FYI Post About Limited Buckaroos

Hello everyone!

As you all know I am new to both the creator side of patreon and the development side of things.  A lot of what I have done so far is according to what I originally planned/outlined and prepared for but a lot of this whole creative and publishing process has been experimentation and fairly spontaneous.  So I am learning as I go and trying to make improvements along the way.  I appreciate everyone bearing with me.

The Tango Fiction / Transfigure development process has never been primarily about money.  Yet, at the same time, it is pretty plain that there is a virtuous circle: the well funded projects look better and develop faster and then become more popular and usually much more polished, then it snowballs.  The more money I make, the more hours I can justify putting into this without worrying about other work. If you want to see Transfigure get updated faster and finished in a timely manner it is in all our interests to get ol' Tango out of "hobby" tier to at least "part time."  We are almost there!  We also eclipsed my 2nd patreon goal last month!  Whoo!  We are now at Rice Tier.

So, first of all let me say, from the bottom of my heart, thank you to all my patrons!  Knowing that are a lot of people that share enough of my passion to give me money is enormously motivating and very flattering.  But, sadly (or fortunately?), my ambition knows no bounds.  I want way more of you and I want to finish Transfigure in all its glory.

Why does the internet choose to fund some projects over others?  Why do some abandoned patreons make a grand a month?  Why does that great author you like make $3/month?  I have no idea.  I ask myself, how did I get almost a hundred patrons in just a few months?  The answer I get is the same reason I supported so many creators on patreon over the years - I liked their creations and I wanted to encourage the production of more (and maybe get access to the latest version :D).  Pretty simple, right?  Maybe not so much...

So I thought about the topic of monetization quite a bit and I have done quite a few hours of research.  I am also firm about offering a good value and keeping my promises. I have checked out hundreds of patreon accounts in the adult space along with a bunch of interesting articles using patreon's own numbers about general transactions.

I learned a lot of really fascinating information.  For starters, the average pledge on patreon is $~7+, US with $12-14 paid per month in total across ~2 pledges.  I found that really surprising (although it is skewed by huge vanity tier pledges like $100).  The genre, media type, platform (youtube etc) did not seem to really matter.  Although games with art or renders made a lot more than those without.  But people definitely pay for what they are passionate about.... I found some absolutely bizarre patreons where people were making $30k a month for... uh, let's just say very niche content.  I was not impressed with the quality or content of many 5-10k a month projects (although some are excellent). Transfigure will be better than those even if I have to eat cat food and no one reads it. The value propositions offered range widely from really compelling rewards and incentives to absolutely insane / vanity levels.  One thing also became apparent.  $5-10 early access versions were the norm... the overwhelming majority actually... especially for those that were mostly what I consider to be a successful full time project.  Early access is the main incentive that a creator can seem to offer and a huge number don't even offer it to the sub $5 folks.

So, after careful consideration, what I have decided is that the Buckaroo tier will remain exactly as is -but- it will now have a fairly low patron cap.  This way I can grandfather all of you "dedicated fans with a budget" in so that you lock in an excellent value long term subscription... if that's what you desire.  I think this way is fair - it rewards you early patrons / keeps our agreement word for word.  It may also add a slight incentive for new founder patrons to step up. Then the $3 will become the new floor, still 40% under what would be average for similar content.  This way I think I am covering all my bases, while still being fair and growth oriented.

I am also adding a vanity tier with 1 slot for $50/month that will let the patron choose a scene or character update once per month.  You want to see that asshole Mitch show up in every update?  Lol, signup today! No one in their right mind should pick this but, who knows?  The internet is vast.

TL;DR: The Buckaroos now have a 100 patron cap. No changes for existing patrons.  New director slot added for someone who has too much money and enthusiasm.