It seems like video release frequency is a significant bottleneck for you?
I’m not sure what the main time costs are. But some guesses of things that might help:
E.g.
freelancers, as you say
going for less thoroughly edited videos
doing some crowdsourcing or having volunteers/collaborators help write scripts
using LLMs more in the writing
doing interviews, article readouts, or other formats that enable you to produce long-form content fairly quickly (perhaps mixed in with the existing formats)
just setting yourself aggressive targets and working it out as you go
(FWIW I feel slightly surprised they take so long to create, but I’ve never tried creating videos as high quality and engaging as yours need to be.)
Maybe there are also other routes to monetisation, e.g patreon, ads/sponsorships for videos (maybe from EA orgs), or pitching orgs on videos you could do for them on your channel that you otherwise wouldn’t do.
You’re right, output is definitely the biggest bottleneck. Right now, I’m focusing on making shorter videos that cover narrower, more specific topics. I’m also trying to incorporate more real-world footage to keep things visually interesting without requiring so much editing time. Unfortunately, my lead poisoning video and the video I’m currently working on turned out to be a lot more ambitious than I expected.
I’m already working on your first four suggestions. I’m hesitant about the fifth point. I’ve tried the last point many times, but it never really worked out well. I think finding a collaborator who’s willing to dedicate time to the project could be really helpful with this.
I worry the other routes to monetization won’t provide enough financial security at the current size of the channel for me to be able to reliably output videos.
Oh my suggestion wasn’t necessarily that they’realternatives to receiving any donations; they could be supplements. They could be things you experiment with that could help to make the channel more sustainable and secure.
It seems like video release frequency is a significant bottleneck for you?
I’m not sure what the main time costs are. But some guesses of things that might help:
E.g.
freelancers, as you say
going for less thoroughly edited videos
doing some crowdsourcing or having volunteers/collaborators help write scripts
using LLMs more in the writing
doing interviews, article readouts, or other formats that enable you to produce long-form content fairly quickly (perhaps mixed in with the existing formats)
just setting yourself aggressive targets and working it out as you go
(FWIW I feel slightly surprised they take so long to create, but I’ve never tried creating videos as high quality and engaging as yours need to be.)
Maybe there are also other routes to monetisation, e.g patreon, ads/sponsorships for videos (maybe from EA orgs), or pitching orgs on videos you could do for them on your channel that you otherwise wouldn’t do.
Hi Jamie!
You’re right, output is definitely the biggest bottleneck. Right now, I’m focusing on making shorter videos that cover narrower, more specific topics. I’m also trying to incorporate more real-world footage to keep things visually interesting without requiring so much editing time. Unfortunately, my lead poisoning video and the video I’m currently working on turned out to be a lot more ambitious than I expected.
I’m already working on your first four suggestions. I’m hesitant about the fifth point. I’ve tried the last point many times, but it never really worked out well. I think finding a collaborator who’s willing to dedicate time to the project could be really helpful with this.
I worry the other routes to monetization won’t provide enough financial security at the current size of the channel for me to be able to reliably output videos.
Oh my suggestion wasn’t necessarily that they’realternatives to receiving any donations; they could be supplements. They could be things you experiment with that could help to make the channel more sustainable and secure.
As additional sources of funding, I agree they’re good ideas!