Asking My Audience About a Partnership Program

As all my long-time readers know, being an author and TTRPG creator isn't exactly a rock star gig when it comes to cashing checks. The per-word rate of pay in RPGs is one of the lowest in the whole publishing industry, and you need to sell hundreds, if not thousands, of any given supplement, game, etc., just to stay one step ahead of your rent. The Azukail Games YouTube channel isn't monetized yet, and I even went so far as to strip ads off this blog years ago because it just wasn't worth the time, energy, and hassle.

I mention all of that to put this week's question into context... because I've recently come across Dubby energy drinks, and I'm examining their partnership program. My question for you all is whether you think this is something I should jump into, or if you feel it's too far off-brand for me as a TTRPG creator? Or just not relevant enough to you as my readers?

I don't mind rolling the dice... but I like to know the odds, first.

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Dubby Energy, Gamers, and Marketing

All right, so, if you're not terminally online for either work or pleasure then you may not have seen Dubby, and its campaign to recruit gamers of all shapes and sizes to its brand. For those who haven't come across the company or its product before, be patient with me while I go through the exposition here.

This requires a bit of background.

So, first things first, we've all seen sponsorship deals for creators we like. Generally speaking the way it works is that when a creator gets big enough, and they have a dedicated audience who watches their videos, reads their blogs, and so on, companies come to them, offer them a payment, free product, or usually both, in order for the creator to promote the company. If you're on YouTube you've seen the ads for Raid: Shadow Legends, Raycon earbuds, Better Help Counseling, Nord VPN, and gods above and below only know how many other companies and products.

Well, Dubby is a powdered energy drink company that has a product most of us are familiar with, at least in style. You buy a packet (or a can) of drink mix, and then when you want some fast energy (typically as a result of a rush of caffeine along with other parts of their in-house formula) you scoop out the powder, add in some cold water, stir or shake it up, and boom, you're good to go.

What they're doing differently (on the marketing front) is that instead of only cutting checks to big streamers, video channels, etc., is that they're purposefully seeking out people with a modest following in order to give them a chance to get their hands on some cash. However, the Dubby partnership program isn't a sponsorship, in the sense that they cut you a check to promote them... it's basically an affiliate sales program.

I talked about affiliate sales programs back in Tabletop Mercenary, Episode 5, but for those who didn't watch it, these programs are pretty straightforward. The way they work is that you, as a member of the program, create a special link to promote the products. When someone buys the product, you get a percentage of the sale as your commission. So if, for example, someone bought a copy of my World's Oldest Profession: 100 Courtesans and Concubines supplement from this link, I would receive about $0.30 as a royalty for the sale (because I'm the creator), but I'd also receive an additional $0.07 as an affiliate fee because I made the sale through one of my links.

Dubby's program works the same way. I wasn't mailed any free product to review or tell you about, and I'm not getting paid a fee to tell my audience about them. But if folks do choose to check it out via a link of mine (such as through this link to Dubby's product collection, or the links later in this blog), and you make a purchase, then I would get an affiliate fee for that sale.

If nobody buys anything, though, I get nothing. No free merch, no advertising fee from the company, etc.

From a business perspective, this is a smart move by the company. They're hoping to get smaller creators, channels, etc., to help advertise their product, and market them to their followings. By lowering the bar for entry, and getting a larger number of smaller creators instead of just focusing on those with big followings, and then only paying them when they make a sale instead of a blanket, up-front check, that means there's more people overall boosting the signal and shining a light onto Dubby as a company.

The Question, Of Course, Is Whether It Works For You?

I explained all of that to ask a simple question... is that something you all care about?

Because on the one hand, I would like to make money with this partnership program. As I outlined above, I don't make a lot as a professional writer, and the constant shifts and changes to social media and search algorithms makes it harder and harder every day. I even had an idea for a tongue-in-cheek, Pentex-style commercial for some of their products that I'd love to work into a video essay about this World of Darkness version of capitalism, if that's something folks might get a kick out of?

On the other hand, I'm aware of the marketing demographics of products like this. It primarily trends younger, and toward those looking to keep their fast-twitch reflexes going, rather than those who are looking to keep their eyes open while sitting around a table with friends and rolling click clack math rocks. Not that tabletop gamers (or TTRPG creators, for that matter) are averse to highly caffeinated concoctions made to circumvent the laws of our bodies like some kind of dark alchemy, but still, we aren't usually the market for stuff like this.

Seriously, though? Doesn't "Dubsludge" sound like something Pentex would make?

So if this is something you'd like to see me talk about/put on my blogs and videos in the future, and you want to actually get my thoughts on these products (along with video evidence of my consuming them and totally not turning into a fomori), then consider going to the main page and telling me which flavors I should get, and what you want to see me try out before making a pitch to you all. And if you've already tried this particular product, and you have recommendations of your own, then leave those in the comments, too!

However, if you don't want to see this kind of product placement, you're not interested in this brand, or you just don't think it's a good match for what you've come to expect from me, put that in the comments as well! I don't want to waste time dropping links to products people aren't interested in or my audience won't buy, because that's a waste of my time, as well as your time.

With that said, if this isn't something you're interested in, but you still want to support me and my work, please consider some of the following things if you aren't doing them already!

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Generally speaking, I'm just trying to keep the lights on around here so I can keep writing articles, short stories, making audio dramas and YouTube videos, and so on, and so forth. Your feedback matters in this situation, so don't be shy about it!

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