5 Businesses that SUCCEEDED on YouTube and How They Did It!

The first question I'm going to ask them as I get Hope on is I want them to share why they decided to add YouTube to their content plan and were they on other platforms like Instagram and Facebook. And I'm actually going to start with Emily first because I know she's one of our ones that kind of got started from scratch. And both Christine's were already on YouTube when I work with them. So I do want to reframe that a little bit different for them. So Emily, if you could share why you decided YouTube.

I decided on YouTube. Well, I decided many years ago actually in 2021 because I had purchased. You were selling a course at the time and I was like, okay, I know I need to be here, but I was so busy with client work that I just didn't end up doing anything. And now my business has shifted and I'm in more of like an education space now. And I'd still been following you and doing all of the things, but I mean, just from following you since 2020, 2021, I just saw how you can compound this growth, right? You publish something and it just stays there and it'll just keep getting views and new people will keep finding you. And so I was just tired of being on social media all the time and tired of feeling like I had it to be on all of the time. I was like, okay, I'm gonna commit a year to posting on YouTube and see where it gets me. Because I knew, I also knew it was gonna be more of a long term commitment to see, I mean, with anything, it's a long term commitment to see the kind of growth that can happen. And that's why I decided on YouTube.

Awesome. Now I wanna reframe that for Hope because you pretty much were YouTube from day one and you've been dabbling with Instagram and so I would love to hear your perspective of how YouTube has worked for you versus Instagram. And then I know Christine and Christine, they Both were on YouTube and had a following. So I would then like to hear their perspective if they've gone back and dabbled with other platforms compared to YouTube. So hope I'll let you go first.

So with YouTube, I have a degree in radio and television, so I worked in the industry for a number of years. So I went into YouTube thinking, Hey, I got this. But I understood the technical end of YouTube, but I understand how YouTube worked. So I honestly was having some trouble getting traction instill I until I started working with Trina and Trina was the one who Figured out immediately, like, where the niche was, what I should talk about next. And after that point, then the channel really did take off. Instagram was like, I love long term video or long form video, and short form video was like, it was not my thing. I do Instagram now. I'm getting more comfortable with short form video. But for me, starting with long form video was absolutely where I knew that I needed to be.

Yeah. And so, Christine G, you had some momentum on YouTube and so how are you feeling? YouTube. And I know you're on. You had some momentum on YouTube and I know you're on Instagram a little bit. How do you feel the difference compares between the two?

Honestly, it's night and day. And I don't know if I told you this, Trina, but I am actually off of Instagram. I stopped posting entirely on my feed. I created something called a nine grid that basically is like a welcome mat. So if people do stumble upon my Instagram, they know where to download my lead magnet. They know I'm not dead. They can see I'm still in business. But I only post on stories. And for me, this is like the disembark journey and getting off Instagram entirely because the numbers just don't lie. YouTube is just so much better for nurturing, you know, prospective clients and it builds a deeper connection. And I felt like I was genuinely spinning my wheels when it came to Instagram. I felt like it was a losing game that I was trying to play. So I'm all in on YouTube as my main social media platform, and I'm off of Instagram. And for my own mental health and sanity, it's better for me to be taking a step back from Instagram because I could go on and on about that.

But I'm counting down the days. Like, today is the last day I need to be on Instagram for a long time either after this promo. So I'm feeling you on that. What about you, Christine J. How does it compare between YouTube and Instagram for you?

So Instagram, I had a very similar experience. I. I just completely burnt out, I think, and I was trying to, because I always enjoyed making videos.

So.

So the reels, I. I did have some fun creating reels, but it did become a lot of pressure and it took so long. Honestly, whenever I was making a reel, it probably took me longer than it takes me now making a. A video. And just kind of the pressure of coming up with new ideas because you post it and then maybe you get traction for a few days, but then it's gone. So you have to kind of con continuously come up with new things.

Yeah, I love that I, I we say that and sometimes we just wonder why are people still hanging on to Instagram? Like it seems like it's short form content and it's easier but I feel the same way. When I was creating reels, I tried to stay consistent every day in September preparing for this and it just threw me insane. I'm like it's not any easier to edit this and to do the text and so I'm glad you guys are feeling it as well. So you guys mentioned a little bit about comparing doing one YouTube video per week versus the daily content. Do any of you else want to talk about the difference or how you've compared doing one weekly YouTube video versus the Instagram content? Natalie, you haven't had a chance to see Speak. Have you tried to balance the two and seen a difference between the two?

I have tried to balance. I feel like my journey is almost different. Like I started on Instagram and then I am wanting to move off of it.

So.

I feel so much better creating a YouTube video because I know it's going to be up on YouTube for a very long time. Like my top performing videos are videos from a year ago. So people are still searching for them, still watching them and it's not the I don't know what to talk about today because you know, I just feel like more, I feel like my time spent more better on YouTube with that one video a week and then the daily posting daily stories just to get a couple people to where I want them to be.

Yeah, definitely. I'm realizing I'm a very terrible host and I haven't introduced you all in in what you all do. So based on where I am on the screen. Christine G. Could you share what your channel is about and kind of what you're monetizing from your YouTube channel? And then we'll go to Christina J. Then Natalie, then Emily and then hopefully Hi everyone.

So I started as a freelance copywriter in 2019 and then I went on to create a course that educates other aspiring freelancers on how to leave their 9 to 5 job and transition to making a full time income as a freelancer as someone who's self employed. So on my channel I talk about how to market yourself as a freelancer. You know, how to create an online presence. Majority is how to land higher paying clients. So I'm kind of in like the business education space. I also have just started landing and this happened through working With Trina, obviously I get like 2 to $300 a month for YouTube AdSense, which is nice to offset some of the editing costs, but it's nothing to, you know, write home about in terms of revenue. All the revenue comes from my online course and recently I just started doing brand partnerships. So now I am having sponsored YouTube videos, had a company also sponsor my newsletter and I get these emails from brands because they see me on YouTube. So that's like a new revenue stream for me, which is really cool.

So awesome. Thank you. Okay. Christine J.

So I'm a yoga and Pilates teacher and I started my channel about six years ago actually and at that time I was kind of teaching general yoga and Pilates classes and then had an interest in working with people with scoliosis. Now this is a relatively, well, it is a very niche market obviously. So I didn't have enough clients in.

Person.

To really make this kind of a, a full time business. So I just started posting on, on YouTube and just testing ideas really in the beginning and just sharing my practice to be honest. And then it just kind of grew from there and I saw I kind of validated some, some of the ideas I had and people were actually interested in it. So then I started doing online courses and I got actually more one to one clients as well. So I started working on Zoom with people from all over the world and now kind of the, the main income comes from a, from a membership. So, so we've got a membership with some live elements and some pre recorded content as well for those with scoliosis.

Perfect. Thank you. Emily.

Hi, I'm Emily Kim. I started out as a freelance brand photographer around 2018, 2019. Like Christine and I had been doing that for a really, really long time. I was working a full time job. I quit that full time job to run my photography business full time. In the last year I moved from California to Boston. So my photography business was in California. I moved to Boston, was like, well I have no clients in Boston, like what am I gonna do? And I for the longest time have been wanting to get more into education and teaching because that's where I know my zone of genius is. And now I finally had the time to do it with no clients in Boston. So I started my YouTube channel and the same week I signed on with Trina. And that's what I've been focusing on so far is just building or rather rebuilding my brand and repositioning myself as an educator. So I run a low ticket membership right now for photographers and creative Business owners. I'm about to teach an in person workshop for photographers and then I'm taking that content and turning it into a course which I am then going to use YouTube to funnel people to just like Trina teaches.

Great. Natalie. Hello.

I'm a former public education teacher and now I'm turned online teacher. So I help and coach other online teachers how to create these interactive and super fun and engaging lessons with technology sites like Google Slides like canva, we use NearPod and I really teach how to, how to use these sites to save time in the classroom. So you're creating games and then you're saving time with templates. So I am, I am running a membership for online teachers to help them save time. I they have digital game templates ready to go. They're just add in their own teaching information for their students and they can see their student retention go up. Their students are loving their classes. So I love using technology in my lessons, helping teachers perfect and Hope.

Hi, I'm hope and my YouTube channel is under the median. My husband and I raised four boys debt free on an income which was under $40,000 a year including paying cash for our home. So that's what we talk about on our YouTube channel is how to use practical frugality skills so that you can consistently spend less, save more and live the life you really want knowing that your finances are under control. We started out, I spun my wheels on YouTube for about eight months before I started working with Trina. I was like we need help because I don't understand YouTube and I think when Trina and I met I had about 200 subscribers and now we are just on the threshold of 200,000 subscribers. And yes, so you know, like that's my goal now is to get it to 200,000. I know it's a vanity metric but it is kind of fun to have that. We got between 4 and 500,000 views a month and it has become the capstone, the cornerstone of our business. So we sell low ticket ebook bundles that help people save money in specific areas of their budget. And in 2025 we're going to launch a membership and it will be monthly challenges, monthly frugality and savings challenges. So that's what the membership will be all about. But on YouTube of course I get Google Adsense and I do brand deals and we sell two native ad sponsorships a month plus we do one product review a month and we've branched out from that and now we're doing packages where they can sponsor post on our Website in addition to the. The sponsorship of the YouTube video. So we're kind of branching out a little bit and so building that revenue. Because now we've got several different moving parts that we're really comfortable with selling to potential sponsors.

Perfect.

So we all know a lot of business owners feel overwhelmed or they need the perfect strategy first before getting on YouTube or they're just going to push it down on their to do list. Maybe some of you done that too. What made you guys to decide to just do it? Rip the band aid off and do it. Who wants to go first? I think Emily started from scratch and then. Yeah, go ahead, Christina G. And then Emily started kind of from scratch. So I do want to pop down to you. So go ahead, Christine.

I got on YouTube accidentally. I think I'm the last type of personality who would be on YouTube. I'm a writer, and I meant to market my business via blog post. I wanted to rank organically and drive traffic to my website, but because I also wrote for clients, I did not have the time to start my own blog and do double the writing. So I started just recording videos and I stored them on YouTube. Not trying to grow a YouTube channel. I just needed a repository. And then I would see, okay, 10. 10 views, 15 views. Even though I wasn't proactively marketing it or trying it. So it was those initial views of me just talking into the camera. There was no editing whatsoever. Half the time it would be an Instagram live that I recorded, recorded, and then uploaded to YouTube after. But once I saw a little bit of traction, I just said, let's keep doing this. And that's how it started. So I really want to stress that. And you can go back in my YouTube channel and see that firsthand. How it was just so messy and so ad hoc and not appealing. So please, just get started. Don't let the perfectionism or thinking you need edits. Just, you have to start somewhere. And you'll be so happy you started when five years down the line, you have all of these videos and all of these subscribers. But it starts with looking bad at first, hating the sound of your voice, feeling insecure and feeling foolish. Especially if you have a personality that's introverted and not like, hey, look at me on camera. So I just want to stress that. Just get started.

Yeah, definitely. I cringe at my beginning ones, but I leave them up for you all to see. No, they're cringy. But, Emily, what made you finally just. I know you moved and so you had to kind of Start over. But what made you just decide, I'm doing it, I'm doing YouTube. I'm not putting it off anymore.

Honestly, it was, I think one of your videos. I don't remember which one it was. No, I do. It was the first one in your transparency series. Well, that's what made me start, decide to start working with you. I was just like, I, I just need some kind of guidance when I do this. But for me, one of my mottos that I live by, instead of progress over perfection, I really prefer the phrase iteration over perfection because you're not going to get better at something unless you do it. So I know with business it's, we're more prone to analysis paralysis and I don't know why, because a lot of us, you know, we all have our own professions. I know that I'm not going to get better at taking pictures unless I take more. And same with any kind of skill you're learning, right? But in business, we're just like, no, but it's not perfect, it's not ready, it's not whatever. So I'm just like, okay, something has to get out there or else it's not going to get better. And then once you take the first step, once I had those first videos uploaded because I think I batch uploaded three or four all at once, like, the next ones were immediately better and now I can see them get better and better with each one that I post. And it's like, I don't feel like I'm competing with other people either. Like, I feel very much in my own lane. I'm very much like a long form person. So Instagram being short form doesn't really make sense for me. And it just, I don't know how to explain it other than it just feels better to be on YouTube. And even if I miss a couple of weeks like I just did because I was traveling, I still got views, I still got subscribers, I still made sales. And then I posted a video again and people are still watching. Like, I didn't, you know, lose momentum or anything like that. But yeah, iteration over perfection is my motto. So I was like, I just need to get over myself and post the freaking video.

That's a good one. What about you, Natalie? What made you decide? Okay, I'm going From Instagram to YouTube because I know a lot of people are like, well, I put time and investment in Instagram and I'm spending time there. How do I find the time to do YouTube? So where were you at with that decision?

I needed Honestly, like a really good, solid business strategy. And I. You couldn't get me that where before it was like, okay, I'm posting Instagram and I kind of just felt scattered all over the place. What do I post? Planning it out was just a Nightmare. So to YouTube. Now it's that one video a week. I. That is something I can do. And then I can take pieces from that YouTube video and then re purse, repurpose it to Instagram, which is so much easier because I have that video done, ready to go. I know exactly what I can post to Instagram. And it's not every day. It's maybe like three reels from one video, which is doable. But with that YouTube being that main content hub that I am pulling from other content now within that video, I can have better call to actions, to my freebies, my lead magnets, to get my clients to me. And that video is always working for me. And then I can always refer back to that video. Go watch this video. So that I feel like it's just a better flow for my business to go from that one video to bring everyone to that one piece to nurture my, my audience with that one video. It just makes more sense in the business, in my business to have that one video to here it is. Let's nurture my audience with it.

I love that. Now, Christine J. And Hope you guys have been doing YouTube for a little bit, but when you think about when you started back at Scratch, what was something that you were unsure about that you just were finally like, no, I've gotta do it. Like, I know I'm unsure, but I need to do this. So I'll start with you. Christine. Can you remember back when you got started, what made you decide? Just, I've gotta do it.

Oh, that's a difficult one. I, I think it's probably because I, I was like, if, if I look back at myself 10 years ago, then I would have loved to see a video on this. I would have loved someone who could tell me how to practice yoga when you've got scoliosis. And I couldn't really find anything. So I, I didn't know of people obviously who, who, who were like my mentors and teachers, but nobody really did anything on YouTube or anything that I would watch at least. So I, I said, well, I'm just gonna do this, then nobody else will. I will do it. And it was pretty bad in the beginning. I mean, they were literally videos. My kids were very small. They were 1 and 3. Then I literally filmed myself on, you know, on, on my, on my camera and then edited the videos while I was watching them do karate class or swimming lessons. But it, there was just something that, that was like, no, you need to do this and you need to do it consistently. The other thing I did was I said, I'm gonna do this for three months every week. It's not gonna be, doesn't have to be forever, but I'm gonna do it for three months every week and I'm just gonna see what happens. What's kind of the worst thing that can happen. And in the beginning I did get like dodgy comments and like, like definitely the wrong people watching it. But then over time, definitely there was like people started to say, oh, thank you so much. That just kind of changed my life or I didn't know there was something like that. And then that obviously kept me going then as well.

That's great. Yeah, it's, it's the good comments that keep it going. And there can be the dodgy comments. I am in the boat where I like to dodgy comment them back or troll them back. But you can also just delete them and block them. That's fine too. What about hope? What made you decide when you were starting, like this is where you needed to be?

We knew that we wanted to be on long form video. But here's what I will tell everyone because I do have that background in broadcasting. Two things. Number one, my audience didn't care. They did not care that I worked in radio. What they cared about was that we'd raised a family and very little money and figured out how to do it with a spirit of joy. And, and that I could tell them how to spend less money. That's what they cared about. And so I had to really honestly get over myself because we spent an ungodly amount of time editing videos in the beginning. And Trini was like, you know what, you need to focus, you need to stay on topic and you need to make sure that your videos are driving people to your opt inside because. And she really challenged me. She's like, how are you making money with this video? How are you building your business? Because this is a business. This isn't like, you know, you're not a philanthropist. You like helping people, but you need to make extra income. That's the whole goal. And so you need to figure out how to think like a business owner and not like a hobbyist. And she was absolutely right. So the other thing I would say is that my husband and I, because my husband worked in television, by the way, and I worked in radio. And. And you don't care about. But you do care about what I'm about to tell you. We had old equipment. We are the poster children for starting out with kind of crappy equipment. And we had. It was a square format. It was grainy. It just, you know, we figured out how to rig up a microphone and we went. I mean, literally, we just sort of threw something together and it worked, though. And once we figured out what worked, then we figured out how, how and when to upgrade our equipment. But. But Trina will tell you, she's used us examples before of started out with equipment that was not that great. And so the equipment doesn't matter. It matters. They can see you. It matters. They can hear you. It matters that you stay on message and you answer their questions. Because people come to YouTube because they have questions and they want answers.

Yeah, that actually brings up a good talking topic I want to address, too. So a lot of you have said you decided to commit to YouTube, which is a big step. What were some of the mind shift kind of blocks or mindset blocks or shifts that you had to get over? Like maybe being on camera or having the right equipment or finding the time that. Perfection. I know some of us struggle with perfection. How did you overcome those mindset blocks to keep going? Anybody want to take that one?

I think that we realized really quickly we needed to lean into our humanity. And for instance, like on Monday, I made like a major. It was. It was a mistake in a video. I was showing a cooking video, and I held up something and said, oh, look, you're gonna. You're gonna grate up this zucchini. It was cucumber, guys. So I. I told Larry, I said, roll camera. And I said, botanical lesson real quick here. I didn't look carefully enough. So we're going to figure out how to incorporate this cucumber and what we're making. And I went upstairs and I grabbed a zucchini. I said, these are 50 cents right now at my farmer's market, so add to what we're spending on this menu plan. And I rolled right on. People loved it. Nobody wants to follow somebody who is perfect. They want to know that you have foibles and that you don't always get it right.

And.

And that's okay.

Christine G. You said you wanted to mention something.

Yeah.

I think the two biggest things I had to overcome were, number one comparison, because I always was letting. Looking at other people's channels and the size of their channels. And the quality of their channels hold me back and make me think, like, what's even the point? So when you. This is why I was drawn to your strategy, Trina, is that it emphasizes to not focus on vanity metrics like subscribers, even though all of that stuff has naturally, you know, gone an upward trend since working with you. Which is great. But the real key is like, what is that click through rate? How many people are you driving to your website and how many of those people convert into customers and clients? So the fact that you wanted us to focus on what really mattered helped me to stop looking at other channels. Because in my space, there's very known people with very large channels, but it's not the size of the channel that matters if those people aren't buying. And that was like the big shift I had to make. And the other thing that was so helpful that you helped me overcome was the how I look on camera thing. So I was getting on YouTube, but if I felt I was having like a quote unquote ugly day or my hair wasn't washed or wasn't liking the way I looked, I just wouldn't film. But you got us into the habit of like, no matter what, you're going to set aside this day and whether your hair is not washed, whether you, you know, don't look great on camera, don't feel great on camera, just push through and get it done. That has shifted my mindset so much because I don't feel so much resistance anymore. It's like I just get it done and I've stayed consistent that way. So those are the two things, just the comparison and then the insecurity about appearance. And once you can get over that, everything becomes easier.

That's so good. Natalie, what about you? Because going From Instagram to YouTube, there's a little bit more production, there's a little bit more things going on. How did you get over that shift from just vertical video to now we're doing YouTube and video editing?

Yeah, that was my biggest mindset thing that I had to go, like, where do I fit this into my schedule to be able to be consistent? Because being on camera, I think with being an online teacher, like, I feel fine with that. But my biggest thing was how do I be consistent with this to make it work for me? And I love the, the planning you teach and the, the video scripting to batch. That makes it totally doable to follow that process to be consistent so I can actually make it happen. And like Christine said, this is your day to do your filming. You just have to do it because you don't want to. For me, it's so easy to get in the habit. Oh, I'll just do it tomorrow. And then it just never happens. But to be consistent, that's the. This is what we're going to do, because this is my business and I'm using YouTube to run it. So it's going to help me in the long run. Like, not posting the video is not going to help me do anything. So I got to be consistent and do that. And that's the. Seriously, the, the. The 90 blade planning, the YouTube scratching, the batching that has helped me overcome those in a good, strategic way to stay consistent and make it doable.

Love that. Now I see this popping up in the comments, and it's something that I get all the time. So I love to hear you guys's perspective. The background. Everybody's so concerned about the background. I see people saying a virtual background. I personally am of the thought that the more real you are, the more authentic you are. So what I know, Christine J. You are doing, you know, yoga stuff, and it's not like you have, you know, a massive background. Like, we think yoga with Adrian or something. How did you get over kind of the background and decide where you were gonna do your videos?

So when I started, I had. Yes, just our living room, basically, and I just made sure I had a wall. That was it. So I just made sure that. And that's relatively easy to do and that's relatively cheap. So in the beginning it was like a really ugly brown, so we just painted it in a. In a nice kind of blue background, put a plant there, and that was it, really. And that. That was really all that I needed. And then obviously now I've got here my. My little studio there, so I could kind of make sure. I choose. Choose the colors how I. How I wanted to. But it. Yeah, it doesn't have to be complicated. I don't think I've ever had anyone commenting on anything in my room or that it. Yeah. That it doesn't look right. And sometimes it is actually messy. Sometimes I don't, like, put things in the right place. But, yeah, it doesn't really matter.

How about you, Emily?

Oh, as the photographer. Yes. That I care very. I. I care a lot about it. But I will say, like, when I'm working with clients doing brand photos and they're like, no, no, no, no, we can't do it in my office because my office is so, like, messy and blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, okay, but that's. That's, like, where you work normally. I feel like the pendulum is like, what is this swinging. Swinging back towards authenticity. Because nobody can relate to perfect curated, like, backgrounds anymore. When someone sees you and they're like, oh, they have laundry in the background like me. But they're here on YouTube too. Like, okay, I feel validated and seen and it. It makes you more relatable. And I. Trina, I so agree with you about the virtual background thing. Honestly, I would rather see a messy background than a virtual background because you're showing you and it helps build trust in, like, a more subconscious way so you can. Like, you. You don't need a lot of space, really. You need maybe two or three feet in the background if you really want to just throw stuff off to the side. I can't tell you how much, like, stuff is going on over here. You saw a little bit. There's, like, blankets and laundry literally on my couch right now. Just move it. Like, it doesn't have to be a big room. I could go on and on about this, but people really don't care that much about what your background looks like.

How about you, Christine G. Because I use you ever as a reference. A couple times, I'm like, she's shooting in a guest bedroom. Like, it is fine. There's a bed behind her. Like, it's relatable. It's real. How do you feel about kind of getting rid of that background issue?

Yeah, I think it's just understanding what the goal is. Right. Because the problem with YouTube is that people look at Mr. Beast and other YouTube creators who, first of all, they all have the same, like, neon lights and, like, dark lighting. It's like a. The YouTuber thing. So you think automatically, well, I need to have that too, if I'm going to show up on camera. But the goal for the students in your course anyway, Trina, is not to make AdSense money. Meaning it's okay if my video doesn't get 100,000 views because I can still make course sales with 1,000 views. So you don't need to look like a YouTube creator. You don't need to be overly esthetic, because that's not our goal. Our goal is, like Hope said, it's about the message. And if you can compel them with the narrative and the message, the background becomes a little less serious. The other thing I wanted to say, because I saw Janelle said this in the comments about, like, dark circles on camera. I just want everyone to know that when I Switched my camera to the iPhone. So I basically film my YouTube videos on an iPhone now. And before I was using the MacBook camera, the iPhone, which I did not know. This highlights the worst parts of yourself and makes you look super ugly in every way possible. So I started thinking to myself, because I'm 33, I'm like, okay, I'm just aging. Like, it's time to start getting some work done because of what I was seeing on camera. And I scheduled all these plastic surgery consultations to, like, I was thinking about. About getting an upper blepharoplasty or whatever it's called. Like, I've gone down deep into how I can fix my under eyes. My recommendation for that is don't stop trying to find the right lighting. Trina recommends this affordable ring light on Amazon that I think was less than 70 bucks. And if I closed my shades a certain way, put the light in a certain position, all of the imperfections diminished. So it's not that you're ugly, it's that the lighting is everything and it doesn't cost a lot. But that was a big, like, step thing that I had to get over. So I just thought I would share that.

I love it. And, yeah, somebody said 33 year baby. And I mean, I'm. I'm not 40 yet either. But I'm also like, you're a baby with plastic surgery. I think this is a really good question because maybe you all kind of fit in this boat. But what would you say to people here today that are like, Okay, I know YouTube. It looks like a lot of work, but I need to do these couple things first before I can start. Maybe I'll wait till 20, 25. What would you say to those people that are like, well, I first need to do this before I can commit to YouTube. Anyone.

I am so mad at myself that I didn't publish that first YouTube video when I first joined your course in 2020, because if I did, I would have four more years of experience under my belt and be that much further along. I mean, I'm still. I'm so grateful that I finally did it because it's already paid off. I've been posting for, what, six, seven months now? But if I got out of my own way four years ago, think about, like, where that could be now, and I wouldn't have spun my wheels on Instagram for so, so long. So that's. I. I don't regret it because I'm happy that I'm on it now, but I could have been here a Lot earlier.

Natalie, what about you? Since I know you're newer to YouTube, what would you say to somebody that's like, I gotta do this first before YouTube?

The same thing, like once you're on YouTube, like, and it was said earlier, it just starts compounding. Those views, they start compounding. People start seeing you, what you do, introduced to you. They're now you're nurturing them with your videos. So I feel like not jumping into that sooner is just yet pushing your business that much further down the road because it's, I don't know, we and myself, like, I have to just, just do it. Because by not doing it, you're not getting the business that you deserve, the clients that you deserve. And by not putting yourself out there, like you're kind of holding the business and the people back from how you can help them best through your videos.

Anybody else? Yeah. Oh.

I would remind people, my first, my first advice is just hit record. You need to get videos out there because the longer you wait, there are no videos for people to watch. But you are in business for a reason. You have a passion, you have something that you really want to share with other people. And I think when you hone in on that and you ask yourself the question, if somebody asked me to speak for 10 minutes on a topic that is about my business, what would you talk about? And that, honestly, I think that should be your first video. That's the video where you're letting people know who you are, what you're about and why they should continue to watch you. And I will say, as far as the background question is concerned, when we started YouTube, the only place we could find to record in our entire house was in front of, of a wall to wall bookcase. And so all of these, these books were in the background. We're like, oh gosh, this looks a little bit like, it looks a little busy. What are we going to do? And we decided to take the books off one shelf and we would place, deliberately, we have a lot of antiques. We would place a small antique, every single week a different antique on that shelf. And the viewers loved it. It became like a Where's Waldo thing. They would tune in and every single week to figure out what we had changed on the bookshelf. So I guess what I'm saying is use your background to your advantage because there's, there's a way that you can get people to, to, to keep watching because they want to see what you're doing.

I love that. It's definitely a community builder and Hope is amazing at community building. So some of you have had massive momentum and milestones. Christine and Hope have talked about brand deals but other of you have talked about your products. So what else has YouTube done or open up for your business since deciding YouTube is your spot? Yeah, Natalie, go ahead.

I love the series of videos that you teach and how they're all kind of interconnected. So with this last series that I'm publishing on my channel right now, the very first one of the series about interactive Google Slides and how to just up your game with Google Slides with clickable games, simple games, drag and drop that you and your student can do. As soon as I posted that video, not even up 24 hours yet and 17 views, I got my first workshop sale for a workshop that I'm teaching on Saturday. So, so excited that from the first video of the, even that series that I was able to get a, a sale directly from YouTube. So it's, it's amazing and works.

What about you, Emily?

Same. I mean I've done all the marketing platforms there are to do and with YouTube, I, I came in knowing like, okay, this is going to take some time to get going but honestly because of your help, I, you know, changed some titles around, changed some thumbnails. Very similar to Natalie. I had a video that went up, it wasn't even up for two hours and someone bought a low ticket digital offer that I have and then joined my method membership and she was just like, she's a dream client. She was like, you're exactly who I've been looking for. And yeah, the video had maybe 20 views, maybe it's only up to like 200 now. It's been up for a couple of months and I've never seen that quick of a turnaround like with Instagram. People have to be following you for weeks, months, see your content all the time to build that trust. But with YouTube they only need one video.

How about you, Christina J. Because you have a membership too.

Yeah. So for me really it's done amazing for my email list. So it's, it's been so great just to have that constant, I mean I, I am tracking it now thanks to, thanks to Trina. Whereas before I didn't really have a clue what was going on. But I know that I've got about 100 people every month joining my email list, going then through some sequences and then eventually coming, coming into the membership. So I know that the work that I'm putting into will actually do something for, for my business. Whereas before it was kind of like throwing spaghetti against the wall and not quite sure if it's actually going to do anything. So just having that strategy and strategically choosing what type of video I'm creating, thinking about what I want to sell then afterwards has been really, really a game changer. And really I've seen so many people kind of joining for the right things and for the right reasons on that topic.

Any of you, would you be willing to share results you've had because of your YouTube channel? Whether, you know, email list growth, subscriber growth, brand deal sales, clients, kind of. What has YouTube done for you, Christine? And then hope so.

Something really exciting that happened shortly after enrolling in your program, Trina, was that I got a brand deal. It was $9,000 for four videos, which is like the biggest, you know, brand deal I've gotten. And that wouldn't have been possible unless you had pointed out to me how to look at the metrics. That was the biggest sticking point for me was like I was on YouTube, I was creating, but I couldn't pinpoint what I was doing that was working and what wasn't working. And so when you walked us through the metrics, then I actually understood how I could bring those metrics to a business owner and say, if you want more reach for your product, this is why you should give me a chance because my audience is engaged. So showing the business owner, the company, my, the size of my email list, my click through rates on my YouTube videos, the amount of subscribers, those stats are how you get lucrative brand deals because you're proving that your audience is engaged with your video. So I don't plan to make my full time income with brand deals, but it's really nice to know that.

Wow.

I'm getting my newsletter sponsored by this company. Wow. The cost of my video editor is being completely offset because this brand is paying me and it's in line with what my audience wants to learn about and hear. So it's just providing value to the audience, but also getting paid to do it by a company has been really, really cool.

That's amazing. Emily, I know you mentioned you have a video with less than 20 views, right? Get clients. What else have you seen YouTube be able to do for you and your business?

So this is a little bit harder to track. It's more of like an observation. All of my marketing up until now has been primarily through social media and word of mouth. What I've noticed on YouTube is that it is attracting a totally new group of people to me that I never would have connected with on Instagram. Like, I don't know where I'm. Oh, I know they come from YouTube, but I. I don't think they're on any other platforms. And I've been poking around and asking, like, you know, where do you hang out? Where do you get your content? And they're like, I'm just here on YouTube and not a lot of people are doing it if it feels like it. But there really aren't a lot of people on YouTube versus on Instagram. And it's just so much easier to connect with people that way. And it. Yeah, I just love it because I never would have found these people really, on any other platform.

And you. I mean, you started working with us like, January, February, but you're almost at a thousand subscribers and one of your videos went to 20,000 views.

Yeah, that's a funny one. So going along with Trina's advice of, like, stay consistent, just keep getting the reps in. Until you just keep getting the reps in. I was going on my vacation to Spain that month and I was like, okay, I just need to get this video out. I don't know if it's any good. I don't know. I was in the air airport because we got delayed just like finishing adding, like, the title and description and the whatever. What's the other thing? Thumbnail. And I published it and said, okay, vacation. Now, like, forget about this. I open my notifications a day later and the video totally blew up. Like, you don't have to be on it all the time if it's good content and the YouTube algorithm picks it up, like, it just does it for you versus on Instagram. You have to ride the wave, right? If something takes off, you have to be on and engaging and like, doing all of this stuff. But I didn't have service. I just was like, checking my emails and doing whatever. So that was really, really cool to like, literally go on vacation and have a video take off. It was really awesome. And I wouldn't have. I don't think it would have taken off had I not asked you for help with, like, the title and the thumbnail. Because what I had before was not as good as what you gave me.

Christine J. What about you?

Yeah, so for me. So somebody I know, somebody asked about podcasts as well, podcasting. So I do a monthly livestream on. On YouTube, which is kind of then my podcast. I then repurpose it and put it on the. All the podcast apps and. And all of that. So really this has kind of opened the World into kind of from just purely yoga and Pilates into kind of the more serious medical world. So I've got people like orthopedic surgeons that actually speak to me because of my YouTube channel. They wouldn't do that otherwise. They can see that. You know, they can see, first of all, what I'm talking about. And it's like a portfolio, really, of things that I've got, but they can see, obviously I've got followers and people that are watching it. So, yeah, it's really helped me really establish myself in this kind of. Yeah. A little bit more medical niche as well, apart from just doing yoga.

That. And Natalie, what about you?

Workshop sale. And that is just recently and being able to get a daily notification for someone joining my email list. So that's awesome again, to have that growing in the background for me.

Awesome. Yeah. And like, you've all mentioned, like, it compiles. Right. Your email list can continue to grow. Why don't you go on vacation to Spain or. I mentioned in the last session I had a client take six months off for maternity leave. So I really think all the ladies here showed us, you know, while YouTube feels like a big next step, the benefits just really outweigh, you know, just waiting to do it. Hope, I think I forgot to ask you as well, kind of what I know you're. You're the. We started at 200 subscribers. We're now almost at 200,000 subscribers. So that's a huge milestone. But anything else along the way that has happened as well? It is.

Well.

And although those numbers are impressive, I think the thing that's more important to me as a business owner is that I started with 200 subscribers on my email list, and now I have 10,000 subscribers on my email list, and I'm regularly making sales. I think when I first started working with Trina, my entire business receipts for a year were about $2,500. And so, I mean, I was making. I wasn't even making grocery money.

And.

And that was okay. I was okay with building it from there. But this will be the third year in a row that we've hit six figures in that business income. And two years ago, I was able to retire my husband. And so he's at home now, and he is my editor in chief when he's not taking long bike rides. He does that for me. And. And I think one of the most important things, though, and you always have to keep this in perspective when I have people who reach out to me and say, you helped me pay off debt. I now have an emergency fund because of you. I mean, when they send me those, I reply and tell them every time and I mean it with my whole heart that it is an honor to be a part of of their journey. And I think as a business owner that's what you have to remember. Is it? It is an honor to serve your people. And as long as you're keeping that in mind and as long as your YouTube videos speak into that and you're able to answer their questions and help them along their way, then your YouTube channel, it's going to grow.

Yeah, I love that as well. I love being able to hear you all here today say how I love hearing Christine say I'm off of Instagram. And I love it. It's great for my mental health. Having people move off of Instag and just have that relief is just rewarding and knowing you're booking brand deals and you're not on Instagram. So I do think we also need to realize what we can do, who we can help when we just kind of get over. Is the strategy perfect, Is the lighting perfect, Is the editing perfect? The change we can make, just showing up and sharing our value to people. So I know we're almost at 1:30. I respect each and one of you's time. I appreciate you being here for the hour. Any last minute things, I. I don't want to keep you any longer. Does anyone have any last minute things they wanted to share before I let you go on your way?

Yes, Christine, the one thing that was also really cool, Trina, in your program, I don't know if you remember this, but I wanted to kind of go off script and publish videos about stuff that I was actually interested in versus like just being boxed into this one topic over and over and over again. And I took a risk and you encouraged me to take that risk to create a video about my faith which is something that can be polarizing, something that can turn a lot of people off. And that video actually blew up and got 9,000 views. And I also think it deters the people who are not a good fit. So I want to emphasize that too, is that when you're on YouTube, something that can keep you going on in the long term is publishing what you care about, not just what everybody wants to hear all the time, even if it doesn't get a ton of views. It's just for your own sanity and you know, doing things that you're interested in. It's a form of self expression, not just this like rigid business tool and the messages that I've gotten from people and the connection that I have with people because I'm sharing about who I really am and what I'm really interested in. It goes a long way. You're not just a one dimensional creator on YouTube where people get what they want and then they leave. It's people care about who you are. You can put who you are out into the light and if people like that, they will stay. If they don't, they'll find someone else that they connect with. And that's more valuable because when people are enrolling in my course, I want them to know who I really am versus putting up a facade. I don't want to be surrounded by the wrong type of people. These are customers and clients that I'm servicing that I'm putting my heart and energy into. I would rather miss out on course enrollments and be surrounded by the right type of client versus I just want to become a millionaire on my course enrollments. You know, so. So that's what I really love about YouTube is that if you can be in someone's phone or their living room or they're listening to you while they're doing their chores, think of the impact that an hour long or a 30 minute long video has versus somebody mindlessly scrolling for this, you know, reel that just like assaults your senses. Yes, that stuff draws us in, but it rarely makes us want to learn more about the creator or subscribe to their email list. We don't go deeper. So I love what Hope was saying because if you look at the metrics of, you know, the data on how much a social media follower is worth versus an email subscriber. Your email list is such a valuable asset and people will sign up for your email list with the right call to action in a YouTube video way more readily than they will from a platform like Instagram. Instagram is designed to keep you on that platform and not navigate out of that. That's why like the swipe up was only available to like huge creators in the very beginning and then they began to loosen it. But just think of how you consume social media. Do you often subscribe to people's email lists based on reels? Not so much for a YouTube video. I've invested 30 minutes of my time with you. Now you're telling me to download this free thing that goes right along with what I wanted to learn in the first place and I'm in. Right? I'm now you have access to their inbox, so just want to emphasize that.

Yeah, I I'm really aware, like, we're doing this business thing. We need to have fun with it. And so the video she talked about, I say have wild card videos.

Yes.

We have to think about our ready to buy viewer, but we have to enjoy what we're doing, too. And creating wild card videos are your chance to talk about something you love or test something out, and even to give that audience an extra connection point with you. So I'm definitely glad you brought that up. Christine Logan, ladies, thank you so much for taking the time. I know we're at time. I know y' all busy. You have a call. So thank you for being here today. Thank you for sharing your journey, everything that you had to say. And I look forward to continue seeing you all continue to grow on YouTube.