Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
I finally hit the 3,000 hours of watch time in a 12-month span to monetize the channel – kind of. Although I still don’t have the watch time to get ad revenue, I can offer channel memberships! And these are similar to what I offer on Buy Me a Coffee.
In fact, a lot of the video content is going to be shared on both platforms considering they are the same pricing. So, if you’re a Gold member of the Buy Me a Coffee account, you’ll have the same access as the channel memberships.
Who Would Want a Channel Membership?
You’d want to be a member if you’re interested in:
- Learning more about the ins and outs of self-publishing, blogging, and freelance writing.
- Being part of a community that cares about your success.
- Watching me make triumphs and mistakes.
- Supporting the content and helping me afford services to review.
- Having fun with myself and other members.
I share everything I learn about writing in all forms on both this blog and the YouTube channel for free. As such, I rely on ad revenue to help offset some of my expenses. Unfortunately, that means I am at the mercy of Google and YouTube for sharing the content.
If no one sees it, I don’t make a dime.
Channel memberships help me get the content out to you regardless of what the algorithm decides to do that day. Plus, it’ll help me afford some of the things I’d like to dive into such as reviewing various paid writing services.
Good graphic designers and editors aren’t cheap.
What’s In the Channel Memberships for YouTube?
Perhaps the most difficult part for me is figuring out what kind of perks are worth the $4.99 per month asking price. Well, at least perks that I can manage given the nature of what I do every day.
I mean, I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew and disappoint anyone. However, I think I came up with a plan that is doable.
Friday Night Live Streams
From 5 pm to 6 pm (MTN), I’m hosting a Friday Night Live stream where I discuss the happenings of the week, goals, and what I did to make certain things happen. It’s similar to the posts that I write for BMC every Sunday.
The reason I am starting these on Friday night is because I love having my weekends off. I’ve been forcing myself to step away from any kind of work during the weekend, and it has been very beneficial to my mental health.
Since my “work day” doesn’t end until 5:30 – 6:00 anyway, it’s more effective to do the live stream.
Tuesday and Thursday BTS Videos
I’m scheduling the Tuesday and Thursday behind-the-scenes videos in Asana so I remember to do them. Essentially, these are going to be raw footage videos surrounding my life, what I do as a writer, and anything else that comes to mind.
For instance, I recently recorded a live stream of going up to Lookout Mountain. I would love to do more of that for members.
Members-only Community Posts
The plan is to post more community content for members, such as polls, images, videos, and anything else that comes to mind. These will mostly center around writing in some form, however, I have been quite partial to self-publishing as of late.
So, I thought sharing more of my experiences getting published and fixing blogs would be ideal for channel memberships. Perhaps I can offer greater insights for someone trying to make their own way in the world of writing.
Access to Discord
The idea is to build up the Discord server into something grand for the community. Currently, I have several authors who frequent Discord and would love to have more active people.
Just make sure you’re being respectful to all the writers and authors. I have a dim view of those who purposely go out of their way to make anyone on my Discord server feel uncomfortable.
Special Video Content
The BTS videos are fun and all, but ever wonder what I go through to create the writing sprint videos? Perhaps you’d like to see and hear the Halloween specials before they’re publicly available.
I’m not sure how much special video content I can make given how busy I am throughout the day. However, some things I would be able to do simultaneously, such as a live stream of how I create background sounds for writing sprints.
Or, perhaps a video of me attending an author event or other activity centered around writing or blogging.
Discounted Merchandise
When scrolling through the possibilities for channel memberships, I saw that I could connect a fourthwall.com account to sell products. I can also offer discounts on that merchandise for members.
This is something I’ve been trying to work on for several months. I suppose offering the discounted merchandise could light a fire under my butt to get it set up.
I know I’m looking forward to a few coffee mugs with my favorite sayings on them.
What About the BMC Sunday Paper?
I’m still going to publish the Sunday Paper for Buy Me a Coffee members. The plan is to write up a shorter post while embedding the live stream from Friday.
As I said, I quite enjoy having my weekends to unwind.
So, I’ll write up the shorter post on Friday and schedule it to be published on Sunday. That way, I’m not adding too much to an already busy week and everyone gets what they want. Hopefully.
Let’s See What Happens with Channel Memberships
I’m quite excited to share this next leg of my journey with everyone. Between the books being published, the growth of the YouTube channel, and the support I’ve been receiving from so many people, it’s definitely been an exciting year.
And it’s all thanks to those who watch the videos or read the blog posts. You are who inspire me to keep doing the things that I do. Without you, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
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