Will You Be My Kinky Patron?

Will you be my kinky patron of the kinky arts? What in the hell are the kinky arts? Hell if I know, it just sounded good.

But that’s besides the point.

I am hoping you’ll become my kinky patron whether the arts are kinky or not. Rawr.

Anyway, moving on…

What’s all this talk about patrons, kinky or otherwise?

Well, this is really freaking hard, and even weirder to do. I feel a bit like someone with my hand out, begging for money. Here I go anyway…

How did this all start?

There’s a movement in the online world of creators (artists, photographers, writers) to allow our audience, the people who enjoy what we do, to pay us directly for our time and effort, whether to show their appreciation or to help us create even more.

I wanted to put out a proverbial tip jar through PayPal, but PayPal doesn’t love the adult world, and I’d be damned if I’d lose access to my account because they objected to my content. So that was out.

I’d heard of Patreon – a way for people to support creators (like me!) financially with monthly pledges.

Why would people want to do that?

Have you ever heard of patrons of the arts? Way back in the day, they were usually very wealthy and took care of artists financially so that they (the artists) could spend time creating more art. Now, of course, there were perks to it. They had more attention from the artist, got first pick of their finished pieces, could demand or otherwise cajole specific types of work from them.

Why do I want a kinky patron for myself?

Because creating anything – digital art, videos, podcasts (ahem), and essays or books takes two things. Time and money.

And because I hope that you think what I do is worth as little as $1 per month (sort of that proverbial tip jar that I can’t have).

Those of us who create anything do it because we love it, but in practical terms, we often can’t create the things we want because in order to afford to do what we want and people want from us, we have to work in other places which takes up most, if not all, of our time. And no matter what people think, I am not Wonder Woman, and even I sleep. (Plus, I have a Daddy Dom who won’t let me kill myself and run myself into the ground – not even for the sake of my art.)

On top of that, there are so many more things I want to do:

A new website update with features for forums, chat, maybe even a private membership section that would be a safe place for people to learn about BDSM – or any other topic I discuss here (erotic promo tips, podcasting, you name it).

Go ad-free. I don’t mind writing for other companies, and I definitely don’t mind reviewing products. But begging companies to pay me to give them space on my website is tough – and no fun for anyone. I try to never make you read an ad (which is why sponsored posts tend to be more like flash fiction) but I’d love to get to a point where I don’t need to do that anymore.

Write All The Books. Do you know, I have at least eight erotica books outlined and ready to – except for the writing part and TWO non-fiction BDSM books in mind as well as a third non-fiction book on marketing?

On the other hand, what I already do costs money:

• Newsletter subscription services charge based on the size of my list (which keeps growing, yay!)
• Podcast hosting costs an increasing amount each month as more people download more episodes (yay!)
• Website hosting costs every year

Now, I hope no one thinks I’m complaining. Far from it. What I do here is a labor of love, and I can’t imagine doing anything else but in terms of paying the bills or producing good content (spoken or written) as Kayla Lords, working to pay the bills will always win.

Unless, enough of you want to (and can) support my efforts.

What do you get out of the deal?

Well, that all depends on your patron amount (which you can stop at any point).

For as little as $1 a month you’ve got my undying gratitude and squishy boob hugs (virtually, of course); think of it as a tip for good service

Move to $3 per month, and you’ll get access to exclusive excerpts and essays, things that won’t be published here

Bump up to $5, and you get all of that plus a copy of any e-book I release in a given month (format of your choice as I publish on as many formats as possible).

Go a bit bigger with $10, and this is where it starts getting good. You get everything at the lower levels, plus I’ll produce monthly videos (yes, videos with my face in it) discussing sex, kink, whatever. Topic suggestions will always be welcome. You may even get to see John Brownstone a time or two.

For those with bigger budgets, at $25 per month you get all of that, and a free signed printed version of every book I release. From here on out, every book I release will also be in print. I can’t make promises on anthologies I’m in, but I will do this with my own books.

And for those with deep pockets and gigantic hearts, if you’re crazy enough to go to the highest level – $100 per month – you get everything listed plus a private 30 minute Skype or Google Hangout chat with me once a month. For obvious reasons, I’ve capped this one, but truly I will be completely shocked if anyone chooses this.

**All rewards are given out at the beginning of the month following your pledge.**

What am I getting out of the deal? How do you know your money is going to good use and that I won’t be taking luxurious cruises with it?

If you check out my Patreon page, you’ll see that I have goals listed.

• $100 – We’re covering the basics and freeing up some of my time to write more. I’ll say no to a project or two a month and gain a couple of hours to do more.
• $500 – I’m writing more, and I’m updating the website to build more of a community. Because these things take time, I’m spending less time on the vanilla projects so I can focus on this kinky corner of the world.
• $1000 – Now I’m easily publishing a book every few weeks. At this level, I’m making more each month than all of my current Kayla Lords income combined. That’s a lot of extra time to devote to writing. Plus, I can afford more tools to make my books, website, and podcast the best they can be.
• $2500 – This is my big hairy ass goal (more of a dream, really). Not sure I’ll ever get to this level, but if I do, I am working as Kayla Lords full-time. Blog posts, podcast episodes, books, videos (Patreon-only and public). At this point, I’d actually be able to give up the vanilla writing (not my dreams of writing books, but the other stuff) and focus on kink, erotica, marketing, podcasting, and the rest full-time.

Why should you care?

I’m not completely sure.

Because you love my work?

Because you want to see more of it?

Because you wish you could help me get to my goals, but you can only buy a book once?

Because you’ve got more money than you know what to do with?

I don’t know. Your reasons are your own. And if you never give a dime, I need you to know I still love and adore you. The fact that you show up when you can and read and listen to what you do is enough of a reason for me to appreciate you. My readers and listeners are what keep me going.

No one should think that if they don’t become my patron I’m going to have my feelings hurt or be mad. Never going to happen.

Why do I think anyone will support me in this?

I have no real idea that anyone will. But I know that I entertain people. I make you think. I help newbie kinksters. I share my knowledge and learn from others. I do things I’m proud of and would gladly spend most of my time in this space.

But I’m going to need help. Your help.

Will you be my kinky patron? (Bonus! If you go to my Patreon page, even if you don’t pledge a dime, there’s video of me on the page. Yes, me. My face. Me with less anonymity. Yes, that’s as terrifying as it sounds, but it’s worth it to me.)