When I first conceived of the idea of Tank the Rainbow around the end of 2020, I knew that it would be a tough thing to get across to people. Hell, it was tough enough working out for myself what exactly I wanted it to be.
There’s just a lot to explain at once. Hell, the video I made laying it all out is nearly 10 minutes long.
As I started to put it out there, it became apparent that plenty of people didn’t really get it, or why I was doing it. Which is fine. It’s a project for me and for my improvement.
Still, I figured as the finished products started rolling out, that would change. More people would get it, would see what I was trying to do. And more did.
Just…not very many more.
Let’s talk about numbers
I have a deep background in content marketing, and part of that world involves analyzing the performance metrics of said content. How are people finding it? How many are watching or reading it? Are they sharing it? Thankfully with the Doogs Models stuff, I’m not having to worry about shit like CPC or conversion rates, but I do occasionally do a quick performance audit just to see what’s working and what’s not.
Particularly on YouTube.
Because if I’m going to put multiple hours into cutting a video, I’d rather spend it cutting a video that more people are going to watch and comment on than one that just kinda sits in the corner like me at a party.
So far in 2021, I’ve released 27 videos. The most popular one is, randomly, my Most Anticipated Kits video, which I guess caught a lucky break on the algorithm wave and has racked up over 31,000 views.
Next up is my Tamiya F-4B test-fit review, which makes sense. High profile kit, a chance to see how it goes together, striking while the iron’s hot.
Then there’s the Kitty Hawk shutting down video, followed by Tamiya F-4B and Das Werk U9 installments trading spots, all between 12,000 and 20,000 views. Nothing by Night Shift standards, but pretty big numbers for me.
And WAAAAAAAAY at the bottom? The Red R35 video, with 2,800 views, and the Orange PL-01, with just over 2,100.
To put that in perspective, I released a new F-4 episode 5 days ago as of this writing, and it’s already racked up over 9,800 views.
Hell, my review of a fucking lamp is more popular.
Numbers don’t matter. But effort does.
Typically, I wouldn’t care all that much if a video flopped. The YouTube algorithm is a cruel mistress. Shit happens.
But in the case of Tank the Rainbow, there’s substantial effort involved. Recording a fuckton of clips, managing all the gigs and terrabytes they gobble up. Writing and recording voiceovers. Editing.
All of that takes time. And not just time already sunk into the Red and Orange tanks. I still have five more colors to work through.
Peace out.
Based on the effort-to-reward ratio, carrying on with the Tank the Rainbow series just doesn’t make sense. So I’m not going to.
Tank the Rainbow will continue. Just…on its own. For me. Without the videos. And I’m going to pour that time I would have spent editing and whatnot into the builds themselves.
I may do a final post-mortem type thing on them. I don’t really know. But yeah, no mo rainbow videos.