You got crowdfunding or fan funding questions? We got answers for ya!

Creator FAQs

Please always keep in mind and comply with any and all disclaimers or legal notices required by local, national or international law regarding affiliate relationships with FanBeach.

When in doubt seek the advice of qualified legal counsel.

While not legal advice here is some sample language you can adopt to your own requirements:

Notice: We have an affiliate relationship with FanBeach. If you become a creator or support me through our link I may be paid a commission but it will not cost you any additional expense.

It is technically possible but not recommended. Why? Fan funding is intended to be a virtual tip jar that allows your fans to applaud your ongoing and excellent work. That work is something you are producing in the studio, your YouTube channel, Instagram, Twitch, or even live somewhere.

Any money placed in your tip jar (a purchase of your fan funding offer) is a financial, voluntary applause of your incredible effort.

When a direct mental link to a download is involved is muddies the water of what fan funding is about.

The other issue is, sadly, humans being what they are, a small number will take advantage of an instant download “reward” in exchange for a monthly support offer. They will sign-up, download the reward, and cancel before the first month’s renewal. Or worse, cancel their order entirely and issue a chargeback, getting the download for free.

Those that do choose to offer a download as a reward tend to issue it based on a condition that the fan remain a monthly supporter for three months or more, providing the download link or discount code to make a retail item (see below) effectively free once the minimum number of months have elapsed.

Best Practices
A better approach is to set-up the reward item as a standard retail download. Working with us in the big Fan Beach Pool House we can help you generate a discount code valid for a specific item in your shop you can issue to your valuable on-going fans.

That way you can e-mail a fan at the start of month #4 with the code and link to your public-facing download offer to say, “thanks, and here is a coupon to download this item for free…”

Plus, in the meantime, that same download can be sold at retail prices to the public.

Category: Creator FAQs

We encourage all creators to take a moment to add a dedicated support video to their FanBeach fan funding item.

It should be unlisted on YouTube so it does not end up published to your channel but it will still be available to your fans for viewing.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

  • Unlisted (but not private!)
  • Short – 60 seconds or less
  • To the point: Your fan just clicked over to consider supporting you. Tell them exactly why they should support you and thank them.
  • If possible, tell them specifically how the support will help: New computer, cameras, travel adventures, editing software, parts for your boat, airplane, bike or car, purchasing new gear to review, fuel for your vehicle, or provisions for the crew, expanding your team, etc.
  • If you wish to promise to mention your supporters in your videos (say, thanking those that support at $10 and above), you could also mention it in the video. This is entirely optionally but it is a nice touch for those that support you.
  • Once again, close by thanking them for being being a fan (part of your audience) and for their support.
  • Simply copy the full viewing link of your video and paste it into the body of your item. Probably at the bottom, below any text you have written, is best.
  • Don’t forget to save the change (update) your item!

If you have any questions or need assistance please reach out to your creator support team. We are happy to help!

Category: Creator FAQs

Instagram offers some excellent ways to share your fan funding link. It is very important that you make use of all of them to achieve the best results.

Here is a FanBeach creator post and account that demonstrates the best practices outlined below. Be sure to take a look at the on-screen graphic at the end of the video, the caption text, and the link in the account’s bio on Instagram: DogExplorer (a new window will open – or visit that account via the Instagram App)

  1. In videos thank your fans on-screen while placing a graphic with your link next to the thank you.

    The on-screen (graphic/text) version could be:

    My videos made possible by my wonderful fans.
    Please become a fan today at FanBeach.com/yourlinkhere
    (or click on the link in my bio)

    Optionally you could also include a verbal (voice) thanks and call to action along the lines of:

    My videos are made possible by the generous support of you, my wonderful fans. If you haven’t already, please become a fan today at FanBeach.com/yourlinkhere or click on the link in my bio.

  2. Be sure to include the call to action and link in your post captions. Your fans can’t support you if they don’t know about your fan funding offer. Using a service like linktr.ee is great but it hides your fan funding item. Please follow the best practices illustrated below to be sure your fans know they can show their love.

    In the body (also known as the caption field) of the video (or photo post) place a similar message to the on-screen example version like this:

    My videos and photos are made possible by my wonderful fans. Please become a fan today at FanBeach.com/yourlinkhere (or please click the link on my linktr.ee from my bio)

  3. Go back over your older posts and add the “body/caption field version” to the body of those posts.

  4. Visit your “Bio” and edit the website adding your FanBeach.com/yourlinkhere link.

  5. Note: Please consider keeping/adding monthly support. Ask us for help in putting it back in your item if you removed it and let your fans decide if they wish to support you monthly or just one time.

YouTube offers several excellent ways to share your fan funding link. It is very important that you make use of all of them to achieve the best results.

  1. Thank your fans on-screen while placing a graphic with your link next to the thank you.

    The on-screen (graphic/text) version could be:

    My videos made possible by my wonderful fans. Please become a fan today at FanBeach.com/yourlinkhere

    You should also include a verbal (voice) thanks and call to action along the lines of:

    My videos are made possible by the generous support of you, my wonderful fans. If you haven’t already, please become a fan today at FanBeach.com/yourlinkhere or click on the link in the description below.

    Note: If you are producing long form videos add these on-screen versions near the beginning and end of your content.

  2. In the body (also known as the description field) of the video place a similar message to the on-screen example version like this:

    My videos made possible by my wonderful fans. Please become a fan today at FanBeach.com/yourlinkhere

  3. If you are just getting started to be sure your request is noticed, you can add the body/description field version to the first comment on the video and pin that video to the top of the comments.

  4. Go back over your back catalog of videos and add the “body/description field version” to the body of those videos. Also consider adding a pinned comment as described above.

  5. Visit your “About” tab and add the body/description field version to the area “about your channel” and as a distinct link where YouTube allows you to add links.

  6. Note: Please consider keeping/adding monthly support. Ask us for help in putting it back in your item if you removed it and let your fans decide if they wish to support you monthly or just one time.

  7. FYI: We are working on approval for direct links to FanBeach from YouTube end cards and screens. Once they are live be sure to add them to your videos for maximum results!

First, we think crowdfunding and fan funding are slightly different. A crowdfunding site like Kickstarter is designed to take a creator from start to finish on a specific goal. Say, like making a cool photography accessory. At the end the creator delivers to “backers” that cool gear and perhaps goes on to make them for other retail customers.

Fan funding is like a tip jar. If you are a creator on YouTube, Instagram, Twitch, Twitter, and perhaps other social media sites doing something your fans appreciate, they can support you with some cash, either one time or ongoing.

You will see us use crowdfunding or crowd funding on this site because some folks use the terms interchangeably.

How is FanBeach different?
We think of ourselves as a blend of the best features of the most well known fan funding platform and a digital marketplace version of something like Etsy. The digital item sales, to be clear, are entirely optional. You can make use of them or not, it is your choice. First and foremost, we are a fan funding platform for creators.

FanBeach is a Fan Funding Site, Not a Membership Platform
The site many think of as the leading fan funding service calls itself a membership platform. It has a system that pressures creators to find, purchase and sell merchandise to fans, and to produce additional, “special” content for their supporters, beyond what creators like you are already doing, on the far too many social media sites.

Earn More from Your Hard Work Without Working Harder

We think that’s too much extra work your fans don’t really need or want. They want to support you because they love what you do and want see you grow. So on FanBeach, you’ll be able to focus delivering high quality content to all of your fans on social media without the burden of creating additional exclusive content for those behind a paywall.

FanBeach creators also enjoy the industry’s leading affiliate program that earns them even more money!

Finally, our pricing is fair and easy to understand. Noticing a trend here? No fees hidden behind asterisks. Flat rates. Simple. Transparent. Please see our pricing page for details.

With FanBeach you register as a creator, get the link for your fan funding item(s), share it, ask your fans to support you by visiting those links, get paid – boom!

Apply to become a creator today: Creator Registration

We try to be realistic here where others appear to be, um, optimistic about crowdfunding or fan funding earnings.

It can be a bit complicated but here is a simplified example that errs on the conservative side – in other words, if you achieve average or better results, you’ll do better than this example.

The best method we’ve found is to take the number of views your content has in a month (30 day period) and apply a response rate to that of .05%

Because YouTube provides view counts (vs. Instagram) we will use it in this example.

Assume you have 100,000 views each month on YouTube and each of those views included your FanBeach fan funding item and you asked your fans to support you.

If .05% (we think this is an average rate of response) said yes, that would mean you’d have 50 fans contributing to you.

If you have 1,000,000 views, add a zero to the 50 above, which is, of course, 500.

Here is the part where it is complicated. Because you can offer tiers or levels of support ($2.95 – $199.95 – before our revenue share), how much those 50 fans are paying you depends on the choice they made.

It is safe to assume most will be at the lower tiers but you may be surprised by how many are generous.

Creators often have different pools of fans on each social media site. That means you can see substantial unique support by asking your Instagram, YouTube and other subscribers and followers to each support you and each can then become a valuable and steady revenue stream.

One last very important point: The formula above assumes you are following the “best practices” for sharing your fan funding links. Please see the examples elsewhere in the FAQs for help! You do need to share them and actively “ask” your fans to support you or your results will be smaller than this example.

Taxes – not too many folks think they are fun. Nonetheless, we all need to follow the regulations.

If you are a US-based creator remember to send us a completed W-9 as soon as possible. We must have it on file before we can pay you your first payment!

Download the official form here: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf

If you are a creator based anywhere outside the USA, remember to send us a completed W-8 (aka W-8BEN) as soon as possible. We must have it on file before we can pay you your first payment!

Download the official form here: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw8ben.pdf

Category: Creator FAQs

For best results your featured image file (item thumbnail) should be the following specifications:

  • 1140 pixels wide
  • 637 pixels tall
  • 96 ppi resolution
  • jpg, gif or png file formats
  • Margin locations in pixels: top 89, bottom 542, left 220, right 920

We’ve created a simple template to help you create a successful fan funding featured image (aka thumbnail).

  1. Click the image below and save the full sized file to your computer.
  2. Place it as a bottom layer with partial transparency (opacity) in your favorite graphics program.
  3. Add your graphics and text above it within the boundaries as described.
  4. IMPORTANT: Delete the template layer before exporting or finally saving your finished image so it does not appear in your final file.
Fan Funding Item Featured Image Template

Click To Download Template!

Category: Creator FAQs

For best results your profile image file (account avatar) should be the following specifications:

  • 500 pixels wide
  • 500 pixels tall
  • 72 ppi resolution
  • jpg, gif or png file formats
  • Leave a 5% margin (approx) to allow cropping of the square shape to a circle by the website.
Category: Creator FAQs

Very Important: To be sure you receive our e-mails, add this address donotreply @ fanbeach.com (<<--- put them all together) to your address book or contact list on your e-mail App! Alternatively, if you have the ability, "whitelist" all fanbeach.com e-mails. Be sure to check back in your bulk (spam) folder if you are wondering if we replied!

We get asked a lot what it takes to even apply to monetize YouTube videos through the YouTube Partner Program so we added an FAQ here for reference. Keep in mind in addition to the audience size and views (expressed as watch time hours) listed below, your content and account must be in good standing on the YouTube platform, which includes being advertiser friendly.

YouTube can decide it isn’t at any time and can pull your ad revenue with little notice. That is one of the reasons why fan funding is such an important foundation for financial security for YouTubers large and small. You must also comply with our terms and conditions, of course, to be a creator at FanBeach – please read them and understand them thoroughly!

YouTube Partner Program Minimum Eligibility Requirements

  1. Follow all the YouTube Partner Program policies.
  2. Live in a country or region where the YouTube Partner Program is available.
  3. Have more than 4,000 public watch hours in the last 12 months.
  4. Have more than 1,000 subscribers.
  5. Have a linked AdSense account.

One last point to always remember: fan funding at FanBeach is in addition to any revenue you earn from YouTube Partner Program AdSense earnings, brand deals, or other streams of income. We always add to your ability to make a living and we are non-exclusive. You can, and should, keep working to develop multiple diverse revenue streams as a professional creator.

Category: Creator FAQs

Fan Funding Link Sharing Best Practices

Instagram offers some excellent ways to share your fan funding link. It is very important that you make use of all of them to achieve the best results.

Here is a FanBeach creator post and account that demonstrates the best practices outlined below. Be sure to take a look at the on-screen graphic at the end of the video, the caption text, and the link in the account’s bio on Instagram: DogExplorer (a new window will open – or visit that account via the Instagram App)

  1. In videos thank your fans on-screen while placing a graphic with your link next to the thank you.

    The on-screen (graphic/text) version could be:

    My videos made possible by my wonderful fans.
    Please become a fan today at FanBeach.com/yourlinkhere
    (or click on the link in my bio)

    Optionally you could also include a verbal (voice) thanks and call to action along the lines of:

    My videos are made possible by the generous support of you, my wonderful fans. If you haven’t already, please become a fan today at FanBeach.com/yourlinkhere or click on the link in my bio.

  2. Be sure to include the call to action and link in your post captions. Your fans can’t support you if they don’t know about your fan funding offer. Using a service like linktr.ee is great but it hides your fan funding item. Please follow the best practices illustrated below to be sure your fans know they can show their love.

    In the body (also known as the caption field) of the video (or photo post) place a similar message to the on-screen example version like this:

    My videos and photos are made possible by my wonderful fans. Please become a fan today at FanBeach.com/yourlinkhere (or please click the link on my linktr.ee from my bio)

  3. Go back over your older posts and add the “body/caption field version” to the body of those posts.

  4. Visit your “Bio” and edit the website adding your FanBeach.com/yourlinkhere link.

  5. Note: Please consider keeping/adding monthly support. Ask us for help in putting it back in your item if you removed it and let your fans decide if they wish to support you monthly or just one time.

YouTube offers several excellent ways to share your fan funding link. It is very important that you make use of all of them to achieve the best results.

  1. Thank your fans on-screen while placing a graphic with your link next to the thank you.

    The on-screen (graphic/text) version could be:

    My videos made possible by my wonderful fans. Please become a fan today at FanBeach.com/yourlinkhere

    You should also include a verbal (voice) thanks and call to action along the lines of:

    My videos are made possible by the generous support of you, my wonderful fans. If you haven’t already, please become a fan today at FanBeach.com/yourlinkhere or click on the link in the description below.

    Note: If you are producing long form videos add these on-screen versions near the beginning and end of your content.

  2. In the body (also known as the description field) of the video place a similar message to the on-screen example version like this:

    My videos made possible by my wonderful fans. Please become a fan today at FanBeach.com/yourlinkhere

  3. If you are just getting started to be sure your request is noticed, you can add the body/description field version to the first comment on the video and pin that video to the top of the comments.

  4. Go back over your back catalog of videos and add the “body/description field version” to the body of those videos. Also consider adding a pinned comment as described above.

  5. Visit your “About” tab and add the body/description field version to the area “about your channel” and as a distinct link where YouTube allows you to add links.

  6. Note: Please consider keeping/adding monthly support. Ask us for help in putting it back in your item if you removed it and let your fans decide if they wish to support you monthly or just one time.

  7. FYI: We are working on approval for direct links to FanBeach from YouTube end cards and screens. Once they are live be sure to add them to your videos for maximum results!

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