Wednesday Review : Worry - Discord - Berries (Patreon)

1. I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty nervous that this year's campaign won't make 60% of last years.  Something just feels off in the air despite our best efforts.

That may be because most projects have sorta flatlined vs expectations through 2019.  We're actually still not at the monthly funding level necessary to support Mae and I both full time and are covering ourselves with what usually becomes special project funds.

This is a big reason why the 1911 keeps getting kicked back.  I wanted to make an episode for it that was more of a showcase of what we COULD be doing with a full team.  Shoot our way through the development, visit Springfield directly, etc...   But that's an expensive undertaking on top of regular episodes.  The good news is with Mae it is possible in terms of actual time though.

2. That leads me to my biggest concern: now that I have the help, how the heck am I going to create a new and sustainable growth direction for the show?  

My intuition is more content; pressing into inexpensive collecting areas like commercial shotguns.  Not all the time mind you, but a way to give people some good history on things they DO or COULD own easily.  

There is also the matter of shorter videos.  Trouble is that's another time sink away from the core mission, though it is more approachable with Mae's help.

3, I'm worried about over merchandising.  So far in 2019 I've asked you guys to buy a digital download, a poster, and t-shirts.  I know a lot of people would just start leveraging and never stop.  They'd spam bits and bobs all year long but I can't do it.

I'm not much of a brand consumer so when I wear someone else's name it's something I truly enjoy or support.  I want that to remain true when we print anything C&Rsenal.

4. All right, all those concerns aside, we're still floating along as we are.  Engagement is actually up a bit post-Lightening and recognition is through the roof.  I actually get spotted in SC gun shows now, which never used to happen.

We also have an easy growth vector in our back pocket: leaving WWI.  I suspect just offering a wider variety will bring in plenty of viewers.  However, it does mean making very large changes to our current research library.  So I'm delaying that until I can get ahead on regular production.

5.  Our Discord admin and myself restructured this week.  Whenever you have a persistent online community like that, the most active users are usually the sort that have a lot of free time.  That doesn't always bode well.  

We were having issues with the usual "shitposting" running off a lot of more serious users at first blush.  But you crack down too hard and people get bored.  You need to let users have the freedom to relax.

So we inverted the whole thing.  It used to be you got access to the off-topic/meme stuff right away but earned a seat in the big boy, serious channels.  But that meant the least moderated stuff was everyone's introduction.  Now when you first join you see the on-topic channels and only after participation do you get to the garbage.  

It's an experiment, but I hope it works.
http://discord.gg/xwB554H

6. Crozier's berries was a complete throw away, panic-induced, last minute idea.  I had to travel and we were radically overselling expectations last year.  I wanted a way to mark the overfundings but they just kept happening.  

So I just decided to feed berries to a guinea pig.  I was hoping it was so insane no one would be upset.  Then it caught fire.

Skip ahead a year and now I'm in the Wal Mart toy isle looking for guinea pig scaled movie accessories.  BTW, Mae planned the next one.  I helped with soundscaping but the rest is all her, so here's to triple funding!

Future me is going to be so annoyed I set the bar this high.


Yeah so the summary is: I worry a lot.  I watched a local business go under last week and it makes me aware that we have to continue to not only deliver the goods but grow the menu.  Honestly it doesn't feel as negative as it sounds, it's more like knowing winter will come so you might wanna salt the pork a little early and chop some more firewood instead of just sitting on the porch.  Get ahead of things.

Otherwise things really are fun.  Mae is a huge help and I've had more sleep these past weeks than the past 4 years.  Comments are positive, fans are supportive, the people I meet in person are cheerful.  Crozier is getting fatter and fussier.  S'good life if you keep after it.

Thanks y'all.