In Good Company

Welcome back. Logan Paul and the Terminator are going to host a slap-fighting competition live on Logan’s channel. Nothing can surprise me anymore in 2022.

–Hannah Doyle

A Food and Travel Creator Builds Her Own Subscription Service

Anela Malik, the creator of Feed The Malik, made more than $70,000 on Patreon over the last year and a half, sharing recipes, restaurant reviews, and video interviews with her Magic in the Margins community. 

But last month she quit the platform to take subscriptions into her own hands.

In a blog post, she detailed why she left Patreon, finding that after its 5–12% cut and processing fees, she was taking home ~$12,000 less than what she earned. In addition, she wasn’t able to see certain data like how many people received and opened the automatic Patreon notification emails sent after posting. 

Now she offers subscriptions via her website, and has 586 subscribers—about 20 more than she did on Patreon. “Organic marketing is easier now that my subscription is housed on my site,” Malik said. “I’ve had new subscribers join during periods when I’m not doing any sharing or marketing of the community, which never used to happen when I was on Patreon.”

She was able to build the subscription offerings with her site host, Wix, for no additional cost. Although she’s facing some limitations, like not being able to let subscribers set their own price yet, she’s optimistic of the switch. “I find the level of what I can offer to be about on par with Patreon,” Malik said. “The formatting and look of the content is much improved, and so far the response from my community has been very positive.”

Malik shared more about how she tested and built her own subscription service. Check out our exclusive q&a at the end of this newsletter👇

Our Take

Creators are not one-size-fits-all, which makes it extremely difficult for tech platforms that have to build products for all of us. In the future, we think we'll see platforms with flexible a la carte tools that cater to each creator's needs.

YouTube’s First Faux Family

Amp Studios, a digital studio and podcasting company co-founded by lifestyle creator Brent Riviera, just launched the Smiles Family YouTube channel. The studio claims they’re the first to cast actors to play a family on YouTube. In the videos, the Smiles Family performs sketches including pranks, challenges, and games.

The channel launched last month and has amassed 68,000 subscribers and nearly 660,000 views with nine uploads, aided by cross-promotion from Riviera’s channel.

Our Take

The fast growth of the channel is proof that audiences are willing to connect with personality (actor or not), and care more about storylines than whether the content is real. As long as channels maintain transparency, YouTube’s offerings will continue to evolve, just like other forms of entertainment, with fiction and nonfiction stories alike.

Sponsored by Jellysmack

“Colin and Samir Quit YouTube”

^This headline could have been real back at the end of 2019. Ending the year with -$18,000 on our P&L, we debated closing up shop and getting “real” jobs.

Jellysmack is saving creators from that potential fate with their new program: catalog licensing.

Here’s how it works: Go here and connect your YouTube channel. Jellysmack’s algorithm predicts how much your YouTube library will be worth over the next 5 years.

Creators who qualify get a lump-sum payment up-front instead of waiting for their library of content to earn roughly that amount a little at a time. The goal of the venture is to empower creators to invest in their businesses whether it be finally renting that new studio or hiring more employees.

Click here to get started with Catalog Licensing from Jellysmack.

MrBeast Helps a YouTuber Increase Their Revenue by 16x

Earlier this week, the fifth most-subscribed YouTube creator tweeted out the channel performance numbers of another creator, who he advised on their content.

The charts show that the monthly traffic of the YouTuber he helped increased from 4.6 million views to 45 million views. Additionally, the estimated revenue increased 16x from $24,243 to $403,154.

Our Take

Mentorship is often more valuable than money when it comes to startup creators. If you get an influx of capital or an early viral hit, it can be too influential and steer you in a direction you don’t want to go.

🔥 Press Worthy

• Michelle Khare is hiring a thumbnail designer.

• Hank Green’s annual charity event, Project for Awesome, starts today.

• The Nelk Boys plan to open Full Send gyms in the next six months.

• Addison Rae is set to star in the upcoming film ‘Fashionista’.

• Airrack sneaks into the Super Bowl via Apple Air Tags.

• LinkedIn launches a podcast network.

• Facebook lets creators run ads in Reels, and take a cut of the revenue.

Q&A: Anela Malik

The following interview, conducted via email, has been condensed and edited for clarity.

You mentioned in your blog post that volunteers helped migrate your Patreon subscribers over to your new subscription service. Can you explain how that worked?

For about a month as I sent out exclusive content according to my usual schedule on Patreon, volunteers in the new subscription space also received that content. I checked in with them to ask for feedback throughout the entire process. I solicited feedback on the look and performance of the new page on my website to sign up, the welcome emails, the content releases they received, how the subscription performed on mobile, and anything else they wanted to share. This process was essential for me to be sure about the new space before announcing it publicly. 

A pro tip I learned from this testing process: ask people to test your subscription who are content creators or work in a similar niche as you, as well as lay folks who have no experience in the space at all. I found the feedback I received from the two groups was quite different, but all relevant to the performance of the space in different ways. 

How much did it cost to build a subscription service into your website? Was it what you expected? Why or why not?

Every platform has limitations. Every single one. Some subscription platforms charge high fees, others have more limited features. In transferring my subscription to my website I saved a significant amount in fees and gained more control over my content. The features I use for subscriptions are offered through my website builder, Wix. It cost me nothing additional to host my subscription there. Though there are limitations and some features I hope Wix rolls out soon, I’m overall very satisfied. 

Were you surprised by the response from your followers when you made the switch? What other differences have you noticed since you left Patreon?  

I’ve been surprised that my community has grown since making the switch! It was nerve wracking to make such a big change and I definitely took the chance of seeing my subscriber numbers dip. However, my subscription community has begun growing even faster than before and my members are more engaged. I’m receiving more feedback on the content I share there, more interaction, and more engagement with the community events that I host for members. 

What advice would you give to creators looking to own more of their work? Do you think building their own subscription service is a good route to take?

Whether or not a creator wants to start a subscription, I advocate that they at least have a place that can act as a home and hub for their work, a place to reach people without depending on social media. Social platforms change all the time and they are rented space. An algorithm change can completely uproot your social content strategy and dramatically shift your traffic. Your account can be deactivated or deleted without your permission. Have a website, or at least a newsletter on a place like Substack where you can own your own email list, where you can connect with people on your own terms. And of course, back up whatever that is in case of inevitable technical problems.

Subscriptions can offer a consistent source of income and community for creators, but I wouldn’t advocate for them for everyone. Before starting one, be absolutely sure you are willing to invest the time and energy it takes to build a subscription community. Do you have the ability to create consistent content or benefits for subscribers? Are you willing to market it relentlessly and be salesy? Are you willing to turn your attention away at times from the fast moving dopamine hits of likes and notifications on social media? Subscriptions move slower, they tend to grow slower, and the feedback is different. That aside, a subscription can be a really fulfilling route to take as a creator, give you more ownership of your work, and generate pretty consistent income. Like anything it takes hard work, constant tinkering, and some luck.