1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,970 Well, uh, when I got monetized after the thousand subscriber 2 00:00:02,970 --> 00:00:06,480 mark, I remember I, I made my first check and I think it was like $12. 3 00:00:06,780 --> 00:00:10,050 And I remember showing it to my wife and she was like, ah, that's great. 4 00:00:10,050 --> 00:00:11,190 12, right? 5 00:00:11,580 --> 00:00:15,660 Because I was working a corporate job and uh, I was just doing it spare time. 6 00:00:15,660 --> 00:00:16,740 I have two kids, right? 7 00:00:16,740 --> 00:00:19,890 So I was busy there and I just kept putting time into it. 8 00:00:20,310 --> 00:00:22,680 On the weekends, I would upload a couple videos a week. 9 00:00:23,205 --> 00:00:25,395 And then the, the money started to grow a little bit. 10 00:00:25,395 --> 00:00:26,085 Hello everyone. 11 00:00:26,085 --> 00:00:29,744 Welcome to the conversation on this week's Creator's Hub episode. 12 00:00:29,744 --> 00:00:32,805 I am so excited today to be joined by Clint. 13 00:00:33,195 --> 00:00:38,275 Clint started the Tool Review Zone YouTube channel around six years ago. 14 00:00:38,275 --> 00:00:38,470 He. 15 00:00:38,835 --> 00:00:41,715 Now he does this as a full-time career. 16 00:00:42,075 --> 00:00:45,555 Uh, if you go take a look at the tool review zone YouTube channel 17 00:00:45,555 --> 00:00:50,745 right now, it's got almost 400,000 subscribers, almost a couple hundred 18 00:00:50,745 --> 00:00:53,385 videos away from 2000 videos uploaded. 19 00:00:53,595 --> 00:00:56,715 And Clint has an amazing community that he is built over there. 20 00:00:56,715 --> 00:00:57,615 Clint, how you doing today? 21 00:00:58,035 --> 00:00:58,380 Yeah, brother. 22 00:00:58,575 --> 00:00:59,055 How you doing? 23 00:00:59,055 --> 00:01:00,495 Dusty, appreciate the invite. 24 00:01:01,215 --> 00:01:02,355 Doing really well. 25 00:01:02,355 --> 00:01:05,745 Looking forward to chatting with you about the channel and 26 00:01:05,745 --> 00:01:07,395 kind of what you've done to. 27 00:01:08,010 --> 00:01:09,240 Find this kind of success. 28 00:01:09,570 --> 00:01:13,710 So six years ago, take me back to six years ago when you decided 29 00:01:13,830 --> 00:01:15,570 to kind of start this venture. 30 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:20,160 What, what, how did that process go and what's the origin story 31 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:21,510 of the tool review zone channel? 32 00:01:22,050 --> 00:01:24,479 Well, I started the tool review zone channel by accident. 33 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:27,029 Believe it or not, I didn't even have a name on the channel. 34 00:01:27,029 --> 00:01:29,940 I never set out to be a YouTube creator, which was really weird. 35 00:01:29,940 --> 00:01:35,580 What happened was I used to review products on Amazon and Home Depot, and I 36 00:01:35,580 --> 00:01:38,009 was like a top five reviewer on Amazon. 37 00:01:38,100 --> 00:01:43,470 I just liked it and the Home Depot was like a top 10 reviewer, and I just seen 38 00:01:43,470 --> 00:01:47,039 my numbers climbing and every time someone would gimme a like on one of my reviews. 39 00:01:47,775 --> 00:01:50,325 It would raise me in the ranks, and I wanted that number one spot 40 00:01:50,325 --> 00:01:51,705 because I'm, I'm like that, right? 41 00:01:51,705 --> 00:01:55,965 So I found out that there was a link system that on the Home Depot I could 42 00:01:55,965 --> 00:02:00,975 put a YouTube link on the Home Depot review page, and I noticed when I 43 00:02:00,975 --> 00:02:02,865 did that I would get more thumbs up. 44 00:02:02,865 --> 00:02:06,825 So I started making these very small, short clips of the tool that I would buy. 45 00:02:07,500 --> 00:02:09,450 I would just say, Hey, I, I think this is pretty cool. 46 00:02:09,450 --> 00:02:10,470 Here's a shot of it. 47 00:02:10,470 --> 00:02:13,320 And I would upload that YouTube, well, the YouTube channel started getting 48 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:15,060 views and it started snowballing. 49 00:02:15,060 --> 00:02:17,010 So I was like, oh, this is kind of cool. 50 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:20,970 So I started doing more and more and more, and next thing I know, I started 51 00:02:20,970 --> 00:02:25,440 getting subscribers and I hit that 1000 subscriber mark and I got monetized over 52 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:26,790 there and I was like, ah, you can make. 53 00:02:27,945 --> 00:02:28,725 On this channel bit. 54 00:02:29,235 --> 00:02:30,495 So that's where it started. 55 00:02:30,495 --> 00:02:33,585 I did not set out to be a YouTuber or a content creator. 56 00:02:33,585 --> 00:02:37,335 I started out just wanting to get that number one spot reviewer 57 00:02:37,335 --> 00:02:38,895 on Amazon and Home Depot. 58 00:02:40,215 --> 00:02:43,335 And were you, do, did you know anything about the Amazon influencer 59 00:02:43,335 --> 00:02:46,425 program where you could make money from when you did the videos? 60 00:02:47,265 --> 00:02:49,635 I don't think they had that when I started. 61 00:02:49,665 --> 00:02:51,225 I, I'm part of that now. 62 00:02:51,570 --> 00:02:52,380 It's not great. 63 00:02:52,410 --> 00:02:53,580 I'll just be honest with you. 64 00:02:53,580 --> 00:02:56,250 I mean, you could make a little bit of money, but their commission's really low. 65 00:02:56,700 --> 00:02:59,880 But no, I was just buying my own stuff, right? 66 00:02:59,880 --> 00:03:00,385 My own tools. 67 00:03:01,185 --> 00:03:04,274 My drills, whatever I bought on Amazon, and I would just review it because I 68 00:03:04,274 --> 00:03:06,405 wanted to become that number one reviewer. 69 00:03:06,405 --> 00:03:08,475 It was almost like a, A goal, right? 70 00:03:08,475 --> 00:03:09,435 I thought it was pretty cool. 71 00:03:10,065 --> 00:03:14,595 And then next thing you know, home Depot sort of took notice of my reviews and they 72 00:03:14,595 --> 00:03:18,345 gave me a top contributor and they invited me to what was called the SEEDS Program. 73 00:03:18,734 --> 00:03:21,524 And the SEEDS program, in case a lot of people don't know in the tool community. 74 00:03:21,704 --> 00:03:22,665 'cause that's what we do, right? 75 00:03:22,665 --> 00:03:24,435 Tool reviews, that's the name of the channel. 76 00:03:24,435 --> 00:03:25,010 Tool reviews on. 77 00:03:25,470 --> 00:03:28,080 They invited me to this program called Seeds and Seeds. 78 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:31,080 You would get to pick five different tools every month, and they would send 79 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:34,410 them to you and whether you liked them or not, you just did a review on them 80 00:03:34,410 --> 00:03:36,180 and then you uploaded it to this portal. 81 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:38,550 And that's really where the channel started to grow. 82 00:03:38,850 --> 00:03:41,790 And I was purchasing tools and bringing 'em to the channel, and, 83 00:03:41,790 --> 00:03:45,660 uh, trying to get as much content out there that I could, you know, 84 00:03:45,660 --> 00:03:47,340 to get the exposure on the channel. 85 00:03:48,030 --> 00:03:52,410 What was the moment, Clint, when you realized or thought to yourself, 86 00:03:52,500 --> 00:03:55,800 okay, there may be something to this, like, this may be more than 87 00:03:55,800 --> 00:04:00,150 just me interested in making videos, and you have a passion for tools. 88 00:04:00,150 --> 00:04:02,520 Like what, what, can you remember that moment of thinking, okay, 89 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:03,810 there could be something to this. 90 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:07,530 Well, uh, when I got monetized after a thousand subscriber mark, 91 00:04:07,530 --> 00:04:10,800 I remember I, I made my first check and I think it was like $12. 92 00:04:11,100 --> 00:04:14,400 And I remember showing it to my wife and she was like, that's great. 93 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:15,510 12. Right? 94 00:04:15,855 --> 00:04:19,995 Because I was working a corporate job and uh, I was just doing it spare time. 95 00:04:19,995 --> 00:04:21,045 I have two kids, right? 96 00:04:21,045 --> 00:04:24,195 So I was busy there and, uh, I just kept putting time into it. 97 00:04:24,615 --> 00:04:28,575 On the weekends, I would upload a couple videos a week, and then the, the money 98 00:04:28,575 --> 00:04:30,165 started to grow a little bit, right? 99 00:04:30,165 --> 00:04:33,105 I started making a hundred dollars and that thousand dollars a month, right? 100 00:04:33,105 --> 00:04:34,155 And I was like, ah, that's pretty cool. 101 00:04:34,155 --> 00:04:36,975 And I remember telling my wife, we were out in the pool one time and I 102 00:04:36,975 --> 00:04:38,655 was, I was right here with my salary. 103 00:04:38,655 --> 00:04:40,095 I was making a six figure salary. 104 00:04:40,095 --> 00:04:42,255 I was a health and safety manager. 105 00:04:43,425 --> 00:04:44,535 And I said, if I could put. 106 00:04:45,015 --> 00:04:46,515 Fulltime effort into YouTube. 107 00:04:47,445 --> 00:04:50,745 You know, the, the monetization, I, I could probably make a little bit more 108 00:04:50,745 --> 00:04:53,955 than what I'm doing at my full-time job, which I hated by the way. 109 00:04:54,495 --> 00:04:58,965 Um, and she told me, she said, uh, why don't you give six months? 110 00:04:59,235 --> 00:04:59,715 Think about it. 111 00:05:00,225 --> 00:05:04,095 And then my man brain, I said, well, she just told me to go ahead and do it right. 112 00:05:04,245 --> 00:05:07,065 So I went to work the next day and I remember saying to myself, 113 00:05:07,065 --> 00:05:11,865 if one person says anything, just kind of off the done before. 114 00:05:13,530 --> 00:05:16,230 I was over the corporate life, I was just done with it. 115 00:05:16,500 --> 00:05:19,260 And, uh, somebody come up and said, good morning, Clint. 116 00:05:19,260 --> 00:05:20,610 I said, that's it. 117 00:05:20,730 --> 00:05:25,260 And I left and I did full-time YouTube, uh, for five years, four years now. 118 00:05:25,860 --> 00:05:27,390 And, uh, I can never look back. 119 00:05:27,540 --> 00:05:28,770 Uh, this is what I love doing. 120 00:05:29,820 --> 00:05:34,170 So explain, obviously you do tool reviews, but looking at your channel now at your 121 00:05:34,170 --> 00:05:39,455 more recent videos, um, you know, you talk about everything from new mowers. 122 00:05:40,155 --> 00:05:43,995 Headphones, small tools, big tools, toolboxes. 123 00:05:44,265 --> 00:05:48,465 Explain the premise of the channel and kind of if you were to explain to 124 00:05:48,465 --> 00:05:52,995 someone the different buckets of content that you produce on the tool review 125 00:05:52,995 --> 00:05:54,315 zone channel, what would those be? 126 00:05:54,825 --> 00:05:56,685 So I'm pretty niched down over here. 127 00:05:56,745 --> 00:05:58,005 Uh, you had a guest on it. 128 00:05:58,010 --> 00:06:02,085 It pretty much set it perfectly is if you're a burger joint, stick to burgers. 129 00:06:02,505 --> 00:06:05,865 Don't be making Mexico food because your viewers wanna see what they're 130 00:06:05,865 --> 00:06:07,034 expecting to see on a channel. 131 00:06:07,034 --> 00:06:07,815 And that's what we do here. 132 00:06:07,815 --> 00:06:09,974 So with the headphones, they're DeWalt headphones. 133 00:06:09,974 --> 00:06:15,164 So pretty much every major brand, DeWalt, Milwaukee, rigid Ryobi, you 134 00:06:15,164 --> 00:06:18,044 know, a lot of these big brands I bring to the channel because that's 135 00:06:18,044 --> 00:06:19,155 what a lot of people are using. 136 00:06:20,474 --> 00:06:23,805 What I, what I don't do, and I used to do a lot of the woodworking 137 00:06:23,805 --> 00:06:25,484 stuff, it just doesn't get views. 138 00:06:25,965 --> 00:06:29,325 I'm the tool reviews on people wanna see the tools that I'm using. 139 00:06:29,940 --> 00:06:33,240 So for example, like this right here, I'm not plugging anything right, 140 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:35,700 and I'm not making any money on, but this is the DeWalt charger that I'm 141 00:06:35,700 --> 00:06:37,020 charging my phone with right now. 142 00:06:37,620 --> 00:06:40,440 It's an electronic people like stuff like that. 143 00:06:41,190 --> 00:06:45,390 But that's basically all I do on the channel right now is just tool reviews 144 00:06:45,390 --> 00:06:48,480 or anything that's related to the tool companies that make those tools. 145 00:06:49,410 --> 00:06:53,850 So you mentioned niching down and you mentioned trying out woodworking stuff. 146 00:06:55,245 --> 00:07:00,044 Knowing that you're, you're the tool guy or one of the tool guys on YouTube. 147 00:07:00,075 --> 00:07:01,875 'cause I've done a little bit of research and you're one of 148 00:07:01,875 --> 00:07:03,195 the top channels in the space. 149 00:07:03,585 --> 00:07:07,425 How important do you think it is that you are tailoring all of your 150 00:07:07,425 --> 00:07:11,265 content, whatever bucket it's in, towards that audience because you 151 00:07:11,265 --> 00:07:13,604 have niched down to just tool people. 152 00:07:13,604 --> 00:07:16,995 What do you think the premise, do you think that is as important 153 00:07:17,174 --> 00:07:21,195 as us YouTube educators and other creators say that it's well. 154 00:07:21,585 --> 00:07:24,735 Yeah, to an extent, I mean to the tool channels, I don't think 155 00:07:24,735 --> 00:07:25,815 people really talk about this. 156 00:07:26,175 --> 00:07:28,245 It's not an easy niche to be in. 157 00:07:28,725 --> 00:07:29,025 Right? 158 00:07:29,865 --> 00:07:34,365 95% of my audience are male, so right there, half the population 159 00:07:34,365 --> 00:07:35,865 gone, not watching my videos. 160 00:07:36,045 --> 00:07:36,375 Right? 161 00:07:36,705 --> 00:07:40,245 And then on top of that, if I have a subscriber that's only a DeWalt 162 00:07:40,455 --> 00:07:44,985 fan, well they don't wanna watch the Milwaukee videos and vice versa, right? 163 00:07:45,630 --> 00:07:49,739 So it's, it's almost to the point that YouTube makes you niche down so much. 164 00:07:49,739 --> 00:07:53,070 And I've tried, I've done charity videos where I've given away tools, you 165 00:07:53,070 --> 00:07:55,169 know, to, to the Boy Scouts of America. 166 00:07:55,169 --> 00:07:56,880 I think it was like $5,000 worth. 167 00:07:57,390 --> 00:07:58,710 They wouldn't push the video out. 168 00:07:58,770 --> 00:08:01,260 I did tool Tip Tuesday for a long time. 169 00:08:01,260 --> 00:08:02,280 Some people really loved it. 170 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:03,989 They just would not push the videos out. 171 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:04,590 You know? 172 00:08:04,590 --> 00:08:07,739 It was always just the reviews that YouTube seemed to want. 173 00:08:07,739 --> 00:08:11,700 So it just niched you down to the point where it's like, I didn't have a choice. 174 00:08:11,849 --> 00:08:12,030 Right. 175 00:08:12,030 --> 00:08:15,510 Because anything I did outside of that, they would just kill the videos. 176 00:08:16,665 --> 00:08:21,075 It's funny, there's tribalism in almost anything that you do, right? 177 00:08:21,075 --> 00:08:24,435 Whether you're covering video games, sports tools, there's gonna 178 00:08:24,435 --> 00:08:26,865 be that kind of division there. 179 00:08:27,135 --> 00:08:32,534 I also see that you've experimented with vertical video and it seems that you, 180 00:08:32,655 --> 00:08:34,664 you know, do upload short form content. 181 00:08:34,695 --> 00:08:38,085 What is your strategy, because you do have a TikTok, you are on Instagram. 182 00:08:38,355 --> 00:08:41,174 Can you talk about your content distribution strategy and 183 00:08:41,174 --> 00:08:43,215 how it has evolved over time? 184 00:08:44,174 --> 00:08:45,495 Well, I've seen a couple of your. 185 00:08:46,230 --> 00:08:48,900 Other interviews talking to some people about the short form, and 186 00:08:48,900 --> 00:08:49,830 some people really like them. 187 00:08:49,830 --> 00:08:50,880 Some people were confused. 188 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:53,370 I'll be honest with you, and I'm a very open book. 189 00:08:53,940 --> 00:08:54,450 I hate them. 190 00:08:54,810 --> 00:08:56,130 I hate short form content. 191 00:08:56,160 --> 00:08:59,460 The only reason I do, it's because I feel that YouTube makes me do it, right? 192 00:08:59,550 --> 00:09:03,060 YouTube, when they change your algorithm or when they're pushing something new, 193 00:09:04,410 --> 00:09:08,820 if you don't play it by the rules, then it seems like they punish the channel. 194 00:09:08,820 --> 00:09:10,920 I'm just being honest with you, and that's how I feel about it. 195 00:09:12,045 --> 00:09:16,245 I feel that the shorts, the only reason I put up the shorts is to please the YouTube 196 00:09:16,245 --> 00:09:17,895 algorithm, and I'll do a lot of it. 197 00:09:17,955 --> 00:09:22,785 But I've noticed in my own content that when I post a short, I'm 198 00:09:22,785 --> 00:09:25,605 getting a subscriber from a short that only wants to see shorts. 199 00:09:26,205 --> 00:09:31,335 So YouTube, when I put a new long form video out, which that's what I like 200 00:09:31,335 --> 00:09:32,775 to make, I like to make the long form. 201 00:09:33,525 --> 00:09:36,464 The subscribers from the short videos don't care about that long form. 202 00:09:36,645 --> 00:09:39,854 So when they test that hundred audience right, and then they go to a 203 00:09:39,854 --> 00:09:41,444 thousand, it's hurting my algorithm. 204 00:09:42,074 --> 00:09:43,305 At least that's the way it seems to me. 205 00:09:44,385 --> 00:09:45,150 So I'm not a fan. 206 00:09:45,150 --> 00:09:48,885 Yeah, I wish there was a different, they, they have made improvements 207 00:09:48,974 --> 00:09:51,435 from when I used to complain about shorts all the time. 208 00:09:51,734 --> 00:09:54,555 The way they do the shelving now where they put 'em on a different shelf. 209 00:09:54,555 --> 00:09:57,525 They used to have 'em all kind of combobulated together. 210 00:09:57,525 --> 00:09:58,964 I wish there were some certain things like. 211 00:09:59,865 --> 00:10:03,975 You know, you can really dive down into figuring out where your subscribers come 212 00:10:03,975 --> 00:10:08,445 from, but you're right, having these people subscribe from a short and all 213 00:10:08,445 --> 00:10:11,655 they're doing is swiping on their phone, that's how they consume their content. 214 00:10:11,655 --> 00:10:14,985 Whereas some people want long for, like me, the way I consume content 215 00:10:14,985 --> 00:10:17,355 is completely different than the way my wife consumes content. 216 00:10:17,415 --> 00:10:20,475 I prefer much more longer form. 217 00:10:20,745 --> 00:10:21,285 I listen. 218 00:10:21,700 --> 00:10:25,060 To YouTube videos, almost like people did podcasts back in the day. 219 00:10:25,060 --> 00:10:29,020 So I think that we have to figure out like what is our audience 220 00:10:29,020 --> 00:10:29,890 and how are they consuming? 221 00:10:29,890 --> 00:10:32,410 And you're right, there are some people who are consuming that vertical 222 00:10:32,410 --> 00:10:35,830 video and so meeting them where they are, it's almost a necessity 223 00:10:35,950 --> 00:10:38,470 and I think being creative in learning about that is important. 224 00:10:38,470 --> 00:10:42,400 Now let's talk about search results and community. 225 00:10:42,760 --> 00:10:46,210 You obviously have a community built around the tool reviews that you do, but 226 00:10:46,210 --> 00:10:49,360 we've already talked about how some people could be into one thing and not another. 227 00:10:49,660 --> 00:10:50,080 That's fine. 228 00:10:50,819 --> 00:10:54,720 With that being the case, how much emphasis are you putting on search 229 00:10:55,079 --> 00:10:58,829 and what tools do you use and things do you think about to make sure that 230 00:10:58,829 --> 00:11:00,870 your videos are optimized for search? 231 00:11:00,900 --> 00:11:03,780 And then what I like to call evergreen, where if someone's 232 00:11:03,780 --> 00:11:07,530 searching for a rebi tool, yours comes up a year or two from now. 233 00:11:08,699 --> 00:11:10,260 It's a, it's an interesting question. 234 00:11:10,265 --> 00:11:10,465 Everything. 235 00:11:11,340 --> 00:11:14,190 And this is just my opinion, what I've seen on my own channel, it 236 00:11:14,190 --> 00:11:17,190 seems like everything has changed so much when it comes to searching. 237 00:11:17,190 --> 00:11:22,680 It used to be that I would put in Ryobi drill model number 8, 9 5, 3 2, and I 238 00:11:22,680 --> 00:11:24,450 would put it out and it would get used. 239 00:11:24,570 --> 00:11:28,410 But now it's, oh this, this Ryobi drill is great, except 240 00:11:28,410 --> 00:11:30,480 for this one thing, you know? 241 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:32,190 Or this will change the game. 242 00:11:32,190 --> 00:11:35,490 So I got a point where, you know, I've been doing this for a while, 243 00:11:35,490 --> 00:11:39,540 that I got a little burned out and I stopped really caring. 244 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:44,490 I just put it out there and I said, if people wanna watch it, they'll watch it. 245 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:47,040 And I know that's a lot of how a lot of people answer 246 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:48,210 this question, but it's true. 247 00:11:48,210 --> 00:11:51,750 I mean, you get to a point sometimes where you just don't wanna play 248 00:11:52,290 --> 00:11:54,750 the SEO game anymore, you know? 249 00:11:54,780 --> 00:11:57,689 So I put out a thumbnail that I think looks pretty cool, and I 250 00:11:57,689 --> 00:12:01,500 put out a title that I think might get somebody to watch the video. 251 00:12:01,500 --> 00:12:06,270 But if, but if YouTube doesn't wanna push it, I mean, I'm the type of channel that 252 00:12:06,750 --> 00:12:08,580 I do very well in November and December. 253 00:12:10,575 --> 00:12:14,205 So January, February, sometimes March. 254 00:12:14,685 --> 00:12:17,565 Doesn't matter what I title my video, I'm just being honest with you, 255 00:12:17,625 --> 00:12:21,435 you're not gonna push that video because the market's not there. 256 00:12:21,435 --> 00:12:25,995 People already spent all of their money in November and December the previous year, 257 00:12:26,265 --> 00:12:28,275 so this is a really slow time for me. 258 00:12:28,365 --> 00:12:30,075 So I just put out content that I like. 259 00:12:30,135 --> 00:12:32,235 I don't focus on SEO as much. 260 00:12:32,835 --> 00:12:35,925 Every once in a while I'll use a chat, GPT or Gemini. 261 00:12:35,925 --> 00:12:38,415 I use 'em both, uh, to help with the thumbnails a little bit 262 00:12:38,565 --> 00:12:39,735 to spice 'em up a little bit. 263 00:12:39,945 --> 00:12:42,795 And then I will use them for sometimes tidal ideas. 264 00:12:43,515 --> 00:12:44,805 That's, that's really about it. 265 00:12:45,585 --> 00:12:48,945 And as far as the packaging goes with the thumbnails, I've kind of seen 266 00:12:48,945 --> 00:12:50,745 how yours have evolved over time. 267 00:12:50,745 --> 00:12:54,045 I, I like the style that you use, very minimal text. 268 00:12:54,045 --> 00:12:57,285 You kind of let the image do the speaking, you know, speaking for you, what if 269 00:12:57,285 --> 00:13:00,405 things, what are some things that you've learned along the way as far as packaging 270 00:13:00,525 --> 00:13:01,965 goes that you're implementing now? 271 00:13:03,060 --> 00:13:08,939 Sometimes it seems to be, if you give the person the answer of what is inside 272 00:13:08,939 --> 00:13:10,740 the video, they won't click on it. 273 00:13:10,950 --> 00:13:18,870 So if I say, you know this, the wall charging station, this is good. 274 00:13:19,170 --> 00:13:19,890 Watch this video. 275 00:13:20,010 --> 00:13:21,090 People aren't gonna click on that. 276 00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:22,950 So sometimes I have to keep this a mystery. 277 00:13:23,189 --> 00:13:27,660 I'll say, this new DeWalt tool is nothing like they've ever made before, right? 278 00:13:27,720 --> 00:13:29,370 People dunno what this is by looking at it. 279 00:13:30,645 --> 00:13:31,425 People get curious. 280 00:13:31,485 --> 00:13:35,084 So that's, that's the way it seems to be YouTube once it, you have to keep 281 00:13:35,415 --> 00:13:38,954 the audience guessing of what that tool is to get, to get them to click on it. 282 00:13:39,255 --> 00:13:40,814 You have to keep it mysterious a little bit. 283 00:13:40,814 --> 00:13:45,255 It's not like it used to be where you just put out, like I said, Ryobi Auto number 284 00:13:45,255 --> 00:13:47,505 8 9 5 2, and it'll be an evergreen video. 285 00:13:48,375 --> 00:13:51,620 Everything has to be very Mr. Beastie, that's what I call it. 286 00:13:53,189 --> 00:13:55,680 Yeah, it's interesting you did a video eight days ago. 287 00:13:55,680 --> 00:13:58,980 It said, uh, ri Ryobi, Ryobi sent me a strange box. 288 00:13:58,980 --> 00:14:01,199 I wasn't allowed to open it until now. 289 00:14:01,410 --> 00:14:05,310 And there the thumbnail is you with like caution tape with this box, with 290 00:14:05,310 --> 00:14:06,660 these like really cool locks on it. 291 00:14:06,810 --> 00:14:07,860 And the video did really well. 292 00:14:07,860 --> 00:14:09,660 It's almost got a 50 K views within a week. 293 00:14:09,900 --> 00:14:10,050 Uh. 294 00:14:10,485 --> 00:14:14,265 And, and so that it's, it's kind of the exactly of an example 295 00:14:14,265 --> 00:14:16,095 of, of what you are, are saying. 296 00:14:16,095 --> 00:14:20,565 I think there are certain channels that can get away with search-based stuff. 297 00:14:20,625 --> 00:14:23,475 My channel's a tech tutorial channel, and so it's kind of 298 00:14:23,475 --> 00:14:25,395 an anomaly in regards to that. 299 00:14:25,455 --> 00:14:28,785 You know, I get, you know, anywhere from 60 to a hundred thousand views. 300 00:14:29,190 --> 00:14:32,250 Every day, you know, but just because of the, the search 301 00:14:32,250 --> 00:14:33,450 based nature of my channel. 302 00:14:33,450 --> 00:14:37,140 So there, there are different kind of segments of YouTube, but you are 303 00:14:37,140 --> 00:14:41,190 right as a whole, it does seem that it's, that it's going that way. 304 00:14:41,250 --> 00:14:44,190 Being a product channel like you are. 305 00:14:44,250 --> 00:14:45,990 Let's talk about monetization. 306 00:14:45,990 --> 00:14:46,350 Now. 307 00:14:46,350 --> 00:14:50,310 Obviously you've left a six figure job to do this full-time. 308 00:14:50,670 --> 00:14:54,810 So we can just assume that you're doing at least as well 309 00:14:54,870 --> 00:14:57,060 as you did with your day job. 310 00:14:57,240 --> 00:14:59,520 'cause your wife probably would not like it if you were not. 311 00:14:59,910 --> 00:15:05,130 Um, and so if that is the case, let's talk about the different buckets and avenues 312 00:15:05,250 --> 00:15:08,100 of revenue and how you're making money. 313 00:15:08,100 --> 00:15:11,490 So go ahead and, and from the top down, give me every which way that 314 00:15:11,490 --> 00:15:14,220 you make money from the channel and all your creative stuff that you do. 315 00:15:14,745 --> 00:15:17,055 All right, so first off, I'll talk about the things I don't do. 316 00:15:17,115 --> 00:15:20,775 I don't accept money or products that I do not believe in. 317 00:15:20,775 --> 00:15:22,575 A lot of people have midroll ads and stuff. 318 00:15:22,575 --> 00:15:23,415 I have none of those. 319 00:15:23,445 --> 00:15:27,465 If you're familiar with YouTube, at least in on my channel, I don't 320 00:15:27,465 --> 00:15:28,605 get the best of the best one. 321 00:15:28,605 --> 00:15:30,645 I don't get like Pepsi reaching out to me. 322 00:15:30,675 --> 00:15:34,335 You know where Mountain Dew, I get a third party knockoff or something else 323 00:15:34,485 --> 00:15:38,025 and they're willing to pay, but I will never put anything on my channel that 324 00:15:38,055 --> 00:15:40,305 I would not use my saw number one. 325 00:15:40,725 --> 00:15:42,795 So I don't, I don't do those type of. 326 00:15:43,230 --> 00:15:43,740 Deals. 327 00:15:44,069 --> 00:15:47,040 So there's a big portion of money I'm missing out on, but my subscriber 328 00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:48,630 base is more important than that. 329 00:15:49,170 --> 00:15:52,620 What I do, uh, do pretty good on is, you know, YouTube ad 330 00:15:52,620 --> 00:15:53,730 revenue on a tool channel. 331 00:15:53,730 --> 00:15:56,459 Because we're products, we're talking about Home Depot, we're talking 332 00:15:56,459 --> 00:16:00,270 about Lowe's, Menards, all the tool brands, the ad revenue is better 333 00:16:00,270 --> 00:16:02,010 than a lot of other channels, right? 334 00:16:02,010 --> 00:16:04,650 So when you talk products, your ad revenue pays more. 335 00:16:04,650 --> 00:16:08,550 If your, if your viewers don't realize, depending on what niche you're in, 336 00:16:08,579 --> 00:16:10,500 you might get a higher ad revenue. 337 00:16:11,250 --> 00:16:16,650 So like insurance used to be like the top adding or top video, right? 338 00:16:16,650 --> 00:16:18,900 Your top making video, the Top King video. 339 00:16:18,900 --> 00:16:21,239 So everybody was doing insurance videos even though they had no 340 00:16:21,239 --> 00:16:23,910 idea about insurance, right? 341 00:16:24,479 --> 00:16:28,170 Tool channels and tech channels usually do pretty good because now Christmas 342 00:16:28,170 --> 00:16:33,660 time rolls around, people are putting ads out or their earbuds or money. 343 00:16:37,995 --> 00:16:39,885 From YouTube is my main bulk. 344 00:16:39,945 --> 00:16:41,235 I don't sell courses. 345 00:16:41,625 --> 00:16:42,195 I can't do that. 346 00:16:42,195 --> 00:16:43,215 I'm a tool review channel. 347 00:16:43,245 --> 00:16:43,515 Right? 348 00:16:44,085 --> 00:16:49,425 The other main income is the affiliate program, and a lot of people might 349 00:16:50,175 --> 00:16:55,335 still not know about this, is that on YouTube shopping affiliate, you get a 350 00:16:55,335 --> 00:16:59,385 little shopping bag on the bottom of your videos and you can tag products. 351 00:17:00,075 --> 00:17:04,995 And what's nice about this is that anytime somebody buys either through affiliate 352 00:17:04,995 --> 00:17:07,005 link or that little shopping bag. 353 00:17:07,845 --> 00:17:11,865 The creator gets a commission, doesn't charge the viewer any more money 354 00:17:11,865 --> 00:17:16,185 to buy through that, but depending on the story, you might get a 5% 355 00:17:16,185 --> 00:17:18,045 commission up to a 20% commission. 356 00:17:18,194 --> 00:17:24,405 Lowe's was offering a 40% commission around Christmas time, which is insanity. 357 00:17:24,944 --> 00:17:30,285 So anything I sold through that, I got a 40% commission, which was fantastic. 358 00:17:30,645 --> 00:17:33,465 Now other, other brands might do a 2%, 4%. 359 00:17:33,915 --> 00:17:34,515 That's why I say like. 360 00:17:35,115 --> 00:17:36,135 Amazon's very low. 361 00:17:36,135 --> 00:17:38,355 I think they're like 2% right? 362 00:17:38,775 --> 00:17:40,125 But it does help a little bit. 363 00:17:41,025 --> 00:17:41,775 So it comes down to long. 364 00:17:42,764 --> 00:17:43,034 Story. 365 00:17:43,034 --> 00:17:43,365 Short. 366 00:17:43,389 --> 00:17:46,455 Short, it comes down to ad revenue and affiliate sales. 367 00:17:46,455 --> 00:17:46,725 For me. 368 00:17:46,754 --> 00:17:49,965 If you're loving this conversation and would like to take your YouTube 369 00:17:49,965 --> 00:17:53,565 channel to the next level, check out all of the services that we provide 370 00:17:53,565 --> 00:17:58,304 creators down below in the show notes, we have everything from a creator's 371 00:17:58,365 --> 00:18:01,995 group where you get exclusive podcast recordings, mastermind calls, where 372 00:18:01,995 --> 00:18:03,780 you can rub elbows with other creators. 373 00:18:04,100 --> 00:18:05,205 I do channel reviews. 374 00:18:05,205 --> 00:18:07,815 I do one-on-one coaching with creators every single week. 375 00:18:07,965 --> 00:18:10,395 So if you're looking to take your channel to the next level. 376 00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:12,530 Take a look in the show notes if there's something that 377 00:18:12,530 --> 00:18:14,180 might fit your current needs. 378 00:18:14,300 --> 00:18:16,639 Now back to the show and the affiliate sales. 379 00:18:16,639 --> 00:18:21,950 Do you only do the YouTube shopping links, or are you also putting them in 380 00:18:21,950 --> 00:18:23,840 the description and the pinned comment? 381 00:18:24,410 --> 00:18:25,850 I was putting them in the description. 382 00:18:25,850 --> 00:18:26,480 I still do. 383 00:18:26,930 --> 00:18:30,830 Um, it seems to me, like I said, this opinion only, it seems to 384 00:18:30,865 --> 00:18:33,105 me that YouTube really wants you to use that shopping cart. 385 00:18:34,455 --> 00:18:37,455 If I put an Amazon link in my description, which I have to, 386 00:18:37,455 --> 00:18:41,205 because there's no affiliate program for YouTube and Amazon, right? 387 00:18:41,205 --> 00:18:42,585 They don't like each other, I don't think. 388 00:18:43,065 --> 00:18:45,825 It seems to me if I put a link into my description and it leaves them 389 00:18:45,825 --> 00:18:49,425 away from YouTube, it hurts the video because now people are jumping 390 00:18:49,425 --> 00:18:53,804 off of YouTube to go to Amazon and YouTube's like, I don't like that. 391 00:18:53,804 --> 00:18:56,595 I want you to stay on YouTube and consume more YouTube. 392 00:18:57,495 --> 00:19:00,195 So that's why I'm very hesitant to put links in my 393 00:19:00,195 --> 00:19:01,845 description if I don't have to. 394 00:19:02,534 --> 00:19:08,294 What is your strategy as far as off platform content, because you do 395 00:19:08,310 --> 00:19:12,645 Instagram, TikTok, those were the two that you sent over to me, pre-interview. 396 00:19:12,645 --> 00:19:15,825 What are your thoughts about off platform and how, how does that 397 00:19:16,155 --> 00:19:18,495 play a role in your business model? 398 00:19:20,054 --> 00:19:21,945 It doesn't really play a role like Instagram. 399 00:19:21,945 --> 00:19:23,235 I'm not monetized over there. 400 00:19:23,235 --> 00:19:25,965 Facebook, I just started out with that. 401 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:27,524 I, I sort of like Facebook. 402 00:19:27,705 --> 00:19:28,935 Uh, I stayed away from it, but. 403 00:19:29,324 --> 00:19:32,024 It seems to be that you get some pretty good views over there. 404 00:19:32,205 --> 00:19:34,215 Like they want creators coming over there. 405 00:19:34,514 --> 00:19:35,834 So I started building that up there. 406 00:19:36,135 --> 00:19:41,175 TikTok, I got like 135,000 followers over there, but it's really hard. 407 00:19:41,175 --> 00:19:42,614 I, I don't know what's going on with TikTok. 408 00:19:42,614 --> 00:19:44,594 I hear a lot of people complaining that it's just really hard to 409 00:19:44,594 --> 00:19:48,135 get any views over there now, so I'm not making money over there. 410 00:19:48,344 --> 00:19:55,725 So what I basically do is I like to be able to have a portfolio portfolio. 411 00:19:56,490 --> 00:19:58,770 So if, if some, if a brand reaches out to me and say, Hey, 412 00:19:58,770 --> 00:19:59,700 we really wanna work with you. 413 00:19:59,700 --> 00:20:02,580 It's not just YouTube, it's not all of my eggs in one basket. 414 00:20:02,580 --> 00:20:07,290 So I'll trickle down short videos that I crop out of my main videos on YouTube 415 00:20:07,290 --> 00:20:12,300 and put 'em on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook just to say, Hey, I have those. 416 00:20:12,300 --> 00:20:15,570 So if you're interested in working with me, I also also have these channels, 417 00:20:16,470 --> 00:20:18,120 but YouTube is my main platform. 418 00:20:18,735 --> 00:20:23,295 And if you were starting YouTube today, what would you do differently? 419 00:20:23,300 --> 00:20:27,045 And, and, and maybe the answer to that is, is nothing, but, but knowing what 420 00:20:27,045 --> 00:20:31,035 you know now, what, what would you do if you were starting a channel today? 421 00:20:31,395 --> 00:20:32,145 That's a great question. 422 00:20:32,175 --> 00:20:34,545 Um, so I would definitely do something different. 423 00:20:34,665 --> 00:20:38,025 When I first started, I had no idea how YouTube worked. 424 00:20:38,055 --> 00:20:40,185 I actually had a YouTube channel when YouTube first 425 00:20:40,185 --> 00:20:41,235 started was a guitar channel. 426 00:20:41,235 --> 00:20:42,705 It was a music channel, but I didn't really put that 427 00:20:42,705 --> 00:20:44,085 much effort and time into it. 428 00:20:44,565 --> 00:20:48,135 But with this channel here, when I got the ball rolling. 429 00:20:49,590 --> 00:20:54,630 I didn't push it hard enough to get the, the snowball bigger downhill. 430 00:20:54,900 --> 00:20:57,690 And what I mean by that is I, I would, I was working full time, so 431 00:20:57,690 --> 00:21:01,920 I'd post a video a week or two videos maybe a week, and I had my wife and 432 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:05,220 kids, so I was, you know, trying to take time away from them to do that. 433 00:21:05,730 --> 00:21:09,210 But what it seems like on YouTube is once you get that ball rolling, you have to 434 00:21:09,210 --> 00:21:10,920 push that snowball as hard as you can. 435 00:21:10,950 --> 00:21:13,620 I, when that fire was hot, I should have just been putting video out 436 00:21:13,650 --> 00:21:15,390 after video, after video, after video. 437 00:21:16,890 --> 00:21:22,230 I think what happened was, after a while when you're a new creator, I think in my 438 00:21:22,230 --> 00:21:24,420 opinion, YouTube pushes you a little bit. 439 00:21:25,110 --> 00:21:28,710 Once you get some trust into the algorithm, once you gain some authority, 440 00:21:29,730 --> 00:21:32,790 whatever niche you're talking about, YouTube will start pushing you. 441 00:21:32,790 --> 00:21:36,480 And if you don't strike when the iron is hot, you could potentially 442 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:39,480 not grow as fast as you could. 443 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:44,190 And I think I, I, I wish I would've pushed a little bit harder when 444 00:21:44,190 --> 00:21:45,360 I was really starting to grow. 445 00:21:45,945 --> 00:21:50,085 Knowing that, and exactly what you just said, what is next for 446 00:21:50,535 --> 00:21:52,335 you as a creator for the channel? 447 00:21:52,335 --> 00:21:55,785 Do you have things that you're going to experiment with? 448 00:21:55,785 --> 00:21:58,754 Are you just gonna lean into the things that you know are doing well? 449 00:21:58,965 --> 00:22:01,875 And you mentioned that your channel is very seasonal. 450 00:22:01,875 --> 00:22:05,955 And so during these kind of slower times, does this allow you, like you said, 451 00:22:05,955 --> 00:22:07,365 you're creating content that you love. 452 00:22:07,365 --> 00:22:10,004 It allows you to experiment and do things that you might could find, 453 00:22:10,004 --> 00:22:13,935 kind of fall into a slot of what the content you want to be going forward. 454 00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:15,240 Yeah. 455 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:19,470 You know, they say you're supposed to change the way you make 456 00:22:19,470 --> 00:22:21,690 videos every eight or 16 months. 457 00:22:21,690 --> 00:22:22,380 I've heard that. 458 00:22:22,740 --> 00:22:25,560 You know, you're supposed to reinvent yourself and sometimes that's hard. 459 00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:27,930 You know, I enjoy tools. 460 00:22:27,930 --> 00:22:29,160 I've been around tools my whole life. 461 00:22:29,160 --> 00:22:30,450 I've used tools my whole life. 462 00:22:31,110 --> 00:22:33,870 Um, you know, I've been in the trades before I went to college. 463 00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:37,830 You know, I love tools, right? 464 00:22:38,100 --> 00:22:39,480 Um, I don't know. 465 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:41,760 And that's the scary part about being a YouTuber. 466 00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:42,870 Sometimes you don't know. 467 00:22:43,170 --> 00:22:47,909 Now you go online and you try to listen to the gurus and stuff, and 468 00:22:48,030 --> 00:22:49,740 sometimes that doesn't always help you. 469 00:22:49,889 --> 00:22:52,050 So will I try new things? 470 00:22:52,050 --> 00:22:52,800 Yeah, absolutely. 471 00:22:52,800 --> 00:22:54,840 You always have to try something different, whether it's. 472 00:22:55,425 --> 00:22:56,475 I go to trade shows. 473 00:22:56,475 --> 00:22:59,925 I don't do as much as I used to, but maybe you go to trade shows again and 474 00:22:59,925 --> 00:23:02,895 start bringing that, maybe start doing a little bit more live streaming, 475 00:23:03,135 --> 00:23:04,425 which I don't usually do that. 476 00:23:04,575 --> 00:23:05,955 I like the editing process. 477 00:23:05,955 --> 00:23:06,764 I like filming. 478 00:23:06,764 --> 00:23:09,705 I like being able to add my skits or whatever I do, but I do have to 479 00:23:09,705 --> 00:23:11,055 expand out a little bit, I think. 480 00:23:11,055 --> 00:23:14,504 And I think that's good for anybody that's looking to get into a YouTube channel. 481 00:23:14,504 --> 00:23:16,514 If you feel like it's getting stale, which I do sometimes, 482 00:23:16,545 --> 00:23:17,865 um, you gotta change it off. 483 00:23:18,795 --> 00:23:20,175 So that's probably what I'll start doing. 484 00:23:20,175 --> 00:23:22,935 I'll probably start going out into the field a little bit more. 485 00:23:24,254 --> 00:23:28,485 Do you do all of this yourself or do you outsource any parts of it? 486 00:23:28,935 --> 00:23:30,165 I outsource nothing. 487 00:23:30,554 --> 00:23:38,504 Um, it's a full-time job here, you know, I edit, I record it, I do my own audio. 488 00:23:38,594 --> 00:23:39,885 I color grade my own stuff. 489 00:23:39,885 --> 00:23:42,435 Sometimes it doesn't look the best, you know what I mean? 490 00:23:42,435 --> 00:23:45,375 Sometimes I'm in a rush, you know, sometimes I'm trying 491 00:23:45,375 --> 00:23:46,965 different lighting, you know. 492 00:23:47,445 --> 00:23:49,455 But yeah, I wish I had an editor. 493 00:23:50,565 --> 00:23:52,155 Uh, sometimes I think about it. 494 00:23:52,335 --> 00:23:55,245 I wish I had a cameraman because sometimes when I do go to those trade 495 00:23:55,245 --> 00:23:57,975 shows, it's, it's hard interviewing people and then holding a camera, 496 00:23:57,975 --> 00:24:01,275 making sure you get the shots and, you know, color correcting everything. 497 00:24:01,275 --> 00:24:03,135 It's, it's tough, but I do it all myself. 498 00:24:03,765 --> 00:24:05,325 Being that is the case. 499 00:24:06,405 --> 00:24:10,455 I've watched a, a handful of your videos before we hit record today, and I've 500 00:24:10,455 --> 00:24:13,784 seen the progression of where you've come from for when you started your 501 00:24:13,784 --> 00:24:15,855 channel till now, and it's, uh, immense. 502 00:24:15,855 --> 00:24:18,165 I mean, you, you've, you're, you're a completely different creator. 503 00:24:18,225 --> 00:24:21,225 What would you say about the on-camera stuff? 504 00:24:21,284 --> 00:24:25,215 What have you learned there as far as how you present yourself, 505 00:24:25,514 --> 00:24:27,225 the little jokes that you add in? 506 00:24:27,315 --> 00:24:29,685 What are some things you've learned that have helped you and you think 507 00:24:29,745 --> 00:24:31,815 would be attributed to your success? 508 00:24:32,175 --> 00:24:34,365 When I first started doing this, I, I never. 509 00:24:35,580 --> 00:24:38,760 My face, face on camera, because I was working a corporate job, and 510 00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:41,370 if I said something accidentally, I didn't wanna get in trouble. 511 00:24:41,820 --> 00:24:45,540 You know, I didn't want my employees sitting there saying, oh, you know, 512 00:24:45,540 --> 00:24:46,889 he's a YouTube guy or whatever. 513 00:24:47,220 --> 00:24:48,629 So I never put myself on camera. 514 00:24:48,659 --> 00:24:51,960 And when I, when I did, it was so weird. 515 00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:56,879 It was so foreign speaking into a camera, and I was very stiff. 516 00:24:56,939 --> 00:25:01,199 I had trouble breathing like I, I was hyperventilating at the 517 00:25:01,199 --> 00:25:03,929 same time, and I would always try to do everything in one shot. 518 00:25:04,575 --> 00:25:04,875 Right. 519 00:25:05,595 --> 00:25:09,345 And then it got to a point where it just became normal. 520 00:25:09,465 --> 00:25:11,295 I'm more comfortable talking in front of a camera now. 521 00:25:12,225 --> 00:25:14,655 You know, even though it was so weird and so foreign to me, I, 522 00:25:15,165 --> 00:25:16,725 I talk into a camera, no issue. 523 00:25:16,725 --> 00:25:18,885 And that's one thing that a lot of people don't realize. 524 00:25:18,885 --> 00:25:21,915 Like, you know, the first time you hear your voice on tape, it's like, 525 00:25:21,945 --> 00:25:24,495 oh, your voice sounds weird, you know? 526 00:25:24,495 --> 00:25:24,795 But now. 527 00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:26,310 I can't tell the difference. 528 00:25:26,310 --> 00:25:27,570 I hear my voice all day. 529 00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:29,190 I see myself on camera all day. 530 00:25:29,190 --> 00:25:30,810 I'm editing my face all day. 531 00:25:31,170 --> 00:25:32,640 I'm rewatching my stuff all day. 532 00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:35,790 I'm, I'm tired of myself, dusty, you know? 533 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:38,485 But, uh, yeah, I would say just be yourself. 534 00:25:39,585 --> 00:25:41,625 You do get tired of hearing yourself at times. 535 00:25:41,625 --> 00:25:46,004 Especially, like for me, I record multiple podcasts every week, YouTube videos, 536 00:25:46,455 --> 00:25:49,185 email, you know, so there's things where you're just like, you know, which is why 537 00:25:49,185 --> 00:25:53,804 I love bringing on guests like yourself, because you get a, you get a different 538 00:25:53,925 --> 00:25:57,090 perspective of of, of things as we. 539 00:25:57,929 --> 00:25:59,280 Get close to the end of the interview. 540 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:03,270 I wanna ask you, as you know, there's all types of creators listening to this. 541 00:26:03,270 --> 00:26:06,480 What would be some of your parting words that you would leave to them? 542 00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:09,840 Because they're, we are living in a world where a lot of creators that I 543 00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:13,560 talk to are borderline getting close to burning out, or they're thinking 544 00:26:13,560 --> 00:26:17,100 about quitting or whatever it may be, or they're, they're right under 545 00:26:17,100 --> 00:26:18,990 that threshold of getting monetized. 546 00:26:19,260 --> 00:26:21,870 What would your parting words be to those creators? 547 00:26:21,870 --> 00:26:24,360 Listening, not specifically in those situations, but 548 00:26:24,360 --> 00:26:25,570 just to creators as a whole. 549 00:26:26,475 --> 00:26:27,315 I'll leave you a couple. 550 00:26:27,315 --> 00:26:30,045 Number one is don't listen to the haters because there's a lot of them out there. 551 00:26:30,525 --> 00:26:33,225 You gotta have a thick skin to do this, right? 552 00:26:33,855 --> 00:26:35,415 Um, so don't listen to that. 553 00:26:36,465 --> 00:26:38,835 Don't put out anything that other people want you to put out. 554 00:26:39,045 --> 00:26:40,035 Put out what you're passionate about. 555 00:26:40,035 --> 00:26:43,155 If you're doing videos and a niche about something you don't care about 556 00:26:43,155 --> 00:26:46,635 or you don't know about, the viewers are gonna know that and they're gonna 557 00:26:46,635 --> 00:26:49,875 see right through you, and you're not gonna, you're not gonna go anywhere. 558 00:26:50,085 --> 00:26:51,405 Uh, so do what you love. 559 00:26:51,645 --> 00:26:55,755 And the third thing that I would say, and I think this is pretty important. 560 00:26:56,535 --> 00:26:57,225 Get a frame. 561 00:26:57,675 --> 00:27:01,005 And what I mean by that is, you know, a lot of times when YouTubers start 562 00:27:01,005 --> 00:27:04,515 out or content creators start out, they sort of rise together, right? 563 00:27:04,515 --> 00:27:07,425 So a new channel will pluck up here and one will pluck up 564 00:27:07,425 --> 00:27:08,565 here, and then a couple more. 565 00:27:09,015 --> 00:27:13,875 And if you don't have somebody that is experiencing what you're 566 00:27:13,875 --> 00:27:17,835 experiencing, that's, there's a reason why actors hang out with actors, right? 567 00:27:17,835 --> 00:27:20,295 Musicians hang out with musicians because they can relate. 568 00:27:20,385 --> 00:27:23,805 If somebody, you know, they, they're a nurse and they have a bad day 569 00:27:23,805 --> 00:27:25,455 there, there's other nurses there too. 570 00:27:26,955 --> 00:27:29,745 I guess talk them through a bad day and their experiences 571 00:27:29,745 --> 00:27:30,525 and how they got through it. 572 00:27:30,615 --> 00:27:33,765 YouTube is a very lonely career, right? 573 00:27:33,885 --> 00:27:37,755 At least it's for me because I don't have a staff or a crew, right? 574 00:27:38,295 --> 00:27:40,725 So if I have an issue, who do I talk to? 575 00:27:40,725 --> 00:27:41,775 I can't go to my neighbor. 576 00:27:42,525 --> 00:27:43,815 I mean, YouTubers do I know? 577 00:27:44,625 --> 00:27:47,475 How many do you know to do this full time, right? 578 00:27:47,745 --> 00:27:50,565 So when you're coming up and you're deciding to start a channel, reach 579 00:27:50,565 --> 00:27:54,495 out to other creators, not to necessarily even do collabs or whatever. 580 00:27:55,260 --> 00:27:56,835 Make a friend, friend. 581 00:27:56,835 --> 00:27:59,070 I have a friend, we've been friends for years. 582 00:27:59,070 --> 00:28:00,540 We, we've met doing this. 583 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:05,340 He's in the same, uh, niche as me, and we bounce ideas off of each other. 584 00:28:05,340 --> 00:28:08,070 When he has a bad day, if he gets left, a really nasty comment. 585 00:28:08,070 --> 00:28:09,960 He calls me and is like, how do I deal with this? 586 00:28:10,889 --> 00:28:11,790 I did the same with him. 587 00:28:11,940 --> 00:28:13,080 So I was saying, make a friend. 588 00:28:13,649 --> 00:28:17,580 It'll help you in some tough situations, in some dark moments, believe me, 589 00:28:17,970 --> 00:28:21,840 because YouTube is not all, uh, it's not all easy all the time. 590 00:28:22,830 --> 00:28:23,160 Yeah. 591 00:28:23,310 --> 00:28:26,010 It's, it's one of the reasons why I started our Creator's corner community 592 00:28:26,010 --> 00:28:29,310 here, kind of around this podcast is 'cause giving people a place to rub 593 00:28:29,310 --> 00:28:33,090 elbows and, and, and, and hang out and communicate with other creators. 594 00:28:33,090 --> 00:28:37,110 'cause you're right, it, it can be lonely and it, it can get frustrating 595 00:28:37,110 --> 00:28:41,550 at times, but when you have that relief of being able to, to understand 596 00:28:41,550 --> 00:28:44,550 that there's others struggling like you are with the same things. 597 00:28:44,850 --> 00:28:45,485 Yeah, it does. 598 00:28:46,230 --> 00:28:49,080 It does lift you up and it does make it more relevant. 599 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:50,940 It's like, oh yeah, there's other people doing this that are 600 00:28:50,940 --> 00:28:52,170 struggling with the same things I am. 601 00:28:52,170 --> 00:28:52,890 It's not just me. 602 00:28:53,250 --> 00:28:53,490 Yeah. 603 00:28:53,945 --> 00:28:56,520 You know, when the algorithm punishes this sometimes, I mean, they change 604 00:28:56,520 --> 00:28:58,560 algorithm, uh, algorithms all the time. 605 00:28:58,680 --> 00:29:01,590 So, you know, you start thinking to yourself, man, 606 00:29:01,590 --> 00:29:02,940 like, what am I doing wrong? 607 00:29:02,940 --> 00:29:02,950 What. 608 00:29:04,034 --> 00:29:06,855 People don't like me anymore or whatever, and then you find out, 609 00:29:06,855 --> 00:29:09,045 Hey, listen, your buddy's going through the exact same thing. 610 00:29:09,195 --> 00:29:12,855 Well, Clint, thank you so much for agreeing to come on the podcast today. 611 00:29:12,855 --> 00:29:15,975 Again, Clint's YouTube channel is called The Tool Review Zone. 612 00:29:15,975 --> 00:29:19,845 I will link to it in his other links as always in the show notes below. 613 00:29:20,235 --> 00:29:22,274 But Clint, you have a good day and thanks again for joining us. 614 00:29:22,274 --> 00:29:22,905 Thanks, Betsy. 615 00:29:22,950 --> 00:29:23,270 Appreciate. 616 00:29:24,210 --> 00:29:27,840 That's a wrap on this week's episode of the Creator Hub Podcast. 617 00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:31,500 Don't forget, if you're looking to take your YouTube game to the next level, 618 00:29:31,680 --> 00:29:35,040 check out all of the services in the show notes that we provide to you. 619 00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:38,940 Everything from a channel review and audit service, a mastermind group, 620 00:29:39,090 --> 00:29:42,840 one-on-one coaching, as well as just the links that are mentioned throughout 621 00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:45,120 these conversations each and every week. 622 00:29:45,150 --> 00:29:45,630 Also. 623 00:29:45,740 --> 00:29:49,250 If you would subscribe to the show, wherever, and however you listen 624 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:51,710 or watch this podcast, subscribe. 625 00:29:51,710 --> 00:29:55,640 That way every Friday when we go live with a new episode, you will be notified. 626 00:29:55,760 --> 00:29:58,460 And if you'd like to keep up with me, there's two ways that you can do that. 627 00:29:58,580 --> 00:30:01,400 You can check out my other podcast that I'll link in the show notes 628 00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:05,420 down below, as well as our email newsletter where thousands of creators 629 00:30:05,420 --> 00:30:07,140 and entrepreneurs are on that list. 630 00:30:07,524 --> 00:30:12,205 Every single Friday, I send out a very brief, under five minute read for an 631 00:30:12,205 --> 00:30:16,555 email newsletter where I talk about things going on in my business, personal life 632 00:30:16,585 --> 00:30:20,845 resources, things that I'm reading, things that I believe can help you take your 633 00:30:20,845 --> 00:30:23,065 life and your business to the next level. 634 00:30:23,155 --> 00:30:25,465 So with that said, we'll talk to you guys next week.