A few months ago I closed my “members only” section of YouTube. This was a place where I posted long-form aviation videos that you could only access if you were a paying member of the channel.
I closed it because as I’m not flying currently due to my medical issues, I wasn’t able to keep producing good quality long-form General Aviation cockpit videos, and I didn’t feel the value was there for those of you that paid to be a member.
I’m still not flying (not for a little while yet) so why then have I just setup a Patreon page to offer exclusive content to members… again?
A few reasons:
Firstly, when I announced I was going to close my YouTube members section I got some really powerful feedback that encouraged me to introduce a members-only area at some point again in the future:
- “… I’ve always thought that channel Memberships and Patreon are more about supporting creators and making them less reliant on YouTube ads , and any extras are a bonus”
- “We will be back as a member when you are back to the point you want to offer the memberships!”
- “I will immediately be ready to sign back up when (again, not if) you are to the point of opening the memberships again.”
So I knew there was a desire to support my work outside of watching the videos on YouTube (thank you), but I wanted to make sure I was giving proper value, which brings me to the second reason – formatting.
YouTube really only encourages me to post long-form videos. But with Patreon I can post many different formats of content: written posts, short video clips, photos, useful links, articles, in addition to long-form video content. This means I can share valuable and interesting information in a more timely manner. Things like first looks at new airlines or airports, lounge upgrades, quick thoughts on new aircraft I get to test, first impressions on new aviation tech and gadgets. The wider variety of formats means I can post more frequently and hopefully provide greater value to members.
There’s also behind the scenes content that goes into the creation of the aviation and travel content that I make which I know would be of interest to fellow like-minded curious types like yourself, and I’ve never had anywhere to share that, until now.
But the final reason is something I’ve said about aviation for a long time – we’re a community – and I wanted somewhere where I could be part of a group of like minded aviators and travellers to share knowledge with each other.
So that’s why I have created a Patreon page and that’s why I’ve called it Pilot Society.
There are a few tiers of membership so you can choose what content you’d like – from simple regular updates, to ad-free versions of my videos, exclusive video content that will only be published on Patreon and never on YouTube, and full access to my entire back-catalogue of “Inside the Cockpit” content curated over several years showing procedures, radio calls, and what it’s like in the cockpit of a private aircraft across a number of situations in a variety of countries.
I’m quietly launching the new Patreon page right now, not posting about it on my YouTube or Instagram accounts, as I want to get it right before growing our community on there. So if you choose to take a look I’d be really grateful for your feedback on the membership tiers, the content, and any thoughts you may have on what you’d like to see on there.
You can find the new page here: https://www.patreon.com/c/stef747
If you do decide to become a member on Patreon please know that you’re helping support my efforts to try and bring you the most useful, interesting, and entertaining content in the travel and aviation worlds that we love so much, and for that I am very grateful.
Thanks in advance for checking it out. You are my most loyal and closest followers, I’m grateful for your time and support.
Can’t wait to hear your thoughts.
Stef