I'ma get real about @Patreon for a minute here.
At my level of notoriety, my Patreon has stopped growing in any meaningful way.
At my level of notoriety, my Patreon has stopped growing in any meaningful way.
The problem I have with YouTube ad revenue is that it keeps you chasing views. People love a video, hate a video, you only get paid if they watch it. Encourages you to make videos quickly about whatever's trending.
That's not the kind of video I want to make, and I hate ads, so I made the first milestone on Patreon that I would keep ads turned off forever.
Right now, the only videos with ads on them are ones where copyright-holders monetize my videos, take my revenue, and reject my Fair Use claim.
What I've learned this year about Patreon is that, as opposed to rewarding views, it rewards consistency.
Basically, on Patreon you always have a trickle of people canceling or lowering their pledges, and a trickle of new patrons. Your page grows when the second trickle is larger than the first.
You get a bump to the second trickle every time you release a video. And when my Patreon was smaller, the size of that bump correlated to the subject of the video.
My more social-justicey stuff didn't always get the most views, but they drove the most patrons.
My more social-justicey stuff didn't always get the most views, but they drove the most patrons.
But nowadays it doesn't seem to matter what I produce. Popular video or niche video, social justice manifesto or love letter to an old video game, the bump seems about the same.
But if I miss a month, the trickle coming in gets smaller.
But if I miss a month, the trickle coming in gets smaller.
It may just be that the trickle going out is larger now, and I'm making enough money that the difference between a small and large bump is less noticeable.
But, if I maintain a steady schedule, my Patreon goes up by about $8-12 a month.
But, if I maintain a steady schedule, my Patreon goes up by about $8-12 a month.
I don't want to come off as greedy here. The overwhelming majority of people on Patreon can't support themselves on what they earn there and I can. My life is pretty ascetic, but I get to make videos full-time and that's incredible.
But it's sobering to be pushing 35 and making a little over $32,000 a year in a very expensive city and realizing you've reached equilibrium. You're not going to make more than this.
This month, despite being up $8 in pledges, my take home was $40 less, probably because of Patreon's recent payment fuckery where payments decline because they get flagged as fraud.
That's my last 5 months of growth gone due to one tweak from corporate.
That's my last 5 months of growth gone due to one tweak from corporate.
So it makes me wonder what the long-term viability of being a video essayist is, at least if I keep doing it the way I have been. I can keep on like I'm doing, but I can't really change anything about my life.
Now, I have a lot of options, here. I've always been stubborn about not recording an outro where I ask people to like, share, subscribe, back me on Patreon, and punch that bell button.
I don't use goofy photos of my face as the title cards to increase viewership.
I don't use goofy photos of my face as the title cards to increase viewership.
And I'd rather not, but they may make a difference.
But there's also additional work I've wanted to do that may bring in more trickles to the Patreon. I've have a podcast planned for months that I haven't made the time for as I've focused on just making videos.
I've long considered having a second channel for faster, more experimental stuff, or just mixtapes.
Neither is likely to bring in a ton, but it doesn't take much to double your growth when your growth is $10 a month.
Neither is likely to bring in a ton, but it doesn't take much to double your growth when your growth is $10 a month.
But also, I have to start considering what would be the next project. I have a ton of things I want to do in my career that would require me to scale back the video essays, since they really are a full-time job right now.
YouTubery is the only creative project I've ever undertaken that's actually earned me a living, so part of me is scared to try something else, especially when I only just stopped being broke all the time.
So I don't know.
At the very least, I wouldn't scale back the channel until The Alt-Right Playbook is done, which is at least another two years.
At the very least, I wouldn't scale back the channel until The Alt-Right Playbook is done, which is at least another two years.
But thinking about what's next also means thinking about what I'd want to accomplish with the channel before scaling it back, which makes my ambitions tingle.
All the biggest, weirdest videos I've considered get pushed up in priority.
All the biggest, weirdest videos I've considered get pushed up in priority.
I don't really have a point, just figured I should put this out there.
Basically, over the next couple years the channel will likely get more ambitious, I may diversify my output, and then it's possible the channel will take a backseat while I take on new projects.
Basically, over the next couple years the channel will likely get more ambitious, I may diversify my output, and then it's possible the channel will take a backseat while I take on new projects.
Innuendo Studios will never go away as long as I have things to talk about. But what Innuendo Studios *is* is going to evolve.
