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 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.

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.

Expanding Experience

The Evolution of Experience with Marketing Automation https://t.co/U8nvFwFhBm

— Mark Lowry (@MarkLowryA2) December 14, 2017

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.

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.

Are you looking for more donors? The Wild Apricot blog shares ways to find millennial supporters on 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.

(via Patreon)