Laurie (3:03)

Great. Thanks for having me, Dusty.

Lori (3:05)

Absolutely. So explain before we even talk about the channel why you have all that experience with your, I assume your husband's job or just as far as traveling goes. Why were you even in this space to begin with?

Laurie (3:18)

We have to fly standby as family members and if there's an open spot then you get on the plane. If there's not, you just keep hanging out in the airport. But the main tip is if we did not get on that airplane and then they had to check our bag, or if we didn't get on the airplane but we checked our bag, assuming we would then that we would delay the flight if they had to, then get all of our bags out of the belly of the airplane and that is a big no. They want on time departures and all that stuff. So we have to pack and only carry on. So even for a 10 day trip, two week trip, I look really frumpy.

Lori (4:00)

So tell me eight years ago or whenever? Yeah, eight years ago when you decided to start the channel, you had all this experience of doing the travel thing and you knew there were other people who wanted to travel maybe on a budget or carrying less stuff or just be less stress. What you mentioned in the intro there, what made you decide to say, okay, it's time to start a YouTube channel and really publish the stuff that I've learned along the way.

Laurie (4:26)

I started with my channel being Loripop Ideas that pop. Try explaining what your channel is about with that title. So I went to Vidsummit a couple of times and people were saying to Niche down and I was like no, it's going to cramp my creativity. I'm not going to be able to be myself and my own personality. But I looked at the analytics and the ones about travel were seen the most. And so I was like, okay, I'm just going to do it. And I still, it feels like I'm saying the same thing, but it's like the first time I've ever thought of it. So it's so exciting like to get that, that first idea again. But say it in a creative way using my teaching background because kids have such a slow or quick attention span now.

Lori (5:18)

Do you do the YouTube thing full time now?

Laurie (5:20)

Yes. Yes.

Lori (5:22)

Okay. Okay.

Laurie (5:22)

I have been and it took me like two years before I niche down to just travel tips by Laurie and people would ask me questions and when you do something daily with your tech stuff, when you do something daily, it's like the easiest task people want to know about and you're like, oh, I didn't think about. They. They may not know that info. So I'm just. I was solving a problem when I got here. I was watching YouTube videos in Texas. My son was like 10 years old. So I had time at night to relax and watch YouTube videos. And I was looking for things to do in Waco where Fixer Upper is filmed with Chip and Joanna Gaines, if you've ever heard of them. There was no YouTube video about what to do after you see their little store. That's all there was. And so I'm like, somebody needs to make a video. And so I did and. And I did it on my Mac laptop like from start to finish. And every time I would make a mistake, I would start over. I had no clue what imovie was and it took me 11 times. My very first video.

Lori (6:28)

I'm so glad that you made that first point about I call it low hanging fruit. It's the things that are simple to you that you never think about. But you see all the questions coming through on your videos and when you do tutorials like what I do and tips, things that travel tips like you do. Utilizing the comment section for video ideation and creation is important because you're getting a lot of your best ideas from the people who are watching your videos the most. And so I love that. What surprised you the most about the YouTube side of things once you started going really into it and doing it not necessarily full time, but really getting serious about it. What was something that surprised you the most?

Laurie (7:08)

I could not believe how many people were truly thankful for me answering their questions, giving them tips, or how nervous they were. I couldn't believe I made money from a free thing of marketing platform. I was shocked at that. I was shocked that I kept getting ideas. I was so surprised at the analytics that YouTube gives you. Like the time most watched the questions you can toggle the comments to. What questions are there showing up? That was very helpful for me.

Lori (7:44)

Yeah. What analytics or data points do you look at the most now that you've learned about them and figured out what they mean? What are for you? What are the most important data points or analytics that you get to dive into for your YouTube channel?

Laurie (7:59)

When I go look at analytics, I look at, I don't even know what it's called. I just know how to get there. Where it shows you the engagement, I think. And it will tick up that line graph will tick up at certain parts in your video. And I'm like, why are they watching that one? I didn't have any text pop up or a picture pop up, but I was making a list. It usually I try since it's tips, I try to make people feel like they're learning something. So I use anything for lists. One, it makes them feel heard. See, I'm doing that right now. Two, it makes them feel like they need to take notes. And three, it makes them feel like they need to pay attention. Okay, this is important, I gotta hear this. And it keeps them going and through that 32nd mark, if they're still watching after the 32nd mark, YouTube thinks that's important. So right around the 32nd I try to make sure I have a B roll that's important or a list pop up in text form to pop up just to help them. But that analytics of when they're watching helps also give me, along with the comments, a future video idea. Maybe.

Lori (9:07)

How often, how often do you go in your analytics and look at the different metrics? As far as I love the idea of doing list, I do lists for my videos. A lot of creators do it. They find it just the points that you made about note taking and watch time and retention seems to be longer on lists because they're wanting to see down the line of what that next point or bullet point is going to be. But how frequently and how do you manage not overlooking at the data and the analytics because it can become overwhelming and it can get you off track if you don't know how to manage your time.

Laurie (9:40)

Well, it's totally a balance like everything. I try to look at my analytics once a month and no more. I try not to compare myself to somebody else who's sharing similar tips and it just sends you down a rabbit hole. And I try to remember that I'm doing the best I can with what I have, especially if people are starting with just a phone. Like one tip is to be excellent at where you are, whatever phase you're at. Make sure your microphone's good, make sure you're in front of a good lighting or get right to the point. Don't have long pauses when you're editing your video. Stuff like that.

Lori (10:22)

Yeah. When you speak on be the best with what you have. What are the things that you've learned along the way in your eight year journey that has helped make you more efficient because you have a family, you have other responsibilities and other things you want to do. So how do you efficiently do your video creation process? We'll talk on your video creation process here in a minute. But how do you make sure you manage your time? That's one of the questions I get asked most or the parts of the podcast that people comment on or find me on social and they say, oh, I really love that bit about where they were talking about their workflow and how they basically do it on the weekly basis of getting things done. So can you speak on that side of things?

Laurie (11:05)

As a woman? As a girl, I video on the days that I wash my hair because humidity is rampant here in Houston. But I will plan ahead so that I know this is when I'm going to video. It's really hard for me to batch videos it, but I plan ahead to where this is my video topic. But I'm going to decide on the thumbnail first so that I say something that is in that thumbnail in the first 30 seconds kind of thing. And then I like to script out when I'm thinking all that stuff up too. I get all of my ideas when I'm traveling sitting in an airplane. So I do keep a list in the notes section of my phone. And then I make sure I take video footage anytime but I make the script. And then I've tried outlining, but I need a script. Even as a teacher of little kids, I made a script almost in my lesson plans almost daily just so I mentally could get it out of my head and then be more authentic in front of the camera. But it is very time consuming. I know. So I just set aside time and then I will also set a top aside time to just go take a walk or just read a book so that I'm not on screen but I don't have all of my systems down. But that's so important. It's so helpful in being productive. I have just recently started the do not disturb function on my phone.

Lori (12:40)

Yeah, the focus modes Are really cool to utilize on, like the iPhone, where I have a. I have what I call it a recording focus mode, where basically the only thing that can come through is a text message from my wife. Because obviously with our kids being in school and things might happen. Those are things that are important. But everything else, no notifications, no anything, put it in focus mode, hit record, start working, and do some deep work for a couple of hours. I absolutely love that. I want to ask a question specific to you. My wife. Speaking of my wife just a minute ago, she is a teacher like you. She. You were. She is an elementary school teacher. She always tells me she's, man, I wish I could be an influencer. But I know she's just saying that, right? Like, she knows me. I do YouTube and podcasting. And the thought of that for her I think would be, I just can.

Laurie (13:22)

I.

Lori (13:23)

She teaches all these students and she's so great at it, but it's so different than getting in front of a camera. So the question specific to you that I have is that how can a person like you, who had no experience in front of the camera, transition from quotations here, a normal job, to being an influencer or a content creator? What was that transition like and what were some things that you had to learn coming from the other side?

Laurie (13:46)

That's a great question. I think. Just I just started, but I was embarrassed to tell people that I had a YouTube channel. And I didn't really call it a channel until probably six months. Like, I didn't go into it. I'm starting a channel. But then when I started learning on YouTube and Google YouTube mainly I'm a video watcher instead of a reader learner. I'm a video learner. Anyway, I has a really good question.

Lori (14:18)

I just think that so many people deal with what you just mentioned in that when I first started, I didn't want to tell anyone that I put content on the Internet. I was embarrassed. Now it's the opposite. I'm like, anybody who will listen. I'm like, hey, I got a podcast. So I think that you have to get past that barriers. Were there. Was there anything for you that helped you get past that? Of, okay, I was a teacher for all these years. Now I have to promote myself and I have to talk about my content and I have to do using a different side of the brain. Was there anything that helped you?

Laurie (14:48)

It was just getting out there with confidence, being confident in the messy and just keeping on going. Like, I was consistent. I. When I started making money, then I Was like, okay, this is a true business. But I did start it off as a business mindset, but I was like, oh, I think I could make a full time income doing this. So that really helped spur me on to keep going. And then the ideas kept coming.

Lori (15:16)

Yeah.

Laurie (15:16)

And the more you say it, the more natural it sounds.

Lori (15:20)

Yeah, getting better, every video being consistent. All those things are things that people have heard here on the podcast. And it's so cliche, but it's so true. You really just have to keep putting yourself out there and keep doing it. You talked about the money as kind of the carrot on the stick and you talked about being able to make money and you doing it full time now. So let's talk about that side of things. Can you talk about the transition from, okay, this is a YouTube thing, hobby where I am putting videos out there to okay, now I've made a couple dollars, I made some money. Talk about that transition and then we'll. If you want to, you can mention what I call all of your monetization buckets, the ways that you're making money from the YouTube channel.

Laurie (15:58)

It's so helpful. Like, I've heard that Google Adsense is not very good. And I make almost my entire year of teaching salary just on Google AdSense. For some reason, they pay more for travel. I don't know what it is. So that's fantastic. My husband would be so embarrassed taking video footage for B roll in an airport or a picture in a restaurant of me. And I was embarrassed too, asking the passenger beside me in the airplane, could you take a picture of me using this, this item on the tray table? Thank you. And I just keep saying I'm never going to see that person again. But then when he started seeing that, oh, she needs an llc. Oh my gosh, she's got a. She needs to be an escort. Like, he was so shocked. And I also do think that Instagram is another helpful tool. But they don't like it when you push them off of YouTube. But I used Instagram for like outfits to show like a travel outfit because that was one of my high ranking videos. So I use that to get onto ltk, which is this like reward style how people link. Oh, this shirt I'm wearing. Oh, this bracelet I'm wearing. But I wanted to be able to link other things, not really clothing on my YouTube channel. And that's how I could. Now monetization is different with YouTube shopping, but they don't show everything or they don't let you link from everywhere. So that was my goal was to get on LTK through Instagram and then also the Amazon was the first way they can make $40 after a year from Amazon affiliates. And now it's 10 times that. But. And then also brand deals. I took some courses and learned how to pitch but and they say you are supposed to pitch like 50 a week so that you do make those mistakes so you learn how to more authentically approach a brand or how what they don't like. I invested in coaches watch the videos. So I'm reinvesting what I do make and with the lighting I have fab lights my low lit office and then I'll see other affiliates. My gosh.

Lori (18:17)

I can't think of them for your channel. It shows me that you're averaging around 35 to 45,000 views per day. Is that accurate? Is that kind of close to what you get per day?

Laurie (18:27)

And it's low. It's going low right now.

Lori (18:30)

Okay.

Laurie (18:31)

But it's going to pick up in the next couple of weeks.

Lori (18:34)

Would you explain that travel season I assume yes.

Laurie (18:38)

So different seasons and you check your analytics and once you're through with the you can go back a whole year and see when the spikes are in viewers watching. And for travel they're planning for fall travel in December. They're going to crash. Like my views are going to plummet. Not as bad as the COVID years when nobody was traveling. But I still will make one video a week even through Christmas time when I know not a lot of views are being seen just so that I am consistent. I feel like that helps. But I am getting that many views. But they are staying on YouTube long. That's the time that I want them to stay on. That's why I want to keep B roll going through videos so that they do stay on for more minutes and watch more of my videos on an.

Lori (19:30)

Average month on YouTube. What would you make via AdSense through.

Laurie (19:34)

The ad revenue program now I make close to 20,000.

Lori (19:39)

Yeah.

Laurie (19:39)

One month I it is insane. A whole year of that plus everything else I make five times what I did with the master's degree teaching in the wealthiest county in northern in Virginia.

Lori (19:51)

Yeah. I think that I'm not going to crazy. I'm not going to let my wife listen to this podcast because she listens to a few of them. But she. She it sometimes it. We have these conversations and we'll talk about just future and things we want to plan. We just got hardwood floors in our house and just some projects around the house and we talk about money, obviously being a married couple. And she's, okay, what do we do this month? That was a household income. And then I'll tell her. And she's like, wait a minute. So you're saying you make YouTube videos and podcasts and you make way more. It's just where people find the value. And if you're willing to put in the work, you can make a lot of money. And I think the $20,000 number will seem crazy for some people, but what you're doing is that you're getting these consistent views every month and obviously ebbs and flows. But these people are watching these videos. Some of your videos are rather long and they're watching these videos through duration, like a 15 minute video. Your watch time seems to be pretty high. And so these people are there, they're staying on YouTube. They're also watching other videos of yours. Right? So they're bouncing from one to the next. And for you, that's amazing. Now you're obviously getting other revenue streams through Amazon affiliates, which I assume now is better through the program you mentioned for the linking of the items and things of that nature. So you're doing really well for yourself. And I'm so thankful that YouTube allows a platform like this. Can you talk about if you were a YouTuber right now, listening to this? Whether you're starting, growing or trying to monetize, wherever you are along the journey, where would you put your time? Where would you allocate your time as far as would you start an Instagram? Would you start a TikTok to go in tandem with the YouTube channel? Or would you just focus on one until you get traction and then do the others? Where would you put your time?

Laurie (21:29)

I would start with YouTube, horizontal, not short, just because the monetization is so much quicker and so much higher than vertical form. I would also do whatever you have to do to get LTK or Amazon affiliate to start out with, just to give you a base income. But also you just have to know that you're doing this for your audience. Think of why you watch a YouTube video or an Instagram video. Why are you watching it? You want to get value from that person. It is all about the customer or the client. What value am I bringing? Why do they care? Why are they even wanting to watch your video and sit through the long pauses, cut out deposits, just get to it. I would start with that and know that you're not going to make money for another year. I just talked to a friend the other day. Just don't assume you're going to make money right off the bat. Give yourself the long haul and then just do your best where you're at.

Lori (22:36)

Did you have a failure along the way that you can look back on now and you've learned from that? Might could help someone else maybe not stumble along the same path working with their YouTube channel.

Laurie (22:49)

Oh, the lighting was so bad. When I looked back at some of the videos and I was right in front of a window. And then just the ways that I would ramble were so bad, but I just kept going and I learned, oh, you know what, I'm taking too much time. Or they stopped watching right here and then picked back up way over here. I need to fix that the next time. And then also I had a company asked me to pull a video because I something happened. We found it under the mattress in the corner of the bed and we did not want to be in that room anymore. I threw away like all of my travel stuff because I didn't know if any of those things got in my bags. And so I had to deal with that. I was freaking out. One thing I highly recommend is having a lawyer fix a contract for you before you do brand deals. That was a mistake with one of the brands that I worked with. I had ended up having to do a lot more things in the video and go back and take it down off of YouTube and put it back on with the correct things that brand now wanted. And so that was a big learning lesson for me.

Lori (24:04)

Yeah, I had to do that. I've had to do that before, years ago. And a process that I put into place is I just have a Google Drive folder for each sponsor that I deal with. And before I make anything public or go live, I basically, we have a place where they go, they can view the final product. They can then comment on that, of what they want changed or if it's good, and then I get a confirmation, have them sign off and then we go public with it. Whether it be a podcast, ad read or a YouTube video. You're right. That's having a lawyer or someone who you can at least consult with about those types of things are. It's very powerful and it gives you a leg up. It makes you look a little more professional too along the way. When dealing with brands, for things that you've done on YouTube, what are some pointers or tips that you can give for people looking to whether they're just now approaching brands to get a brand deal or they're trying to land their first deal, or they're trying to be better at it, make more money. What would those kind of tips be?

Laurie (24:58)

The main thing is it's not about me, how great I am, how many views I have, all my topics. It's what can I do for that brand to make them money, to get them seen. And then another thing that I learned was you want to know if the brand is. Wants just to. For people to know about them or if they want specifically to be. To know about a particular item, but also just approaching them like, hey, I love your backpack. It looks, it looks like the right dimensions for my travels and my audience would love it. I've got an audience member account of this and they have been asking me questions about your specific bag. Is there someone I can talk to? So I do not mention money in the first email or direct message on.

Lori (25:50)

Instagram, I was about to say, is it all email or. I've found a lot of success, not only in brand deals, but with getting people on this podcast, finding them on Instagram or LinkedIn or X or one of the social platforms. And I find that people are communicating there just as much, if not more than they are via email.

Laurie (26:09)

I DM them on Instagram usually and then ask if is there somebody I can chat with via email. And then I list my email, Instagram handle, YouTube channel. And then in that paragraph, I also will link one of my former videos that I did about that water repellent jacket. Or just a video that has high views.

Lori (26:33)

Yeah. How do you sift through the noise? I know you probably like me. I get probably five to 10 emails from companies, a lot of them being spam, or maybe they're not spam, but they're companies that have products that are just coming out or they have bad reviews on them or whatever. How do you sift through all the ones that come in and pick the ones that you know your audience will enjoy and it will not break the trust that you've already built.

Laurie (26:59)

That is so important, I think. Don't chase the money. That's not the big part that I'm focused on. What would my audience love? And then I. If they do not make complete sentences with the English language, I don't even open it. Usually you can see the first part of the sentence before you click on that email. And then also if they say Dear Travel instead of Dear Laurie, I know, yo, your videos are great. Would you talk about this chair that has nothing to do with travel?

Lori (27:33)

Yeah. That's awesome. Yeah, I. It's hard for me to sometimes because oftentimes they'll mask themselves as a big company and they'll say, like for instance, for me, I'll get a lot of emails that I know are poorly written and then they'll sign it, their name and then like Canva or like a company that they know is legit to maybe make me pause and, you know, respond to them. So just be careful when you're dealing with brands because there are a lot of fake stuff out there that could really lead you down a path you don't want to go down.

Laurie (28:03)

Do know not to click on links? Yes. In an email until I know for sure.

Lori (28:08)

Yeah, yeah, for sure.

Laurie (28:09)

It's hard. It's flattering, especially when you just get started. It's flattering for them to say they love your videos and all that stuff.

Lori (28:16)

But what is next for you and your channel? Do you have like different programming coming up, different types of videos, different things you're wanting to get into? What is next for you?

Laurie (28:28)

It is digital products. That's what I am trying to think of, like even a packing list. But I'm. But in my mind I'm thinking, why would you pay $7 for a packing list or something like that? But people will. I just, I'm. It's another embarrassing thing that I have to get over, like a three day itinerary, a Sonoma wine country. I will. People pay for that. But I know that is like easy money. I'm trying to think of something that's really authentic and helpful, especially when you.

Lori (29:01)

Already have the audience. Right. You're already having these people who are watching your videos, they're traveling and then you can put the digital stuff linked down below and they'll eat that stuff up. But knowing what they want, getting proof of concept, all that's very important.

Laurie (29:13)

Yes. And how to use, how to sell something with a link like who takes care of the credit card returns?

Lori (29:21)

Yeah, there's a process of getting all of that set up and taking your time initially with the setup of those things is the most important thing you're going to do. Because getting it set up on a storefront, getting, like you said, the returns, if there's returns available, how are they going to download it? Is it easy to download? What does the sales funnel look like? There's some email lists. There's so many things that are involved in that you can focus on. All right, as we close out the podcast, Lori, I want to ask you what is the one tip that you wish someone would have given you at the beginning of this journey? If there's only one thing that you can say to a creator listening to this, what would that thing be?

Laurie (29:56)

Make your videos 8 minutes or higher from the beginning so that when you do get monetized, you will be those older videos that are just as good as the ones now will hopefully be. Or they will be monetized when you switch that little toggle button like just. And start where you are with the excellent tips and techniques that you would want to watch as a viewer.

Lori (30:24)

Right?

Laurie (30:25)

And make it all about the audience.

Lori (30:28)

And for those listening, the eight minute mark is when you can put multiple ads like a mid roll ad into a video. So it's not just the pre and post roll. So knowing these technicalities are very important and many people wish they would have known that. A lot of times I talk to creators now they're doing these two, three hour long live streams and then they repost them as a video and they're getting, they're getting crazy amounts of ad dollars because people are watching those recordings of the streams and there's 7, 8, 10 ads in it, right? And if people are watching with YouTube Premium, then you get that much times, whatever it may be. So that's a very important aspect as well.

Laurie (31:02)

I have a question for you. How do you do that? Like how do you repost it as a video?

Lori (31:07)

So it just happens, that's just what happens. So when you do the stream, make sure you title it. And this is a great question. I'm glad we're talking about this towards the end of the show here. Basically you do the live stream and then when you do the live stream, you make sure that you title it or the packaging is correct where you title it. Make sure the thumbnail's good and you want to optimize after the fact for an uploaded video. And it lives under the live stream tab, but it will show up in search. And then you can not only have that money coming in from that uploaded video and stream that you got from Super Chats during the stream or whatever it may be, you can then repurpose it as what they call these mid roll clip, mid roll clips of. Here's a eight minute clip that was in that three hour stream about this specific topic and then you're repurposing that. Then you have YouTube shorts and vertical video that you can get from that. So there's so many ways you can repurpose a three hour bit of content if the content is good and you're offering the value that the people are coming there for. And that really goes back to knowing your audience. So that's amazing. Lori, Congratulations on your success on the channel. Again it is travel tips by Lori. I will put that down below in the show notes of this episode. You have been such a fantastic guest and I hope you have continued success and we'll talk to you next time.

Laurie (32:14)

Thanks so much.

Dusty Porter (32:15)

Hello everyone and thank you for listening to this week's episode of the YouTube Creators Hub podcast. I really do appreciate it. Don't forget forget you can subscribe to the show for absolutely free and your podcast player of choice. Also, there are ways you can connect with us. You can support us by supporting our sponsor TubeBuddy as well as supporting us over on Patreon to get access to our creator Discord community. And I also offer YouTube coaching and consultation, YouTube channel reviews and just overall business coaching if that's something that you are wanting to look into. So make sure you check us out there and we'll see you next week.