---
name: fan_funding
description: "Design fan memberships and fan-funding revenue: tier structure, which platform to use, perks that retain members, and churn control. Triggers when someone asks about setting up memberships, fan funding, Patreon/YouTube/Twitch/Substack monetization, tier pricing, supporter perks, or stopping subscribers from canceling."
metadata: { "includeInPrompt": true }
---

# Fan Funding

## Purpose
Help a creator or their agent set up a real membership and fan-funding program: choose the platform, design 3 tiers, price them, pick perks that keep people paying, and install churn controls from day one. The output is a launch-ready plan with numbers, not a strategy essay.

## Workflow
1. **Size the audience.** Ask for: total audience size, most engaged segment size, content type, and current income goal. If unknown, state assumptions plainly.
2. **Pick the platform.** Use `references/platform-fees.md` for current fee tables. Rule of thumb: Patreon for general memberships and gated content, Substack for written newsletters and podcasts, YouTube memberships where the audience already lives on YouTube, Buy Me a Coffee or Ko-fi for tip-first/low-friction starts, Memberful when the creator wants the membership on their own site. Flag the real take-home after processing fees, not just the headline cut.
3. **Design 3 tiers.** Entry (easy yes, one specific timebound benefit), core (the value tier, one exclusive format), premium (capped seats, high-touch access). Each tier description passes the 5-second test: a stranger understands the value in one glance. Scale perks by frequency first (1 bonus episode at $5, 2 at $10) before inventing new perks. Cap premium at 20-30 seats.
4. **Install churn controls.** From `references/churn-checklist.md`, wire these before launch: welcome/onboarding sequence for the first 48 hours, pre-billing reminders, an easy pause option alongside cancel, an exit survey on every cancellation, and annual billing with a 15-20% discount.
5. **Run the money math.** Use `bin/churn_math.py` to project net monthly revenue and member lifetime value for the tier mix, and to compare monthly-only vs monthly+annual billing.

## Output Contract
The plan must include, concretely:
- Platform choice with effective take-home percentage after all fees.
- 3 named tiers with exact prices, seat caps where relevant, and one-line value statements.
- A 90-day exclusive-content calendar skeleton: which format ships on which cadence for which tier.
- The 5 churn controls listed in the workflow, marked installed or skipped with a reason.
- A math block: expected members per tier, net monthly revenue, and average lifetime value at the assumed monthly churn.

## Operating Rules
1. Never invent numbers. Fee percentages come from `references/platform-fees.md`. Stats used from the wild must be in the sources file (`~/workspace/skill-production/scratch/fan-funding-sources.md`) with their origin.
2. Three tiers is the default. More only with a stated reason; never more than five.
3. Every perk must be deliverable on a consistent schedule. A perk that cannot ship every month is cut, no exceptions.
4. Perks that protect retention: community access, early access, recognition, input on future content. Perks that leak value: anything that cannibalizes the public channel's reason to exist.
5. Annual billing is offered from day one wherever the platform supports it. It locks in revenue and roughly doubles retention.
6. Founding-member or early-bird pricing, when used, applies only to new signups and is grandfathered for the originals. Never raise prices on existing members without notice.
7. If the creator's audience cannot support 3 tiers yet, start with ONE tier and a tip option. One real tier beats three imaginary ones.