We enjoy experimenting with different ideas at the WPK.
WP Kitchen is something new. You haven’t heard of such an idea before, just like how we enjoy trying new stuff. We’re trying something new for the first time — Patreon.
Patreon serves as a crowdfunding platform, facilitating creators in securing funds for their work. In return, supporters receive various perks and features. Unlike project-based platforms like Kickstarter or Indiegogo it’s about supporting us every month, not just for one project.
WPK is a creator, too; we create lunches. We seek sponsorships via monthly memberships on Patreon. In return, we provide various perks such as writing about our sponsors, shout-outs, introductions to the audience, features on our website or in blog posts, social media engagement, daily mentions, features in our kitchen and workspaces, inclusion in events, or being featured on the daily menu.
Collecting international payments from Pakistan isn’t simple. However, we’ve successfully achieved this through Patreon. Patreon enables payment collection via credit/debit cards and PayPal. The fees are a bit high but acceptable, especially as a starting point.
In the past ten years, we have built 100+ WordPress websites and engaged in 500+ website customizations. We have passionate supporters across different freelancing platforms who tell us when they love our content and hold us accountable when they don’t. We are a small, independent initiative in Faisalabad that doesn’t receive any government backing. So, while we have an elegant name (rant), we rely on sponsorships and the money we can raise for freelancers to support this initiative. We want to make more lunches, register more freelancers, cover more workspaces, and add value to freelancing and WordPress.
When we found Patreon, we saw it could help us especially. We didn’t want to do things without understanding, so we researched Patreon and its users.
It’s pretty cool—over 2 million people support creators monthly, and there are 100,000 creators! Many great startups use it, but few cultural institutions have tried it. It’s like going into unknown territory, but we like trying new things at WPK. So, we put on our adventurous boots and decided to try it.
We began our page in November 2023, and everything is going well. We got some support and are trying different things every day to connect with our community. Even though we have a plan for our content, we’re ready to change it based on what our sponsors like the most. We keep watching what others are doing to see what works and what doesn’t. Plus, we’re really into sharing what we learn with everyone else.
Is Patreon going to be the thing for us forever? We’re not sure. But we know it’s what we should be trying and testing right now.