BooksieSilk Donate
Setting Up PayPal and Getting Donate Link

BooksieSilk Donate is a new Premium feature on BooksieSilk that allows writers to receive donations from their fans via PayPal. This guide is designed to show you how to setup your PayPal donate button on BooksieSilk. Doing so will link the Donate button on BooksieSilk to your PayPal account so that readers can make a donation directly to you. In this way, you will receive 100% of the donation. You must have an active PayPal account before you can set up BooksieSilk Donate.

It will take between 10-15 minutes to setup BooksieSilk Donate.

Don’t Have a PayPal account?

Set one up at PayPal’s website.

Have a PayPal Account?

If you have an active PayPal account, follow these steps.

1. Click on the PayPal Donate link.

You will come to a page that looks like this:


paypal login screenshot


2. Click the Login button and login into your account.

3. We won’t be using PayPal’s button, so the questions on the “Customize how your button looks on your site page” aren’t relevant. Click the Continue button.

4. On the next page, you don’t need to fill in the Logo URL. The Organization name should populate depending on what type of account you have. In the Your Purpose box, you can add some text on why you are raising money. This will appear at the top of the box that donors see so we recommend putting in text that identifies your BooksieSilk account. For example: Donations to BooksieGuy for writing on the BooksieSilk website.” For the next question about specific programs, we recommend leaving it set to No. Click Continue when you are done.


paypal configuration screenshot

5. On the next page, you can configure the donations you receive.

a. Choose the currency you want for donations.

b. Select "3 amount options, and any amount" and enter in the amounts. We recommend $1.95, $3.95, and $4.95 as donation amounts. Donors will also have the freedom to give other amounts.

c. We would recommend allowing donors to make recurring payments.

d. Click continue.



paypal payment amounts screenshot

6. The next screen has some advanced options - Get info from donors, route donors back to site, etc. If you are comfortable using PayPal, you can click through them and configure. If not, click the Finish the Get Code button at the bottom of the page.

7. On the next screen, shown below, click the Shareable URL tab.



paypal shareable url screenshot

8. Copy that code from the Shareable URL box.



paypal copy shareable url screenshot

9. Go to your BooksieSilk edit profile page and paste the code into the BooksieSilk Donate box.



booksiesilk donation center screenshot

10. Once you have successfully saved the url to your BooksieSilk profile, you are done with the process. The donate button will now appear whenever someone clicks the Donate button on your profile or any of your content.



donate button on content screenshot

Once the Support and Donate button is clicked, a PayPal box will appear where fans can make a donation. The funds will be sent directly to your PayPal account.



donate page screenshot


FAQs

Is there a fee to use BooksieSilk Donate?

There is no fee to use BooksieSilk Donate although users must be Premium members of BooksieSilk to have access to the service. Minus PayPal fees, you will receive 100% of the donation amount. BooksieSilk does not receive anything from the donation amount.

Is it safe to use BooksieSilk Donate?

BooksieSilk does not handle any funds. The connection is made between the donor and your account via PayPal. BooksieSilk simply provides the platform for the transaction to happen.

How can I use BooksieSilk Donate?

There are many ways you can use the button. Start a book and offer to post only after a certain donation amount has been reached. Or post poems and short stories based on donations. You can also place donation requests in already posted work. Experiment and see what works. Not everyone will donate, but if you attract a dedicated fanbase, donations will come.

What if I set up BooksieSilk Donate and no one donates?

This could happen. There is no guarantee you will receive funds. Try promoting your writing more across BooksieSilk and the general Web. Build up your readership and develop content that you know readers will like.

Can I get rich using BooksieSilk Donate?

We wouldn’t advise quitting your day job. The amount you earn will depend on how many fans you attract and how dedicated they are to you as a writer. But even receiving a little money is nice recognition of the work you have created.

Twitter