I have been a daily active Patreon user for the past 7 years and have always thought the experience was subpar. Particularly for serialized content. I think it's finally time to do something about it!
I will be building an open source Patreon alternative in public over the course of the next 100 days. My goal is to finish a MVP in time to buy a few billboards around when Dragon Con happens Labor Day in Atlanta, Georga. Wish me luck and maybe consider contributing if you wish.
- Day 1-3: Secure patron.com or a similar domain.
- Day 4-10: Launch a neo-brutalist, 8/16-bit styled website with a waitlist offering lifetime low fees (<5%).
- Day 11-14: Write a compelling blog post explaining the vision behind building a Patreon competitor.
- Day 15-17: Share the blog on targeted platforms like HackerNews, r/progressionfantasy, and r/hfy where I have recognition.
- Day 18-30: Grow the waitlist by promoting the project and engaging with potential users specifically in the writing category that uses Patreon.
- Day 31-60: Post weekly public updates on the build process to maintain transparency and build community trust.
- Day 61-75: Onboard existing Patreon creators earning to the platform as beta-testers and gather actionable feedback.
- Day 76-85: Polish any rough edges and fix all found bugs while maintaining continuous deployment.
- Day 86-95: Build an onboarding system with engagement emails prompting for feedback and contact info to reach out to for help.
- Day 96-100: Plan and book high-impact booths and events at key creator conferences for the next year to drive user acquisition.