Patreon launches the option to gift subscriptions and offer discounts.

Creators on Patreon primarily generate income through subscriptions, which requires them to establish an audience willing to pay a few dollars a month for access to their content, whether it be written works, podcasts, or videos. Recently, the platform announced the possibility for creators and their followers to offer subscriptions as gifts, which could prove to be a powerful tool for expanding their subscriber base.

Patreon indicated earlier this year that it was developing a gift subscription feature, similar to those already existing on platforms like Substack, which has been expanding into the creator space beyond newsletters. Gifting is also a fundamental feature on the streaming platform Twitch, where both fans and streamers often gift subscriptions based on specific goals or as part of special events.

Creators on Patreon earn revenue through subscriptions and exclusive paid content, though there is also an option for free content for those who prefer to make their work openly accessible. Fans can now gift memberships of any category and duration they choose, for example, securing the rate of the lowest subscription level for a year. Additionally, if a creator wants to offer benefits to a new follower, they can set the free membership to last anywhere from one month to a year.

In addition to free trials, creators will have the ability to send discounts and offers to their followers, adjusting who can access them; for instance, they might offer a 50% discount only to those members coming from the free tier to incentivize their conversion to paying subscribers.