Restructuring the patreon
Added 2025-03-14 22:57:32 +0000 UTCHey all, Brandon here. It's been a long time since we revamped our patreon page - not just the "about" section and all that (which we do have to rewrite), but also the price tiers and goals.
I want to do this sooner than later, but don't want to do it without your input. So I want to ask you all a few questions as we revisit all this.
1) The largest group of people are in the $3 tier. We feel that as the show has grown over time maybe that tier should not exist anymore - it feels more like a tier that existed during our formative feeling-out years and now isn't relevant. We know some people just can't afford more though, so all existing subs will continue to be able to pay $3 so long as they keep subbing. But the lowest tier would become $5 thereafter, and all new patrons would see $5 as the lowest tier. How it works is we "unpublish" the $3 tier, but whoever is still subscribed to it can keep subscribing to it forever (unless they unsubscribe).
We will also look at revamping the numbers in general so that folks who wish to give more can. Essentially, we're trying to take this a lot more seriously and actually pay the people doing the show. The largest consideration is paying Jaffe and Esper who rely on this money as a significant part of their livelihood. Also Esper does a lot of work! They already get a larger percentage of the funds than the panelists, but it would also be nice to pay the panelists more, etc etc.
2) We also want to make the tiers more interesting and useful. Right now we don't offer much past the $10 tier. I would like to know what sorts of things you all would like to see in terms of rewards. We will continue to put the question form at the lowest (soon to be $5) level. Then there are forum colors, which we have to be more diligent about offering, and we also have the soundtrack, which we need a better way of distributing. I don't want to hold anything we currently do back from lower tiers (like bonus episodes), but I would like to offer more somehow. Get access to writing before it goes on the website? A promise of more clips or bonus eps? Any ideas for what you would want?
3) In general, we are looking to grow the show more. Is there anything you've seen on other shows, or which you've thought about, which you think could help grow the show? Right now our main vectors are getting prominent guests, and guesting on other shows ourselves. That and social media/youtube. We don't do any other sort of outreach, and maybe we should?
Also welcoming any other thoughts as we revamp this! Thanks for continuing to support the show!
Comments
I was talking to a smart cool friend of mine who loves the show but isn’t on the patreon and they said that: - they just assumed the podcast was doing plenty great financially because the show is always so good and the new season has been great - something they’ve always loved about listening to insert credit is how little it cared about making money. Not that they think you shouldn’t be making money off of it, but that it’s cool and rare to find something these days that so clearly isn’t designed for maximizing profits and selling ads I had never thought about the show in that exact way before, but I do think they’re right! The lack of constant monetization does make the show feel smaller than it actually is (in a cool way). I realize that you’re trying to improve on that aspect now and so this is maybe not the most helpful feedback, but! I’d guess that the type of person who appreciates insert credit is probably particularly sensitive to the various ways that monetization ruins things and would be willing to pay to help the show continue existing without all the annoying stuff that plagues other popular internet things.
John
2025-03-22 23:45:34 +0000 UTCThat's exciting! Looking forward to it!
Red Panda
2025-03-19 19:23:41 +0000 UTCThank you!! Recommendations seem to be a bit one - will consider how we can work that in a bit more.
insert credit
2025-03-19 17:36:23 +0000 UTCI think making the smallest tier $5 is fair given the time people have to take to make a weekly show work - especially a show with this many people involved. I don't know if I'll be a patreon member forever, but for what it's worth, I'd spend a good year at $5 without a second thought. I love the "Insert Credit Gaiden" stuff. Especially impromptu interviews with people. I've followed the show since about 2020ish whenever it came back from hiatus. I listen to a ton of stuff, but Insert Credit has always stayed in my constant rotation because it's been such a consistent show. One of the things that makes me look forward to every episodes is the recommendations. The tastes on the show have always been impeccable and even though I showed up for the videogames, I've stayed for the movie, music, comic etc. recommendations that everyone shares. I don't know what you could do with that knowledge... But I suppose it's data for you to interpret. Keep it up! I'm blown away you've all stayed so consistent during this major time of transition. Just thank you all for keeping the show going. It genuinely brightens up my week.
Douglas Laubacher
2025-03-19 03:06:28 +0000 UTCWe've definitely considered the streaming or similar, or having folks listen in on recordings live - the only trouble there is we might be more self conscious of what we're saying in a live setting? Still, something to think about.
insert credit
2025-03-19 02:41:59 +0000 UTCConsider it done! Only hope I can do the show justice, I'll bisky a link to you when it's published 💜
Shaneus
2025-03-19 02:41:19 +0000 UTCadding patron names to top tiers is not a bad idea though... will definitely consider!
insert credit
2025-03-19 02:40:32 +0000 UTCThis sounds cool, but we do have this sort of thing going on the forums already. It's tough to get regular submissions for things!
insert credit
2025-03-19 02:39:52 +0000 UTCwe should definitely be utilizing the video game history archives more!!
insert credit
2025-03-19 02:39:10 +0000 UTCLots of good thoughts here - maybe things we could start doing if we had time to do more work on the show. unfortunately all this stuff would take a lot more time, but certainly gives some things to think about. There have been discussions of streaming games together or something, which we could try once there was more time.
insert credit
2025-03-19 02:37:54 +0000 UTCWe've definitely looked into ad stuff, and if we did that patrons would get the ad free experience. one of the easier things to do in some ways, though hard to make certain you can pick and choose the ads, so that's why it's taken us a while to come round to it.
insert credit
2025-03-19 02:35:59 +0000 UTC(brandon:) certainly wouldn't mind it! I think it's simply because it's not a site many of us check... don't tell them that though lol
insert credit
2025-03-19 02:34:45 +0000 UTCDefinitely looking at those higher tiers and seeing what we could do there.
insert credit
2025-03-19 02:34:00 +0000 UTCWe have an interview with aaron stewart-ahn coming, so if that does well maybe we can do a bit more!
insert credit
2025-03-19 02:33:33 +0000 UTCyes, thank you! it's a hard balance to determine what is "gating" and what is "giving more content." It's also hard to determine how much work should be put ahead of the money that supports that work. Anyway, good thoughts.
insert credit
2025-03-19 02:32:32 +0000 UTCThanks, some good thoughts here too. We could definitely do patron votes of various types - we'll test out a bit of that in the public feed with a violence island thing soon... though the public feed is basically not truly existing yet so we'll see how that goes!
insert credit
2025-03-19 02:30:07 +0000 UTC(brandon:) Esper suggested this as well - I have a couple small videos I've made, I'll put them up in the public tier soon and see if it's of interest.
insert credit
2025-03-19 02:17:14 +0000 UTC(brandon:) understood on the currency thing, and not buying american stuff. it sucks all around!
insert credit
2025-03-19 02:16:35 +0000 UTCHmm, merch seems to be desired. guess we should think about it.
insert credit
2025-03-19 02:15:45 +0000 UTC(brandon:) Thanks, good thoughts here too. We've toyed with merch, just requires more time and attention than I have right now... but we should revisit it.
insert credit
2025-03-19 02:15:28 +0000 UTCSome good ideas here, thanks very much! The shorter questions on youtube is an interesting idea - it seems "hours watched" is what youtube cares most about, but it's true that title-wise we might get more interest with chopped up questions. definitely something to consider.
insert credit
2025-03-19 02:14:13 +0000 UTC1) This sounds super fair, especially since you’d be letting all existing $3 supporters stay on that tier. As for a high-tier reward for people who want to give a lot, Jaffe could thank all of the $40 tier supporters by name as part of the show’s outro. 2) Patreon rewards are weird — they’re definitely a fun incentive, and I’m sure some people care a lot about them, but I feel like the reason most people subscribe to a patreon is just because they like something a lot and want to support it/feel like they’re a small part of it. At least that’s how I feel! The show is already great and has a large audience, so before you commit to a bunch of new bonus content, I would try a fund-drive campaign to encourage more listeners to jump in. Something simple like “if we get X many new subscribers or pledge increases this month, we will do a special list episode”. You could even do a multiple choice poll on the patreon to determine what list episode supporters would be most excited for and further encourage people to sign up. Have the panelists talk about it at the start of every episode for the duration of the campaign. I know that Jaffe already mentions the Patreon every episode, but I think that Brandon and other panelists explaining why they're looking for more support and asking for help themselves for this campaign would get more attention from listeners. 3) For YouTube, I really think you should release clips of individual questions, similar to what Digital Foundry does with the DF Clips channel. It seems like you’ve been experimenting a little lately with truncated snippets of episodes in vertical shorts, but I honestly don’t think the show lends itself that well to that style/format. I think you should just pick certain questions, take exactly what Esper has already created for the full YouTube video, and then release them as individual videos with the question as the title. I love the goofy episode titles, but they are nonsense that are just never going to do that well with discovery on YouTube. But videos with titles like “When is it most obvious that zero research went into a particular video game scene?”, “Which video game fandom has the highest barrier of entry?”, “What’s the Air Bud of video games?”, etc have a lot more potential to reach new people. It would take time, but I really do think these would help the channel grow, and Esper’s already doing the hard part of the video editing. And you have 200+ episodes to draw from!
John
2025-03-17 01:26:22 +0000 UTCHey huge fan of the show. Personally the episodes I’ve always looked forward to and revisited are the list episodes because they’re always full of such great recommendations! Would be happy to pay more for more recs, not necessarily in the form of lists. Y’all have been a huge impact on my video game life and I’m happy super happy to hear you guys are trying to grow the show. Wishing you the best. Also I’d totally buy a t-shirt or something
Francis disney
2025-03-16 05:30:25 +0000 UTCive always wanted some kind of IC related merch to rep even it was just a basic tee/sticker with the podcast art on them or getting more into doing cool weird stuff idk like certified 7/10 enjoyer pins or other repeated jokes mantras from the show i get that brings a whole other element of producing stuff and logistics but even small stuff like a monthy zine with a sticker could be cool and i know im always more willing to pay for physical benefits and on the non physical side could try making mini episodes with recurring themes? frank and jaffes comic talk! the game debates! solo rambles about whatever yall wanna get off your chest, ill listen to ya'll talk about anything happily! anyway keep up the good work🫡
Dustin Parsons
2025-03-15 21:11:05 +0000 UTCOne thing I would be interested in seeing is Brandon (or anyone that wanted to) to pick something from their collection to make a very brief video of. Wouldn't have to be over produced, doesn't even necessarily need gameplay or other additional video accompaniment. Just talking about the thing itself to show off for a minute or two. Brandon's collection alone is really vast, and the posts you make on bluesky of the random game from your collection might be nice to expand on. Show off the manual or box art, story of how or where you picked it up or anything at all.
Dustin Reno
2025-03-15 20:46:09 +0000 UTCI’m a Canadian and our currency sucks at the moment because your government is actively trying to destabilize us, so I’m probably going to fully divest from patreon and most American businesses. That has nothing to do with you guys. But I will add that the currency differential does make a $5 base tier a lot less appealing for international listeners.
Sean Konrad
2025-03-15 15:20:27 +0000 UTCMaybe a balance between more focused recommendations or lists without radically increasing Esper's workload (we can't sacrifice how great the video edits are!!): Higher tiers with weekly newsletters? Don't need to be super long. Maybe one person from the crew highlights an interesting game they've been messing with or a few folks work on a shorter list. Smaller bite sized forms of the podcast in another medium. At some egregious high end tier priced so it won't scale out of control: A personal recommendation from the Insert Credit per month? Highest tiers submit submits what they're feeling, what they've liked, someone from the crew replies with the rec. As a way to boost patrons in general, I think of a favorite podcast, Blank Check. Would need reworking to match style & tone of IC but: Patreon only bracket votes that determine the topics for a bonus episode or series? BC's march madness patreon only brackets determine a theme series of bonus commentaries they'll record later in the year. Maybe the IC version of that is as direct a copy as having a bracket vote for a list episode's theme. Maybe the IC version is as insular as yearly revivals of monster island where Jaffe could record short weekly recaps of what the patrons voted on & how much he agrees or disagrees with the results, highlighting specific arguments from the Patreon comments, something like blaseball commentary.
theyWillRoar
2025-03-15 14:55:57 +0000 UTCIt's hard for me to suggest things I'd want to change as I've been backing the show at a price I can afford for about a year after enjoying it for a good three years now. I've liked all of the recent changes and I hope to see the Credit system stick around over time. I would really enjoy seeing more written stuff, either in posts or read aloud like you've experimented with in the past. I also like when you have guests from across the games space like streamer Casey Explosion or FGC organiser Andrés Velasco y Coll, as well as journalists and developers. Bringing back "Previously on Insert Credit" questions could be good now Ash is here. Others have suggested bonus themed episodes. Maybe the episodes where you all play a game after credits were redeemed for it should be bonus ones? Could be a good funnel towards subscriptions if only for the episode where you all finally play Magic. Patreon also has the option now to sell posts at a minimum of $3 so maybe you could offer bonus episodes that way alongside the usual subscription if someone wants a one-off special? As a backer I don't really want more stuff locked off from the public, though. I like how the Gaiden episodes have gone public after a while. One of the only other Patreons I back, Minnmax, have a $3 tier that's just Discord access and a $5 tier where you get ad-free episodes one day early (not sure I'd want to either delay the main show a day or make Esper rush though) as well as their weekly bonus show (but you already have one monthly). I guess it's pretty similar to the current Insert Credit experience? There might be things that come to mind later but I hope any of this was of some use.
Rin
2025-03-15 13:07:04 +0000 UTC2) - Topic-Focused Bonus Episodes: Video Game Recommendation / Video Game Book-Club Type content/ Developer Interviews. My favorite episodes of Insert Credit are the List Episodes. I love it when episodes have more focused topics. Insert Credit's GOTY and Annual are always a highlight for me. It would be cool to see 52 Pickup-style Bonus episodes revolving around a Video Game. Even if only tangentially. Like a Bonus Episode about the new Sonic The Hedgehog movie. Or if you wanna get bonkers, the Panel's take on an entire series of games. Which ones are their favorites? I get so excited for each one of 52 Pickup's bonus episodes that I usually experience the media pertaining to the topic in advance. Another one inspired by 52 Pickup: Interviews with developers. Maybe even people related to beloved "Insert Credit Video Games". Learning more about the history and the people behind the stuff we love. I have to say, 52 Pickup owns. It is definitely the best bonus content I've experienced. (I love you, Jaffe and Gita.) I also really liked the idea that was brought up some time ago for a series about "How to Like [Game Name / Game Series]". That pitch was enticing. Though, it sounds like it could require a lot of homework. I love the current Bonus Episodes but I would pay more to listen to topic-focused stuff.
Red Panda
2025-03-15 03:12:29 +0000 UTCThere are alwayls a few kind folks with a lot to spare who would happily donate more for a small return. Looking at what Retronauts does: Something like every quarter you get a dirtbag question at $64 dollar tier etc.
Chase
2025-03-15 02:21:36 +0000 UTCIn terms of promotion and such, I was kind of surprised to see that there's no Insert Credit thread on ResetEra, which I discovered around the time of episode 361 etc. I was close to creating it but wasn't sure on: a) what should be in it, and b) if that was someone y'all would've even wanted (ie. is it good or bad publicity?) Happy to still do it, and 8-4 have one that regularly gets mentioned on their show so I guess it's not all that bad? Lemme know 💜
Shaneus
2025-03-15 02:01:43 +0000 UTCOne podcast I support is two hours long, but the only way to get the second hour of the show is to subscribe to the patreon. The appeal to me of insert credit is the pacing and editing, but maybe you all agree to record for an additional 30 minutes and lock that behind the patreon? So then the main episode remains in tact, but special segments exist for those who pay a little more. Another show I support publishes weekly for free. Then they have a 30 minute, more casual, guest-free “bonus” version of the show that publishes on a different day. So maybe the main show stays free but there’s a second insert credit podcast that’s shorter. Could be more casual or less structured—maybe the hosts just talk about what they’re playing or the news or something. Sorry, lots of ideas! But I also think the appeal of paying to remove ads is a big draw for other Patreons. Might be annoying but could you switch to an RSS provider that dynamically inserts ads for the free feed, and the only way to get the ad-free version is to pay for Patreon? Looking forward to whatever you decide!
Rhoades
2025-03-15 01:24:09 +0000 UTCI haven't found another podcast I even care to listen to regularly, but I appreciate the new twists that have been introduced. There should be a secret question form for higher tiers to allow us to request an impersonation of a game character's voice while the question is read
Dylan
2025-03-15 00:46:10 +0000 UTCAs of this writing, I only pay for two podcasts - Insert Credit and The Weekly Planet. Just to give you some insight into what The Weekly Planet is doing: The Weekly Planet is on Patreon (3000+ patrons) but they also have their own Patreon-like site called Bigsandwich.co (which they own). On Bigsandwich they charge $9 a month, there are no other tiers. Their Patreon has several tiers up to $15 but doesn't seem to offer all the extras. If you are not paying they offer two ad-supported shows a week. The Weekly Planet comes out every Monday. Caravan of Garbage comes out every Thursday. Both shows are on YouTube and available via their site and RSS feeds etc. Caravan of Garbage's video component is well-produced with edited clips and sometimes little skits or home video. Clips and segments from The Weekly Planet are also broken out and posted as their own videos on YouTube. For $9 a month (the cost of a big sandwich), they offer an ad-free version of The Weekly Planet podcast, early access to the Caravan of Garbage episode that week, and a weekly bonus episode (they have several other themed shows they rotate through) plus monthly movie commentaries. The extra shows are: James and Maso's Time Crapsule - James and Maso look at the pop culture offerings of various decades and rank them. Never Go Back - This show is always video. The boys play a video game. Usually, that game has something to do with other pop culture of the moment, so for instance, the most recent episode had them playing through the unreleased Daredevil game. The Big Sandwiche Classique Comique Booque Clubbe - The boys talk about a comic book collection/trade or graphic novel. Suggestible - James and Claire talk about books and movies. We Got ‘We Got This Covered’ Covered - Maso tortures James with clickbait articles. The Weekly Planet Extra - Just a collection of Misc stuff they've done The hosts rarely appear on camera, it's mostly the editor doing the heavy lifting on the video segments. One of the hosts, James does some editing but they mostly rely on 2 paid editors. I believe Claire also manages a bunch of the business stuff. James does this full-time, Maso, his co-host, is paid but has another full-time job. They also have a discord channel, facebook group, and subreddit. The hosts rarely participate in them but the communities are some of the nicest I have ever encountered on the internet. Their YouTube is "Mr Sunday Movies" (1.4m subs).
Cubeecraft
2025-03-14 23:50:28 +0000 UTCNot sure if patreon supports this but could y'all have a place where people with less disposable income could request a gifted sub? No means testing required; this would be pure charity. Maybe it's simply a stickied forum post? For me, the hardest part of coming up with ideas for higher tiers is that some people will be left out, simply because they're struggling with finances. Some ideas are discounts/access to tangibles. Hate the idea of selling merch in this "fast fashion" world but maybe there are posters or other swag that could be commissioned? Maybe Brandon auctions off physical media that would normally be sold to a five and dime? My main concern is people becoming burnt out. Everyone on the team seems incredible busy already. With that being said, would love some content that utilizes the Video Game History Foundation archives, for example, when was the first mention of 'doom like' or how many mentions of 'bubsy'. Rapid fire style recommendations: - early access - exclusive Q&A - digital items - messages for listener's special occasions (birthdays, marriages, etc) - NFTs (just kidding) Finally, loved episode #378. Fantastic work Esper!
Kevin shaffer
2025-03-14 23:40:10 +0000 UTCMaybe consider creative prompts and showcases for games or other art made by listeners? Be like "the chosen keywords are turn-based and cooking, we'll check back in 2 months and see what prototypes you made and talk about our favorites." This does assume a consistent base of submissions though
Matt Jones
2025-03-14 23:34:30 +0000 UTCBiggest benefit for me is the bonus episodes, but the Dirtbag is also really fun and I've really enjoyed the viewer/listener submitted buzzers. Maybe there's room for lower effort content? Some Patreons offer uncut content with some commentary. You probably want to avoid adding more work, but let's play style stuff, or some written articles on the Patreon might be welcome, but that sounds an awful lot like the kind of fluff work that games journalists have to do to meet a quota. I'm also not suggesting uncut podcast episodes. It also seems somewhat successful to add a quick bit near the end or during the video of top patrons, but I've also heard that dedicating a bunch of time just to showing/reading a list of names every episode is disasterous for the Almighty Algorithm, so it needs to be quick, or integrated. This all sounds like even more work for Esper lol.
Psinuxi
2025-03-14 23:26:18 +0000 UTC2) More access for some definition of access. One (non gaming, hobby-focused) podcast offered folks to be able to listen in or watch the raw recording and live chat amongst themselves. It evolved so with time the hosts would check the chat from time to time and call out notable / relevant comments if appropriate. Same podcast for higher tiers did a private spinoff where one of the main hosts does a quick chat with one of whomever signed up as short episodes on a monthly cadence. And the spinoff was only available to folks in that tier (“Friends of the Show” tier) Patreon-unlocked discord access is another pattern that’s common. Kit and Krysta did (maybe still do) an hour a month of online gaming with a high tier patreons — With the spend credits to make panelists play something format, might be something there like a game club, which could trickle down to the forums still but maybe an elevated tier gets to play along at home with the panel. Eggplant does something with listener voicemails, not sure if/how it connects to patreon if at all.
doodooface
2025-03-14 23:15:07 +0000 UTC
