If you're a regular reader on my blog, then you know I've got a dozen different plates spinning at any given time. One of those plates is Dungeon Keeper Radio, a YouTube gaming channel that I help out with, along with several local gamers I know. Our goal, when we decided to start it, was to have some fun, immortalize a few of our characters, and see if we could entertain other players out there. We also wanted to get the channel monetized, though, because while it's fun, there are investments that come with making this kind of content. There's the mic, trying to find quality software, and at the end of the day we'd like to offer our voice actors more than our thanks, and a few pieces of pizza. That's in addition to all the time, travel expenses, and work it takes to turn something from an idea into even a few minutes of audio/video content.
Sadly, our hoard isn't much to write home about.
The problem we've run into is that we thought we'd made our goal... but then the goal posts mysteriously moved on us.
Sorcery Most Foul
Back when we first started this channel about a year ago, before we even uploaded our first episode of Dungeon Hacks, we clicked through the fine print to figure out just how feasible it would be to get our channel monetized. According to the site at the time, for a channel to apply for monetization, it had to have a minimum of 10,000 views. That's a decent barrier to entry, especially if you're a relatively niche channel like a radio show that talks about tabletop games, but it was far from impossible to reach.
As evidenced by the fact that we reached it earlier this month.
Thanks for all the traffic! Your money is in another castle.
The problem, of course, is that by the time we hit that goal, the goal posts had been moved. You see, beginning 2018, YouTube decided that in order to get monetized, a channel must have 4,000 hours of views in the past 12 months, and it must also have a minimum of 1,000 subscribers.
Needless to say, that is not something we have at present. In fact, we are nowhere even close to hitting that goal.
Which is why, as we get ready to record our 18th episode of the show (Mythconceptions about clerics, for those who are interested), I wanted to do my part to reach out to my audience. We're doing all right in terms of viewing time (under the 4,000 hours, but we're gaining steadily as we increase our archive), but we are just under 310 subscribers at time of writing. Which means we are, at minimum, 31% of the way to the "new" monetization goal.
So please, stop in and check out what we're doing over on Dungeon Keeper Radio. And, if you like it, please subscribe to the channel. And tell your friends about us... that helps. And if you really like what we're doing, we have the Dungeon Keeper Radio Patreon page in addition to a Ko-Fi page if you want to give us a tip or two to help us along until we can get ads put on our videos... just like this one, our most popular video to-date.
That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday update. If you want more content from yours truly, you should check out my Vocal archive. To keep up-to-date on all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. Lastly, if you want to help support Improved Initiative so I can keep bringing content straight to your door, head over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page, or click here to Buy Me A Coffee!
Regular visitors have no doubt noticed that I've re-arranged my tabs in the header of this blog. While all your old favorites are there, I've moved Table Talk over to the right-hand side, just above Moon Pope Mondays. In its place I put a link to Dungeon Keeper Radio, and if you're wondering what that is, then you should click the link and check it out.
Just click-through, and come on down. The irons are warming.
For those who didn't go investigate on their own, Dungeon Keeper Radio is a YouTube channel that I've been lending my voice and my pen to for the past few months. The show is put together by local gamers in my area, and the goal is to create episodes that appeal to gamers and non-gamers alike. Some of them are focused on crunchy topics, some of them have advice for DMs, and some of them are meant to give listeners a laugh. And, as part of the ongoing experiment, we're using the shows to build the world of Evora, where all these shenanigans are taking place.
So what can you expect to see and hear on the channel? Well...
Dungeon Hacks
The first show we created is Dungeon Hacks, and it's meant to offer insight and aid to all the DMs out there. Whether it's sharing ideas for little tweaks you can add to your dungeons, or discussing meta concerns like screening or not screening your die rolls, the Dungeon Keeper is here to be the voice of (occasionally twisted) reason.
The first episode was about putting the death back in deathtraps, and it's so far the most popular episode we've put up.
Risky Business
Risky Business is both the name of the show, and the name of the bar owned and run by the infamous Razor Jack. An icon amount rogues and renegades, Jack's been in the business long enough to provide insight on class abilities, strategy, tactics, and the gear to get the job done. His debut episode was a brief tutorial on sneak attack, though there are plenty of other topics planned for his future episodes.
Mythconceptions Monthly
Kerowynn Brooks is a woman who has never been afraid to seek out the truth. And when it comes to the myths, legends, and stereotypes she's heard her whole life, she wants people to set the record straight. So her quest is to find prominent members of different classes, races, and even certain kinds of monster, and to ask them about the common misconceptions they face every day. For her first episode she managed to get an audience with one of the most famous barbarians in the realm... the Crown Prince, Alvin Dragonsborn.
The Dice Bag
The fourth, and final, show on the channel is the Dice Bag. This is where we put together skits, tell odd tales, explore the world of Evora, and when we eventually have enough material, post our outtakes so listeners can hear the kind of silliness that happens when we're doing sound tests.
The first episode of the show is a kind of adventuring gear infomercial, as Victor E. Vanguard gives us his pitch for why we should trust Vanguard tower shields to keep us safe while we heed the call to adventure.
How You Can Help Us Grow
If you like what we're trying to do over at Dungeon Keeper Radio, or you're just curious to see how we'll change and grow as we put together more episodes, there are some things you can do to help us reach our goals.
The first is to watch our videos, and subscribe to the channel. It takes 10,000 views before YouTube will even consider monetizing your channel with ads, and we're barely 12% of the way to that goal. Feel free to leave comments, give us feedback, and let us know what you want to see more of. We intend on writing scripts and presenting topics based on what our viewers want to see. Additionally, you can follow us on Facebook to be sure you don't miss any of our updates, and to start conversations with us.
If you really like what we're doing, and you want to make sure we have the funds to do things like buy the full version of Filmora (so we can get rid of that watermark), offer more than pizza to the people willing to lend us their voices, and pay our bills while we make these videos, you could also head over to the Dungeon Keeper Radio Patreon page to become a patron. Whatever you can afford is much appreciated, and we only put up 2 videos or so a month at present. Of course, if we get a bunch of people who want to see more, then that might change.
So, yeah. We've put up the first video for each show, and we plan to keep uploading a new video every second and fourth Friday. It takes a lot of time, effort, and coordination, and we're hoping all of you out there enjoy it!
That's all for this installment of Moon Pope Monday. Thanks for stopping in, and I hope you all head over to Dungeon Keeper Radio to show some love. If you want to see more great gaming content from me, then check out my Gamers archive for even more articles by yours truly. If you want to keep up-to-date with all my latest releases, then follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. Lastly, if you want to support Improved Initiative, head over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page. All it takes is $1 a month to earn my everlasting gratitude, and to get yourself a pile of sweet gaming swag!
