My favorite tech writer Nilay Patel will often point out how YouTubers eventually defect to other platforms due to how tough it is to make money on YouTube. Recently, he shared a clip from his favorite vehicle reviewer Doug Demuro in which he talks about how he had to launch his own site where you can buy and sell cars to create sustainable income.
That’s right! YouTube income for a massively popular vlogger, who gets hundreds of thousands of views per video he posts, was so bad that Doug had to create his own car marketplace called CarsAndBids.com.
“No matter how hot you think you are [on YouTube] right now, the audience will get tired of you,” Doug said on a recent podcast. “And I don’t think you want to be sitting there in five years, when your videos are getting a quarter of the views they were, saying, ‘Damn, I wish I had done something.’ And this is the conversation I’m having with all my friends who are on YouTube right now. I’m telling them you need to take your audience and do something like what I did and monetize them. Take them somewhere that you can control and they’re sitting here like, I’m making seven figures. I’m busy. What do you mean I need to start a business? Like I can’t even have time to brush my teeth.”
Watch the clip below:
@colinandsamir @thisisdougdemuro ♬ original sound – Colin and Samir
YouTube advertising and their algorithms that determine whether or not you’ll be getting views are unpredictable. You need to be somewhere your content will always be seen by your fans. While Patreon is not the only answer (Doug clearly launched an awesome business!), it’s definitely a good place to bring your audience to create steady, reliable income for the creator.
My course, Building the Perfect Patreon, walks you through building your Patreon and ensuring it succeeds!
