While it's been my goal to get that channel monetized, and to grow the audience for the content on there, YouTube has recently announced they're going to be making changes to who will and won't be allowed to earn ad revenue on the platform... and while it's partially a boon for smaller creators and channels like Azukail Games, it doesn't mean we don't have a hill to take.
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So What Is Happening?
For those who aren't in the know, in order to get a share of the ad revenue your videos generate on YouTube, you need to meet certain qualifications set by the site. Until recently you had to have a minimum of 1,000 subscribers (Azukail Games has 719 at time of writing), and you needed to have 4,000 hours of watched video time in the past year (which comes out to about 11.5 hours of watch time a day).
Needless to say, we were nowhere near that amount in either category.
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| And trust me, we're trying everything we can. |
However, as numerous locations publicized recently, YouTube is changing those requirements to make things easier on smaller channels who are just looking to get their piece of the pie. As of June 13th, the new requirements are 500 subscribers (which we have managed!), and 3,000 hours of watch time in the past year (which is only 8 hours and change of viewing per day for a year... still a Herculean effort, but less than what was previously demanded).
Where does this put Azukail Games, though?
As I said, I'm not the person who owns the channel. I don't have access to any of its information, nor do I do anything with it. I just make the videos, and hand them over to my publisher. so I had no clue how our watch time was doing until I asked... and according to our current numbers, we've got about 864 hours of watch time in the past year. Which is less than a third of what we'd need to reach that monetization goal.
What We Need From You, Our Audience
Put quite simply, the channel needs eyes on the stuff we're making for it. Whether you're interested in the audio dramas taken from my various TTRPG supplements, you're interested in learning more about my setting and design philosophy in the show Speaking of Sundara, or you're a fan of the World/Chronicles of Darkness setting and my other show Discussions of Darkness, every view you can provide matters!
Our videos tend to be on the shorter side, and while we have a lot of subscribers, that number doesn't always translate to a regular viewer. So please, take a moment to check out some of the channel's content if you haven't yet. And if you have, then consider sharing a video, or even an entire playlist, on your socials. Not only will it help us get that much closer to our monetization goal, but it might just help some of my more obscure TTRPG supplements find themselves a new audience as well!
#1: Audio Dramas
When I started really expanding my involvement in the Azukail Games channel, my first project was dramatizing the introductory stories in a lot of my existing supplements. As such there are dozens of stories on the channel, ranging from back alley brawls among changelings, to short snippets of adventure in my Sundara setting, to dark dramas like the one above where a bad life catches up to Johnny Hammer, and he has to make a deal with a devil to keep himself above ground.
These are some of my favorite things to design, since I grew up listening to old radio shows. I've even been linking the fiction together for the past half a year or so, creating small series of tales that tell an ongoing narrative. And while I'm very proud of these short pieces, I would love to make something a little meatier, but I feel like bigger, more involved stories aren't something I can really get greenlit until the channel is generating revenue for the publisher. So if you'd like to be part of that kind of project, consider checking out the full Spoken Word playlist to hear all 32 stories on the channel so far!
#2: Speaking of Sundara
A little over two years ago, I started putting out content for my Sundara: Dawn of a New Age fantasy setting for Pathfinder and DND 5E. While there are two dozen books out for it right now, I thought that a regular series to tie the various splats together, let the audience in on my design philosophy, and to talk about updates and what's going on with the setting, would be a good way to let more people know that it exists.
So if you're a fan of Sundara, but haven't seen the series, consider checking out the 36 videos in the Sundara playlist (which does include the audio dramas that are part of this setting). And if you haven't checked out Sundara yet, and you want to try to get a feeling for what this setting is all about before you start buying any supplements for it, then this series is a no-cost way to do just that!
#3: Discussions of Darkness
Back in 2021 I started working on a variety of World/Chronicles of Darkness supplements released via Storyteller's Vault, with Azukail Games handling layout, art, etc. once the writing portion of things was complete. Since it's a setting I really enjoy, and I've had a lot of ideas for, I figured that it might be a good idea to put together an additional show talking about the setting, offering advice for playing in it, and talking about some of the supplements I've designed thus far.
While it had a bit of a shaky start due to deadlines and such, Discussions of Darkness just released its 10th episode! So whether you're a fan of the old World of Darkness games, or you find yourself more of a Chronicles of Darkness fan, my intention is to have something for everyone. So consider giving the Discussions of Darkness playlist a look, and if you have a particular topic you want to see covered, or a game line talked about, then leave it in the comments so I can make sure your suggestion receives due consideration!
Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!
That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!
Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary!. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!
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