irrational and contribute an arbitrary amount. To put things in primal terms, I think that Patreon works best when you ask people to give with their "heart" rather than with their "head." I have never been inspired to contribute to a Patreon on the basis of donation incentives; every time I contribute, it's because I think the creator is doing something that I want to support.

Giveaways (these I have planned already, but meaning Patreon-only)?

Again, giveaways wouldn't really incentivize me to contribute, and if anything they'd be a turn-off for me. Donating in order to be entered in a give-away feels like playing the lottery, and my rational brain knows that playing the lottery is a sucker's bet. Furthermore, I'd like to know that my money is going to support the creator, not buy extra swag to give away. If I like the cause, I'll contribute without the added incentive.


What makes me want to contribute to a Patreon? I believe that this question is best answered by looking at one of the Patreons that I contribute to: Every Frame a Painting, by Tony Zhou. Why do I contribute to Tony Zhou? Well, for one thing, he constantly teaches me new things. The day that I discovered Every Frame a Painting, I immediately watched everything video on his Youtube channel. His videos are densely-packed with great insight and teaching, and one of the reasons that I consumed his content so voraciously is that learning is both fun and rewarding. I never get bored watching his videos, and when I've finished watching them, I feel like I'm more informed and better educated about a specific facet of cinema.

Zhou's skill as a teacher through the form of video comes from two things. Firstly, he is very well-learned. His film literacy allows him to spot things that I miss. In simple terms, when it comes to film, Zhou is smarter than I am, and whenever I listen to him talk, I feel like I am getting smarter in a way that I didn't even realize was possible. (Zhou teaches me that I didn't even know what I didn't know.) Secondly, his videos are expertly-composed. Not only does Zhou have great knowledge, but he has the oratory skills to communicate his ideas in a way that's easy for me to understand and enjoyable for me to consume. Zhou is a professional video editor, and it shows in his Youtube videos. They're well-crafted. Zhou isn't just a smart and well-informed guy, he's also a great teacher.

I donate to Tony Zhou because no one is doing what he's doing as well as he is doing it. Youtube is filled with "movie reviewers" who delight in nitpicking all the flaws in popular movies, but very few possess Tony Zhou's understanding of cinema, and of those who do, even fewer are as skilled at using the medium of video to enlighten and teach viewers about different topics. Another thing about Zhou's videos that left a good taste in my mouth and increased my desire to contribute to him is that he doesn't constantly promote himself. He doesn't end his videos with a 30-second clip of him talking to the camera and telling users that they can follow him on Facebook and Twitter and that they can support him by contributing to his Patreon. His video does contain a brief note at the end containing his Patreon URL, but this goes by so quickly that I actually had to pause the video to read it. The fact that I had to pause the video to read his Patreon URL makes it feel like he is actively trying to make it difficult to donate, and that makes me want to donate even more because he is effectively telling me that he doesn't need my donation.

(The other Patreon that I contribute to, Red Letter Media, is another Youtube channel that is focused on cinema, though it's a bit less academic and more "silly," but most of what I've said above about Every Frame a Painting applies also to Red Letter Media.)

So, what are the main takeaways?

• Start making content long before you start asking for donations. By the time I contributed to Every Frame a Painting and Red Letter Media on Patreon, they had already put out months (or in RLM's case, years) worth of content. I wasn't contributing based on the promise of things to come. It was a case of, "These people are already doing great work, and if I support them in their endeavors, they can continue to do great work."
• They don't treat me like a customer. They're not pandering for donations, and as a donor, I don't get to do things like "vote" on what content is coming next. I love not having any control as a donor. The reason that I fund Tony Zhou is that he's smarter than me. He doesn't need me to tell him what to do. I don't want Zhou to make videos based on what he think will get the most hits or please the largest number of donors or what will please me personally; I want Zhou to make the videos that he wants to make. If he was just chasing views I would just say, "This guy doesn't need me, let him make his money off Youtube ads."
• Good presentation. Skilled editing ensures that the presentation never takes away from the message, and in fact improves it. It's clear that effort goes into the content that they make.
• They're smarter than me. I love listening to Tony Zhou and Mike Stoklasa talk. It's an informative and interesting experience. Every piece of content they put out teaches me something new and gives me something to think about. My favorite Red Letter Media feature is Half in the Bag, which is ostensibly a review series, but I always watch every review, even if it's for something that I've already seen (or plan to see) because they teach me new things about the medium of film.

[trooper6]

When I support someone on Patreon, I don't expect to get anything in return. I treat it as patronage. It's effectively a recurring donation.

I just wanted to chime in that I, too, see Patreon as patronage...but patronage is not the same thing as a donation.
When the King of Bavaria became Richard Wagner's patron, he wasn't donating to Wagner. He was giving Wagner a job. This consisted of providing money in exchange for Wagner creating operas that Ludwig wanted...and that opera (Tristan and Isolde) being premiered in Munich (which...in the age before television and recording meant it was pretty exclusive)...it also involved Wagner being at Ludwig's court and writing private letters to Ludwig and generally giving lots of exclusive time to Ludwig. Historically, patrons have money for content tailored to their desires, and many of that content was exclusive...it was a transaction...certainly not a donation.

Now, if an artist has no exclusive content, but I believe seriously in the politics of that artist and they are seriously underrepresented? Then I'll think about throwing in $1. But again, patronage is not donation.

[Kuiper]

When I support someone on Patreon, I don't expect to get anything in return. I treat it as patronage. It's effectively a recurring donation.

I just wanted to chime in that I, too, see Patreon as patronage...but patronage is not the same thing as a donation.
When the King of Bavaria became Richard Wagner's patron, he wasn't donating to Wagner. He was giving Wagner a job. This consisted of providing money in exchange for Wagner creating operas that Ludwig wanted...and that opera (Tristan and Isolde) being premiered in Munich (which...in the age before television and recording meant it was pretty exclusive)...it also involved Wagner being at Ludwig's court and writing private letters to Ludwig and generally giving lots of exclusive time to Ludwig. Historically, patrons have money for content tailored to their desires, and many of that content was exclusive...it was a transaction...certainly not a donation.

Perhaps a better way of putting it would be that I view Patreon as "collective patronage." Certainly, there is a transactional nature to the Patreon creators that I contribute to: if they stop producing content, then they stop receiving my money. But my role as a "patron" is quite different from the King of Bavaria, in that I myself cannot afford to give someone a job. I'm only contributing a few dollars a month. But collectively, a large number of users can provide donations that sum up to what a creator might make from a job. In the Patreons that I contribute to, the collective is "hiring" the creator to do more of the job that they're already doing; the Patreon pages that I contribute to make this pretty clear so users are under no illusion that they are part of the creative process or decision-making behind the stuff they are "sponsoring."

It's true that there are Patreon creators who do tailor their creation to the whims of their users, and there are certainly many users that are willing (or even eager) to enter this kind of arrangement, but I am not one of them. As noted at the head of my previous post, my post is intended to convey how I regard Patreon (and how I use it), which is by my own admission inconsistent with the way that other users view (and use) Patreon. The Patreons that I describe are not universally "right," but they are right for people like me, and they are doing quite well. And there are plenty of Patreon creators that use the method you describe while also achieving success. Hopefully the original poster can consider the aggregate of these views and come to an informed decision about what approach to take with Patreon in the future.

[trooper6]

It's true that there are Patreon creators who do tailor their creation to the whims of their users, and there are certainly many users that are willing (or even eager) to enter this kind of arrangement, but I am not one of them. As noted at the head of my previous post, my post is intended to convey how I regard Patreon (and how I use it), which is by my own admission inconsistent with the way that other users view (and use) Patreon. The Patreons that I describe are not universally "right," but they are right for people like me, and they are doing quite well. And there are plenty of Patreon creators that use the method you describe while also achieving success. Hopefully the original poster can consider the aggregate of these views and come to an informed decision about what approach to take with Patreon in the future.

I think what is important about the way of seeing Patreon that you are talking about is the emphasis on supporting a particular person primarily...rather than the work primarily. If my nephew put up a Patreon for something, I'd give him some monthly amount of money because he is my nephew. That is just pure charity and I don't really care about the product...I care about him. (I have two Patreons I give $1 to simply because I care about the people...and could really care less if they ever produce anything). Various celebrities with a rabid fan base might similarly inspire people to give them money monthly just because they love them.

So if the OP wants *that* sort of following, people who will donate because they are invested in the OP...then they will need to develop a group of people who care about them personally. For me--just for me--"I make VN Reviews" is not enough to get me to care about the OP personally. If "I make VN Reviews" came with cool Patreon extras? Maybe.

Now, if the OP were going to do "I make Feminist VN Reviews"--that might be enough to get a buck from me, because I can't get that anywhere else, and it is important for me politically that there are more feminist voices in gaming.

But again either the work has to be above and beyond what I can get for free or the Artists has to be a person I want to support personally--and therefore I don't really care about the work as much.

[Kuiper]

I think what is important about the way of seeing Patreon that you are talking about is the emphasis on supporting a particular person primarily...rather than the work primarily. If my nephew put up a Patreon for something, I'd give him some monthly amount of money because he is my nephew. That is just pure charity and I don't really care about the product...I care about him.

I'm not really sure how you got that idea from reading my post, as most of the focus was placed on the value that I got from the videos that the creators provide. To quote myself, when I contribute to someone's Patreon, it's done with the mindset of, "these people are already doing great work, and if I support them in their endeavors, they can continue to do great work." Emphasis on "continue to do great work." I'm willing to put money in Mike Stoklasa's pocket, but only for as long as he continues to operate Red Letter Media and put out entertaining and informative videos. My enjoyment of his videos is the entire basis of my contributions to his Patreon. If Stoklasa stopped making videos tomorrow and decided to dedicate himself to some other pursuit instead, I would stop sending him money, because I don't see it as my place to "fund his life" the same way I would for a family member. If he decides to stop making videos and dedicate his life to running a charity to save abandoned pets, then good for him, but I contribute to his Patreon allow him to devote himself to his creative endeavors (in this case, making videos). In fact, one of the main reasons that I contribute to his creative endeavors financially is that by funding his Patreon, I am creating a financial incentive for him to continue putting out videos. Again, to quote myself, "there is a transactional nature to the Patreon creators that I contribute to: if they stop producing content, then they stop receiving my money." That doesn't sound like charity to me.

[Kailoto]

I'm a Patreon for only three people. I have a small budget, so the most I give is $1 per month. I don't do it for exclusive content or to be closer to the creator - I do it because I really, really like what these people are doing, and I want to give them something back as a show of appreciation.

In each case, I only supported because what they were doing was unique, and they had a record of being reliable. I wouldn't support someone solely because they have exclusive content, although it would help. As someone who is a bit of a miser, the only factor that goes into my decision is whether or not I think they can do something better with my money than I can. And many times, despite how much I like the creator or am interested in the rewards, the answer is no.

But then, this is just my perspective (although you did specifically ask for it.) I'm very wary of any form of crowdfunding or donating before the fact, because it's an economic risk that I don't look kindly upon. Furthermore, I'm extremely frugal, and even if I had a monthly income of ~$200 (which I don't), parting with $5 of that monthly would still be hard. So, for the most part, I'm a hopeless case for you.

[Daedalus]

Thanks for all the input guys, really appreciate it. I'm trying to go over of some of the main points here, hopefully I'm not skipping anything very important here

VNsNow has reviews, news, podcasts, end of year best ofs. And it is free.

My goal is not to make the content hidden behind a paywall, and as such I don't really think that the patronage itself should (would?) mean more exclusive content per se. Currently I'm trying to find a way that would leave the possible patrons happy with what they're getting without making the "regular" visitors feel like they're left out of anything that should be available freely (like you said). But as I'm not that familiar with Patreon from either point of view, I wanted to get some input from people who have been using it.

I also agree with Zylander about the exclusive content I can't find anywhere else. Also, if the Patreon is going to be monthly? Then it needs to have regular monthly content and regular monthly exclusives.

Yes, I think a monthly approach would fit better than one-time donation, seeing how a dynamic website is not something that will be "ready" in the sense of content at any point. Such way would also make constant (read: daily) content possible more easily by allowing for a larger selection of VN's to be acquired more easily. At least that's how I see it.
I don't know if Patreon allows for donations without the need for a "subscription" even if the monthly option is selected?

I get that you'd need some sort of incentive to provide such support, and I'm asking what that something would be? Exclusive interviews? Limited previews? I guess this is really what comes down to the "regular"/patron divide - what is this exclusive content that you'd expect in this case, compared to the stuff that's freely available for all?

If you establish yourself as a reviewer and get a decent readership, you could just ask devs/publishers to provide you with review copies. Many indie devs will give out free copies of their stuff to well-known reviewers in the interest of exposure, so if you can prove that your review site has a certain readership, you could have a much stronger case for getting review copies.

If you are reviewing games that you receive free copies of from developers, as a reader I would appreciate full disclosure of this. Many sites like Polygon note things like this at the end of their review. Of course, it should go without saying that you should communicate (both to devs and readers) that providing a free review copy does not assure a positive review score, and that scores are based entirely on the merit of the game itself; e.g. you won't give someone a higher score just because they were nice to you.

Yes, this is pretty much what I said there I have been in contact with some developers, and have some content lined up for the upcoming weeks already, but like you say having a notable following will make such easier. This, however will most likely take some time and even then won't be something that can be completely relied upon, especially when the aim is to get new content out as much as possible.

There will be a clear footnote always when the review copy has come directly from the developer free of charge for the purpose of the review. And sure, goes without saying that such act will not affect the scoring the slightest. I know that some people might feel that getting X for free will positively affect how you feel about X, but I don't see it that way.

I wouldn't want to give money to someone who is just going to redistribute it to someone else. If I wanted to support VN Kickstarters, I would just fund them myself directly, which would have the benefit of allowing me to choose which KS campaigns I did or did not want to support.

This is a fair point, noted. Thanks.
However I didn't think of it as benefitting personally per se, but more of as the community itself benefitting, but I do agree with you there.

When I support someone on Patreon, I don't expect to get anything in return. I treat it as patronage. It's effectively a recurring donation. All of the Patreons that I support give away the bulk of what they do for free, and the bonuses include things like a daily news feed of what they're working on, behind-the-scenes photos and outtakes, and lots of other things that are incredibly boring to most people and appeal only to the most dedicated of superfans.

Personally I really agree with you there, and I guess this is a matter that really divides people into two camps: those who just give for the mere support, and those who want some patreon-only content. Like can be seen in this thread as well And as such I'm here mapping a bit about which way does this community lean towards to, so think about which way should I go for.

Again, giveaways wouldn't really incentivize me to contribute, and if anything they'd be a turn-off for me. Donating in order to be entered in a give-away feels like playing the lottery, and my rational brain knows that playing the lottery is a sucker's bet.

Fair enough. I'm planning on running those for as open for everyone (although might be via SG, so there'd be the limitation of requiring Steam, but still be available for all - for free), and I get that offering some for only part of the people might not work out as intended.

Start making content long before you start asking for donations.

Like I said, this is not a matter that's going to happen overnight, as there is still lot to do before I would actually consider setting up any sort of campaigns, and as such I'm trying to find out what people would like and want so that I'm not going to take everything into the completely wrong direction from the get-go. You have given me a lot to think about, and I thank you for your input!

[trooper6]

Thanks for all the input guys, really appreciate it. I'm trying to go over of some of the main points here, hopefully I'm not skipping anything very important here

VNsNow has reviews, news, podcasts, end of year best ofs. And it is free.

My goal is not to make the content hidden behind a paywall, and as such I don't really think that the patronage itself should (would?) mean more exclusive content per se. Currently I'm trying to find a way that would leave the possible patrons happy with what they're getting without making the "regular" visitors feel like they're left out of anything that should be available freely (like you said). But as I'm not that familiar with Patreon from either point of view, I wanted to get some input from people who have been using it.

I also agree with Zylander about the exclusive content I can't find anywhere else. Also, if the Patreon is going to be monthly? Then it needs to have regular monthly content and regular monthly exclusives.

Yes, I think a monthly approach would fit better than one-time donation, seeing how a dynamic website is not something that will be "ready" in the sense of content at any point. Such way would also make constant (read: daily) content possible more easily by allowing for a larger selection of VN's to be acquired more easily. At least that's how I see it.
I don't know if Patreon allows for donations without the need for a "subscription" even if the monthly option is selected?

I get that you'd need some sort of incentive to provide such support, and I'm asking what that something would be? Exclusive interviews? Limited previews? I guess this is really what comes down to the "regular"/patron divide - what is this exclusive content that you'd expect in this case, compared to the stuff that's freely available for all?

For me, there are three ways to get me to subscribe (now you may not want me to be a supporter, you might want to target a different sort of supporter audience):

1) You provide at least as much as VNsNow (Regular Reviews, a Podcast, Year End Best Ofs, News, Interviews, etc)...it is of high quality, and then you provide some extra content for patrons. What would that extra content be? That's a good question. I don't know--something that brings us in as stakeholders in and funders of your project. Maybe Patrons get to be the nominating committee for the year end best ofs. Maybe there is a monthly poll for the Patrons where we get to nominate a game for you review...and then you do. Maybe you provide a weekly behind-the-scenes blog. I don't know. But something that recognizes our position as funders of the endeavor--something that is basically a form of community building.
2) I know you personally (or feel like I know you personally) and I just want to give money to my friend.
3) You are doing a high quality blog that may not have any patron extras, may not have as much content as VNs Now...BUT it comes from a point of view that is important to me politically/ethically/personally/ideologially and that I think is underrepresented/special. You are doing an average VNs review site with no extra incentive? I'm not giving you money. You are doing a feminist VNs review site? Considering we don't currently have one of those active and feminist analyses of media is important to me? I'd be very tempted to give money. It doesn't even have to be about social justice. I also care about professional and serious engagement with video games as art. Auro-Cyanide is a professional graphic designer. If she had a patreon where she would put out in depth, detailed blog post analyses of the graphic design of various VNs, with pictures and charts that would teach me something and make me think in new ways? I'd totally pay for that. That idea is special, and I think we need more high level analyses of video games.

Now some folks will give your money just because.

I need something special to make me give money to you rather than to one of the many other worthy causes out there--I give money to charities, I donate to Kickstarter, I have money going to 3 Patreons, I'm still paying off my student loans...you know all of that. Why should I give you money (not you personally...but you as a generic person who wants money from me).

Another note, someone mentioned this upthead, but it is true...all three Patreons I support are creators who have a long track record of producing their art before they began their Patreon. Promises of great content without any proof of followthrough? I'm not doing a monthly Patreon for that. I might do a "per art work" subscription...but I'm not giving an unproven person money.

[sasquatchii]

I'm going to echo what's already been said over and over again on this thread. The individual running the patreon would need to have already created lots of content/work before I would consider giving money to them. The person that I'm currently supporting on patreon right now has been creating art/stories/visual novels for years. I also think it's important that they're active/engaged with the visual novel community, (this means twitter, LSF, & their website/blog) and that what they're doing is unique and special in some way. Passion & enthusiasm is also something I look for, versus someone who is just on patreon trying to make a quick buck.

When I support someone on Patreon, I don't expect to get anything in return.

Couldn't agree more. I could care less about exclusive content/stuff. Don't get me wrong, it's awesome that some patreons do that, but it's not really what motivates me to support someone. When I support someone on Patreon, though, (as Kuiper already mentioned) it's so awesome to see the behind-the-scenes updates, screenshots, and news that I normally wouldn't get to see or hear about. Definitely not necessary, as I would still support them without updates, but it is very nice.

Honestly, though, (and people are probably gonna come at me with pitchforks and torches for saying this) I think creators should focus less on trying to get people to support them on patreon, and more on the work itself. If you create great content & work that people love and want to see more of, the money will follow. People will want to give you their hard earned cash so that you will continue to make more of what you make. It's why humble bundles/pay what you want work so well, even though you could essentially pay 1 cent, people pitch in more than that because they're excited to play those games and want to reward the creators for awesome work and a job well done. I've paid money for free VNs because I loved them so much. Similarly... people have actually given ME money for the one game I have out, which was more of a short experiment and me flexing my creative muscles to see what I could do with Ren'Py. It really surprised me and continues to surprise me each time people donate. The game is free, it's my first game, and is only a short 5 minute kinetic novel.. but people are awesome like that and will be generous when they come across work that touched them or inspired them in some way, or even if it's just something they liked.

My boyfriend runs a fairly successful patreon (about 55 dollars every time he creates a youtube video). He's only been creating these videos for a few months, and he does absolutely nothing to incentivize people, other than send them a free book the first time they sign up to support him (which actually often costs him more money than it did for the person who became his patron). Other than that, they get nothing. No updates or checking in with them. He just makes the videos when he feels like it (probably once every two months). The funny thing to me is, every time he creates a video, he gets all these comments like "Please make more videos" and "wow this video was awesome, wish there were more but you seem to actually have a life" and "never stop making videos". People like what he's doing and want to support that.

That being said, he's obviously not doing it for the money. He takes his time creating the videos, because he wants to put out quality work that he is proud of. He could put out 3 videos in one month and make $150 dollars, but he would never do that as the quality/passion for what he's doing are the most important things to him.

One last thing: I think self-promotion is fine, but it's really important to be sincere and NOT annoying. This is really hard to do when you're asking people for money/support. I think the best thing you can do is give to the community first before trying to take.

If someone I don't even know sends me a message asking to check out their patreon/new commercial game/whatever it can sometimes come off as kind of sleazy. It raises a red flag and makes me less likely to want to give them money. My favorite VN people are people who do little to no self advertising, and their patreon links are subtle on their website, because their work is more important to them than receiving that magical internet money.

[Didules]

Beware, text wall with poor english ahead. Read at your own risks

First of all let's be clear: I do not support financially anyone via patreon. I wish I could but for now my income does not enable me to do as I wish.
I was often close to supporting artists or VN developers via patreon though. The only thing that stopped me was the hole in my bank account. Let's focus on the reasons why I was tempted

Contrary to what people may have said, I care about the rewards, but not at first.
As many have told, contents matter. The content has to have attracted me in some way, to seem both well - made and necessary in this world somehow. It has to "fill a hole".
Regular and quality content.
Then to make me click on the patreon link, you have to appear to be friendly or even sympathetic. No boasting, not too much uncalled for self - promotion, things like that. If you appear as a sympathetic person, I'll probably think "nice content, nice creator, maybe I can help in some way?"
Then I click on the patreon page, but honestly not all is a winning game then. Because it is then that you indeed may have to convince people who have second thoughts, who don't have much money or don't like spending it (no judgment on anyone). Some people will just want to help you, some will need this last push.
When people hesitate, I'd say mostly that you may not be able to convince them even with your patreon content, most people who give are mostly the kind of people Sasquatchii is talking about, people who want to help.
So focus on the content of your website rather than the patreon rewards. As people have said, with content and faith will come money.

About the reward though, I think one of us said it upward but it'd have to be something I wouldn't find anywhere else. For artists for instance I love to see exclusive step by step video explaining the way they personal color, for comics drawer I love to see the process of making an actual page. Early access to something may also work usually with most people I think (I'm not interested though because I'm never in a rush to read or see or play something). Or chatting with the patreon via skype/chat/whatever? It's silly but many people may give because they think you seem cool and nice and it may be a joy for them to check it out for real
The point is, don't make something that is a hassle especially for the patreons that you wouldn't have made otherwise, and it's okay if everyone has access to it one day.
Otherwise It'd feel like you'd be dividing people who follow you in two groups: the one who can afford such support and the other one. It feels pretty bad honestly.

That being said, I have to say I'm not that interested in VN reviewing sites. If I'm interested in one I'll see for myself, if I have doubts I'll probably drop it. When the French reviewing website "Projet Saya" was still alive I used to only read developers related articles (critiques of larger subjects such as the tendency to make Japanese settings, the mistakes to avoid, the report on disappearing teams, interview) rather than the reviews of the games. This kind of info may be useful to create your patreon rewards though (?).

Whatever the choice you actually make, I wish you all the best in your project!!