The Backers Club launch playbook
From an empty page to your first ten backers. No tiers, no second job.
Backers Club is for creators who already publish something people come back to. Mikkel built 10er in 2014 to fund his own podcast without running a membership on the side. This is the same launch, written down. Run it yourself, or talk to Mikkel along the way.
1. Say what people are backing
Fill this in. It is your whole pitch.
I make [the work] for [the people]. Your support helps me [what it protects].
Example: I write a weekly local-news newsletter. Your support protects the reporting time that keeps it independent.
Promise extras only if you actually want to make them.
2. Pick one rhythm
- Per release — podcasts, videos, newsletters. Take a break and nobody is charged.
- Monthly or weekly — ongoing work with a steady calendar.
State it in one sentence on your page. Check pricing so nothing surprises you.
3. Make the page answer five questions
- What do you make?
- Who is it for?
- Why does support matter?
- When is a backer charged?
- What do they do next?
Then: real name, real image, preview on a phone, and finish Stripe setup before you share the link. The first curious person should meet a working payment flow.
4. Invite, don’t announce
You are not launching a membership. You are asking people to back work they already value.
Written
I’ve opened a Backers Club page for [project]. If it’s useful to you, you can back it with [amount per release / month]. No paywall, no obligation — I keep publishing where I already do. It covers the time and costs behind the work: [link]
Spoken
If you’d like to help keep [project] going, you can now back it on Backers Club. Takes a minute. The link is [where].
Own voice, one link.
5. Follow up for seven days
- Day 1 — Full invitation where your audience already pays attention.
- Day 2 — Short version, plus the answer to the most common question.
- Day 4 — One concrete thing backing protects: editing, hosting, research, travel.
- Day 7 — Thank backers (no names or counts without permission), one last low-pressure ask.
Then park the link somewhere permanent: show notes, footer, video description, pinned post.
6. Your first backer
You get a notification the moment someone signs up. The first charge lands at the end of the month, and Stripe pays it out from there.
- Thank them privately.
- Ask what made it easy and what was unclear.
- Fix the invitation before adding anything new.
7. Your first ten
Ten is a sample, not a milestone.
- Repeat the invitation in every channel where the work already lives.
- Notice which wording and channel actually convert.
- Answer recurring questions on the page itself.
- Keep gratitude light. It should never feel like pressure.
If nobody backs you yet
A quiet launch is information. Ask:
- Did enough of the right people see it?
- Was it clear they are backing existing work, not buying extras?
- Was the amount and rhythm easy to grasp?
- Did the page and payment flow work?
Change one thing, invite once more, measure again. Do not build a bigger operation to fix an unclear ask.
