Our New Strategy to Make High-quality Videos
Even though Glorian is a very small non-profit organization, through more than twenty years of service we have:
- published the books of Samael Aun Weor in high-quality editions, and made them available worldwide to anyone who wants them.
- produced more than 500 original and free audio lectures in our podcast and radio.
- created the huge free website glorian.org, which includes all of the books to read online, 45 courses, a huge glossary, and help from qualified instructors.
- created 67 free videos
All of this was created through kind donations from people like you.
We also did this without ads. There are no ads in our videos, radio, on our website, etc. We have never made money from ads, and never will.
Glorian has never had corporate sponsors, grants, loans, rich celebrities, wealthy sponsors, trust funds, or anything like that. We did it all through sacrifice, hard work, and your support.
The Aim
Years ago, we starting developing a flagship project to bring the teachings to millions of people worldwide. Most especially, we wanted to fight against the rampant sexual degeneration that is spreading everywhere through the media, and let people know, especially teenagers, that they can be sexually fulfilled in a way that is pure, ethical, and compatible with spirituality and divinity. We felt that the best way to do this was to make a beautiful, inspirational documentary film, without any explicit or lewd imagery.
Our original aim was to produce a single documentary film and send it to all the major film festivals, in hopes that it would then enter mainstream distribution. In 2022 the average Sundance Film Festival entry cost an average of $200,000 per hour of runtime to produce. Glorian has never had even 10% of that budget to create anything. Imagine what we could do with proper funding! Facing that stark reality, and the fact that no investor or corporation would back us, we decided to covert the script into a series of smaller videos, with hopes that people would see their value and finance them.
That became our Sacred Sexuality series. It became the biggest, most challenging project in our history.
In 2023, we released Episodes One and Two for free, hoping the community would support the series with YouTube “Thanks” and donations.
The Results
- Episode One (35 minutes) was released in 2023, got 1.6 million views, and earned $77.50.
- Episode Two (55 minutes) got 162,000 views and earned $215.00.
- Since we created our YouTube account in 2006 (eighteen years ago), our 67 videos had 4.1 million views, and earned a grand total of $911.99.
Certainly, some people choose to donate instead, but the numbers are equally surprising. In the past 365 days, Glorian served millions of people but received donations from only 300.
Maybe you should read those numbers again, and let them sink in a bit.
The Reality
All of our services cost money to operate, and new projects are expensive to create, especially high-quality videos.
If only 300 people a year donate, Glorian cannot continue serving humanity.
If a video that takes years to create only earns $77.50, how can we afford to make another one?
Today, there are so many videos and films trying to get your attention. To compete in that arena, it is necessary to present high-quality standards. If the teachings are presented in a low quality way, people assume the teachings are low quality, too.
Glorian has always aimed for the highest possible standards. We have done that with our books, our website, and now with Sacred Sexuality.
As a non-profit, our goal is to serve. We believe the best way to serve is to present the teachings in a very high-quality way. But without financial backing, we cannot serve. We need a new strategy that will work in the current conditions.
The Resistance
We were really happy that so many people saw the first two episodes, but recognized that showing them on YouTube was not going to help us make more episodes. So we decided that it would better to offer the episodes for rent and purchase. We began looking for the best way to do that.
The next day, YouTube unexpectedly restricted Episode One “to protect the community from offensive content.” It already had 1.6 million views, and was instantly stopped in its rise. YouTube made the restriction permanent. It cannot be appealed. This means that the video can only be seen by viewers who are over eighteen and are logged into a confirmed account. YouTube will also no longer recommend the video to viewers, or show to anyone who is not logged in. Since that day, views dropped to almost nothing.
The most important audience for these videos is teenagers. YouTube has closed the door for them to find the Sacred Sexuality series. The sad truth is that it is easy on YouTube to find thousands of videos filled with degenerated content, and much of that is directed at children and teens. The agenda of YouTube is obvious.
When this happened, some of you were outraged, and advised us to fight YouTube. Our response is simple: we have limited time and energy, and we prefer to invest it into creating beautiful, inspiring art.
Simply stated, YouTube is no longer a viable outlet for the Sacred Sexuality series.
That door is closed.
The Mission
We have had so many doors closed to us, yet we have always found a way to keep going.
Samael Aun Weor said people learn better through videos. He said it would be ideal for students to pay for access to video teachings so they would financially support the production of more videos. He looked forward to this kind of service being provided to humanity. You can read his comments here: Gnostic Technotronics: Video and Television to Serve Humanity
Glorian Publishing was tasked with making the books of Samael Aun Weor available to anyone in the world. We did that.
Now we have been tasked with raising awareness worldwide through videos. We will do that, too, and we will do it ethically and consciously, in accordance with the principles of the teachings.
To make high-quality videos requires financial support. Since investors and wealthy donors are not willing to support us, and since no major distribution company like Netflix or Amazon Prime will distribute our content, we are on our own.
So, we are adopting a new strategy. We are opening a new door.
We Will Reach a Higher Level, and More People
We do not like begging for donations. Anyway, it does not work. People today generally do not donate, especially in Western culture. However, they will buy anything that looks interesting. In fact, people tend to value what they have bought over that which came for free.
Samael Aun Weor said that students of the teachings should finance the production of videos. So, our high-quality videos, like the Sacred Sexuality series, will now be available for purchase or rent. Earnings will finance the next episode.
In fact, you can pay what you want per episode. We have set an affordable price, but those who value the videos and want to help us make more can pay as much as they wish.
You can also tag your donations to Glorian specifically for these videos.
At the same time, we will continue to provide free videos, like lectures, mantras, and short subjects. Only our high-quality videos will be available for purchase and rent.
In this way, we are not depending on the trickle of donations, nor expending our time and energy on raising money. Instead, we will keep making more episodes. We made the first three episodes for next to nothing. Whatever is earned will help us raise the quality level that much higher. And, if this strategy fails, at least we continued onwards, making Episode Four.
How You Can Help
1. Purchase the Episodes
Every purchase makes a difference. Note:
- You can pay what you want
- You can give episodes as a gift
Get the Episodes
- Sacred Sexuality Episode One is available for purchase or rent.
- Sacred Sexuality Episode Two is available for purchase or rent.
- Sacred Sexuality Episode Three is available for preorder and has a trailer.
2. Raise Awareness
One factor will make a big difference: raising awareness.
As a tiny non-profit, we do not have a marketing staff or budget. We do not have the means to promote these videos anywhere.
We are relying on your help. We hope you will consider recommending the Sacred Sexuality videos to others, in whatever way you prefer.
For our part, we hope to create trailers, excerpts, and commentaries on our various video channels.
If you are an established reviewer, YouTuber, or have a substantial social media presence, we will have pre-release screeners of Episode Three available for review. Let us know how you are qualified to review the episode, and where your review will appear. Note that these will be given on a very limited basis.
Thank you!
Glorian has done so much service for humanity because people like you made it possible. Thank you.
We hope you understand everything we explained here, and will continue to support our efforts to help humanity.
May the light of Christ guide us all.