End of Year Updates (Patreon)
Content
I've been sparse with posts, which usually happens when I'm consumed by editing a complex episode, but I wanted to give you a proper rundown on everything relevant I can think of, all at once. Strap in!
Next Video
I'm hard at work on completing a new video. I'm close. But it's also huge. 14 minutes! I worked through Christmas, but now it looks like I'm still going to miss the deadline by a couple of days. I really hate that it'll cross into the new year, feels... untidy :( But hopefully the result will be worth the wait.
Fee Gate
I didn't write anything when the Patreon fee announcement happened because I wanted to see how it shakes out. It was a weird idea and I'm glad they backed down from it (for now). Like most creators, I lost a significant chunk of supporters as a result. But I wanted to say to all of you reading this now: thank you for staying. Thank you for being patient and generous. My livelihood is 95% sustained by Patreon so I appreciate every single day of your support.
Achievements
It's been a pretty exciting year! One video surpassed 1 million views (The Magic of Will Tsai). Several videos from previous years reached a million as well (Cicret Bracelet Debunk, The Undebunkable & BEAKMALLUSION) while my original first-ever video to reach a million has crossed into 2 mil (Miss Ping Debunk).
I started a new companion series, VFXcool and the reception's been good. Get-retweeted-by-the-official-Back-to-the-Future-account good. It also involved my first proper collaboration with another YouTuber (Ami Yamato).
And I got to do another live talk, this time in the Upside Down (Australia).
World of Tomorrow
Even if Fee Gate hadn't happened though, I'm not sure I would've reached my fundraising "goal" (see profile sidebar) for expanding the Captain Disillusion mega-franchise by the end of the year. Getting a studio space and involving other people in the production is still cost-prohibitive but at the same time, I'm at the limit of what I can achieve alone.
In order to help my content evolve further and be a more effective Patreon creator, I'm considering re-structuring my rewards. This is a scary step as I haven't changed them since the day I joined Patreon and they've gotten me this far... But I think I can do a better job if I reduce the number of tiers and make the rewards more manageable, fun and useful to patrons. What do YOU think? I'm open to your suggestions.
But now I must dive back to work on this monstrous video. Have a very Happy New Year!