第2818a期:Patreon

When we first started podcasting many, many years ago, other podcasters who didn't have worksheets to sell suggested that those who used their podcasts to buy me a coffee. Yeah, buy me a coffee. It was a way of generating a small income for their work, wasn't it? And also advertisements on sites are also one way of making money and there are a few websites that don't have Google Ads or something similar on them.当我们许多年前刚开始做播客时，那些没有可出售资料的播客主持人建议听众通过“请我喝杯咖啡”的方式来支持他们。对，“请我喝杯咖啡”。这是一种为他们的工作赚取一点收入的方式，不是吗？另外，网站上的广告也是赚钱的一种途径，很少有网站上没有谷歌广告或类似的内容。

Yeah, absolutely. But for this week's podcast, we're looking at an alternative way of making money, Patreon. OK, Jackie, so what is Patreon? Well, it's an American membership platform.没错，完全正确。但对于这周的播客来说，我们要看一种不同的赚钱方式——Patreon。好的，Jackie，那Patreon是什么呢？它是一个美国的会员制平台。

It's a way of helping creators and artists earn a monthly income. It provides the tools to run a subscription payment service. All right, OK.这是一种帮助创作者和艺术家获得月收入的方式。它提供了运行订阅付费服务的工具。好吧，明白了。

But how does it actually work then? Well, content creators, those people who have a website or a blog, they set up a Patreon page, right? And this allows patrons to pay a fixed amount to the creator on a monthly basis. Right, OK. So who are these patrons then? Well, they're the people who want to support the creator and help to pay for their income.但它究竟是怎么运作的呢？创作者，比如那些有网站或博客的人，他们会建立一个Patreon页面，对吧？这样，赞助者就可以每月向创作者支付一笔固定金额的费用。好的，那这些赞助者是谁呢？他们就是那些希望支持创作者并帮助他们维持收入的人。

Right, OK. Instead of buying them a coffee, you become a patron. Yeah, and rather than buying the product, which they don't necessarily have, you're paying for their service.没错，也就是说，你不是“请他们喝咖啡”，而是成为他们的赞助人。是的，而且你不是在购买具体的产品（他们可能并没有产品），而是在为他们的创作服务付费。

OK, for example, Richard, there's a Spanish chef behind Spain on a Fork. Ah yes, OK. Now on his website, all the recipes are free to read and all the instructional cooking videos that he produces are all free to watch.举个例子，Richard，有一位西班牙厨师经营着“Spain on a Fork”这个网站。啊，是的。现在在他的网站上，所有的食谱都可以免费阅读，他制作的教学烹饪视频也都可以免费观看。

Right, so just like many, many blogs on cooking. Yeah, yeah, exactly. But the patrons want to support him to carry on producing his content, which is just fantastic.对，这就像许多烹饪博客一样。是的，完全没错。但那些赞助者希望支持他，让他能持续创作内容，这真是太棒了。

And how much do they pay for this then? Well, it depends. Every single creator chooses the amount. If we look at Spain on a Fork again, he has four levels and you can choose to pay as little as one euro a month, subscription remember.那他们为此要付多少钱呢？这取决于创作者本人。每个创作者可以自己设定金额。以“Spain on a Fork”为例，他有四个等级，最低的订阅费用是每月1欧元（记住，这是订阅制的）。

Right. Up to 22 euros a month. OK, and what do you get for that then, for the different amounts? Well, it depends.最高可以到每月22欧元。好吧，那不同的金额能获得什么呢？这也要看创作者设定。

But for all of them, you get extra content, extra recipes, extra instructional videos that other people won't see. Right. And if you pay more, you presumably get to see more.但无论哪个等级，你都会获得额外的内容、额外的食谱，以及普通观众看不到的教学视频。没错。而且如果你支付更多，自然能看到更多独家内容。

And also he thanks you publicly, you know, that you've paid to support him. Also, Richard, patrons can cancel at any time. So you can do a one-off payment if you want.此外，他还会公开感谢你，表示你对他的支持。而且，Richard，赞助者可以随时取消订阅。如果你愿意，也可以只支付一次性的费用。

But most people like join for a year to support these people who are working at the end of the day. OK, it sounds like a good idea. But of course, how much do the creators pay Patreon for this? Well, it's not free, is it? I can imagine.不过，大多数人都会选择一年期的订阅，以支持这些全职创作者。听起来这是个不错的主意。不过创作者要为此付给Patreon多少费用呢？显然，这不是免费的，对吧？我可以想象。

They charge, Richard, anywhere between a commission, five to 12 percent. Wow, that's quite a lot actually, isn't it? Of their monthly income. Yeah.他们会收取佣金，大约在5%到12%之间。哇，那其实挺高的，对吧？这是从创作者的月收入中扣除的。是的。

And also, sorry, and also there are payment processing fees as well. Of course. I think one of the problems is, Richard, with the Internet is that many people expect the content always to be free.而且，对不起，还有支付处理费用。当然。我认为，互联网的一个问题是，很多人总是期望内容是免费的。

And there is a lot of stuff on the Internet that is completely free. Yeah, so good quality stuff, which takes a lot of time to prepare. And these videos, for example, very well done, very well presented.确实，网上确实有很多完全免费的内容。但那些高质量的作品往往需要花费大量时间准备。比如这些视频——制作精良，呈现专业。

It's his job at the end of the day. And you can choose whether you want to pay or not. I think that's a great idea.归根结底，这就是他的工作。而你可以选择是否愿意付费支持。我觉得这真是个好主意。

Yeah, it's a way of supporting those who work online. And if you're just paying a few euros a month, well, that's keeping someone in employment. Everybody's happy.没错，这是一种支持网络创作者的方式。而且每月只付出几欧元，就能让一个人有稳定收入。大家都开心。