It’s hard to believe 2019 is over! I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays. With the App Store and eShop shut down for the week, it gave me a lot of time to reflect on the past year. I usually like to do these yearly “reviews” of SNAPP to kind of let everyone know the progress we’ve made over the past 365 days and what to expect in the future. It’s also a way for me to be as transparent as possible with everyone.
So, as most of you know, there were a lot of changes in 2019. Most notable is the change in the name and URL. James and I created SNAPPZILLA almost 4 years ago to a pretty warm reception. Since then, we’ve created a really strong community and a pretty solid website. I absolutely loved working on SNAPPZILLA. Unfortunately, the site was having some issues with the weekly “SNAPP Roundup”. On top of that, James wasn’t able to work on the site like he used to due to him juggling work, family, and game dev. It was a tough decision for me at the time, but I decided to go off on my own and create SNAPP Attack. (snappattack.com) Either way, James will always be a big part of SNAPP to me. He was the one that originally talked me into creating a site. So, without him, there would be no SNAPP Attack.
I know that I’m stating the obvious, but SNAPP Attack is pretty much the exact same thing that SNAPPZILLA was. I still cover indie games and overlooked/underappreciated games (and game devs) on the App Store. That’s one thing that’ll never change. SNAPP will always be a place for “the little guys” in the industry. The only difference between the two sites was the addition of Switch games. We tried to cover them a little on SNAPPZILLA, but it never really took off. I try to cover as much as I can with the Switch, but I still haven’t found that perfect balance between the two platforms.
Since the launch, I’ve stayed pretty steady (and safe) on content for SNAPP Attack. The weekly iOS and Switch Roundups, daily SNAPP Reviews, Arcade Attack, Price Attack, and the recent addition of Get Off My Lawn. At the end of the week, it at least “feels” like quite a bit of content for one person. I know that it’s nothing compared to the big sites like IGN, TouchArcade, Pocket Gamer, etc., but it’s just little old me doing everything. Besides writing and editing, I’ve also got social media, email, and everything else that comes with having a website. Regardless, I think that I’ll be able to do a little better this year with me being more comfortable on the backend of the site.
One big change that happened just recently was the addition of ads on the site. For the past year, I didn’t have any. I honestly hate ads. They look ugly on the site and mess a lot of shit up. Not to mention, they are annoying for the readers. I had to try something though. I’ve got a handful of (beautiful) readers that support me through Patreon, but it’s still not enough to cover costs. So, I needed to try and find other means of income. Unfortunately, it looks like about 90% of readers are using ad-blockers. So, I’m literally making about 30 cents a day on a good day. I’m not complaining. I totally understand it. Like I said, I absolutely HATE ads. And the fact that there are ways that you can block them for free, I’m surprised that I’ve actually got 10% of you guys still dealing with them. It’s just something that I like to hammer into everyone. There’s a lot of work going into everything on the internet. And like SNAPP, they are done with little to no money. So, supporting small sites/creators is really important.
Now, for the big question that I get asked all the time. “What about YouTube?” or “When are you going to start streaming?”. I used to mess around with YouTube a little until they decided to not let content creators monetize their channel until they hit 1000 subscribers and have so many hours or views. The thing is, I see all these streamers and YouTubers and they all seem to be doing the same thing. They may be bringing in more income, but I see them constantly begging people for views, subs, donations, etc. Or you’re chasing trends or trying to change up your content to work with the algorithm and end up becoming this different person that comes off as fake at times. I don’t know. I haven’t completely ruled it out yet, but I started doing this to help out the industry. To shed light on games and developers that deserve the attention. YouTubers and streamers are the actual entertainment that people go to watch, not the games. Like I said, I haven’t ruled it out yet. It would be tough juggling both the site and videos though. I guess it’s all up to what you guys prefer.
Anyway, the road ahead for SNAPP Attack is still kind of wonky. I’d love to keep doing what I’m doing, but I’ve really got to find another source of income to get the bills paid and cover costs. For now, I still plan on keeping things going the way they’ve been. Like I said, I love doing what I do and I’ve got a few ideas for some new stuff next year. I’m also open to any suggestions anyone may have. All I can say is that if you appreciate what I do here at SNAPP and want to see the site stick around, please help cement the future for the site by supporting me via the SNAPP Patreon or even PayPal. I don’t have a lot to offer Patreons yet besides some free games, but I’ll try to figure out some other things to show my appreciation. (Maybe some “romantic” pics of me?)
So, here’s to SNAPP in 2020!! Thank you to each and every one of you for reading, commenting, retweeting, donating, and supporting me throughout the year! Keep on swiping glitches! Have a SNAPPY 2020!,
Paul (NOEN)
