Stareable | Content Monetization
With Enrich, web series creators have the option to set up support tiers so their fans can pay a monthly fee in exchange for bonus and behind-the-scenes content.
All information in this case study is my own and doesn’t necessarily reflect the views of Stareable.
PROJECT TYPE
Desktop Web, Mobile Web
TEAM
John Langhauser (back-end developer), HaiChen Song (front-end developer)
MY ROLE
Ideation, research, product specs, prototyping, user testing, UI/UX design
context
In October 2018, we conducted a series of monetization surveys with creators in our community. We were interested in learning about their frustrations when it came to generating revenue from their shows, and which monetization avenues (if any) they had already explored. We also wanted to gauge interest in a feature we were toying with: the option to create subscription tiers for their Stareable show, where fans could pay a monthly fee in exchange for early access and premium content.
“Stareable has an audience that has a much higher chance of supporting web series than the average internet.”
excerpts from creator interviews
What do you think of the option to pair your Stareable show with Patreon-style features?
“I think that’s awesome. Because a lot of the people that know about Stareable already care about that sort of stuff. Whereas moving people over to Patreon would be really difficult. It is like when IMDB launched the IMDB Pro feature – it’s a way to go deeper.”
“I think that would be great. Stareable has an audience that has a much higher chance of supporting web series than the average internet.”
What types of premium content do you think audiences would find interesting?
“How-to’s. Commentary. I would interview cast and crew. Live events coverage. One of the things we did with Season 1 is to work with immigrants rights groups to organize panels – we could shoot those.”
“I already make behind the scenes and making-of videos, and they actually outperform (by far) the creative content.”
Rough sketches exploring creator-side Enrich experience
stareable enrich: the creator experience
We landed on “Enrich” as the name for our subscription feature – referencing both monetization for creators, and an “enriched” experience for fans. Our user interviews had confirmed that creators were interested in pairing their Stareable show pages with subscription tiers, inspired by Patreon. Our focus on web series would distinguish us from other membership platforms and inform the types of tools we’d build to support creator/fan exchanges. Unlike Patreon, the entire fan experience would be hosted on Stareable: episodes, updates, cast & crew profiles, merch, event ticketing, live chats, and more.
Enrich management (creator-side)
Creating support tiers
Enabling donations
Warning modal for deleting a tier
The dashboard is the primary point of entry for creators, so we added a panel for easy access to Enrich supporter stats, CSV (with supporter emails), and tier management. Though the panel positioning is currently fixed, I’d consider making them draggable in the future – especially if we continue adding more.
In addition to designing the experience, I also had to identify which actions would trigger transactional emails sent to either creators or supporters. Each email had its own set of questions to answer: What information is necessary? What CTA(s) should be included? What action(s) did we want to prompt with the emails to encourage continuity?
A sampling of the transactional emails associated with Enrich
Lastly, we needed an Enrich Payout page where creators could download their monthly statements and manage their payouts.
Enrich Payout page
Enrich sample monthly statement
stareable enrich: the supporter experience
Designing the supporter experience for Enrich was more challenging. Creators had an incentive to set up Enrich (ie. $$$) and basically nothing to lose. Supporters, on the other hand, needed to provide their payment information and be convinced of the value of a monthly subscription.
Fans arrive at a show page, either via social media or browsing on Stareable
From the main show page, fans can either click the “Support Show” button, or click on a locked update or episode to arrive at the Enrich page for that show.
After choosing a tier or selecting to make a one-time donation, they are prompted to log in/sign up. For donations, we allow fans to continue without making an account. For subscriptions however, an account is needed in order for supporters to manage their billing and receive their monthly rewards.
Selecting a support tier
Sign up prompt
We use Stripe for payment processing, but it was up to us to design a clean and trustworthy interface for collecting credit card information.
Donation page for logged-in user
Subscription page for logged-in user with saved payment methods
For donations (ie. one-time payments), fans receive a thank you note via email, customized by the show creator. Monthly supporters, on the other hands, are redirected to the Stareable home page, where the show grid defaults to a new tab labeled “Supporting”.
“Supporting” feed for monthly subscribers
Since Enrich subscriptions are billed monthly, we also needed a Payment Settings page for supporters to manage their payment information, download receipts, and contact creators.
Payment Settings page for fans supporting shows on Stareable
beta test feedback
Before launching Enrich, we released a beta version to a group of 20 creators that had opted in. We received so much feedback, both positive and constructive. A couple of examples:
My biggest concern right now is the $5 minimum for tiers. I have the donation button set up as well so people can donate smaller amounts, but I’d really like to have a $1 or $3/month tier. I feel like people are more likely to spend smaller amount for the content being offered.
We had initially set a $5 minimum for tier pricing (mostly to cover our transaction fees), but decided to remove the minimum based on user feedback. We learned that this small change gave creators more confidence to ask their networks for monthly support.
When I click “support show” I don’t like that it takes us to yet another page where the only option is our customized donation button, and then it takes us to the donation form with the dollar amount, credit card, etc.
We had been so focused on the tier subscription experience that we had overlooked the unnecessary friction in the donation experience. To make one-time payments more seamless for shows with ONLY donations enabled, we reduced the steps between show profile and payment to just a single click.
final thoughts
Stareable Enrich wasn’t exactly the runaway success we had hoped for. We realized that we put the cart before the horse by solving monetization before solving views. Most creators in our community don’t have a viewership large enough to justify the work that goes into delivering extra content on a regular basis.
I also think it was premature to create a paid subscription feature before testing the waters with a free "follow" feature that would allow fans to subscribe to their favorite shows without paying for bonus content. This would have helped creators build momentum before monetizing.
As far as design is concerned, I would have loved a visual indicator in the site header to notify users of show updates as they happen. I would have also liked to develop the "Support Show" page a little further. Even something as simple as a "creator statement" would help make the transaction feel more personal.