Hello, I'm Bill T.
Creator, Owner and Painter of Paint Minis Live. I'm absolutely ecstatic that you are here!
Paint Minis Live got it's start as a long format live streamed miniature painting show on YouTube, you should come by and check it out. We have a vibrant community of gamers and hobby-centric content creators who regularly join us and are just waiting for you to introduce yourself as we paint up all kinds of awesome minis and talk all things hobby.
It was during these streams that the idea of the PML Online Hobby Shop was born. With PML being a small channel I found it hard to afford some of the expensive equipment like cameras with the kind of micro level zoom required to see the models and techiques I was demonstrating as well as the microphones needed to produce a show with the quality that I was aiming for. (I like to set the bar high.)
I knew I needed some help from the community of awesome people that was quickly growing around PML but with so many barriers to monetization like massive subscriber counts and lengthy watch time requirements in my way, I would have to settle with a sub par experience for all of these fine folks. That was not going to cut it for me. I love gaming, I love painting and I love the community that has grown around PML. With that in mind I made PML a legitimate business and registered it with the state.
I quickly realized as I started building this online hobby shop that I wanted PML to be something more. I wanted PML to be a business with a heart. A business built by gamers for gamers. We understand hobby because we live hobby. So many people have helped grow PML into what it is today, viewers sharing the stream by word of mouth and hobby content creators actively asking their communities to partake in what PML had to offer. I knew I had to give back and in a big way, no, a huge way! That is why I've built the PML Online Hobby Shop and Affiliate program. The Affiliate program is where hobby-centric content creators can apply for a review of their content and then share their PML Affiliate links with their audiences once accepted, so that you both get a share of the loot when you shop on the PML Online Hobby Shop. No subscriber count or watch hour nonsense baring entry. If you publish hobby-centric content within PML's T.O.S I'd like to invite you to apply right now! Hobby content creators often open doors for people who have not found the hobby yet and are brand new or offer a vital forum of discussion, from fledgling hobbyists to seasoned neckbearded gamers there is creator out there for you. Maybe you already watch a plethora of them.
This all circles back to the "by gamers for gamers" line. I've built an outlet where content creators could do more than just offer exclusive videos to their audiences. While that is great for some folks, but I sure do love my gamer goodies, something physical I can hold in my hand. When you enter the shop with an affiliate code you are not only giving a VERY high percentage of your hard earned money to that creator but also getting something physical in return. At time of writing, our affiliates make a percentage higher than both Amazon and Walmart's affiliate programs combined. Doesn't that just feel right? Appreciation flowing in both directions, I love it and I'd bet you do to.
As a gamer, I'll do my best to grow PML's online shop and continue to bring you new and exciting offerings so that you'll always have a refreshing experience when visiting our site. As a business owner, I'll always make sure to do my best to spread the success of PML around to all of those who make our hobby truly great and to delight you as a customer or content creator as much as I possibly can.
I'd like to close with just a few last statements. I don't intend PML's shop to be a replacement for your local family run brick and mortar game shops. They are important meeting places for our hobby where we can meet face to face in an all too digital world. While you shop around PML's online hobby shop, please, save a few hobby dollars for them. More of them struggle then you might realize. They rely on your business to get their kids through college, where their kids will play D&D and drink like a dwarf for about 4 years. Lastly, if you wouldn't mind telling a friend about PML and what we have going on here, I would be extremely grateful. The long nights working on this site, months of negotiations to form partnerships with the companies involved and the amount of capital expenditure to build this beast has been staggering. Spreading PML by word of mouth is the most priceless type of marketing that I could never thank you enough for.
Thank you for the time you took to read this, I look forward to seeing you in the live chat and in our order feed. Now go forth and game, interact and hobby to fullest. May all of your rolls be critical success not only on the table top but in your life as well.
-Bill T.
Gamer, Owner and Painter of Paint Minis Live
