So... I've been trying to estimate around how much a "super team" of six people could make annually if they sold out and monetized themselves, primarily through the mechanism of producing and releasing one video a week with six weeks off each year (total 46)...

[That's only about 3-4 active patroling guys, with the others having skills like research, photography, Adobe After Effects, etc etc]

And I tried to presume the modest steady success that would probably come with steady work, but no amazing breaks like an MTV television show or movie deal (members control the content).

I also presumed that the people involved had some obligation to work other jobs, either full or part time, so this could all be achieved with some serious effort during people's free time.

And every figure is based on examples out there to keep them within an approximately realistic range.

What I came up with was not extremely encouraging.

What do you guys think? Am I missing something? Instead of being insanely lucrative "selling out" adds up to income at or near the poverty line, especially if you factor in taxes and expenses, which I did not.

YouTube Partnership:
- Requires following and original content.
- One new video released each week getting approximately 400,000 views will generate an estimated minimum of $5280 revenue per month or a rough estimate of $60K per year allowing for 46 videos annually.

Private security (events and patrols), Protective Services, Investigations, Surveillance, etc. :
- Estimated annual revenue of $20K; that’s “total,” not “each.”
- This would represent an abysmal failure if the intention was to have a traditional security company business model.

“Rewards for information leading to the arrest of…”:
- Estimated annual revenue of $15K.
- Rewards are offered by various public and private agencies for such things as identifying a particular group of thieves or attributing incidences of animal cruelty to a particular person.
- $15K is a pessimistic figure that doesn’t represent a very high success rate for investigations – only about 20% given 8-10 independently conducted investigations per year.

Associated blog, web site, and sale of non-fiction articles (done for research)
- Blog and web site produce estimated revenue of $2400 per year or $200 per month.
- Non-fiction articles are a natural consequence of research necessary to produce the show and require only slight polishing to be ready for sale.
- Articles are sold via services such as Constant Content, Daily Article, Associated Content, Bright Hub, and Suite 101. Revenue is approximately $7600 per year or more.
- Total estimate revenue is $10K.

Sponsorships, product placements, and product reviews:
- Requires a substantial following.
- Revenue is by commission through vendor affiliate programs and other arrangements (i.e. through companies like Brandfame and Placevine).
- Estimate an additional $10K per year on average allowing for six weeks annually without content (only 46 videos per year).

Sale of original art, clothing, and misc. other products:
- Estimated at $5K annually.

Total estimated income:
- $120K annually or about $20K each if six people are involved, not accounting for taxes, expenses, margin of error, etc.

Also I know this forecast of poverty level income will strike many of you as incredibly mercenary, but keep in mind that the actual "super hero services" are provided to the people who need them for free, except as otherwise specified above. Also note that this would most likely require a minimum of a year of little to no revenue (but definitely some expenses) to even get started up.

I could do After Effects and art. Could help get attention with videos and advertisement.

Youtube gives great opportunities.

I like it

I know all about the Youtube thing. If you can make partner and produce regular videos, then you are in a position where you will be making substantial money and will be able to "quit the day job" and focus on your pursuits. Here's the catch, though. You have to be marketable.

There are videos that get the required views to qualify for partnership, but they don't earn partner status because they have no shelf life, meaning that people will continue to view the video down the line. You have to develop a well rounded viewership (meaning lots of subscribers) and show a consistent amount of views.

If you can do that, then you are on your way to being able to sell merchandise (I mean if we're gonna talk about "selling out" then lets go the distance) Can't you just see an Eon action figure or collector's cup? Not to mention that, occasionally, YouTube partners manage to get the notice of producers (Solja Boy, Justin Beiber, Fred, Stevie Ryan) and get lifted into the stratosphere (Ok, not so much Fred, but he made two movies for Nickelodeon.....joy)

So basically it is possible to make partner for YouTube and make bunches of monies, but it takes a LOT of work besides making the video (unless you have someone who can handle the online side of it - getting subscribers, promoting you, etc.)and if you're working a 9-5 AND patrolling, it may not be feasible.

Darn sleep-cycle and the required hours of sleep necessary to stave off insanity.

Leviathan, regarding the “Cops” (show) comparison – the actual content would be a totally different discussion. I believe it’s possible to produce weekly content that will sustain an audience and I have some ideas about what it would have to entail. Also a big difference between this and Cops or other reality shows is that the team would control and own the content.
Bail enforcement is hard work, specialized, and at least in CA heavily regulated.
A comic would be an appropriate property to market, but IMO the age of comics making money by themselves (as opposed to movie rights and such) is – sadly – over. Also it’s far more easily said than done to each make the comic or get someone to do it and actually follow through with it.

Anonyman, Security-oriented startups have risen by about 6 percent steadily over the last few years. Also there is a draw down happening in Iraq, with the US military, and soon to be in Afghanistan – which in practical terms means a ton of out of work military guys and military contractors. The logical field for many of them to get into is security… so what I’m saying is it would be a very difficult time with lots of competition trying to do a security startup. I didn’t even want to propose making money from security work at all – because it introduces certification and regulatory requirements – but the extremely low projected income convinced me I had better.

Anomaly, cool – do you have any videos out there?

Proteus, yes, I can imagine an E0N action figure, but I envision more of a focus on a team than individuals. That gets into specific content, which I really haven’t explained here other than “superhero stuff.” Also being a YT partner is not intended to be the sole revenue stream, although I’m envisioning it as the biggest one.

Here’s some relevant articles if anyone feels like reading them:
YouTube Videos Pull In Real Money [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Video Sponsorship Trends: “Cashing In” or “Selling Out” [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Creative Sponsorship Thrives In A Downturn [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

How to Make Money Off YouTube - You Can Do It [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
(includes discussion of product reviews)

Using Video to Sell Products [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I don’t want to post a ginormous list, but I’ve also looked in detail at how much of an audience there is for content on YT similar to what I’m envisioning – 400,000 weekly viewers isn’t a randomly chosen figure.

But...

The real problem is I need a better plan or need to make this plan better.

Selling out is for winners.

I loathe the thought, but have you thought about pitching it as a reality show? Some producer is bound to eat it up, because it's different. The money will come with a wealth of bullshit at first, but if you go in with a clear head and open eyes, you can turn the tables and take control. Twist it into what you want it to become, but use them to get your foot in the door and some funding.

Technically the concept is a reality show, although nobody likes the phrase. I've written "docudrama" in my drafts of things describing it.

But I know what you mean, like a real reality show on TV. I think it's a bad idea for a bunch of reasons. A couple --

- it would probably not get picked up or not last very long even if it got on the air.
- they'd almost certainly want to focus on interpersonal drama and a kind of "hey, look at these nutjobs" kind of thing.
- it's putting all your eggs in one basket, a single revenue stream that could instantly be shut off for many different unpredictable and uncontrollable reasons.
- the dollar amounts I've heard thrown around for reality shows people were trying to make so far have all been ridiculous, as in exploitive borderline slave wages. For the individuals involved my proposal is incredibly well paying in comparison...
- I'd rather just not make money than put myself in someone else's hands like that, especially with no particular reason to trust them to be fair or to make intelligent decisions -- I mean just personally I could work part time at Burger King and be fine.

animals, homeless people and fights

are all audience-getters

Seems like I vaguely remember somebody trying the reality show angle a year or so ago. Fell through, as I recall.

Razorhawk, you remember what I'm talking about? I think it was a NYC thing.

I think you might mean "Hero House," although it hasn't been the only one. Not to start a long bitter conversation or anything, but that's the source of me saying "slave wages."

And Flora, everything you mention would be very easy to include regularly.

Thankyou, EON.



I have learned ot use my camera without too much cussing

and could submit some content.

The feral cats are kinda fun to watch.

They are REALLY candid about which other kitties they love

You're probably right, Eon. I don't remember well enough, myself.

EON, have you talked to SuperHero, who doenst want to come back to this place... , and Peter Tangen about this thing... the last rumor I heard was that a paid-participant reality tv show was in the works. Dont know if its true or not... I remember PJ turned his deal that was offered back in March down to some of it being staged... and my name was on the shortlist to get on it too! 25k would have been a nice take home... yeah, since its old news I can talk about it now.