Dr. Laura Shaheen (3:18)

I'm doing great. Thank you so much for that introduction. It's wonderful to connect with you.

Dusty Porter (3:24)

It is. And I'm sure I did a horrible job telling people what you do and who you are. And because of that, I'm going to give you the floor. Tell the audience exactly kind of what you do during your day job.

Dr. Laura Shaheen (3:35)

Yes. So I'm a fertility doctor. So that means that I help people build families. There's a lot of education in that interview. I'm in school and taking tests for a long time. And then my day to day is talking through lots of options for people if they want to build a family. Why are they not conceiving? Intrauterine inseminations, ivf, Gosh. Donor egg donor sperm, surrogacy. Just many different ways to build a family and how we can help them. That is my day to day.

Dusty Porter (4:04)

It's awesome. It's interesting that I'm talking to Laura this week as we're recording this. It is the 8th of December, 2025. I know people go back and listen to these episodes even years in the future is why I'm saying the date. But this week, for those of you listening to this podcast, know that my wife and I are going to be bring. Not me, I'm just going to be there. But we are expecting triplets and the C Sect is scheduled for the 12th, which is Friday of this week. So it's really cool to be talking to Laura. This week we were talking off air a bit about our journey and kind of where we are kind of bringing the triplets into the world. So we're really excited about that. So I thought that was a pretty neat little coincidence that we were having her on the show. Now give me the Origin story of the channel. So you've done the fertility work. You're a huge authority in this space. What made you decide to go and venture into the YouTube waters?

Dr. Laura Shaheen (5:02)

Yes, well, I'd been on other social media platforms for a while, and YouTube was the last venture that I took the leap of faith and tried. And I will just say I only wish I had started it sooner. The real origin of getting on social media was I love educating my patients. And I realized even in my own doctor visits as a patient, I can only retain so much information after a doctor. Doctors visit. It's just overwhelming. There's like a power dynamic. I forget to ask questions and then, you know, I forget what they say. And so I wanted to educate my patients. And what I did back in 2016, 2017, is I wrote books. I wrote books on fertility and recurrent miscarriage. And I actually published them through Amazon Direct Publishing, which is now Kindle Direct, because then I could honestly order them for like about a dollar and give them to my patients. So I'd be like, okay, we're going to talk for an hour and you're not going to remember anything, and then I'm going to give you this so you can look up these tests that we're doing and stuff like that. And so I started on Instagram in 2017, started posting just because I didn't have a publisher, I didn't have, like, pr, and I thought, well, this might help other people. And then in October 2019, my kids that are now teenagers told me about this thing called TikTok. And I was like, all right, I'll give it a try. So, I mean, tell me if I'm wrong, but I actually think I'm the first fertility doctor on TikTok in October 2019, and that those connections and just kind of educating through short forms was really fun and I built a community and that was wonderful. And then 2021, I was like, all right, I really love short form content. I've had to really figure that out. But I'm not teaching as much like, I'm a talker here. I'm trying to answer your question. I'm talking, talking. And so long form content is a really wonderful way for me to teach. And nobody wants to read books anymore. So I tell my patients, listen, I know you're not going to retain a lot of what I said, but I have a video on every single point that I brought up in this visit. You know how long it takes to get through ivf, what type of supplements to use can you exercise, you know, while you're trying to see all these questions. And so I really think about it as a resource for my patients and if it helps a larger community. Fantastic.

Dusty Porter (7:22)

So the channel, when you started, you started on TikTok, but you then obviously transitioned to do you still do the vertical short form content, but you do the long form dialogue interviews on your podcast. And you also do these talking head videos, which is kind of the bread and butter of what you're doing on the YouTube channel. Was there a moment when you realized the power of this platform and kind of what you could do with your reach and you already had the knowledge and now instead of just being able to speak to people in the same room or via email one to one, you were able to have this outreach that is much larger. What was that like for you?

Dr. Laura Shaheen (8:00)

Pretty incredible. And then I thought to myself, oh, it does make sense. Kind of a lot of sense since it's search optimized. Right. So if people are searching up like how many interview inseminations should I do before I consider ivf? They're most likely going to be looking for it on Google. It's just like what we've used for years and years in general. And if you have information on YouTube, it's going to pop up really quickly. So the search is incredible. And I did start a podcast about a year after getting on YouTube. And so it's just another way for me to reach more people. So, you know, I'm creating short form content. I'll put it on YouTube shorts. But for YouTube, I kind of think about it like my long form videos and then also a playlist for my podcast.

Dusty Porter (8:47)

Yeah. And the search is powerful for what you're doing because these people oftentimes that are going through this. Fortunately, you know, my wife and I have, you know, have not had to deal with this. But with that being said, we've known a lot of folks who have and oftentimes these people are afraid to go to people in person or whatever the reason may be. So going to Google is oftentimes, you know, or now ChatGPT are oftentimes their first response. And so they're getting on YouTube and you just have all of these great informative videos of just for example, one of the ones I'm reading now, one of your more popular videos that you did a year ago, first trimester pregnancy, everything you need to know from a fertility doctor, and videos like that, where you're able to continually help people, even years in the future from when you release that Video. And I think that's the power of YouTube. Now let's talk about learning the medium and learning how to grow on YouTube, because I assume it's much different than what you're doing in your day to day. What do you think were some things that you've done early on, now that you've been on YouTube for about three, four, five years? What did you do early on that you think attributed to the success of the channel and kind of where it is today?

Dr. Laura Shaheen (9:59)

Um, I think consistency for me has been really important. So when I started, and one of the reasons I held off for a while is I really wanted to commit to putting a video out once a week. And so I wanted to make sure I was just in a space in life where I could make that realistic commitment. I also think that always asking for help is really important. One great thing about YouTube is they really do ask for your credentials as a licensed medical doctor in the United States. They want to see that I'm accredited and that I have a medical license to practice in the United States. And as a part of being in that health community on YouTube, I've had access and been able to meet other doctors that are and nurses and embryologists and people who are trying to teach. Like, I am so building that community. Asking questions. Having a consult with you, Dusty. I think it was over a year or two ago. I just always reach out and ask the questions. For me, two things. Number one, you know, I went through infertility myself. Like, I was the fertility doctor that couldn't get pregnant. And it was full of shame and frustration. And this was, you know, my kids are teenagers, so this was way before there was a lot of education on social media. And I realized if I felt this alone and confused, as someone who has studied for years and years to learn about fertility, wow. My patients might be having a lot of questions. And I also know that questions come up in the middle of the night. Like, if you are in your first trimester and you have spotting, you can call your doctor or go to the emergency room or something like that. But sometimes you're just like, I just need to know, like, is this a problem? Or how do I know if this is a miscarriage or not? And you're going to go online, while you're lying in bed, you're going to grab your phone and go online and ask the question. And if, if I can be there as a licensed medical doctor and someone that's truly been caring for patients for 20 years, I hope that I can be a Voice of reassurance and true education. Unfortunately, so much of media is kind of grab your attention, tell the person a problem, make them really scared, and then sell them a solution. And so I do know that, but I am trying to be a voice of reason and truly help people and get that, that accurate evidence based information out there.

Dusty Porter (12:25)

So for people listening to this, who are trying to grow a channel and they've seen no traction and they're like, oh, I've been on YouTube for four years, or someone listening to this, pondering or thinking about starting a YouTube channel, what do you think your story can portray to them as far as you were as far away from an influencer as you could be? I mean you're, you're a fertility doctor, you're an expert in your domain, but by no means were you someone who has produced tons of media for YouTube or TikTok or whatever when you started. So what can your story and journey tell these people and help them where they are?

Dr. Laura Shaheen (13:00)

Oh, that's great. Well, I feel, and you told me this too when we had our conversation, really trying to focus in on the purpose of why you're posting what you know, the why of what you're doing. Because if you're just focused on numbers, it's gonna be a very empty, you know, road and lonely and really frustrating. And not every video that I post, you know, gets a lot of views. But I still think to myself, okay, there's some patient out there that or person who is gonna ask this question and they'll find it. And even if it's, you know, a hundred people, you know that those are a hundred people. Like I've heard influencers and content providers talk about like you get a video and it might get a hundred views. Imagine being in a room with a hundred people, that's a lot of people and trying to find that purpose. Even if that purpose is to sell a product or share a service that you're providing, just kind of please keep going back to the why you're doing it. Because if you're just doing it to try to get like a certain number of followers or viewers, I just think, and I fall into that too, I'm sort of like speaking to myself because the comparison is really normal. Like I might be the first fertility doctor on TikTok, but I certainly do not have the most followers or subscribers on any different channel. So, you know, you gave me that advice too, Dusty. And I do feel like you gotta keep going back to that, otherwise it's just gonna be a really Hard road.

Dusty Porter (14:40)

Are there any metrics that you measure aside from views, subscribers? What, what analytics? What types of data are you looking at and how do you use it to help you?

Dr. Laura Shaheen (14:49)

Yeah, I really need to do better at that. I would love some advice from you on that. Honestly, I do look at views and I go back to looking at interactions or clicks or number of comments or true engagement, not only views. And then I'm also curious just, you know, where the viewers are coming from. Like, I think it's really interesting when I do choose a title that I find is really optimized for search and focused on a question. I feel like a lot of the views come from, you know, people that don't follow me. So that's how you get, like newer people. And sometimes they subscribe and stick around to the channel, sometimes they don't. But at least you're getting out in front of people.

Dusty Porter (15:32)

So let's go down that, that route for a second. As far as packaging, you mentioned titles. How do you handle and how has it evolved over time? The titles, the thumbnails and descriptions maybe mention kind of if it has evolved how, and then your process of getting those done and how you've changed them and why.

Dr. Laura Shaheen (15:48)

Yeah. Oh my gosh. If you scroll back to what I was doing a couple of years ago, I mean, I know creators say, like, don't ever delete anything and I won't, but it is really quite cringy to see my thumbnails from like 2021. And I feel like two things have really evolved over time. Number one, simplicity in the thumbnail, like really trying to just get a picture of me because I think that's kind of the brand. And then one or two words, you know, that is just, you know, like IVF timeline or, you know, first trimester spotting and then thinking about the actual title, really explaining a little bit more or even putting like the question that people might be looking for into the title and making sure that those two things don't say the same thing. Because again, I still consider myself a learner when it comes to YouTube, but I've definitely found when I did those two things more simple, recognizable, kind of deciding on what the thumbnails I want them to look like and then having the title be more of an explanation, but not actually repeat what the words are on the thumbnail has been really helpful.

Dusty Porter (17:01)

All right, guys, I interrupt the interview just briefly to tell you two different things. Number one, I offer one on one coaching for creators. If you'd like to build a relationship with Me and have me take a look personally at your content to tell you where I think you can be improving. Bounce ideas off of me. Definitely check that link out in the description and then if you just want a one off channel review of me recording a video in regards to where I think you should be spending the majority of your time as far as improving and furthering your content and your brand, check that link out as well. All right, now back to the show. Are you doing all of your YouTube work yourself? Have you outsourced anything yet or how does your workflow? How does that look?

Dr. Laura Shaheen (17:41)

Great. I definitely have help. What I do is I just record and a long form video. I create notes for an editor that sort of says an outline and some ideas for like, oh, I think a video of woman and a doctor talking, you know, at this point would be really great. Or sometimes, you know, my educational content is pretty specific so I actually share images from textbooks and things or studies. So really detailed notes and then, and then the editor comes back to me with ideas, edited content, thumbnail ideas, and then we just kind of go back and forth. But it's a pretty streamlined process by this point.

Dusty Porter (18:25)

How much do you look at other YouTube creators or TikTok influencers as far as just taking a look at what they're doing and see how you can make it applicable to your channel and your content?

Dr. Laura Shaheen (18:35)

Yeah, I don't think I do it enough. I spend more time creating than consuming. But I do think it's helpful to get on the platform a little bit and sort of see there's certain medical influencers that I do check out every once in a while. I mean like the gold standard is Dr. Mike, who has been doing YouTube medical content longer than anyone. But I also realize, you know, I'm not Dr. Mike. It's okay that I'm doing things, things a little bit differently. But I am curious about, you know, his presentation and I look at his descriptions every once in a while. I'm like, oh, okay, that might be something great to add. So certain people that are true sort of leaders in kind of medical content, I look at, I don't, you know, I'm not looking at sort of creators outside. I think that could be a great piece of advice for people that are listening. You know, maybe I should start looking at, you know, more of like Mr. Beast or other creators and kind of what they're doing and I think it's helpful. But I think for my, my mental health, I try to not scroll too much. I try to think about like Getting on, creating, maybe looking a little bit and then going on with the rest of my life, if at all possible.

Dusty Porter (19:50)

We mentioned about the editors. The editor that you have help with the video. You don't do everything yourself, but you are a professional, you have a family, you have all kinds of time commitments. How are you managing to juggle all of this? As far as the thing that I hear the most from creators when they talk with me is, you know, I don't have time.

Dr. Laura Shaheen (20:09)

Yeah.

Dusty Porter (20:09)

Or, you know, yes, I want to do one video a week, but I just, I just don't have time to do that. You know, it's not my full time job. I'm not making that much money from it. Obviously you weren't either when you started. And so how are you. Are there things that maybe some pro tips you can give the listeners as far as how to get more stuff done with the same amount of time we all have?

Dr. Laura Shaheen (20:27)

Absolutely. I think batching is really helpful. I will think of a video idea. I'll create the script first. And I just keep a folder of scripts that are kind of ready to go. I film in my office, my clinical office. And so if I happen to finish a clinic day early and, you know, I've got some energy left over, I've got the template, it sort of ready to go. So I'll get on, I'll film for 20 minutes and then I shoot the film to the editor and kind of away we go. I also am not be. I love repurposing content. So I have been creating short form content for so long that I've got this backlog of reels or TikTok videos that have done really, really well. And so every once in a while I will put that up on my YouTube shorts and change the wording a little bit, you know, add a little bit more te on screen. And so repurposing content is actually really a big pro tip. So batching, repurposing content. Sometimes I'll actually take a YouTube video that I did maybe like two years ago. Wow, this is actually a really good discussion on, you know, the different types of miscarriage. And I will have my podcast production team actually repurpose that into a podcast episode, like an audio episode. And so that's another form of repurposing because, like last August, I mean, it really, it really does take a lot of time. Like, you're totally right, Desi. Like, it really does. And I was like, you know what? My daughter is going to college. August is going to be kind of crazy. My son is starting high school. I really do not want to be worried about meeting goals for content. And so I did some batching earlier in the summer. I repurposed content, and I was off social media for the month of August, and. And it was wonderful. I actually felt my creativity come back a little bit after that break. And, you know, sometimes even just maybe not meeting that goal, like, nobody else is gonna know that. I really missed a week or two of downloading YouTube. So I hope that those tips are helpful. Like, take a break when you need it, batch content, and then, like, keep ideas going, like, whether it's on your phone or something. I think the worst is like, oh, my gosh, I need a video next week. And I can't think of anything that's, like, the biggest way for me to get, like, writer's block, something like that.

Dusty Porter (23:02)

It's funny for me because right now we are on the precipice of us welcoming three humans into the world of this week. And so this is my third recording that hasn't been released yet. So I have two more I've already done, and then I have two more interviews that I'm doing today, which is the beginning of that week. And so I told myself I'd like to have five. I want to have five in the can to get me through at least a couple weeks going into 20, 26, and then maybe then I'll be able to kind of get back into a routine. And so knowing the season of life that you are in, knowing yourself, you know, some. I'm working with a comedy duo right now with my coaching program. And for them, batching doesn't work because they feel like they're improving so much every time they record that. They record so many in one day. By the time they can tell which ones they've recorded at the end of that day, because they can tell, they're like, oh, man, we've grown so much since then, so there is a balance there. And so I think that everything that you just mentioned was spot on for sure. Now, you started with vertical content, short form, form. Talk about the difference in formats as far as vertical and YouTube shorts. And then now you're going, really, you're leaning into the long form content, which you and I discussed that in our previous conversation. But what are the differences in the two? And how can people succeed doing short form without that being all that they do and who they're known for?

Dr. Laura Shaheen (24:23)

Oh, that's great. I mean, they are two totally different forms of content creation. And I do think that people watch each for different reasons. I feel that short form is much more of entertainment or a really solid message to get across in a short amount of time. And so you really have to hook people very strongly and tell them what they're going to learn in the next 30 seconds or they're just going to scroll. Whereas long form content. I feel like people really do have a question, you know, in YouTube, it's like, I gotta change a part on my toilet. Like, I'm gonna find it and like, I'm really gonna sit down and like, watch this. Or I have a medical question about intrauterine insemination. I'm gonna find it and really watch it. And so there's less, I think, of that sort of quick, you know, flashy, sort of to the point, hold their attention, which you still have to do on YouTube, but I think you have a much more engaged audience in general. I would say for educational, it can be a little bit of a. Of a slower pace. I can share a little bit more patient anecdotes and a little bit more of kind of the empathy part and even share my own journey. There's a little bit more storytelling and long form and much more detailed content, for sure.

Dusty Porter (25:46)

Let's now transition to the money side of things because you're obviously making money with your content. You having the ability to pay people to help you obviously is a sign of that. That. Can you talk about the journey to get monetized to where you were making money and then maybe give us an estimate of, you know, a channel of your size, which as of recording here, first week of December 2025, you're almost at 150,000 subscribers. So congratulations. You're almost meeting a really cool milestone. You're over a thousand videos uploaded. So that's kind of a little bit of background, kind of where your channel is. Talk about your monetization journey and kind of how much money on average you might make just from the content?

Dr. Laura Shaheen (26:29)

Sure. So right now I'm just honestly getting paid from YouTube for the ads. And it's on average maybe 22 to $2,500 a month. And that really does cover the cost of editing and some equipment that I've bought along the way. I, you know, I am really fortunate that my day job is being a physician, and so it's not a livelihood for me. But I. It is so wonderful that it's able to cover truly the cost. And that allowed me to continue to do this incredible creative outlet that I truly hope is helping people.

Dusty Porter (27:11)

The reinvestment strategy that you are implementing. As far as if I were to ask you as your YouTube coach, what is your end game like, what do you hope to get from creating this content? You know, the satisfaction of the patients hearing the stories via email or DMS and saying, oh, Dr. Laura, thank you so much for that video. It helped me through a really hard trying time. What does YouTube provide to you? What does it mean to you? Why are you doing it? Because obviously you have a full time gig, you know, making good money from that. And obviously now you're just reinvesting all the monetary things you're getting from the channel. So what are you. What are we trying to get to?

Dr. Laura Shaheen (27:50)

That is such a great question. I feel that those comments and the DMs that you're discussing are truly amazing. It's like getting the birth announcements from my patients. In my office. I have what I call like a sunshine drawer. I just have this like, drawer of cards and on tough days I'll just open it up and like, remember patients from 10, 15 years ago. And the same thing happens when I upload a video. Like, I really have people that reach out to me and just say, I appreciate, you know, how you calmly explained this. I learned things that I should ask my doctor that I never even thought about women's health in general. There's so much that gets dismissed and gaslit. I think to have a doctor that's talking about, you know, how painful periods are actually not normal and you should ask the question about endometriosis, giving people that ability to have really fruitful and helpful conversations and know when to get a second opinion and empowering people to advocate for their care. There's nothing better than that. And, and so, yeah, I know. I mean, of course I want to get to a million subscribers on YouTube and I love, you know, the metrics. And, and I, I do actually really find it fascinating looking at, you know, what performs well and what doesn't. I find that very interesting. But you know, for everything where I'm like, well, I know if I put out something that says like, top five reasons you're not getting pregnant, I know I'll get a lot of views, but then I'll be like, you know, there's this really subtle thing that I just talked about with a patient I probably have only seen like 10 times in my whole life, but I'm gonna do a video on it because I know someone else is gonna have that same question.

Dusty Porter (29:37)

That is powerful. I absolutely, I love that. I think that really puts a magnifying glass on. Everything that. That I love about YouTube as well is the nuances of the relationships that you build. And obviously, we talk a lot about the monetization side of things here on the podcast. The strategy, how to grow. And so the final question that I want to ask you is, I normally word it like this, and I say, if you were to go back, what is something that you wish you would have known soon in regards to the YouTube channel? So let's talk about growth of the channel. But there's people of all walks of life listening to this in regards to the season or the stage that they're in with their YouTube channel. Some people haven't started. Some people have half a million million subscribers. They're trying to grow to a million, whatever it may be. We have all different spectrums here that listen to the show. But what would be that piece of advice or the parting words that you might want to leave to those creators if you were listening to this podcast?

Dr. Laura Shaheen (30:33)

That's wonderful. I think every time you post, go back to your purpose, go back to your why, whatever that is. Another thing is, please leave comparison out of it. Even though we all do it. It's like, I know it, but, like, just try to leave comparison, you know, off the table. I'm giving you a lot, but just post, you know, like, I was so nervous with my first couple of videos, like, and yes, they're so cringy, and I didn't really, like, know how to talk to a camera for that long and. But just do it. And then my last thing is just, please just ask for help. I have at a couple of the YouTube kind of creator events that they've done in Seattle, which is just amazing. A lot of people talk about how lonely it is to be a creator. And that sounds really funny if you don't get it. But you're thinking about ideas by yourself, you're filming by yourself, you might be editing by yourself. And yes, it's about building a community and interacting with people, but there's a lot of alone time. And so finding those other creators, you know, reaching out to people, asking questions like, I reached out to you and I listened to your podcast, and I love hearing from other creators. I think don't be afraid to ask questions because we've all had them before. And just again, find your purpose and keep going back to it.

Dusty Porter (31:52)

Being part of a group of creators is one of the most powerful things that you can do. It's. It's a bouncing, you know, a backboard of where you can just, hey, I have this idea and this doesn't sound stupid to you guys because you're in the same space that I'm in. You may not be talking about the same thing. I may be talking about fertility, like in your case, and I may be talking about YouTube education, but we share the commonality of, hey, we're all trying to grow something here. We're all trying to get our voices heard, which is what the power of this platform of YouTube is. And so, Laura, you've been an amazing guest. I love chatting with you through my program over a year ago and I loved chatting with you and highlighting your story and journey here on the podcast. If you know someone who'd be a great fit for this show, I'm going to put a link link. My email is Dusty, Dusty Porter.com. you can email me a connection for some. Some people you'd like to have you know me feature here on the show. All of our links, including Dr. Laura's and everything that she has to offer will be down below, as well as all of our YouTube services. We appreciate everything. I appreciate all the thoughts and prayers in terms of the impending delivery of our babies. We're super excited about that. I'm sure to. I'll make sure I keep you guys up to date on that. And Laura, thank you again for joining us today.

Dr. Laura Shaheen (33:04)

Well, thank you so much, Jesse. It's wonderful to reconnect with you. I love what you are doing. You are building an incredible community for creators and you are doing amazing things and true honor to be here.

Dusty Porter (33:15)

And that's a wrap on this week's episode of the Creators Hub podcast. What a great interview and conversation this was. I really love doing these each and every week. Don't forget to check out all of our services that we offer to creators. We have some that are much more involved and then we have others where you can just pay five bucks a month month and be a part of our mastermind group and get all the free content that I produce over there every single week. So check those links out in the show notes down below. Subscribe to the show, whether it be on YouTube if you watch the video version of the podcast, or in your podcast player of choice if you prefer to listen to your podcast. All right, guys, we'll talk to you next week.