How people go from curious to member

We love love. 💕 Love makes people join your Patreon.

Yes, love at first sight sometimes happens. But usually, fandom is a journey.

Someone might see your work for the first time on social media. Or hear about you from a friend. Or stumble across one of your posts on Patreon itself.

They follow along for a bit.

They get familiar with your work.

They start to feel connected.

And eventually, they decide to join.

In business, that’s called a conversion funnel.

In creator terms, it’s how people fall in love with your work.

The journey through the funnel

You can think of the journey in four stages:

Discovery → Free Member → Paid Member → Upgrade

Discovery, or how people find you, can happen in lots of places:

• Social media

• Youtube

• Podcasts

• Word of mouth

• Public posts on Patreon

• Browsing the Patreon feed

Free membership lowers the barrier to entry. It lets people explore your work without committing right away.

Paid membership deepens the relationship.

And upgrading to higher tiers reflects an even stronger connection to what you’re building.

While the journey looks neat and tidy on paper, real people don’t always follow it in a straight line.

• Someone might discover your work on another platform and then find their way to your Patreon.

• Someone else might already be familiar with you and join your free membership to stay connected.

• Others might already be paid members and decide they want to upgrade.

What matters most is that the next step in the journey feels clear.

Moving through the funnel

So what actually makes someone decide to join? Usually, three things line up:

1. They feel connected to you and your work.

2. They understand what they’ll get by joining.

3. They’ve seen enough value to feel confident saying yes.

Another big factor is visibility. People often need to see something several times before they take action.

Creator and visual artist Ginny Di explains it perfectly:

“In my experience, people tend to join to my Patreon when they’ve been enjoying my free work, they have the space in their budget, and they remember my Patreon exists. This is a set of three circumstances, but I only really have control over one: they remember my Patreon exists.”

That’s why consistency and repetition matter. Being visible means being remembered.

Support the journey

Once you start thinking about the funnel, your posts take on a new role.

Every post has a purpose. Instead of asking “What should I post today?”, try asking “Does this post guide someone through the funnel?”

Or other ways to think of it:

• Is this helping someone discover my work?

• Is this helping a free member feel connected?

• Is this reinforcing value for paid members?

• Is this showing what someone might unlock at the next tier?

⚡Pro Tip: This is a great place to use your 30-Day Editorial Planner & Calendar Templates! They can act like a map for this journey.

As you plan your posts, try including moments that:

• Encourage discovery

• Engage free members

• Deliver value to paid members

• Highlight upgrade opportunities

And why not add a little excitement into the mix? Limited-time bonuses, early access windows, or special events can create buzz and give people a reason to take the next step.

Creator, chef, and author Kenji is a great example of this. By intentionally building up his free membership and staying visible, he created strong momentum that led many free members to convert to paid. Check out Kenji’s story here.

Now that you’re feeling the funnel of love, the next step is using Patreon’s engagement tools to support that journey.

🧭 Your next steps

• Use your 30-Day Editorial Planner & Calendar Templates to plan posts that support each stage of the journey: Discovery → Free Member → Paid Member → Upgrade

• Try adding at least one post that:

  • Highlights what members unlock

  • Encourages someone to go deeper (join or upgrade)

Next up: Using Patreon’s engagement tools to grow.

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