💸 Donations or subscriptions: what should creators choose

You've built a loyal audience that values your content, and the logical next step is to start earning from it. The only question is how: collect donations or open up a subscription.

The models look similar, but they solve different problems. Sometimes creators turn on donations where people have long been ready to pay for access. Or the opposite — they lock a channel behind a subscription when the audience isn't ready for monthly payments yet. Either way, part of the money slips past you. Let's break down each one 👇

A donation is voluntary support and a thank-you for your content, not a payment for access.

⭐️ Subscribers choose the amount themselves

⭐️ They pay once or regularly — weekly, monthly, or yearly

⭐️ You just share a donation link in your public channel

⭐️ And for a specific goal, you can open a fundraiser with a target — say, to record an album

One downside: income is unpredictable. They support you today, but maybe not tomorrow.

A subscription is a recurring payment for access to a private channel.

⭐️ Pick the billing period that works for you: weekly, monthly, 3 or 6 months, or yearly

⭐️ Access is granted and revoked automatically — no need to track payments by hand

⭐️ Turn on a trial period for new audiences and use promo codes to boost conversion
Bottom line: donations are a soft entry point and support with no strings attached, subscriptions are predictable recurring income. And plenty of creators comfortably run both 💙

So how do you monetize your audience — donations, subscriptions, or both at once?

Tell us in the comments what worked for you.