Why is FBTV free? Why don’t you charge anything?
Good question. The hippie in me likes to believe that information should be free; but the realist in me acknowledges that I wouldn’t be spending the time and money operating FlairBartendingTV if I didn’t think it would eventually make money. Planning, filming, editing, uploading, and posting is about an 8 hour process for each lesson – not including the time it took to actually learn the flair move I’m teaching – so I do ultimately hope this labor of love pays some bills.
The site is free because that’s how you build an audience online when you are starting out – and a bigger audience is how I make money. Every time something is purchased from my bar supply store I make a couple bucks. Many of my videos have YouTube/Google Ads before them, so every time you watch one I get a fraction of a fraction of a penny. When you click on one, I get a fraction of a penny. It’s not much, but a couple thousand views every day adds up to $2-3/day.
Eventually, I hope to have sponsors for the site, and someday I will likely sell DVDs or offer a paid version of the site. For now I’m just having fun teaching people how to flip bottles.
Some users have suggested putting a donation button on the site and, while I appreciate the sentiment, the reality is that donation tabs rarely bring in any money. If you like the site and want to support it, share the links on Facebook/Twitter and tell your friends about it. If you really like the site and want to support it, please consider the FBTV Bar Store next time you are shopping for bar supplies.