Patreon features · 2026-06-06
Patreon community posts explained: post types, visibility tiers, and when to use them
Patreon's posting system has five content types and four visibility settings — a 2×10 combination space that confuses most new creators. Understanding which post type to use for which purpose, and what "community posts" actually means versus "patron-only posts," is one of the practical decisions that affects patron retention.
The five Patreon post types
Patreon supports five types of content you can post to your creator page:
- Text. Written post. Can include rich formatting, images, and links. Used for written updates, announcements, essays, and patron-only written content.
- Video. Video file upload directly to Patreon, or a YouTube/Vimeo embed. Patreon's native video player supports private playback for patron-only content (the video URL is not directly accessible without patron authentication).
- Image. Single image or image gallery. Common for visual art process photos, illustrations, and design work.
- Audio. Audio file upload. This is the post type that powers Patreon's private podcast RSS feature — each audio post has a unique per-subscriber-authenticated URL for podcast app delivery. See the private RSS deep-dive for how this works mechanically.
- Poll. A patron-facing poll with up to 10 options. Results visible to all patrons; voting can be limited to specific tiers. Used for content direction voting, community decisions, and engagement signals.
The four visibility settings
Every post, regardless of type, has one of four visibility settings:
- Public. Anyone can see this post — patrons and non-patrons alike, no login required. This is the standard visibility for teaser content, free sample posts, and announcements intended to drive new patron sign-ups. Public posts appear on your Patreon page's public feed and can be found via search engines if Patreon's crawl settings permit.
- Patron-only. Visible only to paying patrons — anyone on any active tier. Non-patrons see a locked preview (you set how much of the post is visible before the paywall). This is the standard setting for delivery content — episodes, articles, process videos.
- Tier-specific. Visible only to patrons on a specific tier or above. A $25-tier-only post is invisible to $5 and $15 tier patrons. Used when you have meaningfully different content at each tier — monthly calls visible only to $50 patrons, for example.
- Free / All patrons and public. Visible to anyone who follows your Patreon page, including free followers (people who follow you without paying). This is distinct from patron-only — free followers are people who have followed your page without subscribing to a paid tier. This setting is useful for welcome posts and free-tier benefit delivery.
What "community posts" means on Patreon
"Community posts" is Patreon's label for the general activity feed on your creator page — the stream of updates, announcements, and patron interactions that creates the ongoing relationship between creator and patrons. In practice, a community post is any text or image post that isn't primarily a content delivery (an episode, an article, a process video) — it's the ambient communication layer.
Community posts are typically shorter than content delivery posts. Examples: "Recording session update — three episodes done this week, first one drops Thursday"; "Poll: should I cover X or Y this month?"; "Behind-the-scenes photo from the shoot." These posts build the sense that being a patron is membership in an ongoing relationship, not just a content subscription.
The practical distinction matters for retention: creators who post community updates between content deliveries retain patrons at meaningfully higher rates than creators who only post when they have completed content to deliver. The community post is evidence that the creator is present and engaged, separate from whether a specific deliverable is ready.
Patron notifications and post frequency
Patrons receive a notification for every new post on tiers they subscribe to. This is both an asset and a risk. An asset because consistent notifications keep your page top-of-mind. A risk because notification fatigue is real — patrons who receive too many notifications from a single creator begin to tune them out, and a tuned-out patron is a patron approaching cancellation.
The working norm from high-retention creator pages: 2–4 posts per week across a mix of community updates and content deliveries. Higher frequency is viable if you have high posting cadence (daily YouTube or podcast format), but requires that each post delivers something the patron recognizes as worth the notification. A "just checking in" post three times per week without real content attachment erodes the notification's signal value.
How November 2026 iOS billing affects community post access
After November 1, 2026, iOS patrons who pay through Patreon's iOS app will have 30% of their pledge extracted by Apple before Patreon processes it. Creators who activate web-only billing will redirect iOS patrons to subscribe via browser. During this transition period, some iOS patrons may experience a temporary lapse in patron status (if they don't immediately re-subscribe via web) — meaning they'll temporarily lose access to patron-only posts, including community posts.
If you're running a web-only migration: post a public community update explaining the transition before activating the toggle, so iOS patrons who temporarily lose access understand why and how to re-subscribe. A well-communicated migration recovers most iOS patron relationships within 30 days. An unannounced migration looks like a technical failure and generates support tickets and churn.
The iOS billing checklist covers the patron communication playbook for this transition.
Related questions
What is the difference between a Patreon community post and a patron-only post?
The terms describe two different things. "Patron-only post" is a visibility setting — it means only paying patrons can see the post. "Community post" is an informal label for the type of content — short updates, polls, and announcements as opposed to full content deliveries (episodes, articles). A community post can be set to any visibility level: public (for announcements targeting non-patrons) or patron-only (for updates intended only for paying members). The distinction is between what the post is (community update vs content delivery) and who can see it (visibility setting).
Can non-patrons see Patreon posts?
Only public posts. If you set a post's visibility to "public," anyone — including non-patrons and people who aren't logged into Patreon — can see it. Patron-only and tier-specific posts show a locked preview to non-patrons (you control how much is visible in the preview). Free-follower posts are visible to people who follow your page without paying. Most creators use a mix: public posts as teasers that demonstrate patron content value, and patron-only posts as the actual delivery.
Does Patreon notify patrons of every new post?
By default, yes — patrons receive a notification for each new post on their tier. Patrons can adjust their own notification preferences in their account settings. For creators, the practical implication is that post frequency directly affects notification volume. 2–4 posts per week is the working norm for most categories. Significantly higher frequency risks notification fatigue; lower frequency risks patrons forgetting the page exists. Neither outcome is good for retention.
Patreon post types and visibility settings as of 2026-06-06. Patreon updates its creator interface periodically; verify current options in your Patreon creator dashboard.