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.
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| 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?
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| 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.
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| 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!
- 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!
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