5. As if all these weren't enough, you also make podcasts!
Podcasts are my life’s joy, I listen to my favourites over and over again. They do something completely different from video, so I’ve always been interested in them. My first venture into making them was about 5 years ago with a joint project, The Banging Book Club. I then went on to launch my own one (which is coming back soon!) and currently I also produce two other podcasts for others - The Vintage Books Podcast and Mother Ship. For me, podcasts are an opportunity to go more in-depth on topics, to make more relaxed, conversational content and a great excuse to get to chat with incredible people.
6. Should content be created for monetisation, or should we be creating content for the love of content creation? When did you start monetising it?
So I started my Patreon about three years ago, but I’ve always collected the ad-revenue on the ads google runs on my videos. I think it’s possible to create content people really want and would pay for (which is what makes it monetisable) and make something that you love - sometimes I either manage that in one video, or you can manage that within a channel. So, for example, my Positive Panic series about climate change is something that I love that I wasn’t sure other people would, but made anyway. BUT I’m able to continue to make it and give it more time because it turned out that people did like it. If I hadn’t made the first one I’d never have known. I think to produce regular content you have to produce some light-hearted stuff as well
7. How different is it working with Patreon than YouTube? What is the business model?
Patreon is essentially a ‘tipping’ system with a bit more faith - I’m saying ‘I’ll give you this thing for free, if you like it, pop some money in the hat!’ and becoming a patreon is like are saying ‘I WILL tip you - and I’m SO sure I’ll like the next 3 things you make, that I’m going to pledge to tip you for those too so you can depend on me.’ That frees me up to not promise my time elsewhere, to give more time to the stuff I make and be more ambitious with the scope of my videos. And I even get to sleep a bit now too!
YouTube essentially use my videos to run ads on them - once the ad has run, they give me a small cut. There’s no dependability about how much they sell the ads for, how much of a cut I’m getting and if they will promote my video/show it to people at all.
So Patreon supporters are the ones that make the channel happen; YouTube Ad-sense make up about 5% of my total income from my channel.
8. Are you sponsored and, if you are, is there a clash between patronage and sponsorship?
The channel isn’t generally sponsored by anyone, but every now and then I’ll work with a brand to make a video, and they will sponsor that specific video. Because my patreons pay per-thing, there’s never a charge for patreons on videos that are funded a different way. In ten years I’ve done a grand total of... five sponsored videos, which means of the 585 on my channel, 580 were either sponsored by patreons or made by me without payment. I’m super fussy about sponsors - I generally only accept digital products, experiences or book promotions, and I check out how squeaky-clean a company’s ethics are before I sign anything. No one is perfect, and I will always judge it on a case-by-case basis, not worth it to me to work with an organization which totally contradicts the values of the channel and the other videos I put out.
9. On average, how many hours a week do you spend on your channels?
Between 15-20, but in the past if I’m working on a big video or I’m making multiple videos it can be much more - and obviously it’s a how-long-is-a-piece-of-string kind of situation - if I had 40 hours I’d be able to cut less corners and write more complex scripts, make more intricate stuff, etc etc - as I’m sure is the case with any project!
10. Do your channels pay for themselves?
Because I’m a one-woman-band (I research, script, shoot, edit, upload and do all the smells and bells around promoting a video), the biggest overhead historically for my channel has always been my time; for about 7 of the 10 years I’ve been working on it, I worked for free. Now I’m super honoured to have about 800 lovely patreons who ‘tip’ me per video, cheer me on from the sidelines and generally give me the resources to be able to spend more time on my videos. And of course, as the channel has grown, I’ve been able to work with a few sponsors too. That means that any equipment I’ve even bought to work on it has been covered, and now increasingly my time is being covered too, which feels like a dream and also a wonderful relief!
11. People say that one should write about the things that one wishes one could read. Do you follow this mantra when you work on your channels?
Definitely - my style has changed gradually depending on what I’m watching at the time and what gets ME engaged as a viewer. There’s so much out there, and it’s impossible to cover a completely new topic, but I try and cover it in a different tone or come at a topic from a different angle. When I’m explaining a concept in a video, it’s often drafted directly from the way I explain it to myself in my head.
12. What is the youtube channel, the podcast, or the blog that you wished existed?
This is such a good question! I would 100% watch a channel that just did film analysis exclusively of old musicals. I would devour that. There are loads of stuff about Marvel and Pixar films and new Oscar winners... where’s MusicalTube?
13. Lastly, any word of advice for people out there who are starting to think about Vlogging, Blogging or Podcasting?
Get stuck in, expect to get it wrong, enjoy the process and don’t be a slave to the algorithm! If making something is a chore, it will feel like a chore to the audience too. If you make something with love, it will show through your work, and that’s what really makes an impact.
I am so honoured, Leena, that you took a few minutes of your busy creative schedule to answer all my questions. It’s everything that I Wish I Had Known!
You can follow Leena and learn more about her impressive work on Instagram, Youtube, Patreon.