March 21st Update + AN IMPORTANT POLL
Added 2022-03-21 21:57:30 +0000 UTCHey everyone!
Since this week's update contains an important poll, I'm releasing it to all the Patrons.
It has to do with monetization of the channel. If you know me, you know I hate ads. I go out of my way to make sure that my videos only have one ad per 30 minutes of footage, which is way lower than the Youtube average and even lower than most TV channels.
As a result, I don't make much in ad revenue. It comes out to about $1000 a month, which is certainly nice, but far less than America's already low minimum wage and not nearly enough to live on by itself.
That's why I have the Patreon! You all provide me with a steady income which I use to pay for rent and food and occasionally hardware upgrades. :)
This setup worked well enough when the channel was just supporting me, but as I'm trying to improve the show with better editors, I'm running into a problem. Namely, most professional editors work for a cut of the ad revenue, which in my case is abysmally low. Working 6 hours to get $70 isn't really worth it. And the alternative is paying them hourly rates that I frankly can't afford without boosting this Patreon up another $500 or so.
One of the few things I dislike more than ads, is employers who don't pay their workers enough. I want to deliver more/better content, and I want to do it by paying people an honest, livable wage. The best way to do that, I think, is to just put the standard amount of Youtube recommended ads on my videos.
If my calculations are correct, this should double or even triple my monthly ad revenue, which would allow me to pay editors a great wage AND get some bonus money for faster audio/video upgrades in the process.
The downside of course is that hour-long videos will now have 9 or so ads in them, which might feel like a betrayal to those of you who joined specifically because I DIDN'T use a lot of ads.
So, I wanted to put up a poll and see how this change might be taken. I know I'll lose some of you, and that's perfectly fine. I just want to make sure I'm not facing some mass revolt if I change this policy. If the community is mostly against this change, then I won't do it, simple as that. Instead I will focus on trying to grow the Patreon even bigger than it already is so I can afford to pay the editors what they deserve. And in the meantime I'll just cut back on content or living expenses to compensate.
Let me know your feelings on the poll down below, and if you have any questions about these potential changes, don't hesitate to ask me on Discord over in the #Hardleg_asks section.
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Anyway, with that important bit over, let's go over this week's coming attractions:
- Tuesday's stream will largely be dedicated to dueling fans and patrons since my Ladder Climbing is done for the month and the N/R festival hasn't yet begun. I may also be testing Red Dragons over on EDOPro, since those will be the next Ladder Climb.
- Thursday's stream will be dedicated to running decks through the N/R festival, and maybe cleaning up the solo mode stuff I haven't finished yet.
- This Friday you will be getting the FINAL episode of Chaos Draft season 2. As usual, the $5+ Patrons will be able to watch it a day early on Patreon.
- This Saturday, you'll either be getting a Budget Build on D/D (If I can get it edited in time) OR a DBC with special guest The RJB0 of Sealed Showdown and Junior Journey fame.
Whichever video DOESN'T appear this Saturday, will appear on the following Friday, so one way or another you'll be getting both.
- As for this Sunday, it will likely be another gaming Stream, though I'm not sure yet what I'll be playing. Maybe more Inscryption? Maybe something else? You'll have to tune in to find out!
Political video is still in the works. Script is finished and I plan to record it this week, but the N/R festival has been slowing things down so we will see.
It's also worth reminding ya'll that the monthly Patreon hangout will take place Sunday April 3rd on the Discord, which is just two weeks away!
I look forward to seeing you all there. Until then, thanks for your support, your feedback, and until next time; good luck *snap* and have fun!
Comments
I genuinely don't mind more ads, but they might interrupt the duels which kinda breaks the pacing.
Bram Lastname
2022-03-24 22:35:56 +0000 UTCI definitely respect whatever decision you ultimately do. If you need to bump up the ads to pay your editors, then that's fine by me.
chaosbug7
2022-03-22 20:44:59 +0000 UTCi have youtube premium so i dont see ads, i say go for it. or have the ads play between duels so it doesnt inturupt them so people stay for that duel
SAMURIADI
2022-03-22 17:19:40 +0000 UTCI'll admit i joined for the music than forgot about it having fun in memes channel with hoonts. No ads is cool respectable in this day and age. But if you gotta pay for an editor through that. I do understand.
SmittenTheKitten
2022-03-22 12:02:06 +0000 UTCThat's understandable. To be fair, I'm a Yugioh creator so there's not exactly brand-UNsafe content I can make, I'm just playing card games either way; but there is the risk that I'll only make videos the algorithm will like. Fortunately, Ladder Climb is in the hands of the Patrons, since they vote on what I play. I didn't intend it this way, but that should serve as a safety valve to keep me focused on what the fans want and not what Youtube will want.
Hardleg Joe
2022-03-22 03:11:54 +0000 UTCA few extra ads is far and away worth seeing both your channel continue to grow/gain further revenue as well as being able to properly support those around it
vaati
2022-03-21 23:32:20 +0000 UTCA lot of it is about indirect effects. It seems that without the reliance on advertisers, the content I've seen hasn't felt afraid of broaching "brand unsafe" topics. I also have an overarching distaste for the amount of power large advertising companies have over smaller content creators through the mutualistic/parasitic relationship between the two.
Inkwyrmling
2022-03-21 23:05:04 +0000 UTCI just want to see your channel grow and thrive. <3
2022-03-21 22:44:59 +0000 UTCThat being said, if you dislike the ads, feel free to use adblock on my channel. I don't mind. I'm at the point where having 10-20% of the viewers block the ads doesn't make a huge impact on things.
Hardleg Joe
2022-03-21 22:24:21 +0000 UTCI should be able to keep them skippable and still make enough. Hard to say for sure until I try it out though.
Hardleg Joe
2022-03-21 22:23:28 +0000 UTCFair enough. I appreciate you being honest with me. Although I am curious, if you have Premium anyway, why do the ads bother you?
Hardleg Joe
2022-03-21 22:22:14 +0000 UTCYouTube add are definitely not the worst, lately I just keeping this one about how food from Fukushima area has even less radiation than food from most European countries XD
Damwolf
2022-03-21 22:21:08 +0000 UTCFrankly, I joined the Patreon because I enjoy you as a content creator. Ads don't make you any worse of a content creator, and it's admirable that you respect the time and effort your editors put in to your videos enough that you'd take this decision knowing it'll rustle some jimmies. So you have my support all the way.
Muffin Fiend
2022-03-21 22:12:58 +0000 UTCI'm not going to lie I love how few ads there are on your channel. That being said there are many other content creators that I enjoy that have a lot more ads in videos much, much shorter than yours. I wouldn't have any issue with more ads on your content, as long as they remain the skippable kind.
2022-03-21 22:10:48 +0000 UTCI'll admit, I have YouTube premium, so don't use this alone for any decisions. One of the things that initially attracted me to Hardleg as a brand was the lack of ads and focus on Patreon as the primary financial backing. I am only a recent patron and am at the lowest tier (at the moment), but I would never have become one without the current policy on ads.
Inkwyrmling
2022-03-21 22:04:36 +0000 UTC
