After considerable thought and research, I’ve decided to start a Ko-fi page and make that the main focus for my future crowdfunding efforts.
Ko-fi is a crowdfunding site like Patreon. There are, however, a few key differences that make Ko-fi more helpful for content creators and our supporters.
For example, Ko-fi doesn’t collect any fees. The only fee involved is the standard credit card processing fee (PayPal or Stripe) that anyone using credit cards online has to pay. Ko-fi make their money through optional donations and an optional monthly fee to content creators for extra features.
Ko-fi also has better support for one-time donations and the “pay what you can” / “sliding scale” model. I’m switching to that model so that all of my paying readers get the same basic content regardless of how little or much they can afford to pay. Ko-fi is also just more user-friendly and aesthetically-pleasing (to me) overall, due no doubt to the fact that it’s a newer and more indie take on the same basic idea.
Ideally, I would like everyone supporting me on Patreon to switch over to Ko-fi. To make the switch, all my current Patrons have to do is go to my Ko-fi page, set up a monthly payment equal to what they’re giving on Patreon, and then cancel their payment on Patreon.
If you’re a Patron and you still prefer Patreon, no worries! That works too. I’ll keep the Patreon campaign open and up-to-date for as long as I have active Patrons on there.
Some content creators are only on one of these two sites. Others are on both sites. Posting major updates to both sites will literally only take me a few extra minutes per month, so it’s worth it for me as a content creator to keep the Patreon open if a few of my Patrons like Patreon better than Ko-fi.
If you’re not on Patreon, though, be sure to check out my Ko-fi page! I’m exited to be on Ko-fi now. My page is new, so it doesn’t have a ton of content yet. But you can get a feel for the site and set up a monthly donation for as little as $1 per month. You’ll get access to all of the same content that Patrons are getting over on Patreon. I’m going to add all of my new content to Ko-fi plus some older content that’s currently only available in the Patreon archives.
Let me know if you have any questions or other feedback. In the meantime, thanks for your support!
My name is Treesong. I’m a parent, author, talk radio host, and Real Life Superhero. Follow me on Facebook, Bluesky, Instagram, and Ko-fi for my latest climate fiction releases and superhero adventures. Sign up for my newsletter to receive free climate fiction in your inbox. Check out my bookshop for climate change books, including reading lists for climate fiction, climate nonfiction, and climate poetry!