--- title: "Thursday Buzz: Patreon Walks Back Fee Changes" id: "40868" type: "post" slug: "thursday-buzz-patreon-walks-back-fee-changes" published_at: "2017-12-14T21:31:30+00:00" modified_at: "2026-11-09T16:13:38+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2017/12/14/thursday-buzz-patreon-walks-back-fee-changes/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2017/12/14/thursday-buzz-patreon-walks-back-fee-changes.md" excerpt: "After a backlash, Patreon learns that changing a member payment model isn’t as easy as it looks—and apologizes to its users. Also: Marketing automation saves you time so you can deliver a better experience." taxonomy_category: - "Marketing / Communications" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "automation" - "Business" - "Marketing" - "Member Engagement" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "C-Level" - "Executive Team" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Thursday Buzz: Patreon Walks Back Fee Changes Last week, the popular creator-crowdfunding service Patreon announced that it was switching its pay model from a monthly fee to surcharges [for each individual pledge (opens in a new tab)](https://gizmodo.com/why-everyone-is-mad-at-patreon-now-1821120304) amount—a significant hit for donors, especially those who give small amounts of money. After the announcement, there was a huge uproar, with many people threatening to leave the site. Well, the folks over at Patreon got the message, and now the service is walking back the fee changes. “We still have to fix the problems that those changes addressed, but we’re going to fix them in a different way, and we’re going to work *with you to come up with the specifics,* as we should have done the first time around,” CEO Jack Conte wrote in a [Patreon blog post (opens in a new tab)](https://blog.patreon.com/not-rolling-out-fees-change/) . Conte acknowledges that it may take a long time to gain back users’ trust, but Patreon is devoted to the success of artists and “to getting you sustainable, reliable income for being a creator.” We wrote about Patreon back in October, pondering whether the startup is [making membership concepts more mainstream](https://associationsnow.com/2017/10/patreon-membership-mainstream-moment/) . ### Expanding Experience > The Evolution of Experience with Marketing Automation [https://t.co/U8nvFwFhBm (opens in a new tab)](https://t.co/U8nvFwFhBm) > > — Mark Lowry (@MarkLowryA2) [December 14, 2017 (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/MarkLowryA2/status/941327048731168769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) **Digital marketing automation can save you time.** But what do you do with those extra hours? Deliver a better member experience. “Use the time you save by automating tasks to engineer and implement the full experience you want your members or customers to have,” writes Shayna McGroggan in a [recent Higher Logic blog post (opens in a new tab)](http://blog.higherlogic.com/the-evolution-of-experience-with-marketing-automation) . McGroggan recommends ways to deliver a fuller experience to your audience. Consider expanding your welcome campaign with automation, use automated email to promote social media channels, and share personalized content. ### Other Links of Note **New forms of content marketing are becoming popular.** *CMSWire* predicts [seven trends for 2018 (opens in a new tab)](https://www.cmswire.com/content-strategy/7-content-marketing-trends-for-2018/) . **Are you looking for more donors?** The Wild Apricot blog shares ways to [find millennial supporters on social media (opens in a new tab)](https://www.wildapricot.com/blogs/newsblog/2017/12/13/millennial-donors-from-social-media) . **Email will continue to be an effective** communication tool into the future. According to Marketing Charts, gen Z-ers [expect to use email more than they do now (opens in a new tab)](https://www.marketingcharts.com/customer-centric-81078) . (via Patreon) [Raegan Johnson](https://associationsnow.com/author/raegan-johnson/) Raegan Johnson is a contributor to Associations Now. 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