StopSkeletonsFromFighting
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UPDATE: State of the Channel, YouTube Algorithm, Podcast Tomorrow, etc
🕑 Added 2019-10-01 23:16:51 +0000 UTCHi everyone, Grace here!
I've got a lot of things to talk about today:
1. First things first, we're recording the podcast tomorrow at ✨💀2pm PT 💀✨on the discord! So if you're part of the live podcast tier, but aren't on Discord, hit me up and I'll get you on there! Everyone else let us know below👇🏻 if there's anything you'd like us to talk about this month!
2. Convention stuff! Derek and I will both be at Portland Retro Gaming Expo on October 18-20th this month and we'll be doing a panel! If you're in the area, come see us and say hi!!
3. Second thing, a couple of years ago we experimented by making some exclusive streams and videos for the patreon. One of these videos was on Kenji Eno (D, Enemy Zero, D2) that we're proud of, but has been exclusive to the Patreon for a while. We've decided to update it, reproduce it, and release it to everyone on YouTube because the idea of more people knowing about Kenji Eno makes me happy. Also it'd be a fun video for Halloween. We won't be charging the Patreon for it since it's been in the Patreon for so long (here's the link if you haven't seen it), but we're planning on giving you guys extra time to watch the new version before it goes live for everyone else.
4. (This one is long, sorry. TLDR is at the bottom in bold) Ok, if you follow @stopskeletons on twitter, you might have seen us freaking out about our recent HD DVD Past Mortem video. So that video, was longer than most videos, but it also had a really lengthy production time and some editing hiccups. But, we worked really hard on it because we believed in the project and also thought it would be successful... Well, when we finally got it onto YouTube, we noticed that it wasn't performing well. Not as well as we hoped. And then when we pulled out our analytics we saw this:
There are a couple of things that are unusual about this chart (the gray area represents our average range of performance and the number underneath represents days since publishing):
- 1. the amount of views isn't proportional to the amount of minutes watched (red line)
- 2. the views dip down just a few hours after posting (circled area)
- 3. the line is much more janky than normal
- 4. the amount of views in general goes against everything we think our audience wants (long, in depth videos about weird and unusual video game peripherals)
Here's what the views/engagement looked like on the Netflix Disc video, which performed pretty well and had similar subject matter:
And here's what the analytics look like on a not-so-successful video, like our recent one on Link's Awakening:
As you can see, usually Views and Engagement are roughly correlated to each other and this relationship is usually expressed in a smooth curve, no matter the length of the video and no matter the success of the video.
That's what made the HD DVD video so unusual. Now, there are a couple of possibilities Derek and I have considered to explain this:
- 1. We got unlucky and posted during a service outage and this is a weird fluke. YouTube has not acknowledged one, but lots of other 'Tubers were seeing weird things in their analytics at that time.
- 2. YouTube is devaluing watch time, meaning that the algorithm no longer uses watch time as a key factor in showing our video to people on YouTube.
- 3. YouTube doesn't like us!! Specifically us!! AND OUR CHANNEL IS DOOOOOMED
The views of a video matter to us for a few reasons.
- More views = more people watched our stuff (and hopefully enjoyed it!)
- More views = more ads watched = more stable revenue
- More views = I can negotiate more money and opportunities from sponsors
We usually can predict how well a video can do and we plan our budget around that. Earlier this year, when we left our MCN, our status in the algorithm tanked. Less people were watching our stuff (ie: were being given the opportunity to watch our stuff!), and we would not have been able to continue the channel if we didn't have the Patreon and some sponsorship deals. Even with these deals and your support, we were planning on putting SSFF on hiatus in July while we found other jobs because the amount of money we were making was no longer sustainable. We ended up not needing to do after the GBA Link Cable video did as well as it did (we also posted 4 total videos in June as a hail mary to save the channel).
So, we've been through a lot of stress this year in relation to the almighty and unknowable algorithm. That might be why we've taken the weirdness of the HD DVD video extremely to heart. The end of the year is when YouTubers make the bulk of their money, and is when we were counting on making enough money to sustain us through a majority of next year.
We even had a meeting scheduled with a YouTube representative after we uploaded HD DVD posting. We asked him about it, and he told us that yes, the numbers look really unusual to him, but was unable to explain why, or what we could do in the future to prevent something like this. His most concrete suggestion was to build a larger following outside of YouTube so that we could counteract YouTube deciding to kill our video. 😅On top of that, YouTube announced recently that they are going to tweak the algorithm in January in order to comply with FTC regulations and also are in general devaluing original YouTuber content in favor of Talk Shows and Music Videos. Things are unstable on the platform right now, and YouTube doesn't have a lot of incentives to help independent creators.
Derek and I take our budget very seriously, in part because we see your support as an investment in us, and we feel honor-bound to use that investment wisely. We save about 25% of everything we make for taxes, but rarely have much left beyond that for general savings. We don't have a car, we live in a 650 sqft one-bedroom apartment, we only go out to eat about once a month, and we don't buy new games or clothes we don't need for the show. I'm not complaining, I love what we do and feel very lucky that we're able to make our channel function. I just want to give you guys an idea of the conditions we're living under. When our channel fell off the deep end in January, we were able to keep going for about six months, because of the way that we budget our money.
Patreon is the backbone of our channel. We didn't make money on YouTube for YEARS, didn't get sponsorships for YEARS. Patreon is the reason we were able to keep making videos, and once we stop making money on YouTube, your support will allow us to keep making videos for our patrons.
I've only been fulltime on the channel for one year, in part because I needed to supplement our income from the channel. Me going fulltime was based on the performance we saw on our channel in 2018. It's heartbreaking to see that affected by circumstances outside of our control, and it's something I worry about. Sorry for the long text dump, I guess it's still pretty raw for me!
TLDR; we're scared about the future viability of the channel, but we love what we do and will continue Stopping the Skeletons From Fighting for as long as we can, and we can thank the Patreon for that!!
Thanks for your support~
Grace
Comments
Alice Meade
Loved seeing you stream last week. #D <3
Cal Burkhart
Raised my pledge a few bucks and bought a snazzy sweatshirt and T shirt. Love what you two are doing, hope this slump doesn't last!
Jason Hurley
I'll always hate YouTube's decision to cave to traditional media companies. What made YouTube different and valuable was the direct link to original content from unique and creative people. Advertisers go where eyeballs are, and YouTube is able to attract them by NOT being big media companies. Now, the front page looks like my Hulu front page...which sucks. It's not what I want, and it completely screws content creators such as yourselves. Fight the good fight as long as you want, but be sure you make the best decisions for yourselves.
David Akers
It burns my butt how YouTube constantly interrupts videos with an ad. I suspect it makes for an easy exit for people, and maybe that’s part of what you were seeing? I’m a new viewer and patron, and I’ve loved what you guys are doing so far. I can’t wait to meet you at PRGE!
Celeste Engel
Really sorry to hear about this. Is there anything else we can do to help other than supporting the Patreon? Would spending a bit less time on the main videos to make an extra vlog each month, or some other quicker way to release videos, be worth it? Maybe someone could make a stream highlights compilation to post to the main channel? Sorry if I’m being too overbearing or forward
Stop Skeletons From Fighting
Yes! Streaming is something we’ve been prepping. We need to diversify our income more, plus i really miss streaming.
Alice Meade
YouTube sucks. I'm really hoping for the best for you all. You two work so hard and deserve more views than you get. When I get in a better financial spot I'll start pledging more, I dont want to see you all go 😭😭. Would streaming on twitch again help?
Madison Kava
And pledge bumped up so you have a more consistent budget, I hope. Appreciate the awesome videos and the transparency around this _lovely_ situation with Youtube. That just sucks!
issa
:( i really really liked the HD DVD video!
Zeromaster
While I enjoyed the HD DVD video, it might be too new of a concept for people to feel nostalgic about. I know that sounds silly but if you put it in context most gaming channels that are in the same vein as you guys usually don't focus on stuff that new
Andrew Fiore
YouTube is a nightmare, really enjoy the videos and glad you're able to keep pushing on. Bumped up my pledge and I hope to keep supporting you guys for a long time!
