Hello, I hope you all had as enjoyable a yuletide period as you could all have. Happy New Year.

So, I have bitten the proverbial bullet and decided to start a Patreon. It’s been a long-drawn-out process, probably procrastinating over the past 6 months. However, the break I have had from Insta over the Christmas period made me realise it was time to do it.

I’ve been running an experiment with Instagram. After seeing my engagement drop (as I think everyone has, I was nowhere on the high scale, but it had been consistent), I did some research, reading the blogs, watching the you tube videos etc that gave various advice on how to improve this. Starting in September 2023, I stated trying to apply all the rules that would apparently help. So, I started posting at the same time every week, making my posts look uniformed, consistent hashtags, a good mixture of carousel image posts, story posts and reels. I included calls to action; I tried writing engaging text and answered every comment asap. I even used the Meta Business suite to help me create these posts and use the advice from there and to schedule posts for when I was not available. I tried to tick all the boxes they wanted, and they wanted a lot. I kept looking at the graphs and trying to build on the success of various posts. Honest, it became a near full time job to keep on top of it. I have kept this up until December, nearly 4 months.

The result?

Nothing. Nil. Zero. My engagement, my reach or interactions never got better. In some cases, they got worse.  Now, maybe I was not perfect, maybe I did not create the right kind of content (reactions, animals, breasts, bums, six pack, food) but you would have though I would have seen something.

No, the only thing I got out of it was THEY WANT YOU TO POST MORE AND GIVE THEM MONEY (BUY ADVERTS SPACE).

Every time I used the Meta Business suite it just told me “Post 15 more times this week and we will give you 15 dollars of free ads “or “if you had spent (x) cash on ads, this post would have done (x) times better”.

I’d exhausted myself keeping up with the machine, but glad I did it in the end. I learned a lot.  How people use it and keep up with its demands is beyond me. Ironically, it kept me from away from creating. The constant need to make anything, scheduling, editing, checking engagement rates etc.  looking at all the things you needed to do to fulfil the criteria of the meta verse. It was anything but inspiring. It was a massive distraction. Having abandoned it and taking it off my phone has been the best thing for my creative brain for sure, I highly recommend.

So, it’s time for a rethink. It’s time just to do stuff I like, regardless of algorithms requirements.

I’m not leaving Instacrap altogether, but you certainly will not find me posting here as much. I would certainly like to keep you all updated at least once a week.   It’s not the place it used to be. I’ve connected with some awesome people who I call friends thanks to it, and I want to keep up with their work. What I have realised is I’m no social media expert and don’t want to be. I’m just not interested in playing that game.

Firstly, I’m going to be using You Tube more. Now, I know You Tube has its own issues, but I’m not going to be chasing any figures or stats. It’s far too confusing.  It’s just there for people who like my work to have a look and a laugh. I’m bloody terrible at making videos but I’m experimenting!

So, if you would like to come and join me and my dark, silly little corner of the internet I’m going to use Patreon for pretty much everything. I think it will suit my work much more. I’m making videos, vlog casts, podcasts, and anything else my creative dark soul will take me. It’s the whole dansmonsters experience!!   There will be lots of free stuff on there, but obviously if you feel you could support my work, help me buy more pens and glue to create more monsters, there are paid tiers, and I would be forever grateful if you decided to support. No pressure.  I’m also going to use my sad and dusty attic of a website a bit more.  I’ll be posting edited posts from my Patreon on there once I have a few completed. Everything will go on Patreon first and foremost though. There will be exclusive stuff that will only ever be on Patreon. You will also be able to see some of the videos and listen to podcasts early before they get uploaded to Spotify or You tube much later. I’m going to run it for a year and see how it goes.  Download the app or just visit the site. I think you will enjoy what I’m going to be doing there.

Anyone who joins the Patreon paid tiers automatically becomes a member of the Monster Bomb Club. This will get you discounts on stuff, a chance to get free original artwork and other special treats!  However, for those of you who don’t like the idea of the Patreon, there will be a chance to join for a one-off payment. The details have yet to be finalised, but I will keep you posted. 

Anyway, you want to enjoy my stupid drawings is appreciated. Where just having a good time.

Thanks for stopping by as always!

Dan