- In this video, I interview Shonduras
- That's me.
- YouTuber with over 1.2 million subscribers
and in the Forbes 30 under 30.
And we talk about building a business around
your social media channels.
And how to build your income with brand deals.
- You're gonna love it.
(upbeat melody)
- Need help with the tech side of creating content?
Our friends at Kingston Technology are posting
new videos on YouTube regularly covering cameras,
computers, and live-streaming hacks.
Personally, I love their photography tips series.
Not just for leveling up my Instagram game
but the tips also apply to making better videos.
So if you wanna check out that series in Kingston's channel
check out our link in the YouTube description below.
- Hey, what's up guys Sean here with Video Influencers.
Helping you build your influence,
and come in impact with online video.
And I'm here at Social Media Marketing World
with Sean McBride AKA Shonduras, how's it going?
- What's up everyone my name is Shon as well
but Duras at the end.
- Sean and Shonn - Duras.
- And we're pumped to be Duras-ing today
and talking about really how to build your influence
and income with brand deals.
But also just a lot of how you can stack
your experiences in your life
and add them all together as you go.
So let's start off, - Let's do it.
For people that are maybe just meeting you,
which is like two people, because probably
a lot of people watching this already know you.
- Hi, everyone meeting me.
Would you like a full story?
- Just kind of in a nutshell
- Or like a short story, or medium story?
- What's the medium story--
- Medium story. - Of your progression?
- Alright, I love skateboarding, snowboarding.
Wanted to be a business owner so I own my very own
skateboard/snowboard shop.
That was cool but it wasn't really working.
Everyone was buying stuff online
so I wanted to start an online business.
But I didn't wanna sell skateboards and snowboards
because I needed a better demographic
so I started selling jewelry online using Facebook.
Learned the power of social media,
took that knowledge of the jewelry boutique,
which actually did really well.
That was a random business that took off
and then used that to get into Snapchat.
Was the very first Snapchat influencer.
First guy to go viral, I guess, on Snapchat
if that's a thing.
And then from there did a ton of Snapchat brand mills.
Learned how to monetize Snapchat
because there's no AdSense,
there's no monetization on Snapchat.
So it was working with brands and partners through that.
Then, diversified over to YouTube.
Hit a million subs there, and then started doing
consulting and brand deal strategy, digital strategy,
that kind of stuff.
- That's awesome, man.
That's a really cool story.
And before we even get into tactics
what advice would you give to creators to think about
the different things they've done
because it's so interesting.
Would you say that all of these different seasons
and businesses have really helped you
learn what you did today.
And maybe some people, it means you've also been in it
for a while.
Some people just see you today
but they don't know the depth.
- Yeah, and everything leads to another thing.
I guess, biggest advice, take every little opportunity
you can and turn it into a big opportunity.
The skate shop thing was just a little opportunity
but I turned that into something bigger.
Then, the same thing with the jewelry boutique,
and everything.
It's like Snapchat led me to YouTube
which led me to consulting,
which now I'm doing E-sports,
and all sorts of stuff.
Every little opportunity, turn it into a big one.
Just explore it further.
- That's powerful.
Maybe also, too, you're a massive action taker.
It seems like because you took action
it started a chain reaction
of events and you kind of seem like
you go with the flow a little bit.
- Yeah, if you want something you gotta make it happen.
Just find something you're passionate about
and get after it.
See if it works.
And I've failed along the way, as well.
We don't talk about it but
I wanted to be a video game streamer two years ago
and I started a Twitch channel and I tried streaming
and after six months it just wasn't working.
And it wasn't a good use of my time
so I switched gears, and focused on YouTube
and then YouTube took off for me.
So there's failures along the way but you learn from them.
- Yeah, that's super powerful.
That's cool.
Now, one of the biggest things you're doing today
is helping people with brand deals.
- Yes.
- Let's first talk because of course
maybe there's people already doing it.
Maybe they're with an agency or an MCN,
or already working with somebody higher but
is it possible to be doing brand deals
if you're maybe a smaller channel on the climb?
- Yes. For sure.
I've actually done a ton of brand deals without
having a ton of followers.
My Snapchat days, Snapchat wasn't this millions of viewers
platform it was a very--
talking about the metrics of it,
it was a very small platform compared to Vine and YouTube
but it was about the content I created
and what you guys need to realize
if you want to do brand deals
you don't just need to have the biggest reach.
Yes, people do want numbers and exposure
but a lot of what I was building is
they wanted that content.
I was able to tell a good story, or narrate a good story,
or document an event.
Or tell the story of the brand
and what makes them special.
And that story-telling is what they wanted.
Or they were able to take the content
and put it on their Social.
So if you're a good photographer, or story teller,
or videographer, or whatever your skillset is
it doesn't matter how many followers you have
there's people that want that skillset.
Yeah, the followers helps but that's--
you can make money on digital media through
your creativity as well not just followers.
- And that's interesting,
you mention the power of story telling
which is kind of a buzz word
in the entrepreneur business community.
There's a book that came out called "Story Brand"
that really has to do with,
you shouldn't just be a business,
if that's all you are without a story
you're probably gonna lose.
But if you're telling your story--
what have you learned like practically
for how to maybe tell better stories
and how to become a story teller?
Especially someone who's like,
"Okay, cool Shonduras but how do I do that?"
- Exactly so that's what Social is.
That's what Instagram is, that's what YouTube is,
that's what stories are.
I mean, that's why they named them
stories, Snapchats, or Instagram stories.
But people want more than just the action.
There's perfectly curated content all over the place.
Brands make it, content creators make it.
I think the days of seeing a perfect cinematic,
everything perfect, and dialed in and edited,
that's a little bit over.
People want what's real and they want to be able to
relate to it.
And telling someone my story,
like when I tell you guys that I failed at Twitch,
and I tried to be a streamer,
you get to know me better, and you're like,
"Oh, he's a real human."
That's cool to see that he's failed and he's succeeded.
I want to see what he did to change that.
If all I did was tell you,
"Oh, I did this and I succeeded here."
It doesn't feel the same.
Like you gotta know I'm a real person.
You gotta know the whole story.
And so I'm going on a tangent here
but hopefully I just answered your question.
They gotta know the whole story.
- No, I love that.
And I love, also, not being so polished.
Because sometimes we feel pressure to have everything
be the fanciest and look the best.
Do you think that there's something about...
- That's when stories took off.
That's what I saw on Snapchat,
and that's what Instagram has latched on to.
And everyone is latching on to like perfect content
is all over the place, real content isn't.
So story telling, real content,
it's important stuff.
- I love that.
Now you were speaking here at Social Media Marketing World
and you're session is about brand deals.
What are just some of the take aways and tips
practically now that maybe influencers could apply
to start reaching out and having more success with them?
- Awesome.
So if you're an influencer and you're watching this
it doesn't matter how many followers you have
you can still find a ton of success.
When I very first started working with brands
I remember doing brand deals for free.
I would send myself a package and be like,
"Whoa, that's cool. They sent me this?
"I guess let's unbox it and review it."
And I made it look like I was working with brands--
- That's a pretty rad tactic.
- Yeah, it's all about perception.
If you feel like you're a big deal
and you're making cool content
and you believe in yourself
then other people are gonna see that.
And then I could use that and I could be like,
"Oh, I worked with these guys," or whatever else and so
you need to first believe in yourself.
Get creative, do whatever you need to do.
Another thing is I wanted more exposure than
just what I found on my channel.
So I wanted to get featured on articles, news articles
so I was gonna write news articles.
This was back in the Snapchat days
because you can't go viral on Snapchat.
Your link can't take off and go viral.
You post something and then it disappears.
So if I wanted more exposure
I needed to be permanent somewhere,
that was the internet.
If I wanted to be on the internet
I gotta get featured in articles.
If I want to get featured in articles,
I gotta write and be like, "Yo, feature me."
But think how many people hit up Mashable
or BuzzFeed, or Business Insider and say,
"Look what I'm doing, can you feature me?
"I travel around and do this, this, this."
So instead I had my mom hit them up like,
"Hey, this is momduras.
"My son does this cool artwork and I'm proud of him
"and I think your audience would love it.
"You should talk to him."
Then they're like, "Oh, that's a cool story
"coming from a Mom," and then they'd hit me back
and I was like, "Good job, Mom."
So just approaching things differently,
thinking outside the box.
Sending yourself things to unbox to review.
It's just, you just gotta try things differently
if you wanna succeed.
- I love that.
That's awesome, awesome.
Are you ready for the lightning round?
- Lightning, yeah, that wasn't lightning round?
- This is the lightning round now.
(stomps)
Lightning, lightning, lightning.
- Are there more questions?
Let's do more.
- And the lightning rounds over.
Here we go, lightning round three, two, one.
Coffee or tea?
- Neither. I like juice a lot.
- Cat or dog?
- Dogs, I have two weenie dogs.
- What are their names?
- [Shonduras] Olive and Coopah.
- Olive and Coopah.
NYC or LA?
- Neither, I'm staying in Utah.
- Fine, I'm not saying you have to move
I'm just saying pick one of those two.
- LA, everyone in New York City is really grumpy.
- There you go.
- But I love the hustle.
- Yeah the hustles in LA but we're laid back
here on the West coast.
- You should hustle and be happy.
- Ooh, I like that.
Hustle and be happy. Strong.
- (speech drowned out) poured in there somewhere.
- One book that every influencer watching should read.
- "Crushing It" Gary V's newest book.
It's all about people that have put into practice
things he's taught, and then crushes
so you can learn by their examples.
They are stories.
Story telling is important.
- Powerful. Great book.
One of your favorite Netflix shows.
- I don't really watch TV, I'm just working all the time.
I watch YouTube, no I watch Stranger Things.
I watch that.
- That's good, that's a great show.
- Yep, that's my answer.
- That's a fun show.
Hidden talent that maybe nobody knows about.
- I can flip pens on the back of my head, watch this.
This Sharpie marker right here.
- Okay.
- Okay, ready.
Can you get this?
Okay hold on.
Flip it like that, flip it like that,
and then you good, and then you...
- That was pretty good.
It was like three in a row.
- Yeah, you can do tricks.
If you give me a minute I'll do you a trick.
- Okay, what else you got?
Oooh! Where'd you develop such skills?
- At school.
Paying attention a lot in school.
- No miss morning routine.
- Cereal, every single morning.
Multiple bowls; I am obsessed with cereal.
- What cereal?
- All the cereals.
People always say, "What's your favorite cereal?"
You can't have a favorite cereal.
You gotta diversify, eat all the cereals.
- That's great. Wisdom from Shonduras.
And you mentioned a failure already but is there a
mistake or a failure that set you up for future success
and do you have a favorite failure?
- A favorite failure?
You know what, I already said it
but the streaming thing.
I saw gaming was blowing up
and the gaming world is really huge.
And I wanted to be a streamer and do all that stuff.
And it just didn't work for me.
Streaming takes a lot of time
and I'm a very hyperactive person
with a lot of ambitions.
So I don't have time to just stream and hope it works.
I wanna be more in control.
So streaming did not work but
it made a lot of connections for me
and now I run and E-sports organization
so I have people that play competitively,
play video games competitively for our organization.
And they have streamers and everything else.
So, it kind of like built all the connections I needed
to be the owner of an organization
rather than a member of an organization.
So that was good.
- I love that.
Do you have a quote or a phrase that you love
and like to think about often?
- I always say, this is my quote, is that cocky?
If I use my own quote?
- I think you can quote yourself.
- Okay, I always say this.
I think I said it earlier,
"Find something you're passionate about
"and get after it."
If you really like something, get after it.
See if you can make it an opportunity.
- Tweet that.
- Find something you are passionate about
and get after it.
Tweet it.
Add us, both of us.
We'll like it.
Maybe retweet it.
- Maybe.
Like it, retweet it.
If you could only have one item during a zombie apocalypse
what would you grab, and what's the one thing you'd get
or take, or get in or use?
- A Zombie...
- Just one thing.
- I knew a good answer to this 'cause someone
told me it once and I can't remember it.
Oh, they said, "Zombies can't swim," so you get a boat.
(makes sound effect)
You find a PWC, a personal water craft
and you get on that thing.
- That's a wise answer.
Nobody's said that on Video Influencers yet,
that's strong.
We've all heard the phrase,
"If I knew then what I know now."
What would you tell your 20-year-old self
and maybe go back and warn yourself about?
- Work harder, hustle more.
I spent the first part of my 20s having fun
which was a blast but
I wish I would have just--
work can be fun if you're chasing what you love to do.
I thought work was like nine to five,
and then you have fun afterwards.
I wish I would have hustled to make work fun early on
because now I love work
and I'm busier than I've ever been
and working more than I've ever worked been but I love it.
And I think in my early 20s I differentiated work and fun.
I didn't combine them.
So you guys should do that.
- Awesome. Lightning round.
(sound effects)
- Is that what we do afterwards?
(laughter)
- Finally, you of course put out content.
You've got a great YouTube channel but
what are you doing the most right now?
What projects do you have
and of course influencers, we'll post links
in the description below.
- Of course, I would love all the people watching this,
we obviously have similar interests
so I would love a following anywhere.
And I will try to follow you back.
Send me a message.
Say you came from this video
and I will definitely hit you back.
But I do YouTube videos every single day
that I'm passionate about.
My biggest passion project right now though
is the E-sports thing.
We have SpaceStation Gaming.
It's essentially an organization that has
professionally sports athletes and streamers.
And we support them to chase their dreams,
find sponsors for them.
They compete and it's one big happy family.
So all my stuff is @Shonduras.
It's all the same.
So it's easy to find me wherever you wanna find me
and we'll be best friends.
- Last thing, you know, as an entrepreneur,
a creative, and influencer you've been through
the ups and downs that we all go through
and people in this community,
we're all trying to build something.
Some people are just starting, some people are in the middle
some people are crushing it but maybe
stressed out and dealing with some issues.
We all have problems along the way,
can you just share some final words of encouragement
for those that are going after this
to keep going and maybe insights from your experience
of getting through hard times?
- Yeah, it's always difficult.
What you see on the outside isn't always the full story.
I'm going around making YouTube videos
that are the best day ever.
That's what I call my YouTube series
and I try and make every day the best ever.
But that's the challenge because it's not always
the best day ever because things happen.
And you have to choose to make it the best day ever.
So the positivity things is huge, whoa.
Good things you got that light.
Last thing I wanna say though is,
obviously stay positive about everything you're doing but
find every little opportunity you have
and try and turn it into a big opportunity.
- I love it.
Well I just--
- Plus don't have us floor men, too.
- I appreciate that so much.
Thank you so much for coming on here.
And I just wanna acknowledge you for your influence,
in this space, your energy,
all the content you're pumping out,
all the value you're adding.
Thank you so much.
Influencers thanks for checking out this video.
And of course, subscribe if you're not subscribed.
- Do it.
- If you wanna checkout another video out
in our Social Media Series
just click or tap the screen right there.
Another video from Video Influencers
click or tap the screen right there.
Until next time, we'll help you build your influence,
and come an impact with online video.
Keep crushing it.
And we will talk soon.
- Bye.