Dearest friends,
I am so grateful for you and your support. But I don't know if a month-to-month membership structure is what I should be offering. It takes a lot of energy, and I'd rather provide insight and information to you in other, more meaningful ways. I really like Buy Me A Coffee, and I think that it's a great way for people to tip me for liking my work on social media. But a membership structure... Let's talk about why I'm having second (maybe tertiary?) thoughts.
Recently, I listened to this really great episode on Sarah M. Chappell's podcast So You Wanna Be A Witch (episode 176: Why I Hate Patreon). Over the years, I've gleaned a lot of useful information from Sarah, from learning about alcohol-free tincture to making at HausWitch a few years ago, to recently signing up as a member of the Holistic Business Academy (which I love). The irony of signing up for a monthly membership when talking about uncertainty about monthly memberships isn't lost on me. It feels different. I'll expand on that in a second.
In Sarah's episode about Patreon and monthly memberships, she talks a lot about the idea of valuing one's work and one's skills, and questions whether memberships actually do properly value someone's work. Lately I've been feeling that... I don't feel like I'm getting what I'm worth for what I offer. And really, that's on me. I'm notoriously bad for downplaying my worth, and my value as a person, an artist, and a witch. My Cancer Rising often softens me to a puddle, where I don't believe in myself. I end up not believing that I'm worth anything. My Aries Sun and Leo Moon know that's not true. I'm exercising a practice in which I recognize my skills, my positive attributes, and all the work I've done to get to where I am now. And frankly... I know that that's worth more than a couple of dollars a month. I know that the readings I offer are worth what I ask. I know that my artwork is worth double digits. I know that I'm skilled enough to make real money off of my work.
I think that we all have moments where we suffer extreme moments of doubt, and moments where we question our worth. Those moments can shake us to our core.
Say it with me, "I KNOW MY WORTH. I AM WORTHY. OTHERS RECOGNIZE MY WORTH."
It's not about putting a price tag on everything we do. It's not about monetizing every corner of our life, or everything we offer. I've been asking myself why I want to (or feel that I should) have a membership structure. The bottom line is, I don't have a good reason. I want to share writing and ideas, and encourage people to pay me for my services if my offerings resonate with them. Meanwhile, I'm all about zine culture and accessibility to information, and I'm asking people to pay a monthly fee to have access to my thoughts. That... doesn't... connect. There's something wrong there.
When I was in art school, I would blog all the time. I would just write and share things I liked for the sake of writing and sharing. I didn't expect or want anything more than that. I want to return to that. I want to trust that if I offer ideas and information, that people will come to me for more. I can provide free information, but also teach courses, sell zines, offer readings and commissions.
I think the reason memberships are appealing to so many people is it suggests the idea that people do value your work. Which is true, in a lot of ways. But artists and creators are always battling against the structures of social media. We fight against algorithms, we fight with the idea that our work isn't free (despite sharing free information), we fight against the idea that we're not worth supporting. Memberships don't necessarily counter act those ideas. Instead, I feel like it's a way of severing ourselves into pieces to do more work.
I'm going to continue writing for you. But I'm going to remove the pressure of having to preform, or having to provide enough. I'm not going to ask monthly amounts of money from you. I'm not going to demand a monthly fee in order for you to access my thoughts. You can tip me if you like. That option will always be available, and I do appreciate it. I love it. Getting a random tip is so lovely. Whenever someone "buys me a coffee", it makes my heart flutter, and I always excitedly tell my husband. I never feel more grateful than when someone buys me a coffee.
I appreciate you so much. You're an absolute angel. Now to remove the tier options!