Gadgetory

excellent hey everyone and welcome to Paul's hardware my youtube channel I am Paul and this video is an introduction to my channel it's also a bit of a mission statement to set some clear standards for how I run things around here to explain how I make enough money to do this full-time and more importantly to make it clear what I think is okay or not okay when it comes to sponsorship and product placement in YouTube videos my channel is about computers computer hardware specifically and how it performs and how different PC parts can be put together to build a computer for just about any use custom pcs are often built for PC gaming of course so I also like to test out graphics cards to see how they perform in games I do a live show every Tuesday evening to talk about current technology news and I also like to post time-lapse videos reviews of course gameplay videos build recommendations just about anything else that I think would be useful or entertaining for PC enthusiasts out there I also try to minimize the hype and keep things relaxed in my videos because I don't know about you guys but nothing gets me less excited about a new product than having some ad campaign screaming in my face about how awesome and groundbreaking it is I highly value honest reviews particularly when it comes to computer hardware that can cost hundreds of dollars and if you happen to find my channel to be a solid resource for this type of information then I'm doing my job right I'm constantly grateful to be able to do what I do and I never want to lose sight of the humbling fact that its viewers like you who make this possible my channel will be nothing without your support whether you provide it by simply viewing my videos giving me constructive criticism and feedback in the comments section or of course clicking the ever-important like button there have been quite a few stories in the news recently about youtubers who don't seem to feel this way who instead view their subscribers is a massive money-making pool of eyeballs and impressionable minds that they can exploit for profit I think this is wrong and disrespectful to you so here's my response I will never accept money to review a product it's sad that this needs to be stated since I always accepted it as an industry standard but I guess I do not only is taking money for a review illegal it is reprehensible I've never created a completely sponsored video on my channel and I have no current plans to do so if I ever do you can be damn sure it's going to be disclosed immediately and unambiguously right up front at the beginning of the video to be perfectly clear I make money to support my channel and my family in four different ways one is YouTube ad revenue provided when you guys watch the video YouTube ads at the beginning of the video I always do short skippable ads and if you want to use an ad blocker you are free to go ahead after all I've definitely used them myself if you do enjoy my videos though whitelisting my channel or signing it for YouTube red are great alternatives I also do sponsored ad spots in videos these are at the beginning of the video I try to keep them short in the 15 to 30 second range they are always labeled as sponsor spots and ad and the product being advertised are always separate and unrelated to the videos actual content third is the Amazon affiliate program which also provides me with some income basically if I talk about a product I can provide a link to Amazon down in the description to show you guys where to buy it if you click that link it tells Amazon that I sent you their way and then I get a commission if you actually place an order fourth and finally I have my store over at store dot Paul's hardware net where you can support me about picking up some high-quality paul's hardware merchandise like shirts and hoodies mugs and PEG glasses and that is all guys I've often referred to myself as bad at business because honestly there are many other ways that I could try to cash in on this youtube thing I could spam affiliate product links on Twitter all day I could do weekly deals videos which I'm not hating on I just I just don't do them I could line up more integrated ads for every video and post them at the beginning and the end of every video I could of course accept money to make a specific video saying specific things that a manufacturer wants me to say about their product without telling you guys I accepted any money but I don't know either I'm just contrary or I'm jaded capitalism or I've just been called an influencer too many times recently and it kind of makes me feel a little dirty but I don't like to do those things if I influence you I want to influence your level of knowledge to make it better so you can make your own decisions about how to spend your money I hope you guys appreciate this approach because I have no plans to change I am in debt to all of you for the support and positivity you've provided me since I started YouTube and as always thank you very much for watching my videos