Chapter 1: The Importance of Tipping

One lesson I absorbed from my mother was the significance of generous tipping. Despite her limited financial means, she dedicated most of her career to customer service and understood the challenges faced by service workers. I strive to honor that lesson in my own life.

As writers, we have the opportunity to enable our readers to tip us if they choose. I know from experience the struggle of generating income through writing, where every dollar truly matters. However, the thought of soliciting donations feels uncomfortable to me, especially when there are so many who are in greater need.

What I envision is a mechanism that allows anyone to contribute whatever amount they wish in exchange for my creative outputs—whether that be a narrative, an AI-generated image, or any other digital product. Fortunately, there are various avenues to facilitate this.

In my quest for solutions, I consulted Bard for an exhaustive list of platforms that support micropayments. Here’s what I found:

Payment Processors:

• PayPal
• Stripe
• Square
• Buy Me a Coffee
• Ko-fi
• PayPal.Me
• Tipalti
• Dwolla
• Payoneer
• Authorize.Net
• GoCardless
• PayPal Zettle

Crowdfunding Platforms:

• Patreon
• Kickstarter
• Indiegogo
• Fundable
• RocketHub
• Crowdrise
• Gumroad
• Indiegogo Life
• Fundable Social
• CrowdFunded
• VentureFunding

Other Platforms:

• Web Monetization API
• Coil
• Uphold
• Bitcoin
• Ethereum
• Litecoin
• Monero
• Nano
• Basic Attention Token (BAT)
• Steemit
• Hive
• Readme.com
• SteemIt

While there are numerous methods to transfer funds online, my focus will be on micropayments, specifically those that minimize friction.

I have experimented with platforms like Buy Me a Coffee and Ko-fi, which only require a link to initiate tipping. However, I believe that leveraging either Stripe or Square is more advantageous, as it can evolve into a larger e-commerce initiative—something I have been developing over the last few months.

Thus, I prefer to concentrate on the well-known payment processors, Stripe and Square. Their fees are comparable, but there are nuances regarding chargebacks that are worth noting. For instance, Stripe imposes a $15 fee for each chargeback, while Square does not charge for chargebacks at all. For businesses that might face numerous chargebacks, Square emerges as the more economical choice. Conversely, for those that are less likely to encounter chargebacks, Stripe may be preferable due to its lower transaction fees for both in-person and online payments.

Square certainly has its advantages. Both Stripe and Square offer free accounts, and you can explore their websites for more information.

I was particularly drawn to the fact that my payments from Medium are processed through Stripe, as is the case for many others. I was also unaware that Stripe provides a feature called Payment Link, enabling you to sell online without a website. Square offers a similar feature known as checkout links. (Here’s my link, in case you feel inclined to donate!)

Both of these features allow you to sell products, whether physical or digital, without the need for a dedicated website—an appealing option for many writers.