Bring your audience to Patreon

🧭 This post is part of our Growing your Patreon collection. If you haven't taken the Growth Pathfinder quiz yet, consider starting with How should you grow? to discover your best growth opportunities and build a personalized path through this collection.

Your audience is already out there. Watching your videos, listening to your podcast, following your socials, reading your newsletter. That's your starting point for this quest. If you already have an audience outside of Patreon and want to bring them in, you're in the right place.

If you're still building that audience from scratch, our Launching your Patreon collection is a great place to start. And if you're looking to reach brand-new people on Patreon itself, check out the Help Patreon fans discover you post in this collection.

Growing on Patreon doesn't always mean starting from zero. Sometimes it starts by helping the people who already love what you do find their way to your Patreon.

And chances are, you're already creating opportunities for that to happen.

A podcast outro. A pinned comment. A sneak peek tutorial. A livestream invitation.

Little moments like these may not feel groundbreaking on their own, but they create clear paths that help your audience know where to go when they're ready to explore your Patreon. This is your audience quest.

Build paths your audience can follow

You don't need to invent a whole new way to promote your Patreon. (Insert a sigh of relief, right?) In fact, some of the best opportunities are probably already hiding inside the work you're creating today.

• If you're a podcaster, that path might be a preview of a Patreon-exclusive episode.

• If you're an artist, it might be sharing part of a project publicly and inviting people to see the full process on Patreon.

• If you're a video creator, it might be a quick mention at the beginning or end of every video.

The path will look different for every creator, and that's kind of the point. The goal is to create natural connections between the places your audience already spends time and the experience you're building on Patreon.

For example, 3D printing creator PrintyJay created a YouTube playlist called Patreon Exclusive Models. Rather than treating Patreon as something separate from their YouTube presence, they're creating a direct connection between the two. Viewers who enjoy their videos can immediately see that additional models are available through Patreon.

Podcast creators Fixing Famous People take a similar approach by using podcast ads to promote a public collection of their Patreon media. By offering their listeners a free preview of what their Patreon offers, their invitation is enticing and an easy “yes please.”

Different creators may build different paths, but the principle stays the same: use the work you’re already creating to help people experience the value of your Patreon and discover more of it.

Make the path easy to follow

Once you've created a path, make it simple to follow.

That means placing a link to your Patreon anywhere people are already engaging with your work, such as in your social media bios or pinned comments, video descriptions, podcast show notes, newsletters, and website.

Think of it as leaving helpful signposts for people who are already interested in seeing more.

When someone finishes a video, enjoys an episode, or discovers your work for the first time, a clear next step helps them continue the journey without having to hunt around for it.

Reaction creators WhatchaGot2Say do this well. Every Instagram clip they post includes a Patreon banner, so even if they don’t mention it, their audience still knows where to go for more.

If you're a podcaster, Spotify Synced Feeds and episode previews can create even smoother paths between public listening and Patreon membership. Episode previews give listeners a taste of what's available on Patreon, while Spotify Synced Feeds make it easier for fans to listen in an app they already use.

Your audience is already there. A well-placed link with a compelling invitation is sometimes all it takes to bring them home.

⚡ Pro Tip: Use the Patreon Promotion Planner to check where your Patreon links live across all your platforms and spot easy gaps to fill.

Note: The worksheet link will prompt you to make your own copy so you can fill it in (this requires a Google account). You can also download a PDF version at the bottom of this post.

Build a rhythm

Promoting your pathways gets a whole lot easier when it becomes a habit.

Instead of trying to come up with a new promotional idea every week, you can build a rhythm that naturally fits into your creative process.

• Maybe it's a quick preview of a Patreon-exclusive episode at the beginning of every podcast.

• Maybe it's sharing a work-in-progress and inviting people to see the finished version on your Patreon.

• Maybe it's a weekly Instagram Story highlighting something that happened on your Patreon that week.

Whatever your rhythm looks like, consistency helps keep Patreon top of mind. Remember, though, consistency doesn't have to mean constantly asking people to join. Often, it's simply about regularly showing people what's happening on your Patreon and why it's worth checking out.

The more often your audience encounters those paths, the easier it becomes for them to remember where to go when they’re ready to follow. Not everyone will be ready the first time they hear about your Patreon. Gentle, repeated reminders help people take action when the timing is right for them.

It also makes life easier for you. Rather than constantly wondering how to promote your Patreon, you can develop a handful of approaches that feel natural, fit into the work you're already creating, and are repeatable enough that you'll actually do them.

And when something is repeatable, it's also testable. You can see what resonates with your audience and build from there.

Future-you will appreciate that you've built this habit.

⚡ Pro Tip: That's exactly what the Patreon Promotion Planner is designed to help with. Use it to build a promotion rhythm you can realistically stick with and remember to do.

Give people a reason to follow

A clear path is powerful. A clear destination is even better.

When someone follows a link to your Patreon, what are they excited to find?

• “Watch the full tutorial.”

• “Unlock the complete episode.”

• “Join us Friday night for the livestream.”

• “Get early access to next week's release.”

These invitations help your audience picture what's waiting for them on the other side of the click. Invitations become even more compelling when they give people a reason to act now, whether that's a livestream happening this week, a limited release, or early access to something exciting.

Cooking creator The Kitchenista Diaries has done this extremely well. She posts a photo of a meal she cooked on Instagram, then in the caption invites her followers to join her on Patreon later that week to cook it together. It doesn’t feel like heavy promotion, it's delivered as an invitation to an experience her fans want to be part of.

Another approach is to give people a small taste of what's available before asking them to join. Want to see it in action? Cool Tips for Growth #3: The teaser tactic shares how 5-4 podcast gained 466 new paid members in a single day with a teaser-based promotion.

Your audience already enjoys your work. A great call to action helps them understand how your Patreon gives them even more access to the parts they already love.

Different audiences may respond to different invitations. Some creators see success with providing behind-the-scenes access, while others find that sharing exclusive videos, community experiences, livestreams, or early access resonate with their fans more strongly.

You don't have to guess. Ask your audience what would make them excited to join your Patreon. Experiment with different calls to action and review your traffic data over time to learn what resonates. One helpful place to look is the Sources section at the bottom of your Insights Traffic page, where you can see where people are finding you.

If one platform consistently sends visitors to Patreon, that's awesome and it’s valuable information. You may decide to double down there, experiment elsewhere, or both. If another platform has a large audience but very little Patreon traffic, that may be a great place to experiment and see if you can inspire action.

⚡ Pro Tip: Curious about creating stronger calls to action? Check out Spreading the word in our Launching your Patreon collection for more ideas.

🧭 Your next steps

Growing your audience on Patreon is rarely one big magical moment. More often, it's the result of building small, repeatable paths that help your audience know exactly where to go and why they should want to.

As you continue your audience quest:

• Identify where your audience already spends time.

• Add clear pathways back to your Patreon across your platforms.

• Refine one or two calls to action that feel natural to you.

• Use the Patreon Promotion Planner to build a repeatable rhythm.

• Review your Insights traffic data regularly and adjust over time.

• Visit Spreading the word in our Launching your Patreon collection if you'd like additional inspiration on creating calls to action and promotion.

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