5 Tools for Managing Your Patreon While You’re on Vacation

With the rising temperatures and longer days, you’ve probably found yourself on more than one occasion dreaming about taking a sweet summer vacation. But, if you’re the only one manning the ship, it’s tough to step away and relax. Thinking about the workload and maintenance needed for smooth sailing while you’re away can seem like a daunting task. You might even talk yourself out of taking a vacation so you don’t end up falling behind.

Before you throw that beach towel back on the top shelf of your closet, I want to share some good news with you: It’s 2019, and everything you need to do (and more) can be automated using powerful tools and integrations available in Patreon. With these tools, you can step away and enjoy the sunshine without being anxious about disconnecting for a few days.

Schedule a Special Offer before you leave

Before you take a break, you can schedule a Special Offer for your patrons to keep the momentum going around your membership program while you’re away. Patreon’s Special Offers is an exclusive tool that allows you to customize a limited-time offer for members. You can have your Special Offer set up in minutes, and we’ll guide you through the entire process, so there’s no heavy lifting on your part. You’ll simply choose your offer, pick a date range that your Special Offer will run, and let us know which tiers should receive these benefits.

Creators who use Patreon’s Special Offers have seen their earning and engagement increase. So why not let us do the work for you while you’re out of town?

Read our article to see how other creators have used Special Offers.

Preschedule your content with WordPress

Our WordPress creators don’t have to press pause on their subscribers while they’re away from their computers. Patreon’s integration with WordPress gives you the power to upsell and release content on a specific schedule, so your subscribers will still be thinking about you while you’re away.

Before you go out of town, you can write a few posts and schedule them to go live on a specific date. This keeps your subscribers up-to-date with what you’re doing without you having to step away from vacation to keep them in the loop. Even though this requires some prep up front, scheduling posts ahead of time is a fantastic way to keep your business running while you recharge your batteries.

In addition to scheduled posts, Patreon’s unique plugin for WordPress allows you to “lock” specific posts. When subscribers come across a locked post, they’ll see a prompt to “Unlock with Patreon.” Choosing to unlock the post takes them to the right place to upgrade their pledge so they can see your content. Activating Patreon’s WordPress integration is free, and it operates seamlessly in the background of your website.

Learn more about Patreon’s integration with WordPress.

Give specific membership tiers early access while you’re away

Perhaps you’re not a WordPress user, but you’re still looking for a way to schedule posts to go live while you’re out of town. You’re in luck– Patreon’s early access features allow you to do just that!For members subscribed to specific tiers, you can create an early access post and add it to your editorial calendar for when you’re out of town. When your post goes live to a specific tier, they’ll see a special note at the top of the post that lets them know they’re getting access to this post before the rest of the world. Knowing they’re receiving access before anyone else is a great way to foster that sense of community no matter where in the world you might be.

See how you can create an early access post for your most loyal patrons.

Schedule an Exclusive Video with Vimeo

With the Vimeo integration, Pro and Premium creators can easily schedule a video post to go live on a later date. That means, while you are sun bathing on a deserted island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, your patrons will still be able to get that new and exclusive video content they love so much.

Here are some of the integration’s other perks, for whether you’re on vacay (or not):

• Optimize your work flow: Save operational work time by uploading raw video files directly to Patreon.
• Choose your audience: With Vimeo’s top-notch privacy settings, you can be sure that your videos are being seen by your patrons (and only your patrons).
• Experiment with your content: Get unrestricted freedom to try and share new content ideas, like behind-the-scenes, or early access videos, in a safe place made up of just your patrons.

For more information, check out the blog post titled, A New Way to Share Exclusive Video on Patreon with Vimeo.

Or, if you’re ready to start using the Vimeo integration with your patrons today, subscribe to any paid plan at Vimeo. If you don’t have a paid subscription to Vimeo, sign up for their free 30-day trial for the Plus or Pro plans and try it out. Sign up now.

Once you sign up for Vimeo, check out this support article for detailed instructions on how to set up the integration.

Keep track of Patrons with Zapier

Zapier’s software is a powerhouse for creators who want to connect their memberships to their other tools. The best part about Zapier is their user-friendly interface, which empowers people with no coding experience to build integrations that solve their biggest workflow challenges.With Zapier, you create “Zaps,” or an order of operations when something happens with one of your members. For example, you can create a Zap that sends you an email each time a Patron updates their pledge. Or, when someone converts to a higher membership tier, you can automatically add them to a premium newsletter list in MailChimp. With over 1,500 tools available in Zapier, you can automate almost any process. Even if you’re not sipping sangrias poolside, Zapier is still a leading tool in helping automate tedious tasks so you can stay two steps ahead.For a full list of apps supported by Patreon and Zapier, check out our Zapier app page.

Automate and schedule emails using Mailchimp

One of the most popular integrations creators set up through Zapier is with MailChimp. Serving businesses of all size, Mailchimp has a reputation for being a top marketing platform, but more specifically, a user-friendly email management tool.

Create a zap to configure the integration between Patreon and Zapier before you hit the road to manage your email subscribers. If someone upgrades their pledge while you’re away, they’ll be automatically moved up a tier and receive the emails you’ve created specifically for that tier. And since you can schedule your emails before you leave, all of your subscribers will be receiving the right content without you having to lift a finger while you’re away.

Discover how easy it is to manage your patron-only mailing lists with Patreon and Mailchimp.All these integrations (and more) are available in Patreon’s app directory– so check them out! You might even find another new way to help manage your creative business while you take a break this summer.