It’s getting on for two years since we made the switch on the Mayo Football Podcast to the Patreon platform and in that time the podcast has gone from strength to strength.

As we’d hoped it would, the move to Patreon has enabled us to make available far more podcast content on an ongoing basis – by the time this year is over we’ll have released over 150 separate shows over the course of the twelve months – and we’ve been greatly heartened by the support provided to us by a club membership that continues to grow strongly over time.

We’re not standing still either, far from it. Indeed, the podcast offering – and, with it, the way in which the podcast and the blog will operate more closely together – is set to become bigger and better in the near future. We’ll be unveiling plans on that front in due course.

We recognise, however, that, for some people, podcasts and signing up to Patreon may be a step into the unknown. For others, it may seem like a step too far. As a result, it seems like a good idea to demystify the subject.

So, then, what is Patreon?

In its widest sense, Patreon is a technology platform, which can be accessed on a laptop or, more commonly, on a smartphone, where, as Rob keeps saying on our free pods, it’s simply an app.

Patreon operates as a subscription-based membership service. So regardless of whether or not you access it on a laptop or download the app on your smartphone, to hear our podcast content on Patreon you’ll first need to subscribe to become a member.

On a laptop, the steps you need to take are:

• Go to the Patreon website;
• Search for the Mayo Football Podcast;
• Click on “Become a Member”, fill in the details and choose monthly or annual membership.

On a smartphone, what you need to do is:

• Download the Patreon app from the Apple App store or the Google Play store;
• Open the app and search for the Mayo Football Podcast;
• Click on “Become a Member”, fill in the details and choose monthly or annual membership.

That’s all there is to it. Once you’ve completed the membership process, you’ll be notified via the email address you’ve provided once a new podcast becomes available and this new show will also appear automatically in your podcast feed within the app. At our current run-rate, you’ll be getting plenty of such emails, with new podcast shows to listen to every week of the year.

If you know someone who could be interested in listening to our podcast content but might be put off from following the above steps, then it might be an idea to help step them through the process. It only takes a few minutes.

With Christmas fast approaching, gifting a podcast membership – either via a monthly or annual subscription – is also something to be considered, especially if the recipient is someone who might not have the confidence to complete the sign-up process themselves. We’re sure that it’s a Christmas present they’ll enjoy throughout the year to come.