(The spelling in this draft of the new logo is off. "Apocalpytic" :D. But no problem, I have corrected the file on my pc already.)
Hey guys. An incredibly hard week lies behind me and I'm totally exhausted.
I couldn't finish a video today, but I'm planning to upload one tomorrow. I don't know if I'll be able to make it, since I'm really stressed out at the moment, but rest assured that I'm doing all I can.
As you can see here, I have been working on an improved version of the old channel logo. I got some help with that from one of the viewers who happens to be a graphic designer. I don't know if I will use this particular draft, What do you think about it?
Is it better than the old one?
But there is something else that I wanted to tell you :
I have done yet more work on improving the security around the house and I'm planning to make a video about that, which will only be available to you guys, my patrons! And I'm thinking about making additional exclusive video content for Patreon supporters on a regular basis now. I will have to see how my audience reacts to that, and if I will be branded as a "sell-out" or "greedy" or whatever. I really need additional supporters since the ad revenue that I make with my regular videos is incredibly small and I hope to draw people's attention to my Patreon in this way. A video that generates let's say 20.000 views in the first ten days after it has been uploaded makes me maybe 40$ (before taxes). The average time spent on the videos is about 30...40 hours per episode. So when it comes to my regular videos I work for around 1€ per hour (before taxes). On top of that, the money that I spend on the materials, equipment, software etc. is often two or three times the amount of the ad revenue. It's only the popular ( or viral) videos that are being watched hundreds or thousands of times per day for a longer period of time, that generate real revenue for me. Unfortunately it is not possible to create popular videos on purpose. It either works or it doesn't.
Paypal-donations have also gone way down and by June I have only received very little support via that channel. It's in part because the Donation links do often not work and Youtube hasn't helped me to fix that issue, but Paypal also seems to get less and less popular for donations, because of the rising success of Patreon (I think).
I get stupid offers by all kinds of companies all the time. They either want me to review their products, or buy the rights to some of my videos or want me to provide links to their online stores under my videos. I also have gotten many offers to put my videos on other platforms and take money for it. I have so far ignored all of those offers and will continue to do so in the future. People have no idea how popular content creators are bombarded with shady offers of that type day in and day out. I hate these people and their constant attempts to leech off of other people's success.
I'm telling you this, because I want the fans to know, that I have high moral standards when it comes to possible revenue sources and I will do all I can to assure that this channel will stay 100% independent forever.
I actually also don't like the idea of making content that will not be available to non-patrons and I have tried to avoid it for a long time, but right now and don't really know what else to do.