The Journey So Far
It's been an interesting few weeks for me. Offline, I've been back at work pouring pints and trying to get used to the new guidelines we have to adhere to. Thankfully most people have stuck to the rules so my experience hasn't been too bad. That will change on the 17th of May when more Pandemic restrictions get lifted in the UK. I expect I'll be busy.
Returning to work, much like last time, has stolen a lot of free time from me. This in turn slowed my video making to a crawl. It bugged me that I was too tired to get History of Beer 6 done. But a quirk in how pubs work, (we were only allowed to serve outside so if the weather was terrible we closed for the day) meant I could finally get it done.
One of the things that was spurring me on to get the video done happened on the 27th of April when Cask Theology hit the Second Great YouTube Milestone- 1,000 subscribers. I was so exited I scared my wife when I yelled “OH MY GOSH! WOW!”
1K Subs unlock a few things for a Youtuber. 1st we get access to the Community Tab, a great little thing to interact with our subscribers through posts. I've been looking forward to this feature as it means I can run polls on what videos my regulars want me to make and make Cask Theology a bit more interactive, as well as keep people in the loop about behind the scenes stuff.
The second (and many would say THE MOST) important thing you can do at 1k subscribers is apply for the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) so you can stick adverts on your videos and make money off your efforts. It's always a worry when you apply for something, but I generally only use Public Domain or Creative Commons Images and songs, don't use naughty language and skirt around the crazier or controversial stuff. That said though.. I'll always show you where to find it so you can make up your own mind. Some of the traditions around the Apostle Philip got a bit strange and revolved around race which is always a bit of a hot topic. On the 12th of May I was accepted into the YPP, and this post is about my policy regarding it.
Monetisation
So something you've probably guessed is that I like to put my research in. I've looked at how other people have monetised their channels. Let me tell you, some of them are outright obnoxious. But the one thing that has stuck with me is a quote from the guys over at Fact Fiend with Karl Smallwood, where the host, Karl, talked about this very subject. When he was discussing monetisation and adverts, he said “I don't want to waste anybody's time” and that sentence has stuck with me.
In fact, it's an approach I've tried to stick to when I make my videos. After all, I try to make my videos for people with absolutely no knowledge of the topic I'm covering. So it follows that this philosophy would spill into how I'd make money from my efforts. So as soon I got accepted, I did two things. First off, I only put adverts from any video I'd made from 2020 onwards. This is for a more personal reason than anything else really- I don't feel that my videos before this date were of sufficient quality to warrant me making money from them.
This time frame decision does include my collab with Mythology Guy (Now Mythology with Mike) and I admit I did ponder it for a second as it's a very popular video. I decided against it, as I did not want to profit from someone else's work. But let me just say right now if Mike put ads on my part of the collab I'm cool with that. That goes for any collaborator past, present and future to be honest. This is my code, not theirs.
The Second step was to only allow skippable ads on my videos, and absolutely NO MIDROLL OR POPUP ADS. Can't tell you how many times I've been watching something really interesting and halfway through a sentence the whole flow of a video has been cut off by some idiot trying to sell me something I really don't care about. So yep, only skippable ads at the beginning and end on any Cask Theology video.
Other Types of Monetisation
Cask Theology is now monetised and is still growing slowly. There is of course a question that does loom over this project.. what if this eventually starts making some serious money? Well, I have my ideas. I'm led to believe that Youtube revenue is a fickle mistress, so I'm not giving up normal employment just yet. Heck, at the time of writing I've made $2.50. And because of Adsense policy, I don't get any cash until I've made $100. That's not going to cover my bar tab. ;)
Generally the other options are Sponsors, Merchandise or Patreon/Channel Members. In terms of something like Patreon/Youtube Members, generally you get various tiers who are able to get exclusive content. Given I barely get time to put out videos, This isn't exactly an option. At least, not yet. Once things have settled into a pattern again, and I can provide something interesting, then I'll look at it. Even then I'd probably not charge much.
Merchandising, well, I have a few ideas, but nothing solid. But if people want it, I'll make it. Oddly enough, one of my ideas comes from Mythology with Mike from a comment on one of my early videos. As for Sponsors, well they'd need to be a good fit for the channel. Sorry Raid: Shadow Legends. You're not a good fit. In fact, most of the popular guys aren't. Raycon Ear Buds? How does that equate to Theology? Nord VPN? How does that equate to Theology? Now if Brewdog or The Anglican Church came calling.. that's a different scenario. Either way, I wouldn't want the sponsor to dilute the subject of the video.
Well, that's my thoughts on Monetisation. I'm not motivated to make videos for cold hard cash. I just want to teach people about Theology and Beer. If I can make a living out of that, cool. But I'm not going to be obnoxious about it. I felt I needed to put this in writing, to let people know how I approached this and well, to keep me accountable. Have a great day you lot. Grab a Drink and Keep Asking Questions.
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