the 'raocow has a patreon' thread

[Ditocoaf]

Uh, shemp, he isn't considering "moving to" patreon, locking things behind a paywall is not in the picture at this time. He's just putting up a donation link, basically.

[Doctor Shemp]

Uh, shemp, he isn't considering "moving to" patreon, locking things behind a paywall is not in the picture at this time. He's just putting up a donation link, basically.

Ah. Ok. I guess that's why YouTube's looking at setting up a donation button themselves then, if that's what people are using Patreon for, rather than its intended purpose. Are you really allowed to have an active Patreon without being obliged to actually use the thing? That seems a bit odd, but hey, if they get their cut, why would they care? Carry on.

[Slit08]

It's okay.

[QubicTom]

Why not link the Patreon account here in the talkhaus first to test the response? Afterwards, if you're comfortable with the reception, then you can advertise it on Youtube. It might help you reduce the stress of accepting donations if the money comes from familiar friends before internet strangers :D

[Alice]

Huh. I also give to 6 patreons (mostly webcomics) and they're all per-month (except for a youtuber who outputs about once a month anyway), so I guess that's just what I'm used to. If they stopped doing their thing, I'd cancel, but they all produce on a regular schedule anyway so I'd notice if things fell apart. Monthly cap makes sense, though -- and per-video definitely makes sense for youtube, where "regular schedules" aren't very common. It'd still seem weird to me to do per-video on raocow, since he's uploading something every single day to where the monthly cap would be the actual determinant almost universally.

You could always set a donation of like $1 or $0.50 per video with a cap of $10 per month or whatever. Also I think the er-creation method works a lot better in one other method as well. While it would almost certainly not be a concern with raocow, the per-creation method would allow raocow to take an occasional vacation without people having to feel ripped off whereas the per-month method could result in just such a situation.

Ah. Ok. I guess that's why YouTube's looking at setting up a donation button themselves then

Last I heard wasn't Youtube's donation button a one-time thing though not a recurring setup like Patreon? Even if the donation button was on the same page as a given video, there will be noticeably fewer donations because it's be a hassle to go through the steps of donating every single time.

[Bwarch]

Isn't YouTube trialling a donation box next to videos or something?

Ye, but you have to sign up for it and I wonder if they're even letting people at this point. Plus a donation box is just that whereas with Patreon you can do a bit more for people who donate and they get obvious feedback from having donated.

(The link is still up to sign up for donation box I just wonder if somebody is even checking it)

[Ditocoaf]

Uh, shemp, he isn't considering "moving to" patreon, locking things behind a paywall is not in the picture at this time. He's just putting up a donation link, basically.

Ah. Ok. I guess that's why YouTube's looking at setting up a donation button themselves then, if that's what people are using Patreon for, rather than its intended purpose. Are you really allowed to have an active Patreon without being obliged to actually use the thing? That seems a bit odd, but hey, if they get their cut, why would they care? Carry on.

Nobody I've seen using Patreon has locked their primary content behind it. It's a way for someone to become a small-scale "patron" of an artist, allowing that artist to continue giving away their work for free. They often give away bonus bits just to their patrons, like sketches and early-access, but Patreon isn't usually a place to straight-up sell your work for a subscription.

[SAJewers]

Worst I've seen is Patreons getting early access to content, but never locking the main content.

EDIT: Just remembered one Patreon where you get extra content.

[Doctor Shemp]

Uh, shemp, he isn't considering "moving to" patreon, locking things behind a paywall is not in the picture at this time. He's just putting up a donation link, basically.

Ah. Ok. I guess that's why YouTube's looking at setting up a donation button themselves then, if that's what people are using Patreon for, rather than its intended purpose. Are you really allowed to have an active Patreon without being obliged to actually use the thing? That seems a bit odd, but hey, if they get their cut, why would they care? Carry on.

Nobody I've seen using Patreon has locked their primary content behind it. It's a way for someone to become a small-scale "patron" of an artist, allowing that artist to continue giving away their work for free. They often give away bonus bits just to their patrons, like sketches and early-access, but Patreon isn't usually a place to straight-up sell your work for a subscription.

That is the way I'd seen it used, although I've only seen it used by people who aren't optimised for YouTube monetisation (meaning they upload irregularly and put loads of work into each video - i.e. not LPers). The main attraction is free on YouTube while the special features - commentaries, behind the scenes etc. - is paywalled. Since I was working on the assumption that you needed to paywall something, and since LPing is done so quickly there is no real behind the scenes, the only thing I could think of to paywall is parts of the main attraction. However, since I was working on a false assumption, the whole thing's irrelevant.

[CrispyMWHC]

Definitely. The quality of the entertainment is way worth the money. Please do it.

[Tenlade]

If you made a Patreon I would be very angry and upset even though I don't know what it is.

!!

welp got heard what I wanted consider the idea forgotten!!!

ninja edit: man so I think you can tell and I'm kinda sick and I can't write, but I'll just leave this here as I wrote it for posterity's sake.

I"ll counter this by sayng ill be upset if you Don't make a patreon.
But seriously do what you want, ill even donate.

Partially related, but chip and ironicus did the first episode of their podcast and their first subject is thier view and opinions on patreon, both doing it themselves and with Let's plays in general. Link.

[devil†zukin]

ill shut down the talkhaus if you dont make a patreon within the next 24 hours

the clock's ticking

[Minnakht]

basically my opinion is that

by all means, put up a donation thing of some sort - Patreon lets people donate and lets people donate automatically on a schedule, which is handy because subscriptions like that add up - let's say someone pledges $10 monthly and that's more than $10 once

I don't know about trying to change your job or anything, but by all means, give people a way to give you money, you lose nothing, not even a dignity


...it's not a very good opinion but it's mine

[raekuul]

I follow one artist on Patreon, under the monthly model. The main reason I follow the artist is because of the... extra content beyond their free stuff.

Anyway, the point I want to bring to the table is this: raocow, do you still do the artsy things? You could probably make the artsy things be the Patreon "bonus".

[Gardenolva]

This will be awesome! Besides from LP'ing, raocow's arts will make him shine more and patreon will make it worth. Good luck with that Mighty rao.

[Voltgloss]

Anyway, the point I want to bring to the table is this: raocow, do you still do the artsy things? You could probably make the artsy things be the Patreon "bonus".

Demo plushies.

I'm totally serious. My kids would give a set of Demo And "Friends"(tm) plushies a place of honor alongside their (vast) collection of always-in-use Mario plushies.

[Sebby19]

I follow this one webcomic called El Goonish Shive, and he has patreon fund: Classic commentaries on his old stuff; a side-story section besides the main comic; and a sketchbook section, where patrons can request certain stuff drawn. All of that is available to the public, including the main comic.

So, if say, you go ahead with this, and have a patreon to fund the B-side games. Would the B-side videos only be available to Patrons, or could everybody see the patron funded stuff?

[Petzi]

I have absolutely no life experience in jobs, but is it that hard for you to find a better job? I mean, you're an artist and all, there must be someone out there who'd like to hire you, it may not be your dream job, but wouldn't most art-related jobs be preferable to your current one? And I know you dread change, but surely you'd consider moving somewhere else? Remember that you can live anywhere in the world, man.

Again, I've never worked a day in my life. But one thing I'm sure of, if you don't have the bravery to go looking for a change in life, I bet you'll be talking to those people on the telephone for another thirty years, no joke.


After that bit of motivational speech, about monetizing your videos, I'd much rather you offer some incentive for people to pay. I'm not too fond of the idea of relying on people to give you money and receive nothing in return and I'm pretty sure it's much less efficient than giving something in return. I'm not saying that pay-per-view is a good idea, just that you'll generally make much more if you offer something in return.

What I think is way more important than that business-model nonsense is the volume of your viewership! If you want to increase your profits, you want more people! Knowing you I doubt you have the habit of looking at your view counts, but that stuff is really important, if you want to monetize you need to be somewhat business-like. There are just more people interested in watching you play game X than people interested in watching you play game Y, plain as that.

That's why I think you should totally look into playing more mainstream games. I mean, if you bought a Wii U and you're going to play it and there's some games that would be suitable for LP-ing and you don't mind enduring a bit of effort to figure out how you're going to record them; why the hell not? Screw those people who would whine that you've sold out, I'd love to see you play DK Country Returns, and so would a lot of other people, a lot more than the ones who want to see you play obscure mods of a 20 year old game. Maybe you could have a B-side that alternates daily with the A-side as a way to compromise the mainstream videos with the traditional series.

You already have a few advantages over any other average joe who just thought he might earn some bucks with LP-ing. Experience, a dedicated following and you're crazy regular with your videos. Maybe it's just me, but I find it amazing that you've been uploading one or two videos every day for like 6 years with so little interruption. Be brave and achieve your goals, raocow. We're all cheering for you! =)

[Ozzy Ment]

A few things to consider:

1. How much do you hate your current job? Is it tedious and annoying or is it so bad that you dread getting up every morning (or worse, hope you don't at all)?
2. Is it possible to get a different job that you'd be more comfortable in? How difficult would that be?
3. How opposed are you to receiving donations and the like? Is it just uncomfortable, or does it run completely against your philosophies?

I don't actually know what you're going through, so I can't say if this is just a rough patch that you can ride out or if something needs to change. It looks like there's no shortage of people willing to support you (I would if I could afford it), so ultimately what matters is that you're comfortable with whatever you do. I expect you may have considered these questions already, and I'm sorry if my totally professional (shut up it is!) advice is useless/out of place, but here it is.

[raekuul]

I have absolutely no life experience in jobs, but is it that hard for you to find a better job?

Speaking from experience, getting hired at a dream job is 10% having the proper skills and experience, 30% being in the right place at the right time, and 60% knowing the right people.

[Alice]

I mean, you're an artist and all, there must be someone out there who'd like to hire you, it may not be your dream job, but wouldn't most art-related jobs be preferable to your current one?

Most art related jobs pay awfully for a lot of work. The ones that would actually be worthwhile are also the most contested ones and you have to be an extremely skilled artist to have a chance at those ones.

And having no job experience you wouldn't realize it but getting a decent job isn't really easy. As raekuul said, getting a dream job is far more about luck and knowing the right people than skill. And getting any good job is more or less the same, and to boot they tend to be sought after by highly skilled workers too.

In raocow's case specifically, from what I recall he works at a retail store. Chances are it's a fairly widespread chain and those ones treat their workers like utter garbage more often than not. (In the eyes of those who are in charge, the employees are an expendable and easily replaceable resource.) If you haven't had experience with the job market you likely don't realize just how brutal it can be to get any job at times, let alone a worthwhile job.

[CM30]

I wouldn't mind seeing a Patreon for you raocow. I'm sure a lot of people would probably donate using it, especially given how dedicated your fans are.

Would I donate myself? Maybe not, it's hard enough to pay my own bills in recent months. But a Patreon link on your channel or site seems perfectly fine.

[devil†zukin]

talkhaus premium accounts for patrons

[Tenlade]

talkhaus premium accounts for patrons

throw in a patreon only forum section and you (or raocow i guess) have my money.

[Sebby19]

that sounds like something awful...












pun totally intended