A Look Backward And A Look Ahead: The Need For Support

SOLO PLAYTHROUGHS' PATREON PAGE: / soloplaythroughs
I started Solo Playthroughs in November of 2019, with little clue of what I was doing but with a desire to dive deeper into my passion for board games while creating something intended to be fun. I had no real belief that the channel would grow to 100 subscribers, much less 4,000, and I obviously had no idea that the world was about to undergo a radical transformation that would cause me professional upheaval. I have been very lucky to have been able to take the opportunity afforded me over the past two years to invest a ton of time and energy into improving the quality of content I over through Solo Playthroughs, expanding the content I can offer in both depth and breadth. But the time has come to ask some hard questions about a realistic future for Solo Playthroughs, as well as how that future is affected by financial realities. This video is my attempt to encapsulate a lot of my current thoughts on the subject. Thanks for watching.
#soloplaythroughs #boardgames #soloboardgames

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Appreciate the early response to this video and will reply to comments individually later. For now, I did want to correct my math a little (sound familiar?? :) ). Two things: 1) The numbers I mentioned in this video ONLY cover the period of time starting with when I started to make ANY money from the channeI. So, the total period of time is July 2020 through June 2020 - exactly two years. Yes, I did have expenses before this, but I think my point stands as is; and 2) As an oversight, I failed to include my June Patreon payment in the figures in this video. Adding this, my net profit for the two years in question is $11.51. Anyone know any good solo games for $11.51? ;) As I say often, I remain looking forward to seeing this channel continue to grow and improve in the future, and thanks to everyone who helps makes that happen in so many different ways. Happy Gaming! Greg

[@Lestrande]

Greg, I appreciate all the work and content you put out. I’ve been a subscriber for years - I remember when your list of patrons could be counted on one hand! I’ve been wanting to become a patron, but unfortunately at the moment my household has extremely limited income for a temporary time period. I definitely want to support you once it’s over!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey Lestrande! I remember those days, too!! :) It's been a wild ride for sure. Hope everything is okay with your household and warm wishes for the future, whether or not it ever makes sense for you to become a Patron. :)

[@tytytyty88]

Thanks!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for the support, tytytyty88!

[@jonudelson5320]

Thanks, my dude! I really appreciate all of your hard work. One of my favorite YT channels.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Jon! Really means a lot. :)

[@copelandwoodruff9810]

Love your channel, Greg! You hooked me in with DotZ early on. Some might think your earlier vids aren't as great regarding quality, but I LOVED going back and hearing your thoughts on the various AH:LCG investigators/classes and your MK vids are THE BOMB! Looking forward to many more vids and content...I see that the numbers are def UP. Maybe you'll sneak in an Alien Empire scenario for SE4X!!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Copeland! And trust that we'll get to Alien Empires sooner rather than later. :)

[@synthastro]

Yep, cmon guys, almost everyone can afford to drop a dollar in the pot each month, there is sooooo much work involved in doing this, editing is a huge and often frustrating time consumer for example. Please show your support for what you love.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Appreciate the support, David!

[@NicoWeisenauer]

Thank you for all the amazing content Greg. Please do anything necessary to help your channel grow and be profitable. If it means cutting long playthroughs into multiple shorter episodes, please go ahead and do that. Maybe you will be more accessible for new subscribers that way. I am no youtube expert, just saying that I will continue to watch even if you change some stuff to make the channel grow faster :)

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for the support, Nico! The "problem" I saw the couple times I broke up things in the past (or did a campaign game like Arkham) is I find that I get less and less viewers with each subsequent video. But it is something I've been thinking about more, especially with longer games like Space Empires 4X and Zeds. Either way, the support means a lot and I'm looking forward to trying some new things in 2023!

[@ulrikborgbjerg2482]

love your content - the quality of your in-game decisions, the flow and the spirit, so only fair I should contribute. Hope you will keep going and I hope you will break through the wall.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for the support and the good wishes, Ulrik!

[@OffTheShelfGameReviews]

I don't have an answer. As someone who has been making videos for 9 years and my patreon has 3 sponsors at $1 each, trust me I feel your pain. Games are expensive to buy to create content, equipment is expensive, paying monthly for Premiere pro is expensive, and it just really adds up. I hope you manage to break through the magic barrier and reach the popularity you deserve. Good luck and keep up the great work.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for the kind words and sharing your experiences! I've seen your channel name but didn't know the backstory. Just watched some of your Machina Arcana playthrough and the quality is great! As you know, KZbin's a weird place, man. If you ever wanted to bounce any ideas off me, don't hesitate to shoot me an email or a private message on Facebook or Twitter!

[@OffTheShelfGameReviews]

@@SoloPlaythroughs KZbin is such an odd duck, I am fortunate that this is a hobby for me but the "secret sauce" as they say definitely eludes me to this day! It's funny I will post a video and it will rocket up the views and then the next one is dead on arrival. I just sit there and scratch my head. You do deserve a lot of success, you have good even tone, very clear, you understand the games, your camera angles are great, and your hard work really shows. I usually listen while I am painting miniatures and the flow is really good. Thanks for the kind words and keep up the good fight!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Yeah, unless you are churning out content related to games that are in the process of crowdfunding, that secret sauce these days seems harder and harder to find. And I share your confusion when it comes to view counts - my expectations have been wrong so many times about interest levels in that many games that I was featuring for the first time. Anyway, best of luck, man. :)

[@OffTheShelfGameReviews]

@@SoloPlaythroughs You as well!

[@boardgametime3727]

I really love and appreciate your videos Greg! I will begin supporting the channel through Patreon asap! Should have done it a long time ago! ❤️ Thanks for everything, Greg!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey BGT! Appreciate the kind words and the support!

[@Sajatzsiraf]

But… I have already bought Mage Knight… I thought there was nothig out there. :P seriously though, I appreciate your candid approach and the insight you shared. We will see each around, rest assured. ;)

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

:) Thanks, Sajat. And now I clearly need to go play Mage Knight more...

[@stefan000v]

Bedankt

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Much appreciated, stefan!

[@jaydeestrong]

Oki i will give thanks in your next spirit island vid 😁

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Sounds good, JF! With more live streams weekly, I'm planning on getting to Spirit Island on the channel at least twice a month now. :)

[@mm678]

You won me over (even beyond all the holes in my gaming shelves you’ve filled.) One thing you need to become a true power channel, though, is a short theme song for your first couple silent title cards ;) I might take a crack at it… what genre do you think would embody the channel best? Metal, ska, k-pop, bardcore, emo, Tibetan chant…

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Ha! Honestly, after the "swoosh sound" of my original longer intro kept caused me a couple months of frustrating (and bogus) copyright infringement claims, I'm a little paranoid about any kind of sound in general. :) But, seriously, I'm a pretty equal opportunity person when it comes to music. I'm guessing whatever you whipped up, I'm sure it would be pretty cool...then it would just be adding it to a couple videos and keeping my fingers crossed that no one puts a bogus claim in on it!

[@mm678]

Oh jeez. Sometimes that copyright search bot gets ridiculous. This’ll be original, I just have to come up with a good rhyme for VlaadaChvatil…

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Good luck with that! :)

[@lenakimarctaedius3056]

i am also in the legal profession as legal counsel. 😀

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Awesome, LenaKim! I really thought I was going to do it forever...and then something just kind of "broke" for me. I really admire my colleagues who have had long careers in the industry and still keep up the good fights day in and day out.

[@qu3tzl]

Well you just got 0.025% closer to your goal, just at the $3 tier for now.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Awesome! Much appreciated. :)

[@blur6000]

Hey! I have started watching you purely because your Spirit Island playthrough are the best on YT. I have also watched most of your Mage Kinght videos. My only issue so far are your thumbnails, yours are messy and ugly. If you want more people to start wtaching you my suggestion is to have more informative thumbnails and more esthetic. Keep up the good work!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for the kind words and the constructive feedback, Flash Cat. My thumbnails have evolved over time and, without getting too much into "thumbnail theory", I actually disagree that they need to be changed. I don't always "execute" exactly what I want in every thumbnail, but I like the final product of a lot of my thumbnails over the past year+ and have found them to be effective for the channel. Seriously though, thanks for the feedback.

[@batmansmk]

Thanks!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, batmansmk!

[@cris-by4zv]

Thanks!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for the support, cris 123!