Substack vs. Patreon

My experience on both as an artist & writer

Hello frens!

I wrote this initially to share with my supporters on Patreon, but realized it might be of interest to y’all, too. So I did an edit of it to share here. I don’t intend to rehash the same writing on both platforms as a habit, but this seems relevant.

My experience on Patreon

I started my Patreon in 2018 or 2019 when I was producing my podcast Beyond + Back. The conventional wisdom back then was that Patreon was a good platform to garner support for and connect with fans of your podcast. I produced two seasons of my podcast where I would speak with a creative person on location in their studio or office about the creative process and where inspiration comes from. When lockdown happened, I couldn’t go on location, obviously, and I decided not to continue the podcast online because the in-person conversations felt important to me.

Much to my amazement, most of the wonderful people who started supporting me during my podcasting days still support me on Patreon. It’s kind of mind-blowing. And new people have joined, post-podcast, including real-life friends. It’s fantastic!

What I share on Patreon has shifted over the years. It started with podcast content but these days it’s more about my artmaking. I’ve shared inspiration, experiments, meanderings and works-in-progress. I’ve shared the excitement of getting to create shows for galleries and the disappointments of being rejected for grant after grant after grant. Recently, I shared a video where I explain how I created a stuffed unicorn from secondhand velvet, beads, paint and denim insulation. I’ve kept all of my Patreon content private, behind a paywall, so it is an intimate group.

With Patreon you can create multiple tiers of support. My favorite tier I’ve made is my Snail Mail tier. For $12 a month, I send you something in the mail. Every month it’s different. I’ve sent postcards, collages, paintings, seeds. Each year I send all of my Patreon supporters a handmade holiday gift. I’ve really enjoyed it.

If you miss receiving mail in your mailbox, sign up for my Snail Mail tier on Patreon and I’ll send you something each month.

Some postcard paintings for my Snail Mail frens

When I’ve been between projects or unsure what’s next, it has been such a big blessing to have this group of supporters to remind me that someone out there cares and I haven’t disappeared. I can’t overstate how much it means to me to have people support my art in this way. They’ve stuck with me through changes, pauses and uncertainty, and celebrated little victories with me. They are the best.

What’s not great about the Patreon platform is that it’s a black box. Anyone who signs up for your Patreon has already decided they want to support you. Each creator is solely responsible for driving traffic to Patreon, as there’s no easy way for curious potential supporters to discover you.

---

My Substack Experience

Substack has been an interesting experiment. It has become an outlet to share longer form writing about what's in my craw. Writing gives me a deeper understanding about what I think and feel. It also gives me an outlet to express how and why I live according to my values. So, it has been helpful to me to join Substack as it's motivated me to write.

As far as sharing my writing with an audience, that has been rewarding, but only as I have lowered my expectations about audience size. One of my themes for this year has been quality over quantity, and that rings true for Substack. In fact, getting off of Instagram has made me realize how much the platform made me feel inferior for having a "small" audience. There's this pressure on IG that if you don't have thousands of "followers" it means that your art or your business sucks. Of course this is not true, but it took me getting off of IG to really appreciate that.

Substack isn't all it's cracked up to be. It's a platform that's less toxic than others I've used. It's a place to share my writing where people might discover it. Here on Substack you can subscribe for free and get posts emailed to you, or you can “follow” someone, which I think means you’ll only maybe see their Notes in the app?

To be honest, when I get a notification that someone has followed me here, I just shrug. I want subscribers. It’s free to subscribe! In exchange, I get your email for my list and I can take it with me if and when I change platforms. You don’t have to open the emails I send and you can unsubscribe at any time! A follower is contained to the app or platform itself. Meh.

---

Different Content for Different Audiences

"Audience" seems so impersonal, but I'm using it as shorthand to describe "people, many of whom I know in real life, who seem to care about something or other that I create."

I intended to utilize Substack as a free email list provider (rather than using ones I have to pay for) but I haven't migrated my email list here yet. I'm concerned that people who used to get "marketing emails" from Featherweight Studio or art show announcements from Krissy Teegerstrom (hi, that’s me) will be confused by a 1500-word essay about my experience leaving Instagram.

I also created a paid Substack level, which I've used to share writing or photos of a more personal nature. At least two people support me on both Patreon and Substack - thank you!! Of course, I feel I should share different things on different platforms.

That said, I've been thinking about how to move forward now that I have a Patreon, Substack (free and paid) and an email list. This is on my mind and I want to come up with a plan.

It’s a very tricky line to walk, that balance between creating things to share on applications and platforms, versus creating our actual artwork or writing that is meant to live forever. It can also be a trap, where you’re feeding the apps and platforms too much and don’t have gas left to create anything else. I try to keep my eye on this but it’s a slippery slope.

I've been collaging a bunch

I’m also not going to dumb down my creativity by making a “reel” or clip video that shows a piece of artwork coming together in 30 seconds, set to the soundtrack of a pop song. Making art is not about fast forwarding to the end result, regardless of what the AI bros would like you to believe. The artmaking process is sacred and rife with opportunity and meaning, which is why when I share any of it, it’s with my Patreon supporters.

---

Creations vs. Platforms

Part of what my time here on Substack has made me realize is that I am an artist and a writer. I would not be fulfilled by only writing or only making visual art. I feel as though the two are related, but I'm not sure it comes across that way to the outside world. But when we share on apps and platforms, we’re pressured to define ourselves and the purpose of what we share.

I'm trying to remind myself that I make art and I write. Period.

Then, and only then, do I choose how and where to share my writing and my art.

That is a big difference from saying "I have a Substack" or "I have a Patreon" (or using IG in lieu of a website, don’t get me started).

Substack and Patreon are vehicles to share what I create. They are not my creations. I create first, then I choose how and where to share. That may sound like a subtle difference, but it feels big to me.

It's the same with having my art in a gallery or shop. I make art. Some pieces may end up in a gallery.

I'm still reminding myself of that distinction. I make art and I write. First and foremost. Then I decide how and where to share.

---

Moving Forward

To that end, I've been trying to think of how to reconcile having a paid Substack and a Patreon. They're very different. Substack does a better job of helping me be discovered (or, to put a finer point on it, being included in Neko Case's Substack recommendations helps me be discovered - THANK YOU, Neko!!!)

Patreon was founded by artists and seems to actually care about supporting artists. I’ve been on Patreon for more than six years, on Substack for six months. I trust in Patreon’s consistency, I wonder about Substack’s algorithm and how they’ll change to make more money. Patreon’s method of payment (to creators) is way more elegant and transparent than Substack’s, which is a mess.

The platforms function in different ways, so I’m going to keep both for now. I think I might even keep my email list separate from my Substack, much to my annoyance.

I’m going to keep writing and making art, then sharing some of each, here and there, and there. And I’m going to make sure that these apps and platforms don’t steal too much energy from my well of creativity and inspiration.

If you read this entire post, be cool and hit the heart button. Better yet, leave a comment!

Are you a creator with multiple platforms? How do you utilize them? As a reader of this Substack, would you welcome more art content or do you just want writing? Please share any hot takes.

---

Consider the Source 1, 18” x 10”, All secondhand materials: brocade, sequins, beads, wood frame, 2025.

AUSTIN, TX, frens: Yard Dog Gallery is having an opening and 30th anniversary party this Saturday, September 6th, from 6 to 9pm. I will have a few new pieces in the show alongside new art from other artists, and Jon Langford & the Far Forlorn will be playing acoustic in the gallery. More details here. If you’re not in Austin, you can shop my artwork here.