Goals

Also another way to drive viewership would be to offer a watered down version of just some of the history, have May do the shooting, and the recap. I know its easier said than done to do a bunch of video editing, but unfortunately people have crappy attention spans and can only sometimes sit for 20 min at a time. So launch with the full episode and offer a longer version of Minute of May is my general idea.

As a person who always watches your show within the first 24 hrs it launches, I would say that one thing that I think would help you guys get some more viewers is to have more "hype" guns sprinkled in with some of the lesser known ones. There have been a few times where I feel like the momentum of the show has gotten a little "slow". The repeats of Winchester lever guns and the latest mauser blackpowder guns are a good example of this. While I enjoy them, the casual watcher will not care to sit through 3 episodes of the "same gun" at 1.5 to 2 hours each and they will lose interest/stop watching. This way you treat the edge case guns as a treat rather than as something people feel like they have to slog through.

I agree with other commenters, you need to break up the the videos into shorter ones. I rarely have time to sit down and watch a hour and half to two hour video. I believe what you are doing is important and that's why I support you here on Patreon. I will upping my donation, because I want your channel to be successful. Good luck.

Unfortunately whether 20 minutes or 2 hours, making sure what I'm saying is correct takes quite a few research hours. Leaving the narrow field we're in actually will take several hundred hours of building up the contextual information and images/footage needed.

C&Rsenal

Thank you for the support

C&Rsenal

It seems silly but sponsored content from video games might be a good way to get the word out. World of Tanks seems eager to drop some sponsorship on YouTube Content Creators like TodayIFoundOut, RealEngineering, and a variety of others (those were just two that came to mind). The T-Gewehr would be good for that but also additional content could attract sponsorship from the video game industry. I didn't pay a lot of attention to E3 this year but maybe someone could speak to this for me.

I guess documenting the armament of WW1 is more important than drinking a few more beers a month. Upping from $3 to $5. Not much, I know. If I ever get out of college and get a job I promise to amp it up! And I know that some patreons have said this already, but maybe you could do videos of other stuff, not just WW1 weapons? Stuff like clothing and gear, or some random popular weapons, in short 20 min or less videos. That may be able to attract more viewers.

PHP

Particularly agree with your last point. Support level increased!

John S Wren

You have multiple complementing goals, but I'd say the first one is moving your effort above the subsistence level. Being a starving artist went out of style along with the magazine cutoff. Given the scant availability of capital, I would recommend self publishing your wealth of current materials, such as posters and a series CD's via venues like Amazon and E-Bay. CDs could include a few related episodes either by county or action type....or whatever. This would serve to further expand your "brand" by exposing shoppers to your channel that otherwise would never find you. While not a path to fortune and fame, as you built up your inventory of products, it would slowly build a modest steady revenue source, particularly if you package items to be hit upon by popular search terms, such as "Springfield Rifle". Next I would suggest getting representation at major gun shows and trade events. While you would be the perfect spokesman, I'm willing to bet that you could find trustworthy individuals by region that would gladly take on this task for you. At trade shows you might even pick up a sponsor or two. While again not a treasure trove, steadily increasing exposure increases the value of the C&Rsenal brand. Marketing your material is as important as quality of content. The world won't beat a path to the door of an inventor of a better mousetrap if the world at large doesn't know about it. Lastly, quit being so modest about Patreon support. Yes a buck or so every month is a nice number, but many of us can do better and appreciate your effort as a true public education service. My hourly fee is well into the triple digits and I get as much out of an hour of your time as anyone ever got out of an hour of mine. When someone offers a larger donation, just say "thank you" and quit saying that is too much. When you start driving new vehicles and get a two week Caribbean vacation every winter, then I might buy the "too much". Until you move above the subsistence level, every dime makes a difference to you and the content you can bring us.

Richard Anderson

hey keep up the good work! Upped my patronage.

Craig Justus

thank you

C&Rsenal

Thank you, but the minimum is enough!

C&Rsenal

Othias, thank you for your thoughtful observations. The only thing I have to add to the comments above is that I am thankful for your efforts. Wait, there's more: I also subscribe to Forgotten Weapons and find your two channels to be enjoyable, informative, and generally complementary nerd-hubs. Joshua O had a good suggestion about branching out, but I don't know if producing more firearms ephemera would cure what ails you. There's a lot more to these 'old' firearms than I would have guessed prior to watching your shows. I takes a special kind of team to produce these episodes and I appreciate all of the work you all do!

I doubled my pledge. Thank you to you and the team that create this awesome series. :-)

Franz Anton Mesmer

Hate to say it, but you might need to take the next evolution subscription only, and then pitch it to History Channel or the like to fund it [using the existing C&Rsenal product as a prospectus.] They would probably already have a huge chunk o' the copyright headaches solved. By limiting access to episodes as they are produced to your subscribers, and then distributing thru History channel after you've got half or more of the total episodes in the can, you can rifle the deep pockets of the old media to make it possible w/o turning your back on your loyal following. The distribution thru cable would also overcome Alphabet Corp's jiggering of YT and threats to cancel firearm-related content, while giving you the wider exposure that YT presently manages. Anyway, that's the best I can come up with, and the quality of your product is certainly much better than some of the stuff I used to watch on HC when I still had cable!

Bruce Brodnax

Thank you. I'm very glad it is proving to be a value.

C&Rsenal

That's too much!

C&Rsenal

C&Rsenal has become "priority viewing" for me; the personalities in the videos (you and Mae) are darned near family to me. I sincerely like what you do and hope/pray that y'all will be able to continue this work. I too have increased my level of financial support.

Edwin A. Novak

I know its not much but I upped my monthly contribution to $10, I truly hope you can keep the show going and make a career out of it. this show has truly been a bright spot in a world full of reality TV and over sensationalism.

Alexander Limparis

You can manually enter any amount. I had not considered naming others but I suppose I should.

C&Rsenal

We actually have the hookup on a traditional embroidery. But we have to work up a design.

C&Rsenal

Brainstorming here.... Maybe coordinate with other “gun” channels so that you provide the history and they provide the action. In doing so their viewers then will most likely become viewers of your show too... boosting your Patreon numbers. Consider MAC and IraqVet888 and hickock45 to start. This also allows you to focus on the history and let them finance the ammunition, etc. These show are not competitors but collaborators. People don’t just watch one show... the shows complement each other.

Have you ever considered putting up a 2$ level "reward". I don't have a specific idea about what could be the reward for that level but it may be less intimidating than jumping to 5$ for the patrons interested in giving more. Maybe let the 2$ patrons vote on which the next two poster designs will come out first ?

Jean-Luc Larose

I know you've replied to similar statements....But branch out. You dont need to hit all of WW1 in one go. You already have the Anvil series. Why not have a civil war, Crimean war, African wars, Imperial whoever, Vietnam, Communist arms and so on. Just make different playlists. Just keep the same in-depth content and I'm sure the bulk of us will stay happy.

You should make a pvc patch to help show off the channel like some of the other channels do. I'd happily buy several even if they were $25 or more

C W

The project is pretty ambitious and from comments you've made I think you have a geographically diverse audience. I wonder if it's the sort of thing local media where you live might want to cover as a local/human interest story. 'One mans passion for WWI has reached YouTube viewers worldwide' that sort of thing, local media are usually stuck for content and it could be a nice positive story.

JK

We are trying for a sponsor, well we have for years. Might have 1 now. As for adding more wars, at the moment that is harder. Recall anything after 1923 requires much more vetting for images and video, no music without expensive licensing, and we dont have indexed archives of labelled material outside WWI. Really the period images and videos we now show regularly took hundreds of hours to build up. We will get WWI done and then reassess

C&Rsenal

I do get run down but I dont know if I can truly crack since the worst of it is a finite project. We will adjust to better flow after WWI.

C&Rsenal

I have considered it but unfortunately I am at about 80-90 hrs a week. Just do not have the time despite possible pay.

C&Rsenal

Thank you! The sharing is very important!

C&Rsenal

If we had $1 a month from our "watch every episode" crowd this project would want for nothing

C&Rsenal

All good points but I fear we are already too different for the web. Seasons would likely shrink or slow the growth of the audience significantly. As for what to watch, do not miss the first Ottoman Mauser. It is obscure but will have a LOT of history packed in.

C&Rsenal

While appreciated, I am happy to have patrons hold us yo our promises

C&Rsenal

We considered WWII with that whole time ghost project. But they are dragging feet. We will likely go full random feature after WWI.

C&Rsenal

If we doubled Patreon I would likely seek out more help and once settled try to take a paycheck. If I can unload some.more of my duties I could get down to a 60hr week.

C&Rsenal

Ian is marvelous at covering a wide variety of guns to medium depth. It is actually impressive. I think our roll is to try for issued or more common guns in extreme detail. It keeps us in our own unique lane.

C&Rsenal

Whatever we choose, I suspect slowing releases will kill growth. We are already one of the lowest volume channels

C&Rsenal

Two suggestions. First, get a sponsor for the show if that is possible. You guys use a lot of Rock Island Auction Company images, would they sponsor you? Second, stop doing only WWI firearms and starting branching out to give yourself more breathing room. Maybe do one WWI firearm a month or so. I'm sure I speak for most of the patrons but if WWI is killing you, slow down and divert your energy to where it will be more productive and less taxing. You aren't going to lose any viewers and we understand that trying to document every WWI firearm is a very lofty goal. The last thing we want to see is you burned out.

Peter A

Lindybeige (Nikolas Lloyd) has videos on his channel that are sponsored by Great Courses Plus. He mentions the sponsorship at the beginning and end, and does about a 90-second plug for them in the middle--not too intrusive, much less so that the commercials on broadcast TV. If you could find a similar sponsor I think your viewers would be understanding enough to put up with the interruption because we know it pays the bills to give us the show.

Sounds like your about to crack. Take a sabbatical from the channel if needed whatever you do dont let yourself become ill with the stress I cracked because of work and money stress and though I would say I am nearly better I am nothing like I was before the breakdown.

Stuart Burton

Thank you for this. Nail on the head and pleasant to read I am not insane or alone.

C&Rsenal

Yes. and that will likely happen when we start to starve out of WWI guns to funnel. Right now, however, we have plenty to chew on. Some are just requiring multiple months to prepare.

C&Rsenal

While it would ease strain, I think people have trouble with the 2 week rhythm as is. I get a lot of emails and messages about "when are you coming back?" even though we have never missed a release.

C&Rsenal

You have mentioned people asking you for information on this or that firearm. How about a bespoke service where you WILL answer those questions for a fee, and then make a video about it.

Greg Merrill

I have been a patron for months now, and have been pretty much since I discovered you guys. I look forward to videos every week and am never disappointed. I have shared your channel with friends and got them interested. I appreciate what you guys do SO much. Watching the show has honestly helped me through some rough patches. Your personalities are genuine and your humor enjoyable. Please, keep doing what you’re doing. I like Edu-tainment :)

I increased my pledge. hope that helps. You guys do a great job! Keep up the work. I wish more of the thousands of Youtube subscribers would pledge. You could get new stuff then. :-)

The other thing that I think you need to be able to do, besides pay yourself, is give yourself some breaks. It really sounds like you're on a death march. I think if it would be nice if you allowed the pace to lower a bit, and consider breaking up whatever next show you do into chunks, like seasons on a TV show. So C&Rsenal WW2 (or whatever is next) series 1 might have 6 episodes with various guns, series 2 adds another 5-7 episodes, and so on. And give yourself some serious down time between seasons to take vacation, reflect on what you've made, and plan for the next thing. There's a reason TV shows do it like this, and it's not just to give the creators time off, it's also to break the show up into chunks for the audience. I've stopped watching your videos not on purpose, just because I got busy one month and missed a bunch, and it's hard for me to get back on the train (I continue to support you, because you're doing great work and I will want to go watch all your material later at some point). Having "season" breaks gives me an opportunity to jump back in. One other comment about growth. I don't know much about WWI firearms, so after I fell off the watch-every-video train, it's hard to me to even know which videos I want to watch. I see a video fly by in my subscription about the Czech Obscure Pistol 1908 and have no idea if it's something I want to watch at the moment. I'm not sure what the fix for that is. It'd be ideal if you had 1-2 minute highlight/summary videos that give me some info about what it is, and then I could jump into the longer video if it catches my eye. I realize this would be even more work, so it's not a great solution.

Joe Venzon

I’m committed to supporting you and your efforts no matter what direction you take.

A Pete Bingham

I’m wondering if after WWI, most people expect you to jump right into WWII. But everyone has done WWII so maybe something more niche that isn’t really covered on YouTube. Examples: interwar conflicts such as guns of the Spanish civil war Guns of South America (ie all those many many Mausers, heck in general there are so many mausers you could spend a year focused on them) Guns of Vietnam (this would net you some WWII guns plus some high view count... people will tune in for sure for the C&R 2.5 hour special on the M16s development and what really went wrong W the ammo

If you doubled the Patreon contribution, would you just blow it on even more obscura? Have you considered reaching out to Mauser, Steyr or any of these companies to tap into their user bases? Yes, they are only the same in name but the name is what has value. And that is because of all this *points to old guns*. This channel is much more compelling than any ad they can make.

Simon Tan

Sorry I sing so off key boss....all joking aside, we the patron supporters have access to you and the rest of the gang at a level I don't really see anywhere else. Not for the amount that some of us pay in that is. If you need to use the money patron money to help pay or pay off completely a bill, then do it. You, Mae, and the rest of the gang have given us something beyond anything that's available on the interwebs currently. Yes there is something kinda similar with Ian and forgotten weapons, but you take it that much further. I guess what I am trying to say here is we got tour back in what ever way we can and support you.

Bryan Sportel

Not sure how much more money it would bring in, never worked with YouTube ad revenue but how about adverts in the video? I can't imagine there being many complaints about 4 or 5 adverts in an hour long show, and yours has quite well defined breaks that an advert wouldn't feel too out of place in.

Difficult to know what to say here. Doing something you love for no money is great until you need the damn stuff. I return to the schedule issue as have others. You know your Patrons at least would (I hope) be willing to wait for what you produce and time gives you options - if only to decompress and consider other ways to make money from what appears to me to be a pretty formidable personal skill set.

John S Wren

Although you are my favorite channel out there right now, I think there’s a few basic things that make it more difficult for C&Rsenal to grow than other channels (although I ain’t telling you anything you don’t know already). Long-form content always has a lower draw than short form, but you fill a very wonderful niche for people who like Ian’s work, but want more of it. The crux of the problem is that people are still people and so people are gonna keep breathing down your neck about the what-now and not take it as a it comes to learn something new about the thing they haven’t seen before. It’s unfortunately just human nature to want gratification on the things they think of immediately; the sense of discovery people like to laud so often about humanity really isn’t all that common in practise. I honestly think that once you can launch episodes such as the Maxim, Vickers and MP-18, that you’ll see more spikes. If you can keep your head above water until after WWI, your best bet would probably be to do a couple of pieces people know well, but never hear the history of properly. This could help to generate some more traction. Nevertheless, I think that the biggest hurdle is always going to be the curious niche that C&Rsenal inhabits. There’s the infamous Cyanide & Happiness comic about with the line “You don’t love science. You’re just looking at its butt as it walks by. “ As an Art History grad, I think that this goes perhaps doubly so for history: many people claim to love history, right up to the point where you actually get into what history is and how works. That’s the point where most people check out because it becomes too difficult, detail-heavy and ambiguous. Perhaps that’s why it clicks with you: history is not easy to love, especially once you properly get into the weeds with history where you have to put in work and learn to deal with things you may not agree with or are uncomfortable with. As you mentioned, no one else is likely to do this or even finish this job. I have on occasion shared some of your videos with people whom I assumed might be interested in the content. I don’t know how much good it has done, as most people I know aren’t much into guns, let alone be interested in something like the Verguiero. That’s why I keep supporting you on Patreon with as much as I can. It’s unfortunately the best I can do to keep the show moving and make sure you can occasionally zoom about on that Honda. Whatever happens moving forward, know that the people on Patreon at least know some of what you have to deal with and are willing to be patient.

Benjamin de Groot

I know you want tp finish the WWI series, and i definitely want you to, but have you thought about introducing in non-WWI primers to help cut the workload down and give you time for those harder fish to catch

I was just thinking much the same, though I would say go even further, parlay the work done into an academic career. it's not a big paycheck but it is a steady paycheck, with time to do what you enjoy doing which is document and popularise, and the book could even be presented in lieu of a Thesis if necessary.

Greg Stachowski

I think too many of us are too tied to getting everything for free that might be too steep for most not because they cant but just because they won't. I however would certainly pay 30 a year.

Christopher Pettirsch

What can I say. I feel for you Othias. you are an amazing guy for undertaking this project. I just LOVE THIS CHANNEL ! I'm dirt poor but I became a Patreon this month you deserve something from me because of the sheer joy I've gotten from your videos. Since the first time I saw Mae's amazing smile after shooting this French rifle on an episode of the Great War I have loved the idea of what you guys are doing. I wish I knew more people that feel like I do about guns. I think all I can do is try and share your stuff as much as I can but its likely I'll get defriended LOL. I'll do what I can when I can to support but sadly its not much but just know that at least I appreciate what you and everyone is doing. IF I had a suggestion, it might not be popular with anyone but maybe release videos every 3 weeks ? it might ease your stress levels and hell I'd be happy knowing you are ok.

Christopher Pettirsch

This probably something you've already looked into, but are there any academic institutions or museums that might be able to help with a research grant? I know you always say you're a populariser rather than a researcher but I think you're both. I know finding time would be a problem, but they might also be interested in you as a guest lecturer and I know they all pay honouraria and it would get you in front of a different audience. All easy for me to say of course.

JK

Would you consider more sponsorship or having paid only access while the show runs with a free release afterwards? Nothing prohibitive but maybe $20-30 a year for a subscription? I'd pay it and others would probably as well. Alternatively maybe more printshop shirts and posters? Finally I imagine you want it all in cohesive chunks of one era but a WW1 stream and WW2 stream would likely grow viewers and if you alternated content it would perhaps give you guys more breathing room? Also you might interest the WW2 diehards to check out WW1. Whatever you folks decide to do you have a bunch of people who love what you are doing.

Al Lowe

I tend to pocket the YouTube ad money (so $250 - $350 a month). Last year from all the craziness and stress I stretched 1k out of the big campaign for a project bike and parts. But now I have an 81 Honda and lower blood pressure... so there is that. It's really actually helped with hobby/work burnout. Also gas is cheaper than the suburban. The campaigns actually generally get consumed quickly on stretch goals. An example would be if we could turn up the cash I'd like to swap out a family personal vehicle of some 20 years age for one of 10 years age so it will be more reliable and a viable back up for smaller team trips to museums etc.

C&Rsenal

While some videos bring in more viewers, we've recently done the Mosin, BAR, Pedersen, and other big names. I think we have a pretty fair balance of well known and lesser known guns to go and while we get flak for not having done the 1911... we have to spread out our big "pay day" topics.

C&Rsenal

I very much appreciate any attempts to lure in more viewers. We absolutely want the world to love these historical pieces.

C&Rsenal

Finishing The Great War is a high hurdle. I think things will change greatly for you once you are passed it. Obviously the most difficult part is here close to the end. I enjoy your content and will continue to watch as long as you continue to produce. Keep up the good work.

Do you know off the top of your head what your take home percentage is for print shop purchases, or would you rather not say?

...and what do your stats say on views for videos about "well known" firearms vs. the "obscure" ones you review? This may lead you to the conclusion that reviewing some well known, non-WW1 firearms, out of series, may be the way to gain new views/subscribers now. I understand that you wish to close WW1, but people are probably more likely to search for an M1 Garand or an M16 video on youtube. I also understand that there are already videos about them out there, so it's less fun to make one.

Steven

You're dedication to your project is inspiring, I've spoken of your channel up and down to those that I feel are really interested in supporting you, I just hope they are listening to me.

Our $/patron is absolutely fine, no need to over-give! Growth in viewers is the goal. You just being here is everything we need.

C&Rsenal

My advantages are that the household bills are paid by multiple incomes and I have no children. Disadvantage is temporary medical debt isn't temporary enough sometimes.

C&Rsenal

This message?

C&Rsenal

I certainly have discovered a hidden talent. I am a machinegun whisperer.

C&Rsenal

Ok, I just increased my patreon support. You are doing an outstanding work.

Steven

Love the channel. Support with what I can afford..... but..... I’m positive I would not have had the fortitude to have carried on under the adversity you clearly have. Answers....I’ve got none....but ongoing support you have here....for what that’s worth. Kind regards from Australia.

This needs to be a video for everyone that watches your channel not just the existing patreon supporters.

Aw Fisk

Yes, we want it. I think once you're done the Great War you might settle into a bit more of a stride. Part of why Ian does is contract work and with something like this under your belt, you may be able to also incorporate that revenue stream.

Kyle Gilmar