In 2014, Medellín Living entered its sixth year of publishing positive and informative stories from the City of the Eternal Spring.
What began as a public way of sharing my experiences getting to know the city has turned into the number one source of tourist information for foreigners visiting and relocating to Medellín.
In order to continue growing the blog, last month I launched a Patreon campaign to begin accepting reader donations. For as little as $1 per month, you can become a patron of Medellín Living.
What is Patreon?
Patreon is a crowdfunding site similar to Kickstarter, but instead of one-time donations toward a single project, it allows supporters to make small monthly donations toward a stream of ongoing creations, such as videos, web comics and blog posts.
As these donations accumulate, they help creators (like me) reach milestone goals.
For example, when Medellín Living reaches $100 in monthly pledges, I will hire another regular writer for the blog, which will allow us to cover more topics, faster.
In addition to the warm fuzzy feeling that you’re helping us reach our goals, we’re also offering special rewards.
The Rewards for Becoming a Patron
These are the current rewards being offered. They’re subject to change, and I’m open to hearing any ideas from patrons as to what they’d like to see in the future.
Pledge $1 per month, and you’ll receive access to the Patrons-only news feed, which includes private updates you won’t find anywhere else, as well as your name on a new page dedicated to patrons of Medellín Living.
Pledge $2.50 per month, and I’m offering you priority email support in addition to the lower tier rewards.
Pledge $5 per month, and you’ll receive a free copy of the Medellín Travel Guide in all its formats, plus the other rewards.
Pledge $10 per month, and I’ll jump on a Skype call for 30 minutes to answer your questions personally, and meet you for coffee when you arrive in the city.
Patreon charges patrons’ debit or credit cards at the end of each month, and rewards are fulfilled within a few days after the first charge is made.
What Else Should You Know
To be clear, this isn’t some kind of pay wall. The content we publish on the blog continues to be 100% free to access and read. However, it does offer a way for readers to give something back and benefit from some extra rewards in the process.
All that’s required to pledge is an email address or Facebook account, a credit/debit card or PayPal account, and a willingness to give.
International payments are supported, however all pledges are converted to US Dollars. You can adjust your pledges or cancel at any time.
To see all the rewards and learn more, visit the Medellín Living page on Patreon.
flattr could work for you as well! https://flattr.com/
This is the first I’ve heard of Flattr, but after reviewing the site, I think the Patreon model is easier to understand. I’d rather someone agree to make a one time monthly commitment, then have to continuously “flattr” Medellin Living’s content.
Great to see your trying out Patreon, nice approach using it to hire an extra writer, love the idea. all the best David.
I want to become a patron and will write about food for free.