A support my work page for one-off tips on your own site

Why put it on your own site

Tip platforms are quick to set up and familiar to supporters. A page on your own address adds things they don't: your design rather than theirs, a URL you can print on a zine or say at the end of a video, and a place that survives if you change payment provider. Some creators run both, with the page on their site explaining why support matters and buttons that go to whichever provider they use.

What to say, and how

Asking for money feels awkward to most people, and that awkwardness tends to leak into vague, apologetic copy. Specific copy is easier to write and easier to respond to.

• What you make and for whom, in a sentence, for visitors who arrived from a link.
• What support pays for, concretely: "server costs for the archive", "a day of research per month", "keeping the tutorials free of ads".
• What supporters get, if anything. A thank-you in the credits or nothing at all are both fine; be clear which.
• Suggested amounts, two or three, each tied to something tangible: "a coffee", "a month of hosting", "one episode".
• Other ways to help for those who can't pay: share a post, leave a review, tell a friend.
• A thank-you that doesn't depend on whether they pay.

Place the link where people already feel grateful: the end of a tutorial, the footer of a free tool, the last page of a zine, the description of a video. A support page that nobody is sent to raises nothing, however well it is written. Mention it occasionally rather than in every post, and thank people publicly (with their permission) when they help.

One-off support versus memberships

Many creators start with one-off support and add a membership once enough people ask how to give regularly. Some payment providers can sell a simple subscription through a link, which covers "support me monthly" with no perks; check whether yours does.

How Anticode builds it

Describe the page, for example "a support my work page for my free woodworking tutorials, saying what support pays for, three tip amounts and other ways to help". The Architect may ask which look you want; Playful (Fredoka) or Organic (Figtree) suit a friendly tip page, Editorial (Geist) a writer's. There's one payment link per account, so every support button opens the same checkout, which you create in PayPal, Stripe Payment Links, Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy, Shopify or Whop. Set it up to let supporters pick an amount, or to list your suggested amounts as options; the provider takes the payment and sends the receipt. Publish it as part of your main site or as its own small site, on your own domain on a paid plan. The link-in-bio page guide covers putting the support link where your audience already finds you.

If you also want people to hear when you publish something new, add a newsletter form; it collects an email and can send sign-ups to Mailchimp or Kit.

Limits

• No payments on the page itself. Buttons go to your provider's checkout.
• No memberships, member-only posts or supporter logins. Published pages are public. Use a membership platform and link to it.
• No supporter wall that updates as people pay. You can add names by hand, with permission.
• No progress bar for a funding goal that fills automatically; update a figure by hand if you show one.
• No embedded tip widgets: pages can't embed outside scripts or frames.

Questions people ask

Can supporters choose their own amount?

Only if your payment provider's link supports customer-chosen amounts. Otherwise offer a few fixed ones.

Do I need my own domain?

No. A free anticode.dev address works, with a small badge. Your own domain needs a paid plan; see pricing.

Should I show how much I've raised?

Only if it helps and you'll keep it current. A stale total looks worse than none.