Dawn O'Porter

[Yel]

I have issues with successful people that have already made it using patreon. I feel it should be for struggling creatives, causes or people that do work with no commercial opportunities. So many youtube channels use it even though the individual behind it is making 5 figures a month.

It just sounds like you get access to a blog-like thing.

If her content was good, just release it on a blog free to all and it will rank in google and make more than the $2k ish a month she's making from pateron.

Money is one of those funny things, the more you have the more you want.

 

[Suzesnooze]

I noticed when she was living in London for six months she dropped so many hints on her insta for free furniture, beds etc. She loves a freebie!

 

[Yel]

She believes writing shouldn't be for free and is avoiding an #adgrid on her Instagram account. Absolutely fair fucks to her.

I do agree. But it's not a choice just between a paywall or loads of ads. The amount the patron is making she could earn easily with two instagram ads a year.

Just a bit of a shame as lots like her, but people can't give a couple of quid every month to everyone they like. So the content is stuck behind a paywall where hardly anyone will read it. There's better ways to be fairly compensated and reach a wide audience.

Judging by the free post it's just going to be like access to someone's twitter feed - https://www.patreon.com/posts/nostalgic-snacks-31871435

 

[Yel]

Chris O'Dowd on chatty man popped up on my YouTube recommendation, he says that they didn't sell the wedding photos as " why bother, we're so rich". Just made me think of dawn and her patron.

 

[fluffnstuff]

The Patreon issue is complex. Ultimately I see it as a antidote to influencer culture. Instead of consuming ‘free’ content where the person is paid by brands to shill products in sponsored content of varying frequency, Patreon offers a model where you can pay the person directly, leaving them with a steady-ish income stream and they can produce content free of commercial pressure.

I really do not agree with Patreon ideas on a social media platform, it somehow feels dirty and like they're cheating their followers out of money, many of whom may feel they have to to demonstrate loyalty or in the hope it brings them closer and they will be recognised for it, its quite sad. On a website or blog however, it feels different to me for some reason like it is more acceptable as its a niche following there. Maybe Im odd

 

[Beiger]

I really like her but a while back there were a few stories asking for recommendations for mattresses etc, which we all know is insta speak for who wants to send me a free mattress!

 

[Suzesnooze]

Chris O'Dowd on chatty man popped up on my YouTube recommendation, he says that they didn't sell the wedding photos as " why bother, we're so rich". Just made me think of dawn and her patron.

She posted yesterday about how her work dried up in the last decade but I imagine she was still wealthy as she owned a place in LA and in London!

What a decade! This photo pretty much sums it up for me. I met my husband on my 30th birthday 11 years ago this month. He moved in, we got a dog, we got married, we made babies. I became an adult. I loved getting married and I loved having babies. I gave birth to one of them on my bed with my husband and one of my best friends by my side. You can’t beat that. I got three amazing men in my life. One big one, two small ones. Team O’. The greatest of gangs. Work was a wild ride this decade. After achieving great success in my 20s, my early 30s were a slam dunk down to earth as the TV industry made me realise how disposable we all are in that world. I was a mess, to be honest. Felt like a total loser and failure. I got really down about it. Down O’Porter. Then I got a call from a lovely lady called, Emily. It went something like this ‘I love your column’ (I’d actually just lost my column and was in a literal heap on the floor as the call came in). ‘I think you’d write great fiction for young adults, would you consider it?’ A month later I had a two book deal. I got to writing Paper Aeroplanes straight away. The book that changed my life. I poured my soul into it. I found a small but interested group of readers who lifted me onto the next. Four fictional novels later and I end this decade knowing exactly who I am professionally, in control of my own existence and so clear on what work I want to create and how to make that happen. Life isn’t always easy. Most struggles are private, but of course they are there. As they are for everyone. But despite the rocky start to this decade, you can only be happy when it ends in such a good place. I feel very lucky. I’m heading into my 40’s and the ‘20s confidently and with the hope that this good moment lasts for at least a big chunk of it.

I really like her but a while back there were a few stories asking for recommendations for mattresses etc, which we all know is insta speak for who wants to send me a free mattress!

When she moved into their new house in London last year, she was posting for recommendations continually and it was obvious she was hinting for freebies! I've gone off her a bit since the Caroline Flack thing and the patreon!

 

[Suzesnooze]

I knew it wouldn’t take long after she set up a Patreon account .

 

[121212]

Oh is that what that’s about.

I do recall her getting a freebie mattress and then shilling it (advertising - before the standards came in perhaps) which I thought was quite lame. But then I assumed she’d dipped the toe (see Esther Coren’s piece) and decided it wasn’t for her.

 

[ScrambledEggs]

She posted yesterday about how her work dried up in the last decade but I imagine she was still wealthy as she owned a place in LA and in London!

What a decade! This photo pretty much sums it up for me. I met my husband on my 30th birthday 11 years ago this month. He moved in, we got a dog, we got married, we made babies. I became an adult. I loved getting married and I loved having babies. I gave birth to one of them on my bed with my husband and one of my best friends by my side. You can’t beat that. I got three amazing men in my life. One big one, two small ones. Team O’. The greatest of gangs. Work was a wild ride this decade. After achieving great success in my 20s, my early 30s were a slam dunk down to earth as the TV industry made me realise how disposable we all are in that world. I was a mess, to be honest. Felt like a total loser and failure. I got really down about it. Down O’Porter. Then I got a call from a lovely lady called, Emily. It went something like this ‘I love your column’ (I’d actually just lost my column and was in a literal heap on the floor as the call came in). ‘I think you’d write great fiction for young adults, would you consider it?’ A month later I had a two book deal. I got to writing Paper Aeroplanes straight away. The book that changed my life. I poured my soul into it. I found a small but interested group of readers who lifted me onto the next. Four fictional novels later and I end this decade knowing exactly who I am professionally, in control of my own existence and so clear on what work I want to create and how to make that happen. Life isn’t always easy. Most struggles are private, but of course they are there. As they are for everyone. But despite the rocky start to this decade, you can only be happy when it ends in such a good place. I feel very lucky. I’m heading into my 40’s and the ‘20s confidently and with the hope that this good moment lasts for at least a big chunk of it.



When she moved into their new house in London last year, she was posting for recommendations continually and it was obvious she was hinting for freebies! I've gone off her a bit since the Caroline Flack thing and the patreon!

What thing with Caroline flack and patreon?

 

[TriviaNewtonJohn]

I knew it wouldn’t take long after she set up a Patreon account .

I had the exact same thought. Why do it for free if you can charge?

 

[Suzesnooze]

I had the exact same thought. Why do it for free if you can charge?

I think she's said she's switching Instagram off to get more people to sign up for Patreon as she keeps advertising it but only has 772 patrons which is nothing when she has 398K Instagram followers!

What thing with Caroline flack and patreon?

Patreon is what some authors and writers use to charge you to read their works. So rather than post a free Instagram post, she will instead post it on Patreon and you pay a monthly fee (she says it's the price of a coffee - about £3) to be able to read her stories.

When Caroline Flack was first arrested for assault, Dawn defended her but it was pointed out to her that would she defend a male who had assaulted his girlfriend?

 

[megsmagoo]

I knew it wouldn’t take long after she set up a Patreon account .

Shame, I like her stories! I won’t be signing up for Patreon though

 

[Suzesnooze]

Shame, I like her stories! I won’t be signing up for Patreon though

Me neither.

 

[121212]

Ha she explicitly said when she started up the Patreon she’d still be on Instagram posting and storying.


I wonder if this will go the way of the retro/vintage online clothing store when she effectively said it was closing because she couldn’t be arsed with meetings and accounts and stuff.

I really like her but she does seem to be quite sort of in the moment/going for it. Fair play to her I suppose.

 

[Suzesnooze]

Ha she explicitly said when she started up the Patreon she’d still be on Instagram posting and storying.

Yes she said on her stories don’t worry I’ll still be putting content on Instagram. She asked for her followers opinions on whether she should set up a patreon account and a lot said ‘no’ but she decided she was going to do it anyway.

This forum is full of people feeling manipulated and sold to by influencers who will sell you anything to make money, and none of it is genuine, and people often wonder what these influencers ‘do’ and that they should work for a living. And here is someone doesn’t do ADs but does use their talent (appreciate not everyone will like her books) and platform to work for a small fee. She’s a writer, why should she have to give that away for free?

Yes she’s a writer, not an influencer, so it’s not the same thing plus she has a publishing deal for her novels so she is getting paid and her ‘fans’ are buying her novels.

Anyway I’m sure she’ll be back on Instagram when she’s got her new book or new musical to promote. I very much doubt she’s struggling to make a living like some writers.

 

[Yel]

This forum is full of people feeling manipulated and sold to by influencers who will sell you anything to make money, and none of it is genuine, and people often wonder what these influencers ‘do’ and that they should work for a living. And here is someone doesn’t do ADs but does use their talent (appreciate not everyone will like her books) and platform to work for a small fee. She’s a writer, why should she have to give that away for free?

She doesn't have to give it away for free. She could start a blog and put adverts on it if her content is valuable.

It seems more like she wants to be paid for random social media posts. All the cardashians tried the same, you had to subscribe to their app to see their twitter and insta like posts. It didn't last.

It's a fine balance to get right. 780 people signing up is a lot. But the vast majority won't, they can't give "a cup of coffee" in value every month to everyone they like following on social media. It's a bit lose lose for everyone involved.

 

[SilverSpoonNotIncluded]

She doesn't have to give it away for free. She could start a blog and put adverts on it if her content is valuable.

It seems more like she wants to be paid for random social media posts. All the cardashians tried the same, you had to subscribe to their app to see their twitter and insta like posts. It didn't last.

It's a fine balance to get right. 780 people signing up is a lot. But the vast majority won't, they can't give "a cup of coffee" in value every month to everyone they like following on social media. It's a bit lose lose for everyone involved.

Depends on what she posts on Patreon, she wasn’t exactly writing long essays and articles on Instagram and I seem to remember she was thinking of writing pieces/essays/columns there rather than just monetising her instagram?

Having ADs on your blog is similar to ads on Instagram though it can affect your freedom to post or write what you want. I respect her for that

 

[Yel]

Having ADs on your blog is similar to ads on Instagram though it can affect your freedom to post or write what you want. I respect her for that

Just about every site has adverts on it, it doesn't affect the writing at all unless you want to post dangerous, graphic or extreme content.

Doesn't sit right with me charging people, when she's got a successful career but each to their own. I just think it could be done much better.

 

[Suzesnooze]

Depends on what she posts on Patreon, she wasn’t exactly writing long essays and articles on Instagram and I seem to remember she was thinking of writing pieces/essays/columns there rather than just monetising her instagram?

Having ADs on your blog is similar to ads on Instagram though it can affect your freedom to post or write what you want. I respect her for that

She posts extracts of what she’s putting on her patreon on Instagram and so far none of it has made me want to sign up and a lot of it looks recycled from when she used to write a magazine column.

I think she would have done AD’s on Instagram but looks like she was never offered many.