Use urgency & seasonality to boost your earnings

The takeaway: Use a limited-time promotion to turn casual fans into paying members. Tie it to a clear deadline — like an upcoming price change or holiday — so fans feel that extra urgency to join now instead of later.

The opportunity:

After seven years on Patreon, James, the concept artist and digital painter behind James’ RPG Art, needed to raise his tier prices to invest more in his work. He wanted to be transparent about the change, while also bringing longtime fans along.

How it worked:

James paired the upcoming price change with a limited time discount code, which let fans lock in “early bird” pricing. By urging fans to lock in a lower price before a certain date, he saw a flood of new supporters join. What could have been a tricky pricing change turned into a burst of excitement and growth for his page.

Try it for yourself:

Run a promotion to give fans who are considering your membership that extra little push. Time it with a clear deadline, like a price change or a bigger cultural moment like Black Friday, to make the discount even more appealing.

💡Tip: if you’re not sure how much discount to offer, make sure to turn the Autopilot feature on: it’s a set of growth tools that work in the background to help you earn and grow more with less effort, offering targeted discounts automatically.

Want more tips to make the most of the end-of-year bump in new memberships? See how to turn FOMO into holiday growth.

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Illustrator: Alison Coté | Presenter: Catherine McCafferty