Are you happy with my Content?
Added 2019-12-16 16:23:56 +0000 UTCHello my Friends,
I looking forward to your feedback and suggestions of what I could do better about my Patreon account and Content.
recently there have been an unusually high number of for people canceling their Patreon support for my Channel. 5 People in December 2019
Maybe that has to do with the end of the year and people setting new priorities, but I was also wondering if that had anything to do with my Content.
Personally I though I was creating a lot of new and exciting content:
- Live-Streams with a total of over 14 hours run-time
- 40+ images created for Instagram, many with time-lapse videos to show the process
- 1 online course (free for new Skillshare users)
- New Website coming 2020 - which will bring together all the different things that are at the moment spread out to all these different pages.
I know I still didn't catch up to the 1-week early access to my videos. I will do this by giving you 2 extra videos in 2019, during my holidays break, where i am going to post less on my channel.
I know there have been less files being uploaded to my Patreon as a result of many videos being about essential techniques or technical topics that don't result in a file that can be shared. But people wanted to do more videos about these basic things, so that seems to be in accordance to what the community wants - i hope so :)
I also know, or at least feel like, my Patreon Tiers are a bit of a Mess at the moment. I have to rework the rewards system (again) to make it easier and make more sense. I will definitely create the requested Playlists for Patreons and I thought maybe you also want to have my Instagram Works as Wallpapers for you PC or Phone - is that a thing? Would that be interesting?
Also in 2020 I want to seriously work on delivering more of the videos people have requested. Some topics are a bit niche, others are someone complicated to do at all or in a 10-15 minute video. So there are always going to be some things I can't do in the Youtube format. But definitely want to include the community more.
Comments
Hi Steve, thank you very much for the feedback. These are some very nice insights. I want to go that rout in 2020, where my channel is more than just tutorials. I want it to be a creative journey that we share together, with inspirations, tutorials and bringing things together via insights and secret sauce to give the students also a look at why things work, not just how :)
Olivio Sarikas
2019-12-22 22:28:13 +0000 UTCHi, Olivio, I joined your Patreon a short time ago because of the quality content that I’ve seen on your YouTube channel concerning Affinity software. Your presentations are clear, concise, and very useful. Since I don’t know what your Patreon membership trends are over time look like there’s nothing I can say as to what the causes might be. Personally, I add and drop memberships according to where my design interests and needs are leading me — with a limited budget I have to make choices. One of the things I’ve noticed in myself is that “how-tos” , such as how to do watercolors or how to use a piece of software, have limited value after awhile. At that point I’m starting to look more into creative inspiration using such things. One specific example was your presentation on creating a book cover with Affinity Publisher. That presented a lot of good design basics and ideas. (I want to use that one as an example for different groups that I work with that insist on producing company event flyers an brochures—again, a good clear and concise presentation.) So, maybe consider having some presentations that have somewhat more of a focus on design? I plan on be being a member of your Patreon for quite awhile. Keep up the great work!
Steve Bollenbaugh
2019-12-22 01:28:19 +0000 UTCHi Olivio, I think you're doing a great job. Keep up the good work. Perhaps some more Desisigner please?
Daniel Brady
2019-12-20 22:27:41 +0000 UTCHi Bob, thank you very much for that long and detailed answer. That's some very good and interesting feedback. It's pretty hard to bring everything together under one roof, from basic techniques, to realistic editing, to fantasy compositions. So, it sometimes feels like my channel is all over the place. Maybe i should decide one something and stick with it. The heavy editing of the Instagram photos is mostly a result of me taking photos from unsplash, Which means that i don't want them to look to similar to the original. At the same time i use instagram to experiment with techniques and try new things. I think the general notion of my channel is more to express yourself, rather than expressing what was there at the time of taking the photo. Both regarding the content and the atmosphere, colors even day and night situation. With the speed i think i need to force myself to slow down a bit more. My concern here is that the people who have already watched me for some time have seen the basic things done in dozens of videos, and i don't want to bore them. But of course for new people and people of another language it then becomes harder to follow. I have to think about how i can follow both. For 2020 my big goal is to simplify a lot of things in my life and also around the channel, so they become clearer and easier to follow. The channel was a big learning curve for me too - and also the projects around it. I think the main lesson i have learned is, that there is nothing more important than working consistent, simple and clean. Seeing mistakes as a positive thing that keeps you curious and appreciating the small steps over the big leaps.
Olivio Sarikas
2019-12-20 11:16:05 +0000 UTCFirst, I have learned a lot from the many tutorials you have shared. Your advice has been very valuable to me. I admire your talent and teaching skills. It is a great privilege to receive the fruits of your profession that you so freely give. In response to this questioning on the content of your channel, I much preferred the previous format when you offered two new ~ 10 min tutorials each week. As a Patreon, I appreciated the advance release but it was not necessary to me. A sincere Thank You as you do now is sufficient. I was first attracted to your channel with the Sky Replacement tutorial as 90% plus of my interest is on landscape, portraits, and collage, mixing of the two. While all art forms are valuable and appreciated by their audience, each of us has our taste and interest. It is good for us to explore art that we may not have initially appreciated and some of it does grow on us. That said, some of it does not. For me, most of the Instagram seems like elements of a nightmare and I would never seek to recreate it. My greatest personal desire is to solidly learn the features of Affinity with the great “Secret Sauce” and then have a way to remember which tutorial they were in when the elements of my idea come together so I can apply the knowledge. A good example of this was your recent tutorial on “Styles Explained.” Also, I would be curious about other's thoughts on your speed in presenting. With Youtube, we can always go back, but I would likely vote for slightly slower. I would say if Patreons are leaving, look at when they joined and what your format was like at the time. That may not be the best idea overall because of Youtube numbers. You have to satisfy that crowd who are not directly contributing but do so in Youtube statistics. I’m sure it is a balancing act. I appreciate your honesty in asking this and sincerely hope it is helpful. Thanks Again Olivio.
Bob Domine
2019-12-19 20:41:42 +0000 UTCHi Fin, yes i understand what you mean. I'm more a designer than a photographer and haven't done much photography in recent years. Although i want to change that in 2020. So, more photoprojects are hopefully coming. That said, i'm still more about the art the goes into a photo after it was takes, rather than about refining what was captured when it was taken (edit vs adjust). So, I totally understand if you come from a different direction.
Olivio Sarikas
2019-12-17 18:28:00 +0000 UTCHi Patricia, wow, I totally forgot about mentioning the Secret Sauce in recent videos. How could that slip my mind. Recently i feel like my head is a pot of peas, every time I add a spoon full, some other peas drop over the edge ;) Thank you for the Skillshare feedback. To be honest, while i really like the design of the platform, i was a bit underwhelmed with the monetary results. That's a trong indicator that a lot of my youtube followers think similar to you and want another solution. I'm in the process of building my own website and think about hosting the tutorials there (in addition to skillshare), so people can also decide to buy them individually. btw. you could also buy the winter wonderland course on my gumroad account right now - it costs a bit more than the skillshare option, because you can download it and keep it forever. :)
Olivio Sarikas
2019-12-17 18:23:18 +0000 UTCThank you, Joseph. I absolutely want to do more with the feedbacks in my streams. That one session was a lot of fun :)
Olivio Sarikas
2019-12-17 18:17:07 +0000 UTCThank you, Kevin, I just sent you a Response :)
Olivio Sarikas
2019-12-17 18:16:15 +0000 UTCThank you James :)
Olivio Sarikas
2019-12-17 18:15:44 +0000 UTCI first discovered you when I searched for Affinity Photo videos. Personally, more interested in learning about the photo editing aspects of the program from a photographer's perspective than a commercial artist's. I seriously enjoy your demonstrations of the non- purely photographic techniques, (I'm convinced that you are very good at your chosen profession.) but not being in your line of work and more interested in the aesthetics and realism of my pictures much of your information falls short when it comes to my needs.
Fin Pendergast
2019-12-17 14:48:25 +0000 UTCMy interests lie in your intermediate to advanced tutorials, plus "secret sauce" tips and tricks. I really get a kick out of your challenge projects, though I admit, some of the underlying photos are not ones I would chose myself (there's no disputing matters of taste). I was not thrilled with the site you chose to house your full-length tutorial (the Autumn one) because, although it came with 2 months of free Skillshare, I do not want to have to sign up for Skillshare and pay for future classes there. I'm not sure if I'd get in free with each new class by you, but it does involve me cancelling the membership between your classes, which is inconvenient. It was a great class, though. Your videos are always good quality. As for your live streams, I think the timing is bad for me personally, because of the time zone differences (I'm in North American Mountain Time). But the length of the live streams does tend to take rather longer than I can block out as well. Overall, you are offering something for everyone, and there's not a whole lot I would change. Do work on getting the Patreon things worked out as that is a necessary improvement. Edited to add: if you chose another platform than Skillshare, I would gladly pay a small per-tutorial fee for each class, but I don't want a whole "pay for membership" issue.
Patricia Green
2019-12-16 21:51:10 +0000 UTCHi Olivio, I have enjoyed your content and your tutorials. They have proven very useful to me. I appreciate you always looking for improvement as that is why I watch your live streams and tutorials. One think I enjoyed and would like to participate in is when you have your followers create or design something and you comment on them. It's a good learning tool when you try to do something for yourself.
Joseph
2019-12-16 20:47:43 +0000 UTCHi Olivio, I have PM’d you. Thanks, Kevin
Kevin Phillips
2019-12-16 17:38:28 +0000 UTCI enjoy all the content will have a look at you Instagram
James Stewart
2019-12-16 16:39:00 +0000 UTCThank you for letting me know. btw.: you can also look at the Instagram photos in your web browser or on your tablet app :)
Olivio Sarikas
2019-12-16 16:38:23 +0000 UTCI enjoy all of your content, even the Instagram stuff that I will never use. I can't see the tiny phone screen well enough for Instagram, and trying to use it with my desktop is WAY too tedious. I especially like the photo manipulation tutorials.
William H. Willis
2019-12-16 16:30:48 +0000 UTC
