A word about word of mouth and sharing (Patreon)

This isn't a woe is me post, this is a look behind the curtain. I know I am very privileged to get to do this job; doing what I love! I can't put anything in italics since the upgrade, so I guess I will just underline this.

Word of mouth is one of the best ways to spread love for a creator's work! It helps them out A LOT! I want to talk a bit about the dos and don'ts of that, plus talk about some personal stuff.

First of all, I haven't talked about this much (except those in the live voice chats know all about it), but business isn't doing so well. Last November, I made the most I ever had doing this, and I was so excited, because I made minimum wage that month. Yep, minimum wage. Currently, I have been making half of that. I am back to what I was making long ago doing this. I know the economy sucks, but there are also other factors that don't help, which I will get to as well. I tried taking on another job on top of this, but doing both started leading to me getting two hours of sleep a night, and that's not helpful, and I couldn't put enough love into both jobs. I might still do a little bit with the other one, but I learned I really need to put all my focus into one and have a life-work balance. I do far more than "moan into a mic." I have a degree in this as well. My production value comes from being self-taught, always learning, investing in equipment and sfx, etc. In fact, there's a lot of money that goes into this. Monthly and annual expenses, along with miscellaneous expenses. Anyway, long story short, I'm not making close to what I should be and need to be making. 

Full transparency: I am not going to lose the roof over my head, and my kids will keep being fed and taken care of, but the comparatively small amount of household expenses I do pay have become insurmountable. I do have a Master's degree I can fall back on, but that would be the end of my audio career, and I love what I do with all my heart and want to be able to keep sharing that with you. But also, I have been feeling so burned out lately. I've been working my ass off with little to show for it, so even praise would be helpful right now. 

There are so many ways to show your support, ways that cost money and ways that don't. Some include: praise, upvoting/liking, monetary support, and of course the very helpful word of mouth, which doesn't cost anything.

The DOs of word-of-mouth and sharing:

-interact with social media posts

-retweet posts

-share Reddit posts

-tell your friends (or stangers) about me or your favorite work of mine

-tell people about my Patreon and Gumroad

-share previews that I make for my audios

-share my Master Audio list found here 

-if you're physically with your friends, you can play an audio, even if it's one that's behind a paywall

-if you live with you partner, it's OK to share work that's behind a paywall, because it's not like you don't share a Netflix account or are buying two of the same CD or DVD

The DON'TS of word-of-mouth and sharing

-don't share Dropbox links or downloads of Patreon or Gumroad audios with anyone outside of your household

-don't upload my work anywhere in order to share it

-don't share the Patreon Master Audio List