Do you want to make a career doing what you love online? I am, and I want to help you do it too! With the incredible online platforms we have available today, there is no reason why you can’t succeed. The most important tool to my success is Patreon.

I’d like to share with you how to use the website, along with other social media platforms, to get out of your parents’ basement and into the real world! You might be wondering why you should listen to me... listen to me because this is coming from a real artist. Patreon is the wave of the future, and I want to help you ride that wave to success! Here are six pieces of advice that I’ve learned while creating and sharing my art on Patreon through the years.

 1. What is Patreon, anyway?
Patreon is a membership platform for fostering a community and building meaningful relationships with people online. Its purpose is to help artists earn a real, stable salary. My definition of success includes obtaining the...

My success today is a result of endless amounts of hard work and learning from my mistakes. This includes collaborating with other artists, sharing and promoting your work on every possible platform, and making a genuine effort to connect with people online.

I truly believe that NOW is the best time in history to be a creator.

We have endless resources at our disposal, with just the click of a mouse or tap of a finger. By being someone who people want to follow and support, and giving them something valuable back in return, you have the ability to create something meaningful.

          1. Treat Yourself as a Business

In order to be a successful community manager who provides value to his supporters, you need to be interacting with them as much as possible. Think of your social media accounts- FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and email as a storefront. For example, if you owned a shop and someone came in to browse, you wouldn’t ignore them. You...

So, you decided to set up a Patreon page. Congratulations! This is a huge step in your career and you are on your way to making your dreams reality. However, the work doesn’t end here. Actually, it just started! A Patreon page is the first step, but you now need Patrons.

It’s best to create a Patreon page after you already have a decent amount of followers, because then you can use your existing influence to build a community of Patrons right off the bat.

This isn’t to say that it’s impossible to be successful on Patreon without a pre-established fan base, but be prepared to dedicate yourself to building a community of loyal supporters.

How do you build a community?

First, you need to identify who your supporters are. Then, you need to cater to them. Target your social media postings toward them. Create content you know they’ll love.

These are real people and they will be the reason why you are able to do what you love, so keep them in mind.

Once you...

Ever wonder how I went from geeky kid to glorified YouTube a capella dad? Well, it wasn’t always an easy road. But it always helped me grow as an artist and as an entrepreneur. Here’s a behind-the-scenes account of how I started, how I found beauty within the struggles, and how the launch of my Patreon account transformed my career.

I first started singing in eighth grade when my mom allowed me to drop French class in exchange for choir. Fast forward, and I was studying vocal performance and music education at the University of Oregon. While I was there, I founded the university’s first a cappella group, On the Rocks.

In the midst of producing albums for both my group and the women’s a cappella group Divisi, I discovered a huge passion for it. My a cappella group went on to compete in NBC’s The Sing Off in 2010. After the show’s conclusion, a few hundred people asked me to start making my own music, so I decided to go for it… without a...