You missed a huge one: merch. Gamers love gaming-related merch, so make a lot of it. Partner with game studios to prepare merch around big launches, and secure rights to make memey merch a bit after launch to keep the hype going. If done correctly, the journalists don’t need to sacrifice integrity in reviews because even flops can sell spicy merch.
I think that could sell well. Start selling merch before launch, discount it right around launch, and then launch the memey merch right after launch.
But the journalism is what drives the merch sales, and they’re willing to pay more because of the association with the journalism. If you remove the journalism, you can’t charge as much for the merch.
It’s like YouTuber merch, it generally costs quite a bit more than equivalent products elsewhere, but people buy it to support their favorite creators. That’s the angle here.
I’m honestly fine paying a subscription if the content is good, but I highly doubt enough other people are to sustain a business. Plenty of people seem to be willing to buy merch or watch ads, so that’s probably where a games journalist should be looking.
You missed a huge one: merch. Gamers love gaming-related merch, so make a lot of it. Partner with game studios to prepare merch around big launches, and secure rights to make memey merch a bit after launch to keep the hype going. If done correctly, the journalists don’t need to sacrifice integrity in reviews because even flops can sell spicy merch.
I think that could sell well. Start selling merch before launch, discount it right around launch, and then launch the memey merch right after launch.
Seems like such a company would quickly drop their journalism branch if it’s the merch that’s providing traffic and revenue.
But the journalism is what drives the merch sales, and they’re willing to pay more because of the association with the journalism. If you remove the journalism, you can’t charge as much for the merch.
It’s like YouTuber merch, it generally costs quite a bit more than equivalent products elsewhere, but people buy it to support their favorite creators. That’s the angle here.
I’d rather just pay a subscriptiom fee (aka paywall) than buy some branded crap that i dont need…
Like, whatever a creators markup is on a tshirt, i’d rather just give them that money in susbscription fee.
Why would i buy a $55 tshirt and have have the creator take home $5? I’d rather just give them the $5
Sure, donations should absolutely be a thing, but I highly doubt donations are reliable enough to build a business on.
Exactly. Cant apply for a mortgage if you have an unstable income. Cant plan for having a family without stable income
All the things we take for granted, we just expect journalists not to have because we are all entitled to their work for free
I’m honestly fine paying a subscription if the content is good, but I highly doubt enough other people are to sustain a business. Plenty of people seem to be willing to buy merch or watch ads, so that’s probably where a games journalist should be looking.