However, creators make that request because they need their audience to do those things in order to help them actually get paid for the stuff they make. That's the reason they put it in every, single video. Because there's no knowing which video is going to be seen by which people, and even if someone is a regular viewer getting your audience to do something can be like trying to get a toddler's attention; you have to say it seven or eight times before they actually hear and process what you're asking for.
And we don't do this just for kicks, or because it's part of the formula. We do it because we literally need your help to overcome algorithm inertia so we can actually get our work seen by the Internet at large.
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| Trust me... we don't like doing this anymore than you like hearing it. |
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!
Seriously, We Cannot Do This Without You
I've given this statistic before, but I feel like it bears repeating. YouTube requires a channel to have a minimum of 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watched hours of content before it will actually allow the creators to be monetized. That's 11.5 hours of content watched per day for an entire year, for those of you who don't want to do the math. On that platform it doesn't matter how much time and effort you put in, how many scripts you have, or how much content you produce... if you can't get at least 1k people to click that subscribe button, YouTube is keeping all the earnings your content generates for itself... because it's still putting ads on your videos, but it's just putting the proceeds into its own pockets instead of splitting them with you.
Worse than that is that even once you are monetized, you basically only earn $3-$5 per 1k views on your videos... and if you don't have a large audience that's helping boost your signal, even getting your channel monetized might mean you're now making a couple bucks a month, and that's it.
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| One for me, none for you. Two for me, none for you... |
So what, you might be thinking. After all, maybe the creators you like aren't on YouTube, so this isn't a concern of theirs because they're bloggers, podcasters, novelists, and so on. Well, the unfortunate facts of life are that while the platforms might change, the problems of overcoming algorithm inertia remain the same.
For example, consider my Twitter account. I've got 1,700 people following me there, which is enough to blow my mind a little bit (especially since I just crossed that threshold this past weekend). However, if you start looking behind the scenes at how many followers you need to have before the site actually starts promoting your tweets (showing them to people who don't already follow you, but who might be interested in your content), you don't really get any attention at all until you hit 5,000 people. Not only that, but you won't receive any kind of meaningful notice from the algorithm until you've got 10,000 followers or so.
Just in case you needed perspective about what counts for "good" numbers in this particular game.
You find this on basically any social media site, and on marketplace sites as well. For example, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife is the most-reviewed book I've written on Amazon. With that said, it's only got 28 reviews, and not the magical 50 it takes to get the site's wheels to start turning, putting your book in promotional banners that other shoppers will see. Facebook is happy to promote you if you have thousands of followers, but much like Twitter's system you won't even show up in the newsfeeds of people who have liked your page until you hit a few thousand (my Facebook is at just over 800, for folks who are curious).
This list goes on, but you get the idea. There are literally millions of people online looking for books, RPGs, videos, and so on, but without an audience to magnify a creator's signal (and to get them a megaphone) they can't reach a very big crowd.
Clicking Those Buttons Makes a Difference
Creators, whether they're writing novels, creating RPGs, making videos, or putting together some other kind of content, do the best we can to get it seen. Most of us spend a majority of our days posting on social media, leaving links in forums, giving interviews, and doing absolutely anything we can to keep our heads above water and get people to notice us. Because sure, it's possible we could just buy ads, and that those ads could help us find the audience we need... but most of us don't have a budget to buy ads. And if we spend money we can't spare rolling the dice on that, and it turns out we get nothing out of it, we've just cut off our foot before we have to run a race.
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| It's not a great gamble to take if you can't afford the loss. |
That is where you come in.
Now, I said back in Direct Donations Really Are The Best Way To Help Creators You Love that you will have the biggest impact just dropping a tip into someone's jar, buying some of their merch, or becoming a Patreon patron. Hands down, no question. However, if you want to do more to help a creator that you want to encourage (or you need something you can do for free that will help), then giving their content on social media a react, and making sure they have one more follower, does make a difference.
Even if all you are is a warm body who subscribes to a social media page, that vote of confidence is one more hash mark that lets the algorithm know this creator is more popular, and they should be promoted. And the more you interact with that creator's content (likes, shares, retweets, comments over 5 words, etc.) the more of a splash that makes. At the end of the day, it's sort of like recycling; individually it might not look like much, but if you can get your friends, family, and community to help out, it's going to make a bigger impact than you think.
So if you want to do something nice for the creators whose work you enjoy, give them some online love. Leave reviews on the books you've bought, and help get them noticed by other readers. Leave a thumbs up on a video of theirs that you like, and toss a comment on it so it gets a little extra notice. Like their Facebook creator page, follow them on Twitter, and maybe leave a heart on a post of theirs that you want to boost. When you make these kinds of behaviors a habit, you start helping creators without really having to think about it... and trust me, we need all the help we can get!
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!
- The Azukail Games YouTube Channel (where I contribute video content)
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 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!
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