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Turning YouTube Into a Business Engine With Patrick Reyes
00:30:36
In this conversation, Dusty Porter interviews Patrick Reyes, a YouTube creator focused on travel guides for Barcelona. They discuss the challenges of consistency in content creation, the importance of branding, and the role of AI in enhancing video...
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- [00:00]
Patrick Reyes
If I had to do it all over again, just get going and get a lot of videos under my belt and just have them done. But I've met a lot of people in similar positions and things that want to start a channel and I always tell them is you just have to do it right, everyone.
- [00:12]
Dusty
And welcome back to this week's interview here on the Creators Hub podcast. I am so excited today to be joined by Patrick Reyes. He is from the Patrick Guide Barcelona YouTube channel. His YouTube channel has right at 50,000 subscribers. Got a great budding community over there. And on his channel he helps people get better prepared for that next trip to Barcelona and the rest of Spain with local tips and advice so that you feel more comfortable and can make the most out of your time. Patrick, how are you doing today?
- [00:46]
Patrick Reyes
Very good and thank you very much for having me.
- [00:48]
Dusty
Yeah, no, I'm really excited to talk with you about your journey and before we even dive into any of that, give the audience a perspective of the origin story or how did you get started creating content on YouTube?
- [01:02]
Patrick Reyes
Yeah, of course. Actually, the channel itself is like my Covid baby. It started in August, realistically of 2020, when we didn't really have any tourism over here, so people weren't traveling. I wasn't doing any tours. That's what I had been doing for about five years. Before that, I've been tour guiding. And the idea of starting a channel was really, how can I continue to share everything that I've learned, everything that I had really been enjoying and doing for so many years with people that couldn't get into Barcelona or Spain as a whole?
- [01:32]
Dusty
So if you were to explain your content better than I did there with that one or two lines in the bio, what would you express that you do on the channel?
- [01:42]
Patrick Reyes
Yeah, and I think you did a great job, really. It is hopefully a channel where people can come and they can find the information that they're looking for ahead of their trip. That's the idea of where it started and how I got really going and things, but making sure that people are prepared for some of the differences that they might find or the big question that I always get, is it worth it for different sites or different places to go, restaurants, anything like that, and to try to give them that, that idea of things that I feel that are worth it so that they can have an amazing time and not waste any time while they're here.
- [02:14]
Dusty
What role does YouTube play in your life now as far as is it full time? Is it still a hobby? What is your life look like now that you run this channel that is rather large and you do other things, obviously explain the role that it plays now. Currently.
- [02:31]
Patrick Reyes
Yeah. Every year it's more and more important. Right. I always describe it as almost like the marketing branch for everything that I do within Patrick Guide, which is obviously apart from the different tours and the travel guides that I create, making the videos as well. So it's a. It's. I'd say maybe not full time, but it's definitely up there in terms of the company. Company as a whole, like I said before. So it's. It's a little bit of a balance of creating the videos and then what's been great and something that I didn't think, I don't think I knew from the very beginning or didn't see as much from the very beginning, is all of the people that I meet and clients that I have on tours that have seen the videos.
- [03:14]
Dusty
So your, I guess you'd say day job is basically running this business. And YouTube is a huge cog in that wheel of running your guide business. Right. And so YouTube allows you to do the outreach and send out these videos all across the world, and then you have people coming in and taking your tours and guides and things of that nature, and you're able to utilize YouTube to bring in potential clientele.
- [03:41]
Patrick Reyes
Exactly like we were talking about. The original idea when starting was how can I continue to share everything that I had learned about Barcelona and Spain with other people coming in or not being able to come in at that time, but eventually being able to come in, and now it has become a huge part of what I do. Right. Not only. And I think one of the things that really got me started with it is as a guide or just as someone talking about Barcelona. There's only so many people that you can see physically in destination. Right. So once those people come over doing different tours, depending on the type of tour, large group tours, private tours, anything like this, there's only certain people that you can physically see. But kind of one of the things that I realized pretty quickly after starting making videos was that. And as weird as it sounds, I can be seen by so many more people, so I can reach and I can really help so many more have that experience in the city and then around the country.
- [04:37]
Dusty
I love that it's a perfect fit for the business model that. That you're running with the Patrick Guide, Barcelona website and brand. I just. I love that. Let's talk about growth metrics then, for the YouTube channel. What do you think? Have been the one or two or multiple things that have helped you or seen the channel grow the most like things that you've implemented and you've really.
- [05:00]
Patrick Reyes
Seen roi, to be honest with you. And I think it's one of the things that's the big kind of buzzwords, at least lately is the niching down of the channel. Right. Right away from the beginning, I started with very small niche, if you will, not Spain as a whole, but really Barcelona. Right. And as I travel and see more of the country and get around, I do add more videos about other places as people are going to be coming and seeing more than maybe just Barcelona. But I think one of the big things was really focusing on one city and almost becoming the spokesperson for lack of a better term for the city, for people coming in. So starting with that, that was a really big choice that I made. And then one of the other things probably would be just within that looking at specific questions that tourists had. So because I not only have I have the opportunity to look up and using sorts of different tools and like this, I can find questions that are people that people are having. But the fact that I actually get to see these same people and I get to see those questions and a lot of times those questions will be the same. Making a video off of that, answering all of those questions that I'm receiving day to day.
- [06:10]
Dusty
So I have a follow up question to that second point you just made. What percentage of your kind of views come from search versus browse? Because if you're answering these questions, I assume people are going to YouTube or Google or now AI tools and they're prompting, you know, how, where is the best X in Barcelona or how do I get here? What is your kind of not really demographic, but what is your breakdown of say search versus browse and how do you approach that?
- [06:41]
Patrick Reyes
To be honest with you, I don't know. Off the top of my head, the breakdown for search, I think that's something that maybe when I first started I was looking at a lot more and I've tried to really back away from looking as much into the statistics with it. I felt like spending a little bit too much time looking at some of those things. I don't know specifically what it was. I think just in general from what I remember looking at before, search is obviously a huge part of that, a huge portion of the amount of views that I was getting and maybe less browse. But I think a lot of that might have to do. One with the just the theme of the channel and then also A lot of times one of the things that I heavily leaned into was maybe a little bit more search based titles instead of more generic titles or things like that.
- [07:28]
Dusty
When you're preparing for a video, what does your process look like? Start to finish? Where do you start? Some people design the thumbnail first and then they get to recording. What is your process specifically look like?
- [07:41]
Patrick Reyes
Yeah, and I know that's one of the big things that a lot of people are saying is you got to start with a thumbnail, the title and everything. And I've definitely tried that. But I think I really start with the idea of what the video is going to be about and then I get to the thumbnail and title a lot of times, even after the video's done right. Some of the times when I'm doing a video, like one of the things that I've started with a kind of a playlist that I had was is it worth it? So the idea of going to a specific site and just really taking people along, because one of the things that I get questions about all the time is exactly that. Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, is it worth it? Casa Batio, Casa Mila, all these gaudy places, are they worth it? And one of the, actually one of the first questions that had me start this whole process of making that type of video was the camp no for Barcelona, where they played, when they had the museum when it was still open. And I always came back with, with the first question that I had for somebody was, do you like football? Do you like soccer? And if they said no, I said, then why? Like, why are we even having this conversation of is it worth it? It's not something that you need. You don't. There's no obligate obligation to do it. So I thought, what if I could just take people with me as I go and visit the place, they can see it themselves and then decide an answer for themselves. Is it worth it? I can plan a great, a great trip for myself, but I don't always know what people, what their interests are. So a lot of times with that it's going, seeing the actual place, the sites, and then getting an idea for the thumbnail once I'm there. Maybe using like a live action shot of when I've been there, or even just taking a general idea of the place and then maybe a little like mini Patrick on the side kind of with a question of is it worth it?
- [09:23]
Dusty
Do you do all the back end of the YouTube stuff yourself? As far as shooting, editing, uploading is that all you or do you offload some of that?
- [09:29]
Patrick Reyes
So I do have an editor now that I've been using for just over two years. I would say at the beginning it was me doing absolutely everything. And it's a lot more work than you think when you start off right, more than anything on the back end behind it. But in terms of shooting and all of the camera work and everything like that, for the most part it's me. Unless maybe I have a friend or somebody that is with me if I go to a different place or a bar or restaurant or something like that. My mom was just in town visiting, so she did a little bit of the camera work when she could. But for the most part it's me on the back end.
- [10:05]
Dusty
How do you time manage and do all this stuff? The YouTube channel, run the business, do the tours? What's your, I guess you would say I, I call them guardrail systems in place to help you stay on track and on path to accomplish all your goals that you've set out for the channel.
- [10:22]
Patrick Reyes
Yeah, that's a great question. And it's one that I'm still, to be honest with you, struggling with even today, trying to, like I said, balance off. Because the YouTube part and the video creation has become such a big part of the actual company. It's making sure that I do have time to have videos out. The idea is maybe a video a week, a long form video each week, and maybe some shorts and things from those long form videos. But it's in one of the things, like I was saying, it's difficult is with the amount of requests that come in from the videos, which is the great part about it is balancing out of not taking so many tours and not having that time to create the videos. But it's finding those little gaps and those spaces where I can get a lot of filming done.
- [11:04]
Dusty
Let's take a transition real quick and talk about branding and personal branding. Whereas, like, how do you handle branding of the channel? Say thumbnails, titles, description? What are your tactics and strategies to make sure that you optimize all of these things for not only search, like we mentioned, but for browse and community building of the nature?
- [11:24]
Patrick Reyes
Yeah, for search. A lot of times what I was doing at the beginning was using either YouTube or the Google search engine and kind of finding some ideas for the titles or sticking to more of the generic search terms or questions that people would have. And one of the things that I'd like to start doing is maybe traditioning into more of those broader kind of videos and things. And I think with that will be maybe a little switch in not the branding, but realistically the idea of the creation of the video, starting more with the thumbnail and the title and then moving a little bit more towards the creation of the video. If that answers your question.
- [12:02]
Dusty
It does, yes. And so obviously this is a business for you. YouTube is a part of that business. But let's talk specifically about that, the video aspect of your business. How are you utilizing YouTube to make money? And as far as can you break down maybe a percentage of what portion of your revenue comes from what and then maybe on average what you might make in a, on a general month?
- [12:27]
Patrick Reyes
Yeah, I think in terms of YouTube and that's, I think really for me and just my business and the sector really is one of the big benefits because a lot of times with individual guides and I don't work for agencies or anything because fortunately I've been able to create what is the Patrick Guide Barcelona YouTube channel. Now I do have that community, I do have that reach out to people that are coming into Barcelona. So I don't have to rely on maybe some of the OTAs and bigger agencies that are finding other guides. And then what really ends up happening is taking a commission off of all of that. So I can really reach directly to the customer in a B2C model, if you will. So I would say in terms of YouTube as a whole, about 1500 to 2000amonth in terms of ad revenue is what I'm looking at. Maybe a month, something like that. And that is realistically a smaller part of everything I do because, and like I said, what I just feel so fortunate of being able to do with the channel is reaching out and finding people, like minded travelers that want to come in and want to see Barcelona with me through my eyes or whatnot. And so a lot of the actual revenue of the business comes from the actual application of the tours. And then what I started doing this year was creating an actual guide to Barcelona, A full book which is over 100 pages, PDF form, also including a Google Maps with that, which is just the Patrick Guide to Barcelona, sharing and really answering all of those questions that everybody has. So if you find it through one video, not only do you have the information there, but you have basically everything that I've Learned in the 15 years living in Barcelona.
- [14:13]
Dusty
Yeah, the videos really give you a, a head start against your competition because people are able to get to know you. Obviously you can put on a show for a video, but for the most part you can say to yourself if, say you're a couple watching one of your videos, say, hey, we'd like for him to show us around when we get there. You feel like you know that person. And so that video really gives you that jumpstart. What do you think has been one of your biggest, or if not the biggest failure or mistake that you've made along this YouTube journey?
- [14:48]
Patrick Reyes
That's a really good question. If I can just add something to what you were saying before about getting to know you and everything. I think that's, that's one of the best parts about it. And it's one thing that I didn't think about when I started making the videos. And hopefully you said you can always do a little bit of a show or things like this. But a lot of times when I get to. And one of the great things, I get to meet the people that are watching those videos and when they say, hey, you're just like you are on camera, that, that means a lot to me. And so that's one of the things realistically that's been a big benefit from having the channel. I'll answer your question about YouTube failures and things. I think one of the things that I've been looking at least recently is consistency and really trying to stick on a schedule. This year I made a goal for myself to really publish a long form video basically every Friday. And for, I think for most of the year. I did a pretty good job so far, but I have missed a couple. The good thing is there's not going to be some sort of failure to the channel or anything like that. But it is one of the things that as we close out the year at this point I'd like to stay consistent with.
- [15:50]
Dusty
I interrupt the interview just for 30 seconds to tell you about two things. Number one, we have our Channel Review Audit Service. It's literally 50 bucks gets you a six to eight minute recorded screencast from me where I take a look at your channel and your uploads and tell you what I think you could be doing better. Little tweaks or enhancements to set you on the right path. And secondly, if you're looking for resources that are mentioned in this show, we have the spreadsheet. That's a running spreadsheet of everything that's being mentioned curated into something I call the Entrepreneurs Toolbox. Check that link out down below. All right, now back to the interview. Yeah, consistency is one of the hardest parts, but it's probably one of your greatest assets as a creator. If you're able to stay on a schedule. It's one of the things that I attribute the success of this podcast. Someone asked me a couple of weeks ago, they listened to the show and they emailed. How do you do this? How do you upload every Friday? Almost every week now. There are some weeks around holidays and Christmas. My daughter's birthday's on Christmas Day, so there's some times when I miss. But man, I will attribute a lot of the success I've had through being able to be consistent throughout the dip and by the dip, when you're not seeing the results that you want to see. Has that ever been a case with you, Patrick, where you thought that the content you were creating wasn't producing the results that you thought you should be getting?
- [17:18]
Patrick Reyes
I think that's one of the hardest parts that I've learned as well, just with creating videos and I think with my channel as well. One of the things that, that I still struggle with a little bit is what kind of numbers I need to look at. Like I told you before, I've stopped looking at the statistics as much because I felt like I was spending too much time with them. But I don't think that just with the nature of my business, the nature of my channel, because a lot of people are coming not only at specific times, but maybe those people aren't coming back to Barcelona ever again. What does that mean in terms of a view? What does that mean in terms of an actual subscriber? Those are questions that I ask myself all the time because I'll make a video every month. That's what to do in the city. In Barcelona, if you're coming in October of 2025, before then you're probably watching that video. But afterwards, one, that video is probably not being watched at all. But if you're not coming back to the city, you're not going to be watching a video about specifically October 2025, but you might not be watching another video about Barcelona as a whole. So one of the things that I struggled with a little bit as well was where are, you know, subscribers, where are they coming from or whatnot? And I think what I have to really do is almost look off platform and just see the numbers of subscribers, the numbers of views. That's great. But how much, how many tours or how many people even buying the book, right. The guidebook is, are the videos converting?
- [18:46]
Dusty
I love that. Looking at other metrics, I've found that when I sit there and refresh that YouTube Studio app, it does nothing for my mental health except completely tank my mental space. And so I'll have like this week for instance, for me, I do tech tutorials and all of the new Apple devices are coming out. And so there's a new software coming along with that. And so I always do YouTube shorts and long form videos about the new software. And my wife, you know, it was our anniversary yesterday and she caught me, she was like, why do you keep refreshing that? I'm like, I just want to make sure that video uploaded and it was doing the numbers that these things as a creator can really get you off track. And so I just, I find that it be much more healthy for me personally and professionally to just, hey, upload the video, make sure everything's done the way that it should and then go ahead and optimize and get ready for the next one. What do you think's working on YouTube right now? So 2025, what are some things that you're seeing as a creator? Maybe some pivots that you've made even?
- [19:44]
Patrick Reyes
I think a lot of it is just creating the video and being yourself and making that connection with people. I think a lot of, specifically for me, what I drive in terms of again, always going back to the tours and meeting the people. It's the kind of authenticity of showing for me, not only Barcelona, but just taking people along with you on that trip, on that journey. And that's something that I found to be really just beneficial and growing in 2025 right now.
- [20:14]
Dusty
What habits or systems have you put in place in your life that you think have made a very positive impact or helped you in the success you've had on YouTube?
- [20:26]
Patrick Reyes
I think it is a lot of, and I know I just said one of my failures, I'd like to be more consistent, but it is making sure that those videos are coming out right and really buckling down and filming and things like that. One of the things that I really struggle with still is filming out in public a lot of times walking down the street or anything and it's just getting over not only people seeing you filming, but even to go back to what we were talking about and looking at the statistics, you have to just realize, hey, that's not the, that's not the barometer, that's not the measurement that you need to be really looking at. And I know it's hard and I may be with some other niches and things when you never get to meet the actual people that are watching the videos. That's one of the things I think that's really helped in Remembering those individual moments and connections that you make with the people that really mean a lot more than maybe some negative comments or views not looking so great at the moment.
- [21:20]
Dusty
Do you use any AI tools with your processing? With the rise of this technology? This is a question that a lot of folks want me to ask to see if I can uncover a method or a tool that they may not have heard of just yet.
- [21:34]
Patrick Reyes
Yeah, no, and it's. I think it's the question that you need to be asking right now. Right. I think. Sorry about that. I think at the beginning when AI kind of got started, I was a little bit hesitant to really to. To use it. Right. Kind of thinking it wasn't going to be like my voice coming out or my suggestions or things. And a lot of people, especially within travel, you'll see them looking up what to do, where to go, different things like that. And I've had people tell me that your job's going to be taken from it. So I was maybe a little bit more hesitant. As you see how much there is to do on the back end, like we've been talking about, I've started to use it a lot more. Not to write or anything like that. I think a lot of it's personal experiences or things that I've actually done, but a lot of times maybe to polish up some things that I've written or just organize things a lot more for me. A lot of times it's just maybe chatgpt to help a lot of times with solo creators. That's the other thing. You don't have a partner, you don't have someone sitting right there. So maybe it's sometimes back and forth with just getting different ideas and seeing other possibilities. And then of course, also seeing some titles for videos. I use it a lot for titles just to see, hey, give me 20 different titles. And then getting to look at that and say, okay, I like this, I don't like this. What can I use? How can I shift this and use it for something that would sound like it's me.
- [22:54]
Dusty
If you had to start your channel over today with no subscribers, no uploaded videos, no community, what would you do differently?
- [23:05]
Patrick Reyes
What would I do differently? I would like to think I would maybe just. Just go. Not edit as much. I think I was really worried at the beginning about editing and things. And you can go back and you can look at some of the first videos, even the first video that I made, which was one of the is it worth it videos. Obviously you're not as comfortable on camera. It's a very different kind of medium to use. And I had some comments actually on that video that said, oh, this music's horrible, and things like this. And I remember creating it thinking, right, you had to. My editing skills weren't that great at the time, adding in different kind of transitions or different things like that and music that was going to be much more lively to get people to keep watching. I think I would just maybe do a lot more, just let the camera run and make it a little bit more real.
- [23:54]
Dusty
So I want to ask you this kind of future question in regards to YouTube and creators that are listening right now to you and I have this conversation. What advice would you give the aspiring creator? Whether they're just starting or they're in the trying to grow a channel, or they want to try to make money from a channel. What would be your advice to them? Someone who is on the other hill, you're now in the phase of you do have a business, YouTube is up and running, it's doing well for you. What would you say to those folks?
- [24:30]
Patrick Reyes
Just do it. All right, maybe we can't use that. That slogan right there, but you just got to start. I think that was, like I said, one of the things that I would, if I had to do it all over again, just get going and get a lot of videos under my belt and just have them done. But I've met a lot of people in similar positions and things that want to start a channel. And I always tell them is, you just have to do it right. You just have to get over kind of that. How are people going to look at the videos? How are. How am I going to be received? What is going to. What is going to happen? I'm not going to make a lot of money at the beginning. And it's really getting over that phase and understanding that it's a long process. They always say it's not a sprint, it's a marathon, but it's just eventually you'll get to that point if you keep putting the work in and keep creating and getting better little by little.
- [25:17]
Dusty
I man, I want to follow up about that. I get so many answers about just starting. And it's easy to say that and it's easy to say to get through the barrier of, oh, just start. Or even if you're. You've started a YouTube channel like I found in my business. I have all of these ideas, but the hardest hurdle for me to get to that next thing, whether it be a course or a digital product or launching a new website or launching a new podcast is that initial hurdle of going and doing the thing that will start it. Now, once I start it, I'm good to go. But what do you think, mentally, you did back in 2020, or when you've started new ventures that are added on to your current business? What have you done to get over the hump of, okay, I'm putting my foot down. I am going to do this, and I'm going to do it now?
- [26:14]
Patrick Reyes
Yeah. And this kind of goes back to the very beginning of what we were talking about with the origin story, everything. So if I. In 2020, in Spain, at least we were in our houses for, I think it was 100 days, and we just basically could not leave. And one of the things that I had almost thought I needed to do before was more social media and different things like that. And because of the timing with when Covid started, there's a really big holiday here. It's one of my favorite days in all of Barcelona, which is on April 23rd, St. George Day. It's a day of books, it's a day of roses and everything. And what I wanted to do is I wanted to tell people about it, Right. Even though people weren't going to be able to travel to Barcelona for it, I said, all right, it'd be cool to make, like, a video and just do it. And I told my girlfriend, we're sitting there in the apartment, we can't move. And I tell her, hey, I want to do this video. I've got this idea. And she goes, you don't have. You've never done a video. Like, you don't know how to do one. And I was just. You're right. Like, I don't. Maybe I shouldn't do it. And I think that's a lot of the kind of problems that you were alluding to, right, Is I don't know how to do it. I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know how it's going to be. I don't know what's going to happen afterwards. Is it going to be worth it? Anything like this? And so I didn't make that video. I didn't make that video. And what I did. And I remember just walking into my bedroom, getting on my computer, and I just said, listen, I don't know how to make a video. So I'm just gonna watch YouTube and see what people are saying about making videos. And once I saw them, and what people were saying was, like, you just have to start at some point. There's really no, it's not gonna be good. It's not gonna be the best video ever. And like I said, you can go watch some of the earlier videos that I did. And they're bad, right? They're not great. And it's funny watching them now and seeing the evolution with it. And I know that doesn't really give you a full answer to what you're asking, but it's. It really is just getting over all of those things. And one of the things that I've heard a lot lately at least, is not judging your chapter one against somebody's chapter 30. And that's, I think, one of the bigger struggles, right, because you watch all the videos and obviously the ones that are popping up on YouTube because of the algorithm or they're looking for videos that people are going to want to watch are the more popular ones. So maybe just thinking about it right now, if you find somebody that you do that inspires you to start this journey, go back and watch their very first videos and see, hey, it's not the same as it is right now. And maybe that would give somebody a little bit more motivation to actually start.
- [28:31]
Dusty
Yeah, going and looking back at popular creators in the beginning and what they videos looked like, I can go back to mine specifically and I sound like a different human. I'm obviously the same person, but my voice, I was so timid and my tutorials really were all over the place. And now I've learned so much and I've progressed and not just me, any creator. Go and look at that. That's a great idea that Patrick just had there. I think I'm going to end the conversation there because what a great way to end it in. In knowing that, hey, listen, your chapter one or beginning phases will not be as polished as someone who are towards the twilight of their careers or the ends or middle to end. So I want to leave you guys with that as you listen to this show. Patrick, you have been an amazing guest again. You can check out Patrick over on his YouTube channel and I will link that down below. Don't forget to go check him out. Patrick Guide Barcelona, his website, his YouTube channel, everything will be down below. Patrick, thanks again.
- [29:33]
Patrick Reyes
Thank you very much, Dusty.
- [29:35]
Dusty
That's a wrap on this week's conversation. Patrick was such an amazing guest. If you are saying to yourself, this is a new podcast for me, Listen, what are you doing? Subscribe to the show. I don't care if you consume via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, you watch the video version over on our YouTube channel, which is becoming ever more popular. Doesn't matter to me. Just subscribe so you get notified every Friday with a wonderful conversation with a creator. And then lastly, I've already mentioned it a couple of times. We have our Creator's Corner Mastermind agreement. We have our channel audit and review service. I do offer creator and business coaching. And then lastly, you can check out our resources being mentioned here on the show through our spreadsheet that's called the Entrepreneur's Toolbox. And then the Entrepreneurs Minute is just my newsletter. It's not spammy. Goes out every other, maybe even every Friday, where I talk about things that are interesting to me, interviews that I've had through the week, and things that are making my business run. With that said, we'll talk to you guys next week.