This is a topic I personally I have though over the years and here are my two cents:

1) There is a market for it. If there were not, there would be no professional GM´s around.

There are likely ton of people who would want to play but don´t have a group to play with. Either because having moved to a place where they
don´t know "anyone" who plays. Some might have a group but they are not satisfied with it due to the chosen game, GM, players or what-not.
And as mentioned before, people who have the cash might not have the time/energy to read the material and do the prepping.

Lastly, a pro is a pro, people like to buy quality, no matter the cost.

2) GM Burnout.

I am sure some will never experience it, though gamemastering well, like any creative process takes an effort and can be exhausting in a long run, especially with tight frequency and if the game is more than just dungeon delving which can be done with little to no prep involved. In the end, the basic rules of business are that when the supply and demand meet, that´s the sweet spot. What this will likely mean is that you will end up making compromises to cater to the tastes of your clientele and it might not be enjoyable for extended periods of time. What I would do is that in the "sales pitch" on the freelancer site, I would describe what kind of game/characters/campaigns/adventures I want to run so that I would not end up running something
I dislike.

3) Asshole customers.

If the freelance site you are using has a rating system, you will encounter some interesting situations when the customers are not satisfied with either you or what you have to offer. This in turn will affect your future prospects as a pro GM. Some might not leave a shitty remark of you, some surely will, it´s inevitable. To minimize this, I  would vet the player group to make sure whom I am playing with. You are free to choose your customers after all.

4) Customer retention

To make money on a regular basis, you likely need as many repeat customers as possible to handle. What I would do is that I would come up with some kind of program to incentivize "buying from you". Every 10th time free of charge or what not. That is just an example and a simplistic one at that, but there sure are million ways to do it.

These are just my thoughts, you are not me and I am not you. Some of these you might encounter, some you might not, though before you jump on it, coming up with a business plan of sorts might help you in a long run and lessens nasty surprises. You also might want to make an exit plan if/when you start disliking what you are doing.

All the best and my respects if you decide to go for it!

Quote from: Rhymer88 on March 13, 2023, 02:25:26 AM

I also noticed that on Roll20: The number of paid GMs has increased enormously. I can only hope that GMing doesn't become an officially recognized profession in the EU, so that you need a certificate to run a game. (Still a joke now, but the EU is known for doing pretty crazy things).

I am wondering if the market is going to get so flooded with PaidGM's that people will start not being able to make a living because there will be so many options and players will go for the cheaper option.

I DM/GM For free and would never do it for play.   I have been gaming for a long time and that's never been what this hobby is about.

Quote from: GhostNinja on March 13, 2023, 11:01:50 AM
I am wondering if the market is going to get so flooded with PaidGM's that people will start not being able to make a living because there will be so many options and players will go for the cheaper option.

Horray for the free market!

I had typed out a long, very vitriolic post. Deleted it. Don't need that much hatred. So I'll give my toned down, abridged thoughts.

But I do hate this. It's not what the hobby is about - and it's a hobby, to me. Something I do with friends, or to meet friends. I'll never pay for a GM, I'll never accept payment to GM. On either side of the screen, that would ruin the social dynamic of the situation for me. Completely ruin it. I'd stop gaming before then.

About the farthest I'll stretch is small thing, like tables that have a "GM doesn't pay for their pizza" rule. I don't even do that - hell, as GM, I tend to be the one providing food, I love to cook and I use my players as an outlet for my chef-y aspiration. Or "table dues", where everyone contributes a couple bucks a week to a pool that is then used to buy sodas and snacks. Again, that's fine. But only small, basically communal/social expenses. Although given the current economy I suppose we'd have to up that to a fiver, but still. Not an actual fee for the gaming.

The one bit of vitriol I'll actually let slip is that I detest the "time is money" mindset. I understand the thinking, but I disagree with the over-application of it. I don't expect Games Workshop to pay me to play Warhammer, or some divinity to pay me for going camping, or something. If you want to turn roleplaying into a career, fine, I suppose, but I don't. Then I'd have to find a different hobby. And then I'd just have to figure out how to monetize that, I suppose, so it would be a never-ending loop.

Quote from: Effete on March 13, 2023, 11:15:28 AM

Horray for the free market!

I already see on that paid GM site someone posted more than a few games with no takers so I am sure there will be some people who will take up the offer by people who are in an area where they don't where to find gamers or sadly smaller areas where there aren't any gamers.

Otherwise I am sure the majority of people will go with the free options.

I have a feeling people have already made their minds up on this subject but I'm going to talk about my experiences as a paid GM.

I've been playing PnP games on and off for over 15 years and met all kinds of gamers. I like being a paid GM. Others may not find it to their taste but I think being a paid GM actually has several advantages over what I was doing before. Also let me preface this by saying I don't use the websites for finding paid games. I find them a bit suspect. Every paid game I've done has been through word of mouth after my first game with my group of kids. They are all IRL games too.

1. You can actually have a particular type of game: Players aren't looking for you to run generic fantasy murderhobo stuff they don't actually care about. You actually have to have your own style that people are looking for. And also be good enough at being a GM that people want to keep coming. Generally either you communicate what you're running, they like it and pay you. Or they don't and move on. Or they're specifically paying you for something they want. No confusion, no quibbling over rules, or interpretations of errata and house rules by reality shows pretending to be DnD. They paid money FOR YOU. and everyone understands what they want out of the game and you as the GM. You could say this can happen even without getting paid. But it's been my experience that this is rarely the case. People are less invested, care less, and make stupid demands that ruin games.   This leads to point number 2

2. Having a financial stake in a campaign retards retardation. Players are way less likely to derail or otherwise troll the game when they know they're going to waste money doing so. If they're paying you it's because they WANT you to GM and they WANT you to give them a good experience. Players are polite, engaged and respectful.

3. The GM is actually trusted to run a good game. If they weren't they wouldn't be getting paid.

4. I can justify getting more expensive books, materials and effects for my games. I ran a CoC game for people with lights, smoke effects, audio and more. I wouldn't have been able to justify spending the money on that with my current income if I did those games for free. But having the supplemental income actually made my games better, which in turn leads to more players. And I now do a fortnightly CoC game with ARG elements.

5. Most importantly I can justify putting time and effort into GMing that due to my work schedule and need for income I would not have been able to.

I love GMing, making new words, characters, scenarios, dungeons and all that stuff. And seeing how players react to it and overcome what I've designed. That's always been very rewarding. But if I have to chose between the thing that pays bills and the hobby I have to be responsible and choose the thing that pays the bills. Others have the luxury of being able to devote significant amount of free time to their hobbies due to their livelyhoods. Well done. I can't take that from you. If you don't like or want paid GMs that's fine. But if there wasn't a market for it I wouldn't get paid. And if I wasn't very good at it I wouldn't have gotten busy with it like I have. I'm actually having to turn people away now because I have three full groups of between 6-8 people. Two over 16 groups and 1 group of kids. And we all have fun.

tl:dr
I like getting paid for work

It's an academic question for me.  I've been down the road before of turning a hobby into a paying gig, and every time it worked out the same way:  It ruined the hobby for me.  That's because the whole "being professional" about paying gigs is something I take seriously, and my hobbies are there in part to give me a break from that dynamic. 

Don't get me wrong. I enjoy my day job, and I wouldn't do it if I didn't enjoy it at all. However, it's a different kind of enjoyment than hobbies give me.

So I can see how the thing would be different for other people.  Some people are just "driven" to do X.  If you are that way, you might as well get paid for it, if you can.  I go to work to work and when I play, I play.  I'm not usually driven to do anything, and I've got a wide variety of interests.  That's an attitude that doesn't really map to being paid to do a hobby, because when someone is paying you, they are calling at least some of the shots.

Quote from: King Tyranno on March 13, 2023, 12:03:54 PM
2. Having a financial stake in a campaign retards retardation. Players are way less likely to derail or otherwise troll the game when they know they're going to waste money doing so. If they're paying you it's because they WANT you to GM and they WANT you to give them a good experience. Players are polite, engaged and respectful.

Just don't play with assholes. You don't have to pay money to not be an asshole.

Quote from: King Tyranno on March 13, 2023, 12:03:54 PM3. The GM is actually trusted to run a good game. If they weren't they wouldn't be getting paid.

... Implying you've never paid money and not felt you got your money's worth?

Quote from: King Tyranno on March 13, 2023, 12:03:54 PM4. I can justify getting more expensive books, materials and effects for my games. I ran a CoC game for people with lights, smoke effects, audio and more. I wouldn't have been able to justify spending the money on that with my current income if I did those games for free. But having the supplemental income actually made my games better, which in turn leads to more players. And I now do a fortnightly CoC game with ARG elements.

Shit, I don't even want shit like that. If the GM needs a smoke machine and a strobe light to immerse me in the game, I'm not immersed in the game. If I am, it's just an annoying distraction.