Patreon Adds Tweet-Style Features and Recommendations
▼ Summary
– Patreon is launching new social media-like features including Quips, which are public posts similar to tweets designed to attract potential subscribers.
– The platform will enable creator collaborations and improve its recommendation system to help cross-pollinate audiences and grow fan bases.
– Patreon is introducing user controls such as a “not interested” button and saved content folders, with early access available via a waitlist starting Monday.
– The company has recently attracted high-profile writers from Substack, which is facing criticism for its shift away from newsletters and issues like hosting extremist content.
– Patreon aims to balance audience growth with maintaining direct creator-fan relationships, avoiding over-reliance on algorithms that creators must navigate.
Patreon is rolling out a significant update that brings familiar social media-style tools to its platform, aiming to help creators attract and engage new audiences while maintaining the direct connection with their supporters. This strategic expansion includes features designed to foster discovery and interaction in ways that echo popular networks like Twitter and Instagram.
One of the most noticeable additions is Quips, which function much like tweets. These are brief posts containing text, images, or video clips that are public by default and open for anyone to comment on. This marks a shift from Patreon’s core model of gated, subscriber-only content. The intention behind Quips is to offer potential subscribers a glimpse of what they might get behind the paywall, serving as a teaser to convert casual viewers into paying fans.
Beyond Quips, Patreon is introducing new methods for creators to share audiences. A collaborative post feature will allow creators to team up, exposing each other’s work to both of their follower bases, a tactic already popular on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. The platform is also enhancing its recommendation engine to suggest creators to users when it detects overlapping audience interests. Fans will retain the option to view content solely from creators they already follow, maintaining control over their feeds. Starting Monday, a waitlist opens for creators seeking early access to these features. Future tests may include a “not interested” button, @mentions for creators, and a dedicated folder for saving content.
This development comes as Patreon has successfully attracted several prominent writers from competitor Substack, including Anne Helen Petersen of the well-known Culture Study newsletter. A steady stream of creators appears to be leaving Substack for various reasons, ranging from insufficient technical support and the platform’s shift toward an app-centric model with tweet-like Notes, to concerns over extremist content. Many writers originally chose Substack to avoid algorithmic interference, so its move toward social features has sparked criticism from users who valued its newsletter-first approach.
Patreon has long positioned itself as an alternative to unpredictable social media algorithms, emphasizing stable creator-fan relationships. Yet creators also need to expand their reach, which requires visibility to new audiences. The challenge for Patreon will be balancing growth with authenticity, ensuring these new discovery tools aid audience expansion without forcing creators to decode yet another complex algorithm.
(Source: The Verge)
