After Patreon announced a wildly unpopular change that caused fans to leave their platform in droves, they reversed course. Was it enough?
Jack Conte, CEO of Patron, took to Reddit for an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session. Jack took several tough questions head on, but Reddit member Yuuri might have summed it up best:
Conte outlined his response, and grouped Patreon's efforts to improve into three broad categories: contrition, better listening, and better communicating.
One of the startling aspects of the current Open Game License controversy is how much the new license seemed concerned about creators ... when for years, thousands of creators were largely on their own. If the current or future owners of Open Game Licenses plan to engage the community, they'll need to really engage them, not just with a new license, but a community that helps guide them so we don't find ourselves in this mess again. That means forums, live chats, and accessibility to leadership on a regular basis.
Similarly, any OGL initiative will need a steady rhythm of communication to keep creators in the loop. And it certainly means no Non-Disclosure Agreements, which were an attempt to intentionally separate out some creators from others.
Patreon survived its controversy, retrenched, and continues to grow. The platform and company is by no means perfect, but as of June 2021, Patreon had in excess of 6 million patrons nearly 200,000 creators, with the FSCs earning as much as $200,000 per year -- many of them tabletop gamers! Patreon is now valued at $4 billion.
Patreon served as a warning of how large companies built on the backs of small creators can lose sight of how important they are: as creators, as customers, and as fans. Losing one means losing all three, and that can be devastating in the long-term to an industry that prides itself on the free sharing of ideas. Patron learned the hard way what matters most: share your plans often and early, ask questions and listen to the response, and most of all be humble.
As the Open Game License (or lack thereof) spawns competitors and new ventures, it's good advice for anyone planning to earn the gaming community's goodwill.
Not Just the Cool Kids
We previously discussed how Patreon, focused on its largest creators, ended up making changes that harmed smaller but far more numerous creators, who lost their fans in droves. Fortunately, Patreon reversed course within a week. Their reversal gives some hope for what a path forward for the Open Game License might look like.Jack Conte, CEO of Patron, took to Reddit for an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session. Jack took several tough questions head on, but Reddit member Yuuri might have summed it up best:
The reference to the "cool kids" was a nod to what Patreon had publicly acknowledged previously, that top 2 percent of Patreon's customers, known as Financially Successful Creators (FSCs), were a disproportionate focus on Patreon's efforts. As the blowback to Patreon's fee structure demonstrated, small creators mattered too.
Conte outlined his response, and grouped Patreon's efforts to improve into three broad categories: contrition, better listening, and better communicating.
Contrition
In addition to reversing the change they announced, Conte apologized. He apologized on Patreon's blog. He apologized to the press. And he apologized in the Reddit AMA.Apologies can be tricky, because it requires authenticity and transparency. A general apology from a company's public relations department isn't sufficient. It requires a face to the company, a spokesperson in some authority, to make the appropriate apology. Conte has always been out in front of Patreon since it launched, and thus was a natural choice to make the apology. And whoever makes the apology needs a thick skin, because no matter what the apology actually contains, someone won't be happy with it.
Better Listening
When Patreon made its change to its fee structure, they touted responses to Net Promoter Score (NPS) that were -50, along with quotes to go with it. Patreon was listening to somebody, but whoever they were didn't represent the majority of Patreon's customers. To that end, Conte promised a regular live hangout with creators and Patreon leadership, an audit and optimization of the process they used to gather feedback from our creators, and members of the leadership team committing to connecting with creators on Discord each month.One of the startling aspects of the current Open Game License controversy is how much the new license seemed concerned about creators ... when for years, thousands of creators were largely on their own. If the current or future owners of Open Game Licenses plan to engage the community, they'll need to really engage them, not just with a new license, but a community that helps guide them so we don't find ourselves in this mess again. That means forums, live chats, and accessibility to leadership on a regular basis.
Better Communicating
Patreon also hired a new Chief Product Officer who would focus on the "feedback loop with creators" along with a recurring creator newsletter from the product team about roadmap updates.Similarly, any OGL initiative will need a steady rhythm of communication to keep creators in the loop. And it certainly means no Non-Disclosure Agreements, which were an attempt to intentionally separate out some creators from others.
What We Can Learn from Patreon's Mistake
Patreon prides itself on being accessible to the general public, and that brand has paid dividends. Patreon's currency is in the success of its creators graduating to become FSCs capable of making a living off the platform alone. But that appeal is grounded in the possibility that you have to start somewhere, and anyone could become financially independent if they had enough patrons. It's the Thousand Fan Theory, and it takes a lot of work to get there.Patreon survived its controversy, retrenched, and continues to grow. The platform and company is by no means perfect, but as of June 2021, Patreon had in excess of 6 million patrons nearly 200,000 creators, with the FSCs earning as much as $200,000 per year -- many of them tabletop gamers! Patreon is now valued at $4 billion.
Patreon served as a warning of how large companies built on the backs of small creators can lose sight of how important they are: as creators, as customers, and as fans. Losing one means losing all three, and that can be devastating in the long-term to an industry that prides itself on the free sharing of ideas. Patron learned the hard way what matters most: share your plans often and early, ask questions and listen to the response, and most of all be humble.
As the Open Game License (or lack thereof) spawns competitors and new ventures, it's good advice for anyone planning to earn the gaming community's goodwill.
