I wish to publish about some potential adjustments the location and comedian can be going through this 12 months, and I wish to do it early sufficient that everybody has an opportunity to weigh in earlier than they (perhaps) occur.
For the previous 23 years, this sketch has been what I do for a dwelling. It’s how I present for my household. Meaning, it has to generate cash in some vogue. To start with, this was largely from promoting, capitalizing on the site visitors the location will get. Then promoting began to fall off because the advert trade turned saturated with algorithmic bidding, and junk adverts that paid much less, and so on. So then the steadiness shifted and subscriptions-for-extra-content (ie, Patreon) offset the decline in promoting income.
Lately, web site banner promoting is principally lifeless. The entire advert cash goes to Tik Tok influencers and it’s a must to run tons of obnoxious adverts simply to see any motion. I’ve been clinging to it as a result of it felt like so long as there was some cash coming in from adverts, I might justify this previous enterprise mannequin of freely giving the vast majority of my work without spending a dime on the web site. However this 12 months it could be time to lastly settle for that I must evolve with the trade.
I’ve just lately left my previous advert company, and signed with a brand new firm for a trial. I’m not tremendous optimistic that they’ll present me higher outcomes, but it surely reached the purpose the place there was no cause not to attempt one thing totally different. So we’ll have some new adverts for some time; you’ll discover I’ve given up extra actual property on the prime of the web page to attempt to accommodate higher-paying adverts. And we’ll wait to see if it makes a distinction, if promoting can proceed to be considerably viable.
However what if it will probably’t?
Effectively, if/when this final try doesn’t work, then I’ve to essentially contemplate making some adjustments for the long-term viability of this comedian. If promoting is not working, then there is no such thing as a longer any incentive to fret about constant site visitors to the web site, and there’s extra incentive so as to add worth to assist strategies like Patreon, in an effort to hopefully entice extra individuals who take pleasure in my work to enroll.
So to start out with, the plan could be to cut back the variety of replace days on the web site from 3 pages per week all the way down to 2, whereas retaining the common schedule for $1 Patreon supporters. This fashion I might proceed offering the comics without spending a dime on the web site, however at a slower price. And for $1 a month, individuals might proceed on the present tempo whereas additionally supporting the comedian’s continued creation.
The Starcaster Chronicles already has a profitable Patreon of its personal, the place it continues to be funded by followers of that sequence. Nonetheless I discover that the observe of then posting these points to the web site is met with considerably decrease curiosity; most of Starcaster’s core viewers are signed up on the Patreon, and thus have already learn these pages by the point they’re posted right here. Mixed with the absence any traffic-based monetization (adverts), it could make sense to shift Starcaster to a Patreon-only sequence so it isn’t occupying replace days right here.
The underside line is that I’ve one commodity right here: the tales I inform. And I’ve largely on condition that away for 23 years, and been in a position to make it work. However absent a viable, passive option to monetize the big quantity of site visitors this web site will get, and with no want to turn into a Tik Tok influencer, I really feel as if I solely have one different route to go.
Nonetheless, we’re not there but. As I mentioned above, we’re with a brand new advert firm now, and we’re going to see how that goes. The rationale I’m looping you in is in order that we have now time to have a dialogue about it. This complete enterprise I’ve has solely ever labored due to you, and I wish to hear from you, reply your questions if I can.
I wish to publish about some potential adjustments the location and comedian can be going through this 12 months, and I wish to do it early sufficient that everybody has an opportunity to weigh in earlier than they (perhaps) occur.
For the previous 23 years, this sketch has been what I do for a dwelling. It’s how I present for my household. Meaning, it has to generate cash in some vogue. To start with, this was largely from promoting, capitalizing on the site visitors the location will get. Then promoting began to fall off because the advert trade turned saturated with algorithmic bidding, and junk adverts that paid much less, and so on. So then the steadiness shifted and subscriptions-for-extra-content (ie, Patreon) offset the decline in promoting income.
Lately, web site banner promoting is principally lifeless. The entire advert cash goes to Tik Tok influencers and it’s a must to run tons of obnoxious adverts simply to see any motion. I’ve been clinging to it as a result of it felt like so long as there was some cash coming in from adverts, I might justify this previous enterprise mannequin of freely giving the vast majority of my work without spending a dime on the web site. However this 12 months it could be time to lastly settle for that I must evolve with the trade.
I’ve just lately left my previous advert company, and signed with a brand new firm for a trial. I’m not tremendous optimistic that they’ll present me higher outcomes, but it surely reached the purpose the place there was no cause not to attempt one thing totally different. So we’ll have some new adverts for some time; you’ll discover I’ve given up extra actual property on the prime of the web page to attempt to accommodate higher-paying adverts. And we’ll wait to see if it makes a distinction, if promoting can proceed to be considerably viable.
However what if it will probably’t?
Effectively, if/when this final try doesn’t work, then I’ve to essentially contemplate making some adjustments for the long-term viability of this comedian. If promoting is not working, then there is no such thing as a longer any incentive to fret about constant site visitors to the web site, and there’s extra incentive so as to add worth to assist strategies like Patreon, in an effort to hopefully entice extra individuals who take pleasure in my work to enroll.
So to start out with, the plan could be to cut back the variety of replace days on the web site from 3 pages per week all the way down to 2, whereas retaining the common schedule for $1 Patreon supporters. This fashion I might proceed offering the comics without spending a dime on the web site, however at a slower price. And for $1 a month, individuals might proceed on the present tempo whereas additionally supporting the comedian’s continued creation.
The Starcaster Chronicles already has a profitable Patreon of its personal, the place it continues to be funded by followers of that sequence. Nonetheless I discover that the observe of then posting these points to the web site is met with considerably decrease curiosity; most of Starcaster’s core viewers are signed up on the Patreon, and thus have already learn these pages by the point they’re posted right here. Mixed with the absence any traffic-based monetization (adverts), it could make sense to shift Starcaster to a Patreon-only sequence so it isn’t occupying replace days right here.
The underside line is that I’ve one commodity right here: the tales I inform. And I’ve largely on condition that away for 23 years, and been in a position to make it work. However absent a viable, passive option to monetize the big quantity of site visitors this web site will get, and with no want to turn into a Tik Tok influencer, I really feel as if I solely have one different route to go.
Nonetheless, we’re not there but. As I mentioned above, we’re with a brand new advert firm now, and we’re going to see how that goes. The rationale I’m looping you in is in order that we have now time to have a dialogue about it. This complete enterprise I’ve has solely ever labored due to you, and I wish to hear from you, reply your questions if I can.
