And now that the hullabaloo and glamour of the holiday season has receded, leaving only cold, icy weather, hangover and the winter blues, it’s a good time to reflect a little on what the coming year – and indeed decade – might bring.
In fact, this is something I will be discussing with none other than Mr Black Label Logic a little later on on my YouTube channel, and so it works well for me to collect my thoughts a little here.
But before I get into the topic, a couple of parish notices are appropriate first – not least because the eagle-eyed among you will be aware that I haven’t updated this blog for some time now. I must confess that I can offer little in the way of an excuse for such oversight, other than that I’ve been (a) a little lazy and (b) consumed with building up the aforementioned YouTube channel (and if you haven’t subscribed to it yet then please do so, here, since I’m uploading pretty much daily content to it during the week).
Yes, the life of the professional content creator is one that incorporates many twists and turns. As you will be aware, if you’ve followed my ‘career’ for some time (do I dare aggrandise it with that epithet? Yes, I think I do) then you’ll know that I started out as a faceless blogger. I then graduated to Twitter – with a little bit of Facebook thrown in for good measure. Podcasting started fairly early on and I haven’r even counted how many episodes I’ve put out, but it’s been a decent number.
Video, and YouTube in particular, I’ve flirted with for some time, but it was only really last year in around March that I began using it seriously. Why the reticence, you might well ask (or not, for which I don’t blame you at all).
Well, video has never been my strong point. And since I have a face best suited not even for radio, but for the jacket of a dusty tome entombed in some silent and chilly library where the attendants glare at you in admonishment for the unbearable sound your eyelashes make as you blink, then it’s perhaps excusable that I’ve done my best to avoid it all of this time.
However, like it or not, I have to accept that video – and YouTube in particular, at this precise point in history – is where it’s at. If you want to grow your audience – to increase your footprint as soy snark-keters have it – then you need to be where the eyeballs are. And that, my friends, is not on this website, regrettably – it’s in the land of cat and prank and makeup tutorial and platitudinous self-help guru and in-your-Honda-Civic-screaming-at-the-moon videos.
Yep, YouTube.
So I approached YouTube like any respectable former-addict-alcoholic content marketer would approach – by posting a shit-ton of content on there and seeing what happened.
And what did happen Troy? you are now asking, your hands holding your gleeful (facial) cheeks in exhilarated anticipation. Well, I built up 2000 subscribers and my videos now get an average of about 300 views a time in the first day or so.
No, i’m not going to be dethroning PewDiePie any time soon. But man, the conversions coming off of that shit . . . Because to be clear, my income is now largely derived from book sales and consultation fees (as well as some affiliate marketing). And YouTube videos without a doubt convert to sales – in my experience – better than any other medium I’ve used.
Including this blog.
I say that because I can track sales through Gumroad – my main platform for books sales – and I can tell you for nothing that the majority of the riches which enabled me to take my girlfriend to a Soho restaurant formerly frequented by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Princess Diana and Jimmy Savile (OK, I made that last one up) came largely through YouTube.
Which leaves me in something of a bind, gov. Why? Because really I’m a writer – I’M A WRITER, GODDAMIT! DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND! – and I’m not sure that I want to dilute my time too much by standing in the middle of Soho shouting about ‘5 Ways To Tell If She’s Into You’ into my iPhone for a video while the meth addicts gaze at me piteously.
But needs must. And so now I find myself saddled with the plight which most ‘artists’ have had to contend with over the centuries – apart from those supported by private patrons – how to balance earning those shekels with creating work of value.
Of course, I hope I do both. I’m proud of many of the videos I’ve put out so far. The podcasts, in particular, do well (maybe because you can’t see me LOLZ) since they allow me to meditate for longer on a particular theme. And livestreams have been revelatory – seriously. When I get into the groove of talking about something it’s hard to shut me up – and when it enter ‘flow state’ something cool happens when the filters are down and I come out with things of a depth that, on occasion, surprises even me.
Interviewing other manospherical figures like Corey – with whom I discussed religion – is great fun too, and a lot of value comes out of it.
And yet I’m aware that in my many sperg-outs about ‘following your passions’ and all of that crap on Twitter I will say that my passion is writing. And yet in 2019 I probably did less of it than in any of the preceding 5 years.
Well, that has to change. Which is why I’m revitalising the blog as of today. My intention – and I want you to hold me to it – is to publish one long-form article like this per week (at least). So if you see me slacking feel free to shame me on the social media platform of your choice.
I’ll also keep up the YouTube schedule for the time being, which breaks down like this:
- Monday: Podcast
- Tuesday: Scripted video (usually answering a reader question so don’t be shy – if there’s a topic you want me to tackle type it below or send it to troy@realtroyfrancis.com)
- Wed / Thurs / Fri – videos, either pre-recorded or livestream
- I’m looking to start a BRAND NEW LIVESTREAM SHOW as of next week so watch this space for further details
- (Sat / Sun – play Words With Friends and watch Love Island)
If you want more writing from me the know that I also send out a short article via email Monday – Friday to my subscribers. You can get that by going here.
Anything else . . . ? Hmmm, well there’s Patreon too. Being honest, I started my Patreon page last year and I haven’t given it as much attention as it deserves – YET. However, I will be putting lots of additional content there very soon. Go here to find out more.
But back to the writing / commercial vids toss-up I alerted you to a moment ago? How – you are now agog to know – do I intend to resolve this dichotomy? Well, basically I’m going to do both. My next written project is a novel, which I’ve been working on since last year, but will actually sit down and write this month (first draft at least). What’s it’s about? It’s a satire about cults and it takes pot shots at some manosphere figures is all I’ll say for the moment. I may put out some free excerpts when it’s in the works.
Aside from that, I’m also planning to record a new course around dating and charisma. This will be a BIG release, and my deepest dive EVER into dating technology, the sexual marketplace, and what you need to do as man to survive and thrive in the 2020s. I’m really excited about it, as you should be too.
Perhaps it’s a little self-indulgent of me to try to marry a literary career to that of a dating ‘coach’ and red pill content creator . . . but fuck it, I’m a self-indulgent kind of guy. The great thing is, I can put out literary books – novels – and you don’t have to buy them (but I hope you do of course). You can just enjoy the dating and mindset insights instead.
But it’s the 2020s and we’re all renaissance men and women now. We have no choice. And it’s better that way anyway. Trust me.
Was there something else? Oh yeah – a globalised sexual marketplace in 2020 and beyond, the lovechild of Tinder and Instagram, a deformed abortion of love bequeathed to us by the tech giants, a soliloquy from the sadists in Silicon Valley.
Yep, it’s only going to get worse.
Yep, you need to be on guard.
Which is precisely why you need me.
Well, you know I’m right, don’t you š
