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Kit + Patreon

Use the Patreon app to sync your patrons into Kit, track membership purchases, embed live membership offers in emails, and trigger Visual Automations when someone becomes a new member or unsubscribes.

Updated this week

With the Kit + Patreon app, you can leverage your Patreon community in four powerful ways:

  1. Sync Patreon members as subscribers in Kit with automatic tags and custom fields

  2. Track Patreon membership purchases inside Kit to segment patrons and personalize follow-ups

  3. Trigger automated workflows when someone becomes a new member or unsubscribes from a tier

  4. Insert live Patreon membership tier blocks into your emails with up-to-date pricing, descriptions, and links

If you are migrating from the legacy Patreon integration, go here first.

Getting started with Patreon

To use the Kit Patreon app, you need to:

  1. Have an active Patreon creator account

  2. Have a paid Kit account

How to install the Patreon app

  1. Log in to your Kit account

  2. Click Automate > Apps in the top navigation

  3. Find the Patreon app and click Install

  4. Sign in with Patreon and approve the requested permissions

  5. You’ll land on the App settings screen to configure your sync preferences, custom fields, and tag settings

  6. Click Save and continue to finish installation

How to use the Patreon app

App settings

After authenticating with Patreon, you’ll land on the App settings page as the final step before completing installation.

Here, you can configure sync preferences (including whether you want to import historical data), custom field mappings, and tag settings. You can return to this page anytime, post-installation, from the Patreon App Details page.

Sync preferences

The sync preferences section on the App settings page allows you to control which data syncs between Patreon and Kit.

Active subscribers

Sync new Patreon members as Kit subscribers. This creates or updates subscriber profiles in Kit as Patreon members are created or modified.

Purchases

Sync membership tier purchase and transaction details from patrons. This enriches subscriber profiles with purchase history and revenue data.

Unsubscribed

Optionally sync patrons who have unsubscribed so you can keep audience records up to date in Kit.

Historical data

During installation, you can choose to import data existing on Patreon prior to app installation.

This is a one-time import that gives you richer subscriber data for more personalized targeting. If you don’t enable this option, only data created after installation will be synced.

Custom field mapping

The custom fields section lets you view default field mappings and create custom mappings between Patreon fields and Kit custom fields.

Default mapping

These core fields sync automatically from Patreon to Kit:

  • Full Name → First Name

  • Email → Email address

Custom mapping (optional)

You can create additional field mappings (if enabled). Changes will apply to any ongoing sync. You can return to your App settings at any time to modify your custom field mappings.

Tags

The tags section shows all tags that will be automatically applied to subscribers synced from Patreon.

Default tags created by Kit

  • "Patreon" Tag: Applied to all members who have been synced from your Patreon account

Custom imported tags (optional)

  • "Patreon_tiername" Tag: Applied based on the membership tier a patron has subscribed to, where tiername changes based on the tier name

If a member unsubscribes, the app will remove the tier tag from Kit so that your segmentation stays accurate.

Patreon purchase data in Kit

If you’ve enabled purchase syncing in the App settings, membership purchases will appear in the Purchases tab of the subscriber’s profile in Kit.

You can use this purchase data, along with Tags and custom fields, for segmentation and automation conditions in your Broadcasts or Visual Automations.

Adding Patreon membership tier blocks to emails

With the Patreon app, you can insert live membership tier blocks that display Patreon tier details directly in your emails.

Here’s how:

  1. In the email editor, type /patreon and select Patreon Membership Tier

  2. Select the membership tier: Choose which Patreon tier you want to display from the dropdown in the sidebar

  3. Customize the display:

    • Customize the title's font, size, and color

    • Customize the price's font, size, and color

    • Customize the CTA button's text and color

    • Toggle the description on or off

    • Customize the block radius and background color

    • Show or hide the border

  4. Preview and send: Review how your Patreon tier block looks before sending

Set up automations based on Patreon activity

Use Visual Automations to create Patreon-related automations

Once you have the Patreon app installed, you can use Patreon event nodes to trigger automations when someone becomes a member or unsubscribes.

For example, you can create automations for:

  • Welcome sequences for new patrons

  • Onboarding by membership tier

  • Win-back flows when someone unsubscribes

  • Upsells when someone joins a specific tier

Here's how to automate a simple welcome sequence and a win-back flow.

Welcome sequence for new patrons

This automation is perfect for creators who want to automatically welcome new patrons and deliver onboarding content.

Here’s how to set it up:

  1. Go to Visual Automations under the Automate tab in the navigation. Click the + New automation button on the right

  2. Click the Start from scratch button

  3. In the entry point modal, select Event, and then choose Patreon

  4. Select New member

  5. Choose whether you want the event to trigger for:

    • Any tier, or

    • A specific tier, or

    • Multiple tiers (multi-select)

  6. Add a Sequence to welcome your new patrons

  7. Optionally add actions like applying Tags or conditional branching based on tiers

Win-back flow for unsubscribes

This automation is perfect for creators who want to respond when someone cancels a membership.

Here’s how to set it up:

  1. Go to Visual Automations under the Automate tab in the navigation. Click the + New automation button on the right

  2. Click the Start from scratch button

  3. In the entry point modal, select Event, and then choose Patreon

  4. Select New unsubscribe

  5. Choose whether you want the event to trigger for:

    • Any tier, or

    • A specific tier, or

    • Multiple tiers (multi-select), or

    • All Patreon unsubscribes (not limited to a tier)

  6. Add your follow-up steps (for example, a short feedback email, a win-back sequence, or a Tag update)

Migration from legacy Patreon integration

If you previously used Kit’s legacy Patreon integration, we recommend switching to the current app as it supports newer Kit capabilities, like event-triggered Visual Automations and membership tier blocks.

As part of the migration process, you'll need to install the current Patreon app as a fresh connection.

NOTE: ⚠️If you keep the legacy integration connected while installing the current Patreon app, purchase records may be duplicated.

Recommended migration path

  1. Document your current legacy integration setup

    • Note any automations, Segments, or Broadcasts that reference Patreon-related Tags or the "Patreon Tier" custom field

    • If you rely on legacy purchase-triggered automations, note which tiers they reference

  2. Disconnect / uninstall the legacy integration

  3. Install the current Patreon app

    • Follow the installation steps above

    • During setup, choose whether to sync Active subscribers, Purchases, Unsubscribed, and whether to import Historical data

  4. Update your Kit assets to use the current app’s data

Testing the current app beforehand

While you can install the current Patreon app before uninstalling the legacy integration, doing this is not recommended.

Otherwise, you may see duplicate purchase data, and your subscriber data may not match what you expect, until you fully switch over.

Tag and custom field differences

Here are the differences between the Tags and custom fields used by the legacy integration and the current app, and how to migrate your legacy Tags and custom fields:

Legacy integration

Current Patreon app

What to change in Kit

Tag: Patreon: Active

Tag: Patreon

Update filters that identify subscribers tagged with "Patreon: Active" to target subscribers tagged with "Patreon" instead (and optionally with an extra tier Tag if you want to identify subscribers in a specific Patreon tier).

Tag: Patreon: Cancelled

(No direct equivalent)

If you need win-back flows, use the New unsubscribe event trigger in Visual Automations and apply your own Tag (for example, “Patreon Unsubscribed”).

Tag: Patreon: Declined

(No direct equivalent)

If you need to handle payment issues, use your subscribers' purchase history + your own tagging rules/automations where possible.

Custom field: Patreon Tier

Tag: Patreon_tiername

Replace any Segments that used the “Patreon Tier” custom field with the relevant tier Tag(s) (for example, "Patreon_VIP Club").

NOTE:After completing the migration, do a quick spot-check by opening a few subscriber profiles and confirming that their Tags and purchase records look correct.

Patreon troubleshooting

I connected the Patreon app to Kit, but don’t see my subscribers updated

  • Check that your Patreon members have valid email addresses

  • If you skipped historical data import, only new members and purchases created after installation will appear

  • Make sure the ongoing sync for Active subscribers is enabled in App settings

Purchase data isn’t appearing

  • Confirm that the membership purchase had completed successfully in Patreon

  • Make sure Purchases syncing is enabled

  • If you expected to see data for less recent purchases, confirm that you enabled historical data import during installation

My custom field mappings aren’t showing up

  • Return to the App settings page to verify your mappings were saved correctly

  • If you changed your custom field mappings after installing the app, the new mappings will apply only to future syncs. You may need a new member update to trigger a sync.

My tier block looks off or isn't showing up in my email

  • Make sure you’ve selected a valid tier from the membership tier dropdown in the sidebar

  • Try removing and re-adding the content block

  • If something is off about the tier image, you’ll need to edit it in Patreon

Tags aren’t being applied correctly

  • Verify that the member is subscribed to the expected tier in Patreon

  • Tier-specific Tags follow the pattern "Patreon_tiername"


☝️ If you're having trouble installing or using the Patreon app, or if you wish it included functionality not currently available, we're here to help.

Just reach out to us with our in-app messenger for the quickest help, or send us a message at help@kit.com, and a member of the team will be in touch.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Patreon app cost extra?

No, the app doesn't cost anything extra. You can install it if you are on a paid Kit plan.

What types of Patreon memberships are supported?

All Patreon membership tiers in your creator account are supported.

Will the membership tier block update automatically?

The tier block pulls current information from your Patreon account when the email is built. If you make significant changes to the tier (price, image, description), refresh the block before sending to ensure it displays the latest information.

Can I trigger automations for specific tiers?

Yes. The New member and New unsubscribe event nodes let you select any tier, a specific tier, or multiple tiers.

What happens if a subscriber already exists in Kit?

If the email address already exists in Kit, the Patreon app will update the existing subscriber's fields and Tags instead of creating a duplicate.

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