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Pebbles are a normal gift for penguins, so let’s normalize it for us too!
As you may know, Patreon is great for processing memberships, but it’s not built to give creators much flexibility with things like manual access or adding extra people. The Sweaty Penguin website is built for that. So I’ve set up a system that not only makes it much easier for you to access exclusive content, but also lets some of you share partial access with friends, family, students, or colleagues — kind of like being able to email Netflix and say “Hey, can my buddy watch for free?”
All of this is totally optional — you’ll automatically receive The Pebble via Patreon and your email inbox just by being here, and everything else on our website is free. But if you’d like to access The Pebble on the website too, here’s some quick housekeeping to get that set up, as well as a breakdown of how to share access with your students, acquaintances, or loved ones.
If you have already created an account on our website:
Please be sure that you used the same name and email address on the website as on Patreon. If so, you won’t have to do anything. I will manually mark you as a subscriber in the system, and you should be able to view The Pebble and all exclusive content on the website. I will try to set you up as quickly as possible, but please allow 2-3 business days. If you still cannot view exclusive content after this, email me at ethan@thesweatypenguin.com and I will work to resolve the issue.
If you have not yet created an account on our website:
No worries! Once I receive your Patreon membership, I will create an account with your name, email address, and mark you as an exclusive subscriber. From there, whenever you are ready, you will need to navigate to the login screen on the website and hit “Forgot Password.” Then, you should be able to enter your email address and receive an email to create a password, at which point your account should be good for you to use. I have set this up for all current patrons, so you may claim your exclusive website account at any time.
If you’re not sure:
If you have been a patron for more than 2-3 business days, then I most likely already created an account for you to set up. So either you did or I did! Regardless, follow the “Forgot Password” steps above, and you should be able to log in. If this doesn’t work, email me at ethan@thesweatypenguin.com and I will work to resolve the issue.
If you’d like to share The Pebble with a friend, family member, class, or team:
One of the coolest advantages of our website is that I can manually grant subscriber access to any user account — which is not possible on the Patreon platform itself. It’s the equivalent of unlocking Netflix for a friend without sharing your password. You tell me who should have access, and I can enable it on my end.
How your invitees get their accounts:
There are two easy options, and both use the same steps outlined above:
They can create their own website account using their name and email, then I’ll toggle subscriber access for them.
Or I can create the account for them using their name and email, and they can claim it later using the “Forgot Password” method described above.
Either method works — just let me know which you prefer.
How many people can you add at your tier?
$10/month — Add 1 person
Send me the name and email of the person you want to add. A very romantic Christmas or eighth-night-of-Hanukkah gift for your spouse or partner, in my humble opinion.
$20/month — Add up to 4 people
Same process — send up to four names and emails, all at once or whenever you’re ready. Great for sharing with the family, and spurring some spirited debate at the dinner table.
$40/month — Add up to 20 people
Perfect for teachers, professors, newsroom editors, or corporate team leads to engage their students or colleagues. A list or spreadsheet is great, or add as you go.
$100/month — Unlimited adds
Add as many people as you’d like at any time.
What your invitees get:
Full exclusive access to all subscriber-only content on the website, including columns from The Pebble, so long as you remain a patron
A normal website login they control with their own email and password
Access to website commenting and all other free account features
They do NOT receive:
The Pebble in their email inbox each month
Merch (stickers, magnets, t-shirt, coffee mug) or any other exclusive patron benefits
Access to exclusive content on the Patreon platform
Your friends and colleagues can access these perks at any time by signing up for their own Patreon account.
I know it’s a bit of logistics, but once your account is set, you should be good to go — and the ability to unlock access for others is truly one of my favorite new features of this site. Each edition of The Pebble is meant to be a conversation starter, and what’s the point if you can’t bring others into the conversation?
As always, if anything doesn’t work the way it should, or if you want to add someone, just email me at ethan@thesweatypenguin.com and I’ll get you taken care of.