Elle Mills Launches Patreon Account Because She Spends “Way More Money Creating Videos Than I Earn From Them”

YouTuber Elle Mills announced today that she’s joined membership platform Patreon, offering fans rewards like exclusive behind-the-scenes glimpses at her life and videos in exchange for pledging money to help her make vlogging a sustainable career.

“I’ve always prided myself on being a creator that puts the content first,” Mills said in her announcement video (in which she also got back at her friend Tavian Palacios, who tattooed his Instagram username on her, by tattooing her Patreon link on him). But, Mills added, “There definitely has been some consequences out of me not prioritizing money.”

Mills, who has 1.5 million subscribers on YouTube, says she’s done things like using copyrighted music in her videos, which prevents her from earning AdSense money, and has turned down brand deals because it doesn’t fit in the storyline. “And to be totally transparent, I spend way more money making videos than I do earning from them,” she says. “[Patreon] is finally a way for me to make YouTube a sustainable career in a way that doesn’t affect the content.”

Mills’ Patreon offers several tiers of rewards. For $3 per month, subscribers will receive all her videos 24 hours early. For $7 per month, they’ll get access to an exclusive fan chat community, as well as behind-the-scenes footage and bloopers. For $25, they can get their names in the end credits of all Mills’ videos — plus access to a monthly private live stream. And at the top tier, $100, subscribers will receive items from Mills in the mail every month.

Mills has been open about her struggles with content creation before, taking a break in May of this year and sharing a frank video last month about “the aftermath of my YouTube breakdown.”

Check out her full Patreon announcement below.