One of the things I’ve been thinking of doing, on and off for the past several years, is creating a video channel for income.

For various reasons, I’ve never taken the plunge (mostly technical ineptitude), but now that I’ll probably get fired one day for resisting the jab, I’m revisiting the idea.

My content would not be primarily religious (though I suppose that would trickle in indirectly), but more of a general “old school” channel, featuring anything from various prepper themes, hunting/fishing, game processing, bushcraft, self-sufficiency, pre-industrial technology, pipe making, marksmanship etc., etc.

One thing I wondered, before I start taking time to do it, is: Can you really make enough income this way to support a family in what is probably a rather nitch market (particularly if I want to avoid YouTube, and try Rumble or Bitchute, and the much fewer clicks one gets on those platforms)?

I notice there are also options to censor advertising from those platforms, and only allow approved advertising, which is great, but further erodes clicks/revenue.

Is it worth it?

I'm pretty sure that all the revenue for those things comes from advertising.  If you get a lot of subscribers, likes, etc. ... then you may get a certain amount for companies to put ads up on your site.  I don't know whether or not you can control who's allowed to inject adds into your content.

You can't monetize videos on Bitchute, Rumble, Odysee, due to the nature of the platform and the protocols behind them. Youtube is really the only place, or Vimeo, but hardly anyone uses Vimeo except independent film makers and docuмentary makers. 

Personally, I don't think there is really a market for those type of videos you mention because there's already a ton of channels like that on YouTube, you'd get lost in a sea of people already doing the same thing. Not so say it *couldn't* work, but you probably wouldn't make very much.

I've thought about this myself -- getting into the youtube video business -- and let's face it, you can't really eliminate the possibility until you're dead, in a nursing home, the world collapses, or something like that.

I think the biggest challenge for you, Sean, and maybe me, would be the PRODUCTION of the videos. Editing them. It takes time, depending on how "perfect" or "polished" you're shooting for with your podcast and/or video.

Personally, I don't like shows that are TOO polished -- I like a bit of down-to-earth, within my reach kind of thing. Nevertheless, the number one rule of videos is the audio has to be good. If the audio stinks, it doesn't matter how good the moving pictures are. So you at least need a good microphone.

My recommendation would be: scratch the itch. Give it a try. Create a pilot episode at least. See how it goes. Now it's true that for something to succeed you really have to pour yourself into it and promote it. Some time I'd like to start a thread on "success" especially for middle-aged men*. So you want to set some realistic expectations for the first few test episodes. It's a new channel with 3 videos. But if there's ANY measure of success/interest, you should be able to extrapolate that, assuming a steady commitment to your channel.

Anything involves risk, so if you're really interested in this maybe it's worth the risk of some of your time, to see how it goes. You won't be risking much, if you just record 1-3 episodes. Then you can upload them different places, and REALLY EXPLORE monetization options. I just heard today that Odysee is going to start doing advertising. They already have some kind of crypto you can earn. EEVblog said he makes almost as much per user on Odysee vs Youtube -- though MAYBE he got some special deal, since he's one of the biggest guys on Odysee (because he had so many subscribers -- an established channel -- on Youtube)

I can tell you right now, you will end up with a finished, edited MP3 (podcast) or MP4 (video) which can be uploaded to any site. It's not like you have to re-record for each distribution channel. Those self contained "masters" can be archived and they're yours forever. It doesn't matter if EVERYONE shut you down. You'd still have all your videos/recordings.

But to really test out and explore the various options, you'd need some content. Both the content and the "exploration" of what to do with it (how to get it to the public's eyeballs, how to distribute it), would involve some small risk, but the cost would be 90% time. You might already have a microphone and smartphone that can record decent video. Maybe a $25 tripod from Amazon, and some lighting, and you'd be good enough in the equipment realm. If you're doing an outdoors video, you don't really need artificial lighting. But a microphone is a must (you don't want the wind muffling your voice. Have you ever heard a windy-noisy youtube video? Those get skipped.)

More advice: don't spend hundreds or thousands on equipment till you make your 10th episode and you commit to the whole endeavor. A smartphone can do very good HD video, with an external microphone. Yes, you need to get an external microphone, maybe even wireless lavalier microphone. Spend maybe $200 tops. But don't go for the real nice mics until you can justify the cost. Just get yourself to 80% of perfect which will only cost a few hundred -- don't spend those thou$ands$ to get the last 20%. Unless you can think of other use(s) for a high end microphone. It all depends on your financial situation of course.


* When it comes to successful endeavors, or "finished projects", I've only had two really: chantcd.com and CathInfo -- both took many hundreds of hours of effort, over many years, for them to "succeed". And in 2013 I did successfully write a complex Android game, followed up with a second game a year later. But what bothers me is that I haven't had any successful projects, websites, or endeavors in years. Maybe you can only "have" so many, unless you can hand the old ones off to a management firm? I don't know. Am I at my limit for what I can handle? Webserver, CathInfo, chapel, 5 acres, 9 kids? Perhaps.

Another thing -- if you exude self-confidence and/or panache, you will have much more success apparently.

When it comes to youtube, I don't watch much. Just electronics and ham radio topics.

One of my favorite channels is an Aussie bloke, he's been making videos for a decade and a half, but only has 18.1K subscribers.
https://www.youtube.com/user/vk3ye

EEVBlog has been doing it for about as long, but has over 800K more subscribers.
https://www.youtube.com/c/EevblogDave

VK3YE, whose name is Peter Parker (the alt. identity of Spider Man!) is a real superhero in my book. He has an innate understanding of radio circuits and has built dozens of pieces of radio equipment by hand. And he builds AND TESTS countless kinds of antennas -- so it's not just circuit tinkerers who would be interested in his channel. His specialty is portable and low-power operations, antenna building, etc. You'd think he'd have more than 18K subscribers. Although he's a bit awkward compared to Dave, and he does script his videos, he does have the Australian accent going for him. He doesn't have a nasal voice with a midwestern accent or something (like me).

But he does lack the flair, the humor, the constant slang, and the energy of Dave (EEVBlog).