Tips to monetize your content ft. Austin Evans (1Billion+ views on YT)

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This is Grace Weekly, where you can find the best take-outs we have collected for you, taken directly from our “Smart Venture Podcast” and our interviews with the best of the best.

Did you miss our last newsletter and the best tips on how to grow your audience for business and improve your content creation? You can find our interview with Lauren Riihimaki, the creator of the LaurDIY YT Channel with more than 21M+ followers over social media here.

Let’s find out new tips and tricks with this week's guest Austin Evans!

Austin Evans is a successful American YouTuber and social media influencer who creates videos of technology, from console reviews to comparisons between old and new tech and everything in between. Since starting his channel in 2009, Austin’s main channel has gained 1,265,270,681 video views and has involved the collaboration of big names in the industry, such as Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) and Bitwit. Until today, he has reviewed hundreds of gadgets, including several iPhone editions, PlayStation consoles, and VR devices.

Old game, same rules.

Kids these days, am I right?

Whatever the sector, having an audience is essential to build new business opportunities. No matter if you are networking or looking for lead generation, dear reader, if you are selling services or products it’s easier to do it if there is trust and people like what you have to say.

Parts of this newsletter are freely taken from our interview with Austin and adjusted for reading. 

GG: You are one of the very few YouTubers that have made it and all your videos are very highly viewed. This level of consistency is so hard to get, how do you manage it all?

AE: You have to prioritize and it’s important to give yourself some time. I have a family now, a one-year-old, so there's a lot of work to do, but there are also things that are more important than work. The balancing act between work and family is always a challenge for me. I always feel like I'm pushing and pulling on one side of the equation, too much or not enough. For the company, my job now is more like a company president than a content creator. We now have a team, a brand-new office, three active channels, and a side company. It's a lot, and to be honest, it's not sustainable for me to handle it all, it feels like I'm on a hamster wheel, about to fall off every day, and it's not healthy. I'm not good at managing, I'm much better in front of the camera, but right now it's more important for me to focus on the business side of things. I need to delegate more and teach others to do important tasks in the business. As a solo creator, you have to do everything, from being the lead editor to doing the accounting. Having those skills is important, but it's equally important to delegate as you grow and hire smartly. However, it's hard to let go and trust others, even if you have the right person, because the company feels like your baby and you have put so much effort and attention into it. It's been my life since I was 16 and it's so ingrained in me. I know that nothing lasts forever, and there could be a million reasons why things will stop. But now that I have a kid and just turned 30, I'm starting to try to unwind that thought process in my head a little bit.

Finding your balance should take less than 25 years, just saying.

GG: Merchandising is a big revenue stream for creators, how does having a big audience relate to creating a successful product?

AE: Because you're a YouTuber with a large audience, it doesn't mean they want or care about your merchandise. However, if you have an actual cool product, that's a different value proposition. There is no set playbook for transitioning from being a content creator to building a brand and selling merchandise. It's a unique experience for each individual, and it's important to be aware of your limitations and to know where to invest your time. Building a physical brand is expensive and slow. When it comes to creating merchandise, I consider the return on investment because it requires a lot of time, money, and effort. It's not just the amount spent to develop the product and to buy it, but also the stress of watching a shipping container on a boat get stuck for three months, causing angry customers to wait for their product. For me, the ROI isn't quite there, as I could make 10 videos for the same amount of effort and make way more money and be more meaningful. However, I understand the long-term value of it in building a brand. I am a little more pessimistic about merchandise, but this is just my perspective.

“I should totally make a video out of this. And a t-shirt.”

GG: What monetization strategies do you apply when working with brands, such as in a potential deal for reviews?

AE: When it comes to brand deals, companies usually reach out to marketing teams or agencies to find influencers, you have to be strategic about that and understand that funnel. However, you want to be authentic to your audience and don’t be too sales-pitchy. My audience understands that I have sponsors - of course - and some of the content I create is based on those sponsorships. Some videos may be more politically inclined or feature products I received early, but I make sure to balance these with content that I genuinely find interesting. My audience understands this is a part of my job and that I don't partner with just any random brand. I think it's important, to be honest, and sincere with your audience. When it comes to sponsored content, you have to make smart decisions. Work with good brands and be honest with your audience about the sponsorship. You don't want to taint your other content by being "chaotic evil" by saying yes to everything just for money. Be smart, be honest, and be legitimate with your audience.

GG: How do you engineer a viral video? 

AE: You don’t! Unless you have a truly unique and wild idea, it's hard to make something go viral. You can, however, increase its chances of performing well. We've had videos that performed well because they were about a hot topic, like the launch of the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. We knew it would be a big year for our channel, so we positioned ourselves well to take advantage of all the content opportunities that came with it. Once you have that, you can work on marketing it effectively. This includes creating a compelling title and thumbnail that will draw people in. Then you make the video, making sure it's interesting and engaging. That's the flow we've followed and I think more people are starting to do the same. A lot of YouTubers, even those who have been around for a long time, are still stuck in an old mindset, but it's good to see people moving towards a more effective approach. When you are making it you need to remember that people are deciding whether to click or not on your video, so it needs to not only look visually interesting or unique but also communicate an idea that people find worth their time.

Once you get the flow, nothing will stop you.

“Grace Weekly - the tips you need to grow your business”

So what do we take out from this? In every business, you have to leverage what you are good at and make people see what makes you the best at what you do (like Wolverine, dear reader). Scaling is something that will come in time, but you need to balance every aspect of your life to be ready for every challenge!

Top takeaways from our newsletter this week:

Scaling and delegate go hand in hand.

Balance your job and your life to get the most out of them.

Be smart and honest with your audience.

Make content worth of their time.

Take advantage of all the content opportunities.

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And if you want to listen to the full interview with Austin, head to “Smart Venture Podcast” and listen to it!

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