We decided to turn to YouTube to reach the widest audience possible. My channel (Gayle Crabtree) meets the requirements set by YouTube to enable Superchat. This is where people can put their comment at the top of the chat window during a livestream. Google keeps 30% and we get 70%. That's a much higher profit margin than many other fundraising opportunities. The vast majority of people don't donate. That's okay. The video still generates ad revenue and it will continue to do so indefinitely. So, with all this in mind, we decided to go for it.
My first ever Superchat-enabled livestream took place on June 18, 2017. The result is that we have roughly 100 views (so far) and 348 chat messages were exchanged. Of those, we had a couple of people donate monetarily through Superchat or via PayPal. I can't tell you about ad revenue yet because it's too early to get a total. I can say that a few people have offered meals or coffee shop visits along the way. These gifts are appreciated and important because money that we would spend on food can be shifted to cover gas costs.
I'll have another update soon. In the meantime, here's the livestream replay in case you missed it. Don't forget. If you like the livestream, be sure to click the subscribe button on the video. That way, you'll get all of our video updates from the road. Now, here's that livestream.
The original post about the livestream is here.
Articles about my previous trips to Alaska are on my other blog You've Been Reviewed.net.
Follow my vlog to get video updates here.