How You Can Help Me Keep My Content Free (Paywalls and Paychecks)

Most of us who create art, whether it's writing novels, making videos, drawing comics, or any of a thousand other creative pursuits, do so because we want people to be able to enjoy the fruits of our creative labors. We want people to see what we make, and to be able to enjoy it, because that's what completes the cycle for a lot of us.

Unfortunately, we live under capitalism. As such, we can't just give things away for free. Creators have bills to pay just like everybody else.

With that said, though, you can do your part to help the creators you love get paid without spending any of your own money. It will take a bit of time and effort on your part, but if you want to make sure creators you love can afford to keep making stuff you want to consume then this is the best way to do it.

And trust me, it all adds up!

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Spinning Straw Into Gold

A majority of content you find online exists to generate a profit. From the ads on social media and streaming video, to podcast sponsors and native content featured on blogs, it's all out there to make money for somebody. That somebody is rarely the creator, of course, because it takes a rather absurd amount of traffic in order for "free" content to turn enough of a profit that a creator could pay rent or cover their bills with it.

How absurd, you ask?

Let me shine some perspective for you.

Well, consider a platform like Vocal. My archive there currently has about 253 articles in it, including TTRPG content, short fiction like 50 Two-Sentence Horror Stories, explorations of weird history, and more. As one of the Vocal+ creators, I earn about $6 for every 1,000 reads on my articles. I say reads and not views, because just opening an article and closing it after a while doesn't count; someone needs to actually scroll through and read the damn thing.

For me to cover my rent and bills, I would need to get about 4,000 reads per day, give or take. Is that possible? Sure, it could happen if something went viral, or got mysteriously popular, like when my article It's Okay To Admit There Are Problems in Your Hobby first hit social media and the flame wars didn't die down for weeks on end.

Realistically, though? I get about 100-400 reads in a day. Sometimes there are outliers and unexpected booms of traffic, but that's what my average looks like.

Alternatively, consider video content like the piece above. Now, my Daily Motion channel isn't huge in following or library (yet), but it is monetized. And much like on YouTube someone can expect to earn a couple of dollars for every 3-5k views on their content... provided, of course, the person viewing it doesn't have Ad Block on their device. Ad Block means the ads don't get seen, so you don't end up earning anything. Those views are counted as far as your traffic goes, but they aren't counted for your earnings.

Realistically, you're lucky if 1 in 10 viewers doesn't have Ad Block, and even that is being pretty generous. That's how I can have over 5k views on my content in a month, and basically earn a nickel for my trouble. A nickel that I don't even get to keep, as much like YouTube, Daily Motion doesn't cash you out until you reach $100 of earned money.

This is Where You Come In

This is going to sound like I'm beating a broken drum, but creators do not have the power to get ourselves paid. We can create the content, we can stay active on social media, and we can try to get people to look at it, but 9 times out of 10 we get ignored, downplayed, blocked, or kicked out. It's a Catch-22; everyone will tell you to get out there and sell yourself, but when you do all anyone will say is how sick they are of everyone promoting their work.

You can't have it both ways, guys.

To reiterate what I said in Why Your Likes, Shares, Reviews, and Follows Matter to Creators, we are the gladiators. We are down in the arena putting on the show... but we have zero power outside of that. It's you, the members of the mob, who decide our fates. We need you to cheer for us. We need you to show up and be present when we have a match, and to talk about us so that other people find out about who we are and what we do.

Without you all doing your part to build us up, we'll be unseen, unknown, and forgotten.

What does that look like, though? Well it means that you:

- Regularly consume our content (we need views, reads, etc.)

- Follow us on social media (the more people we have, the more the algorithm promotes us)

- Like and share our content (we need help boosting the signal)

- Leave comments (big help on YouTube, most forums, etc.)

In short, creators can only afford to make things for free if their fans actively hype them up and grow their base to other people. Because I can guarantee you that if the 100 or so people who read one of my Vocal articles today also shared that article on their social media groups and pages, I would probably have several hundred to several thousand reads just for today. If a hundred people watched a video and shared it then it would climb to thousands of views, and likely several new subscribers.

But I cannot make that happen. No creator can make that happen. Only you, our audience, can do it. And you do it by raising your voice, and showing your favor, so that the Caesar declares us victors when it's time to render the decision.

If You'd Like To Start With Me...

For folks who've stumbled across this post, and would like to help me haul myself up a rung or two, here's a handy list of the places you can go where your efforts would be much appreciated!

- My Twitter

- My Facebook

- My LinkTree

- My Weekly Newsletter

- The Azukail Games YouTube Channel (where I contribute video content)

- My Daily Motion Channel (longer videos that won't show up on YouTube)

And if you happen to have some spare dosh lying around, consider become a Patreon patron, or leaving a tip by Buying Me a Ko-Fi!

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing!

If you'd like to see more of my work, take a look at my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife as well as my recent collection The Rejects!

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!

A Lot of My Content is Free (But I Could Still Use Your Support)

Times are tight for everybody out there. With only so much money in the entertainment budget it feels like it's harder than ever to convince people to actually spend money on a book... especially if they aren't familiar with you and your work. And even if you have a big audience who enjoys what you make, they may not have particularly deep pockets to support you.

We've all got to eat, though. So this week I wanted to talk about why I make stuff that's freely available, and how you can still support me by consuming content you aren't paying for access to, but which can still help me keep my bills paid.

Got to keep the level bar going up, after all.

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron!

Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

How Me Giving You Free Stuff Can Pay My Bills

I want to start with a basic premise that all long-time readers are well aware of. I am a professional author. That is to say that while I enjoy the task of creating content (blog entries, articles, RPG supplements, novels, short stories, YouTube videos, etc.), and I like knowing there are people out there who find my content entertaining, useful, informative, etc., at the end of the day its primary purpose is to make sure my rent is paid and I have food on my table.

Or, as the song said, being a rock star is a fun job, but it's still a job.

Ahem.

So if the goal is to make money, why am I giving away so much content for free? How does putting in hours of work and promotion for a product no one has to pay for earn me money?

If you've ever wondered, I'll do my best to explain.

The first situation is where the content itself acts as a way to draw eyes and traffic to a website. For example, if someone read one of my Vocal articles like What's The Difference Between a Fetish and a Kink? (Linguistically Speaking), or perhaps What Does Cannibalism Do To Your Body? they wouldn't have to pay a single cent for that access. Vocal.media, the hosting site for this content, tracks my reads, and pays me as the creator a flat rate based on my traffic (which is about $6 per 1,000 reads, for those who are curious). I'm drawing traffic to them, and they pay me for that traffic, because they use their numbers to justify charging clients for ad space, sponsored content, etc.

This is not an uncommon way for creators of all types to fund their endeavors, and pay their bills, while ensuring their audience doesn't have to fork over cash for their content. It's the same as how radio stations sell air time for ads, or how TV had commercials way back when. Or YouTube, assuming you're a creator who has a big enough following and enough consumed hours for the platform to agree to monetize you.

Brief aside, it's 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours worth of watched content to reach that milestone. And if you'd like to take a second to help me out getting Azukail Games to that goal, subscribe to their channel so I can keep making content like my latest audio drama, The Duel!

This actually segues us into the second way that "free" content can end up making money for a creator. Because as I mentioned in With Drugs and Books, a Free Sample Can Go a Long Way (a post that, incidentally, has a laundry list of all my free content out there waiting for you!), it's hard to convince people to take a risk on creators they don't know. Free content allows you to build that bridge with your potential audience, and to give them a chance to sample your work to see whether or not you are, in fact, the sort of creator they'd be willing to spend money on when they have it.

For example, if someone isn't sure they'd like a full fantasy tabletop RPG setting designed by me, they can read my gaming blog Improved Initiative to see if my tastes and opinions about what makes a good game or setting align with their own. Someone might be in the market for a new sci-fi novel, but they may not want to just buy my book Old Soldiers sight unseen. However, if someone reads my short stories Field Test or Waking Dogs, which are both grim tales set in the Warhammer 40K universe, they might decide they like my style and they want to give my novel a try.

In this case, the free content gives the audience an idea of the sort of quality they can expect. Not only that, but it builds a relationship with someone so that they see you more favorably in the future. After all, even if someone doesn't personally know me, if they've read my blog, watched my videos, or consumed my free stories for a while, they might start ranking me higher in their mind as an artist they want to follow and support. So when they do have a bit of discretionary spending money they decide to order a copy of one of my books, be it a novel, and RPG supplement, or something else that does have a price tag attached to it.

Creators Need Your Support To Fight The Algorithm

Creators need support. A lot of people read that as, "Creators need your money," but they aren't actually the same statement. By all means, I would love if everyone who read this became my Patreon patron or just gave me a tip by buying me a Ko-Fi, but support comes in a lot of different ways... some of them are even free!

You see, most of a creator's reach depends on the algorithm, and on popularity. The algorithm favors creators who have the most followers, and who have the most interactions. A Twitter page with a million followers gets boosted all over the site when they make a post, while one with a thousand followers gets ignored. So just by going to a creator's social media pages and liking or subscribing to them (such as my Facebook, Twitter, or even Tumblr if that's your jam), you are helping increase their visibility. It takes thousands of people to really make a difference this way, but big crowds are made up of individuals.

And if that was literally all you did, that would still help.

However, you could also use your own social media presence and actions to boost creators' signals. If the share something you like, react to it, share it, and leave a comment that's at least 5 words long. Post it in a group or on a forum you're a member of. Tell people about it! Because when we try to boost the signal ourselves, we often get ignored or shouted down. In some circumstances we just get outright banned. But you are not the creator. You had nothing to do with generating the content, you're just sharing it to the community because you think it's good, and you want other people to see it.

I cannot overstate how much that organic, word-of-mouth attention helps creators. Because it's something we cannot generate, and it can be the spark that starts a wildfire of attention on our work.

So if you have a creator out there that you want to support, buy their stuff, give them money, etc. But if you can't afford to do that, and you still want to help, use some of these methods. It may not feel as important as cutting a check, but it still makes an impact at the end of the day.

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing!

If you'd like to see more of my work, take a look at my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my noir thriller Marked Territory, its sequel Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife as well as my recent collection The Rejects!

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!