How Peter Hollens switched from per-creation to monthly billing
When Peter Hollens started his Patreon in 2013, members were charged per creation. Now, he uses a subscription billing model to give himself and his community more consistency and flexibility while continuing to grow his business. Watch his video to learn more about his switch.
Peter Hollens was one of the first creators ever to launch a Patreon back in 2013, before Patreon even offered memberships. That means he was charging members per creation. Since then, his business has grown and evolved, and a couple years ago he decided that a monthly membership would better suit him and his community.
He first started using monthly billing in 2021 when he moved to a first-of-the-month model, and he switched to subscription billing as soon as it was released in 2022.
What is subscription billing? Subscription billing is when members get charged on the day they sign up and that same day every month going forward.
We asked Peter to answer a few questions about how he approached this change, and how subscription billing has worked for his business. Watch the video above to learn more.
Changing from per-creation to first-of-the-month billing
Because this was a big change, Peter brought his members along on the journey with him, talking them through the upcoming changes and asking them to weigh in on the future of his Patreon. Here are three steps Peter followed to roll out the changes with his Hollensfam:
STEP 1: EXPLAIN THE “WHY”
Ahead of any changes, Peter posted to his Patreon community explaining why he was switching to a monthly billing model and how that would help not only him, but his whole community. In this post, he also explained exactly how members would be impacted, showing that he was thinking deeply about their experience and reassuring them that he was listening to any concerns they had.
STEP 2: ASK YOUR MEMBERS
After making the switch to a first-of-the-month model, Peter asked members what they were looking for from his Patreon in a questionnaire. To make the community feel even more involved, he posted again a few months later asking everyone for tier name recommendations.
STEP 3: SHARE THE CHANGES
Finally, he shared the results of all that feedback and collaboration. In a long post, he explained again how the upcoming changes would impact members and all the information they needed to know about his updated tiers. The response was overwhelmingly positive, and the Hollensfam was excited for this next chapter of Peter’s creative journey.
Switching to subscription billing
When subscription billing rolled out in August 2022, Peter migrated because it is more in line with members’ expectations, and he wanted to stay up to date with the latest offerings from Patreon.
Takeaways from Peter’s experience:
- Involve your members: By sharing updates and asking for feedback at every step, Peter was able to build trust with his community and ultimately have a very smooth switch to subscription billing.
- Consider your business needs: At first, Peter was sure per-creation billing was right for him. But after a lot of reflecting and planning, he realized monthly billing would better support his work and community.
- Reassure your community: Your members might have questions, and we’re here to help. If you want to jump into the comments like Peter, check out our Help Center for guidance on how to explain the switch from per-creation to subscription billing to your members.
More resources to help you switch
For more help and FAQs on how to switch the subscription billing, please head to our Help Center. If you’re ready to migrate to subscription billing from a per-creation billing model, fill out this form to get 1-1 support from our team. Our team is here to make the migration as seamless as possible, and we have more case studies, articles, and videos to share throughout the rest of the year.