(public video) Is the Let's Play Channel DYING?

Bonus ramble after the patreon Q&A I posted last night I guess lol

I'm in a bit of a pickle, because on top of everything else, the Early Access tier may be harming the channel. If my most dedicated fans are paying to watch the content early as a separate, unlisted video, then that's less support for the "real" video. Which means less engagement, which means the algorithm doesn't push it, which means the video flatlines and doesn't reach new people, which means the channel doesn't grow.

It's also harder to cover new releases for obvious reasons. Covering Critter Cove and Mars Vice at launch is probably why they're two of the biggest playthroughs I've done recently. But that kind of coverage has me shirking my responsibility to Patreon.

The issue though is that the Early Access stuff is also the most successful perk my Patreon has ever had, probably. It's a lot of my current income. So the intuitive solution: stop doing it, is potentially very costly lol

shrug

There are not easy answers here.

In an ideal world I'd just be making the content that I want to make or that I think is good for the channel, and wouldn't have to spend so much time figuring out how to monetize it all the time.

Maybe I only do early access for SOME playthroughs: the ones for games that aren't new releases. Maybe I cut the tier altogether, for the health of the channel. I wouldn't feel so bad about that, since it's not really ripping anyone off (you got the content while you were paying for it, now it's over, etc). But that would potentially mean losing thousands of dollars on my end, but then the channel doesn't start performing better either. Worst of both worlds lol

idk, I'm going on a trip, I'll think about it more later