For love or money...why are you diecast racing?
The topic of long races series that Blueline started has made for great conversation with lots of opinions being shared. It's been great insight into tastes and motivations in our hobby.
The latter of which I'm going to breach at the risk of being accused of "going there."
My poll question is simple:
Are you trying to make money with your diecast racing?
The keyword there is "trying" which suggests intent. Some folks are just racing to have fun because they like it and it's nothing more. They put money in but never get any money out. In otherwords, a true hobby.
The rest of us are racing with intent to make money in some fashion, whether that's from YouTube videos, sponsorships, or direct sales. It doesn't matter if it's trying to be a little extra side money, or big money that feeds your family. If you're monetizing anything, you're trying to make money. Period.
But...lets be clear that trying to make money is okay. There are no bad guys here. There's no shame in trying to make a profit...it doesn't mean you love the hobby any less. And it's okay to not care about the money...it doesn't mean you love the hobby any more.
PS: I don't want this discussion to be about *how* to make money with diecast racing. There's plenty of content out on the internets about how to make money with YT, social media, etc. Google it.
Discussion
I got into it because it seemed like a lot of fun and it truly is. I have enjoyed the racing with my makeshift track. Would I like to make money - sure thing. It would be nice to pay a hobby using funds from the hobby, but I don't think I will ever get there. Otherwise, I would be spending all my time and energy now making a suitable track, producing vidoes and attempting to grow some sort of online presence.
Problem is, once I start attempting to do that, doesn't the hobby basically become work?
-B
- The hobby-becomes-work situation is a strong one. It's one I've hit a lot over the years both inside and outside the diecast racing universe. But I have found that money doesn't always create that situation, sometimes it's just the amount of effort put into something at large. Even if money wasn't a consideration, the amount of effort/time put into the hobby sometimes makes it feel like work, and that can be discouraging. Money just accelerates that sometimes, I think. — redlinederby
I'm heree for the racing, nothing else. I don't care about making money on this at this point - I am having FUN!
- And spying, of course... :D — TexTenn_Racing
- I think he is doing that to ;] — GT_Diecast
- Of course I am - gotta check out all the work you dudes do so i can try them, as well! — SpyDude
here for fun.... The racing is where its at for me... The only ???? ID make would be if i win a pot if there is a buy in..... And winner gets the pot..... Buuuuuuuuuut im not that good to have that happen.... Besidehs that it would be bragging rights..... That somestimes is best ????
So far I've invested a few hundred GBP on vehicles, recording devices, and track... and have yet to actually build anything!
The intention is there though (once I can settle to spare some time), and once I've got something to show, I'm confident to say I'll be in it for the fun of producing content, rather than for making money.
If (giant IF) what I throw out there gets popular and if people are genuinely offering donations to me (or they want to 'name a driver' or 'sponsor a corner' or something), then I'd happily accept some money... but I don't think it'll become the incentive over racing and produce videos etc.
I'm doing it because it's fun. I enjoy hosting events, seeing the awesome custom paint jobs, and sharing the videos I create. My primary "hobby" is Scouts, and I'm not willing to sacrifice that to put in the time I'd need in order to start making a tiny amount of money off my youtube channel.
- You do an amazing job sir, your events are epic — MadMike
- thanks! — IndianaDiecastRacing
- You do have great events from what I've seen so far! Thanks for all the hard work! — PoBoy_Racing
This is a great topic! Since I am about to start my first event and have invested lots of time into this hobby in the last 8 months or so. Here is where I stand! I am in it for the FUN nad the building of cars and seeing my car go up against others. So my primary goal is fun..... However, knowing that there is potential for making some spare change, then I am like heck yeah, I'll take it (WHO WOULDN'T). But that is not the reason that I started my channel..... I started it because I found myself left out of the loop on mamny events and needed my fix of enjoyment. Also I like how some ran there events and I also felt like some didn't fit my build skill ( beginner), So I wouldn't enter.. So now I can adjust to what suits me and the builders like me and have a blast doing it weither I make money or not.
- Everyone starts off as a beginner. Watch YouTube videos on building cars, read a LOT of the stuff in the Modding and Performance sections, and don’t be afraid to reach out and ask some questions. Build a car, race it, and learn from it: what works, and what doesn’t. Try something new with each car. Once you start seeing a difference in your building, your cars will consistently get better. — SpyDude
Hi guys and gals! I do this for fun and learning. I'm a writer/storyteller, so I saw an opportunity to tell stories in a new way, and I'd been wanting to learn video editing, so I use my channel as a way to do that. I also have a lifelong love of miniature things. So I tell stories I want to watch, and learn things that seem fun ranging from video editing, to using cameras, to doing stop-motion, and whatever else pops in my head.
Among my favorite parts is receiving modded cars from y'all. I'm not particularly driven to mod cars, but I love seeing all your finished products up-close and in person.
I will admit though, that I'd love to make money off of the channel and related enterprises; and I'll do what i can to make that happen, but I don't lose sight of the fact I'm doing something purely for fun, and I strive to keep it that way.
- Thanks for sharing...so money is on your mind :) But I totally understand that fun is the motivator. — redlinederby
- Definitely on my mind, but I feel like it's putting the cart before the horse to really dwell on it. I'm just trying to have fun, make something I think is fun, and I hope that like minded-folks will join me. I will say, YouTube and redlinederby.com are my only social media presence for this hobby of mine. In about a week I'm going to find myself with a ton of time on my hands, and I do plan to change that, and get onto instagram and MAYBE facebook, though I really would rather not use it. Though if I want to grow the channel more, and involve more people, I feel like that's the obvious next step. I do like that my 190 subscribers (as of this morning) are more or less grass-roots, homegrown fans who found the channel without a lot of promotion from me. I'm really about using the concept of attraction rather than promotion. Also the channel is part of my larger creative life, which is def all about trying to make a living through the creative side of my life. So it's certainly on my mind. Good topic! — AlleyCatRaceClub
I do it for money. I have always wanted to be a full time artist and this hobby allows me to use my creative side in all aspects. I make the scenery, buildings and customise cars. I get to make videos and come up with graphic design elements etc. it's really a perfect combination of everything I love and as a huge added bonus I absolutely love making the videos and watching racing. It is a ton of fun which is the real cherry on top.
I'm a long way off it being full time yet but I am putting in the work to try and make it happen.
- Good luck your doing amazing — MadMike
- You're channel is one of the best out there and your hard work shows that. I would be happy if I made money at this hobby, but my motivator is to race at tracks like yours, with like minded people. — MRGregg129_Red_River_Racing
- Y'all do a Great Job! Good Luck! — PoBoy_Racing
- Love your work! Hope you make tons :) — MrDarq
- You stuff is top notch, I loved the intro to the new track with the real truck transitioning thru the tunnel into the diecast version. and I laught everytime I see a fedex truck now and think fedup...lol — dr_dodge
Up front... I make money from YouTube and merchandise sales. My day job at the time covid hit was managing my company's social media pages and editing videos for its YouTube channel. I'd been filling that role for about 3 years. Once covid hit, I was kept on, but was moved from marketing to customer service. I missed making videos and was looking to make my own channel of something I was interested in rather being told what to create. Then two of my friends showed me a 3dbotmaker video.
Long story short is that I made a track, a YouTube channel, a Facebook group, and a merchandise store. I do it because it is fun for me. It's fun because I've been editing for a while before actually building my track. I can see it is seen as work by other tracks because editing video doesn't come easy to them. I opened the merchandise shop on TeeSpring to create branded products for the channel. However, to be honest, it's more about making my own personal mash-up tees at cost for me, my family, and close friends. But it is cool when someone actually buys something because to me it means they enjoy my content.
My unique thing is that I do live commentary on pre-recorded races on Facebook live on Sunday nights, which are later uploaded to YouTube on Monday morning. It's completely unfiltered and whatever I say goes. If I flub the words or say the wrong driver name, it is what it is and I move on. I don't change my commentary in post editing for the YouTube upload. People have suggested I transition to YouTube live because that is where the big money is. But I have chosen to stay on Facebook live. Yes, my channel is monetized, but I don't have huge numbers like Chaos Canyon, Hot Car Track, or 3dbotmaker.
In my opinion, the core of the active diecast hobbyists are on Facebook. YouTube is more of random folks just looking for entertainment. Yes, YouTube has a lot of random folks, but I would rather interact with 20-30 live followers on Facebook that actually care about the hobby than interact with 300 live viewers on YouTube that prefer a soap opera and care less about the hobby itself. It is also a big reason why I also choose to modify diecast cars and send them to other channels to compete. It's not just about people sending me cars to help my content, but it's also about me sending cars to other channels to help them grow as well. And yes, being monetized and having a merchandise shop does help, but it's not the main reasons why I participate in this hobby.
- How much do you consider creating/converting those rando people into engaged hobbyists as part of your plan/desire/strategy? Specifically in relation to Facebook vs YouTube. — redlinederby
- That is a good question. I think when a race channel also includes videos on how to customize cars or other "how to" videos, as well as detailed "behind the scenes" videos, it helps random YouTube subscribers get into the hobby. But I have discovered that the majority of YouTube subscribers want to do what 3d does but at 5% of the cost. And once they realize the cost and time involved, they give up. But if just 5% of 3d's subscribers would just get into modifying diecast cars, that would be huge! — Kaiju_Colorado
- Your stuff is great and love the banter in the live videos and talking with the other drive while racing. I do like the behind the scenes and videos with modifying techniques also. Helped me big time when I first started out. — MrDarq
- You're build journal is so detailed about the techniques and where to buy the stuff that it is currently helping me a lot. — GT_Diecast
- GT_Diecast, I'm glad you are getting things going! — Kaiju_Colorado
While I would love to be making money, I'm still at that stage where I'm trying to catch lightning in a bottle. I have two other Youtube channels devoted to my other nerdy hobbies: Imperious Quartermaster and Cosmo's Cauldron. My goal is to get above 1k subscribers first, and my intention with racing is to get my name out there, which thankfully I think is happening. I keep noticing I get likes on my diecast page even though I haven't fully realized it yet with YT content, so yeah. In the end, its a hobby and I make a bit on merch sales in other venues that I invest that back into my hobbies so as to not get hit with an IRS bill. Currently my track build is on hold due to an uncertain housing situation and some rather serious health concerns of late. I respect and appreciate each of you that do have channels. I remember watching them and going, omg that is so cool. I would love to see my name on that track, and thankfully The Commish has joined the ranks of the regulars competing around the different circuits. I have big plans, and right now I'm making as much background content as I can. The idea is to put out daily diecast content of the dollar variety and then seguey that into racing. Additionally my monster truck show Monday Night Mayhem is in the works, even if the track may not be the final version, I may do some prelim heats with my invitational 16 before opening up the additional spots for the Anarchy in the Arena tournament. You guys are all inspirations to me and its been a great privilege to compete with and get to know some of you.
I think the true hobbyist doesn't even consider the money making side of it. Now if your hobby is making videos then yes, there could be money in that. But if your hobby is modifying Diecast cars for either speed or looks then it's going to cost you much more money than you can ever make. All hobbies cost money. Very few make money. So again I think we're confusing producing entertainment for YouTube/Facebook with the actual hobby of modifying cars itself which I think are two different conversations .
Nobody is racing cars to make money. There is no money in just racing cars which is the topic of this post.
- Well, kinda...if you race and you produce something with intent to share, then you're making content for other people (whether it's entertaining or not). I was interested in finding out how many people are creating that content with any intent/expectation/hope to make money. My hobby is racing cars, not making videos. Making videos is a means to end but yet I have to make videos that are (mildly) entertaining. Some people aren't creating content at all…they just make cars and watch them race. Like Mattman…he has no channel or site or anything, he just makes cars are enters races. You have a channel, you make videos, you have a site…you're creating content. Are you trying to make money with that content? I know you're not, but some are, and that's what I'm exploring here - on top of seeing which folks are just racing without producing any content at all. — redlinederby
- Yeah, there isn’t any money in what I’m doing that’s for sure. You have to be great with video and editing, be much more creative and have much more time than I can dedicate to it. I don’t it for fun and tend to follow and watch others who do it for fun. Once money gets involved, like everything else, it usually hurts the racing in my opinion but we live in a world where bright colors, shiny objects and clever one liners attract clearly attract more people than some dude racing cars in his garage. For the true racer, I think they would take the garage racing all day. Many people use FB live to put out grainy videos with poor internet and racers love it where the majority would turn it off in a second. Take your races for instance. They are much more entertaining to me than a guy talking for 10 mins before you even see one car go down the track. Yes, I’m in the minority but not alone. — BlueLineRacing
- Somewhere along the line Facebook became the place to be for folks like myself and YouTube is where you race cars to make money but I missed the memo on that. — BlueLineRacing
- Check out some older videos from a great guy with a channel called KITT Racing. He used to race vintage Matchbox and HotWheels cars on his channel. He has somewhere near 3000 subscribers, he had to stop doing it in favor of Monster trucks because he would get 700 views racing Hot Wheels but 20,000 views just showing Monster Trucks. That is an example of money getting in the way. — BlueLineRacing
- Agree 100% Tim — DXPRacing
- Now you have me thinking about if there's anyone that is hosting/running races and absolutely NOT creating any online content to support it. I doubt that's really a thing but I'm sure somewhere it's happening. — redlinederby
- If I led you to believe I though that was true then that was not my intention but I do know people who only race cars on FB Live because YouTube is difficult to go live on. You either have to download some app that you have to give full control on your YouTube channel or have 1000 subscribers to use YouTubes live option. — BlueLineRacing
- You do a Great job Bud! — PoBoy_Racing
I'll go first. Yes, I'm trying to make money. But I'm not trying that hard. I sell the axle alignment jigs for modding. And that's it for now. I don't produce enough content to get YT money and I don't monetize the website, so it's all about brand awareness and selling a product.
And even though I am trying to make money, I'm not trying to make it a living. I've found that when I focus too much on the money, attitudes change. Money really is a bonus but it's a goal nonetheless.