The Backers Club launch playbook

Backers Club is for creators who already make something people return to: a podcast, newsletter, video series, essays, reporting, comedy, or another independent project.

When I started 10er, I wanted a way to accept payments for the work I was already making. I did not want payments to create a second job where I also had to run tiers, a private community, or a stream of extra content. Backers Club is the international version of that idea.

This playbook gives you a small, honest launch you can run yourself. If you would rather work through it with a person, you can still talk to Mikkel.

1. Decide what your audience is backing

Start with the work people already know you for. You do not need to invent a membership product.

Complete this sentence:

I make [the work] for [the people it serves]. Your support helps me [what it protects or makes possible].

For example:

I publish an independent local-news newsletter every week. Your support helps me protect the reporting time it takes to keep it useful and independent.

That is enough. Only promise extras, access, or a community if you genuinely want to make and maintain them.

2. Choose a payment rhythm people can understand

Use the rhythm that already fits your work:

• Per release works well for podcasts, videos, newsletters, and other work with clear releases. If you take a break, your backers are not charged.
• Monthly or weekly works well when people are backing an ongoing project rather than individual releases.

Explain the rhythm in one sentence on your page. Do not make supporters decode your business model.

Before moving on, read the current pricing and payment answers so you know what you and your supporters can expect.

3. Make your project page ready to share

Your page does not need to be elaborate. It needs to answer five questions:

• What do you make?
• Who is it for?
• Why does recurring support matter?
• When will a supporter be charged?
• What should they do next?

Use a recognizable name and image, keep the opening description concrete, and preview the page on a phone. Complete your Stripe setup before inviting anyone so the first interested person meets a working payment flow.

4. Make one honest invitation

Do not announce “a membership.” Invite people to back work they already value.

Written invitation

I have opened a Backers Club page for [project]. If this work is useful or meaningful to you, you can now support it with [a small amount per release / month]. There is no paywall and no obligation—I will keep publishing where I already do. Your backing helps me protect the time and costs behind the work: [link]

Spoken invitation

If you want to help keep [project] going, you can now back it through Backers Club. It takes about a minute, and you are supporting the work you already hear or see here. The link is [short location].

Use your own voice. The important parts are the work, why support matters, the payment rhythm, and one clear link.

5. Follow up for seven days

Most of your audience will not see one announcement. A follow-up is useful; it is not a failure.

1. Launch day: Make the full invitation in the channel where your audience already pays attention.
2. Day two: Share the short version and answer the most common practical question you received.
3. Day four: Explain one concrete thing backing protects—editing time, hosting, research, equipment, travel, or simply room to continue.
4. Day seven: Thank the people who backed you, without naming or counting them unless they agreed, and make one final low-pressure invitation.

Keep the link in a stable place after launch: show notes, your newsletter footer, video descriptions, your website, or a pinned post.

6. Learn from your first backer

Your first paid backer proves that the complete path works for a real person.

• Thank them privately if you have an appropriate way to do so.
• Check that the payment, receipt, and creator notification behaved as expected.
• Ask what made the decision easy and whether anything was confusing.
• Reuse their language only with permission.

Do not immediately add more features or rewards. First make the existing invitation clearer and easier to find.

7. Reach your first ten backers

Ten is not a magic number. It is a useful early sample.

• Repeat the invitation where the audience already engages with your work.
• Put the link somewhere permanent instead of relying only on social feeds.
• Notice which explanation and channel lead to completed support.
• Answer recurring questions on your project page.
• Thank your backers without turning gratitude into pressure.

If people visit but do not back, check the page, amount, and payment flow. If people never visit, improve where and how often you invite them.

If nobody backs you yet

A quiet launch is information, not a verdict on your work.

Ask four questions:

1. Did enough of the right people actually see the invitation?
2. Was it clear that they were backing existing work rather than buying extras?
3. Was the amount and charge rhythm easy to understand?
4. Did the page and payment flow work without surprises?

Change one thing, make one more invitation, and measure again. Do not build a larger membership operation to solve an unclear or unseen ask.

Start in the way that suits you

You can run this playbook yourself. If your project has unusual payment, country, or launch questions, Mikkel can help you evaluate them case by case.