- In this interview, I talk to Jase Bennett
about how to turn your hobby or passion
into a successful vlogging channel, coming up!
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to learn the tech side of YouTube?
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- What's up, influencers?
Another interview with Jase Bennett.
- What's up!
- Fellow vlogger from the Ohana Adventure on YouTube.
Thank you so much for being on the channel.
- Absolutely.
- So excited, you guys know.
Here on Video Influencers, we're helping you
build your influence, income, and impact with online videos.
Super successful vlogger. - Boom!
- You've been on YouTube
a lot longer than people realize.
You started your family vlog a couple years ago,
had a lot of success.
Can you tell us a little bit
about your experience on YouTube,
how you got your start, and where you're at today.
- Yeah.
2009, I started.
I had a skateboard company, it was launching.
Wanted to use YouTube as the method
to market my skateboards.
I figured, we could get some AdSense from that,
get the videos out there.
So, I found a way to create these viral skate videos,
got 20 million views on one of them,
got, I don't know, lots of views on them,
and then just kind of kept making that content.
Didn't do much, didn't do any vlogging.
Didn't even know about that.
And then, January 1, 2016, I realized,
"You know what, honey?
"That worked, let's see if this works.
"We're crazy, we've got a lot of kids.
"Let's see what happens."
In 2016, we got 100,000 subs?
In 2017, got another million subs.
- Yeah, and then you got a million subs,
oh, you hit a million this year, didn't you?
Or last year.
- In January something. - In January.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah, congratulations!
- So in a 12 month period, it was a million subs.
My wife was pumped.
I was pumped. - Of course!
- I remember about it, but, yes.
- I love you're telling your story
about how you got success in two years,
but I love that you had experience
before that even happened.
Can you tell us about how all those years
helped you prepare for what happened
in the last two years, and how that applied,
and you applied it to be successful
on YouTube this past year.
- It was learning how to read that algorithm
that kept changing, and I realized,
if I changed with it, things would pop again.
If I changes this, things would pop.
So I was watching all that data, watching all those stats,
kind of getting lost in it a little bit.
Not too much to where it ruins your content,
and it was just learning how to run with that
and change and adapt, and the people that I met.
So when I wanted to launch a vlog, I had
the right people that helped me on all the updated stuff.
- Yup, yup, absolutely.
That's so important.
A lot people just think, this is gonna happen,
just like everybody else.
They're gonna be successful in six to 12 months,
and they forget that sometimes it takes
10 years before you even hit that record button, right?
- Honestly.
- And not only what you learned
from the skateboard videos, but generally,
all the things that it takes to record videos,
and to put out content.
- As all of you probably know, as well.
There's so much more work than just
flip it on, play, upload, and you're good.
- We're here at Social Media Marketing World,
and there's a lot of aspiring marketers,
but a lot of aspiring YouTubers, too.
You and I both know, YouTube is where it's at.
- It is.
- The thing is, a lot of new people creating channels.
What are some of your tips for people to be successful
when they're just starting out on YouTube?
- If you've already started a little bit,
go and check whatever is suggesting you.
Look at the channel of the videos that
are suggesting you, and see what's popping for them,
because the algorithm wants friends,
wants videos to be friends.
And, so, if you can make stuff
that they're already trying to suggest you with,
it only helps you out all the more.
So watch those stats really close.
- Yeah, so important.
In fact, one of our first viral hits
was because of a suggested video placement,
right, early on, and that was back in 2010, 2011.
So things haven't changed.
Ultimately, this, like with algorithms changing
all the time, just know that YouTube wants to make
a better viewing experience for you, the viewer,
as well as the creator.
Can you talk about that?
How do you read the algorithm,
or how have you dealt with changes in the algorithm?
- That's watching videos like what you guys put out.
Really trying to stay dialed in to whoever is watching that.
I'm watching it, but you guys have
a different take than what I have.
Shonda, everybody does,
Darryl, all these guys, totally different takes.
So I watch everything, and I come up
with our own little tweak on it.
Then I watch on our channel what's working
and what's not working.
If our shorter form stuff is, let's try a couple short ones.
Longer form is, let's try a little bit longer.
- Totally.
Let's talk about some of your successes.
I know that a lot of people think
that they're gonna become a millionaire from AdSense.
We both know that's not realistic,
specially when you're first starting out.
Do you have any suggestions for aspiring vloggers
or people that want to start YouTube
in monetization opportunities or business models
that worked for you to make you a successful YouTuber.
- My side business, don't need to pitch it here,
but we make physical products for digital creators.
So when I speak at events, that's what I speak about.
- Pitch it, pitch it!
We'll put that link down below.
- It's prouduct.com.
Take the survey, we'll reach out, you're good.
But, they all say, "When's too soon?
"When should I put swag in?"
Day one.
Get at least a print on demand, something like that,
and see who's supporting you,
because those first supporters,
they support you a ton. - Yeah.
- So, don't put money into it, do some print on demand.
Shopify's got a rockin' system that integrates right in.
It goes to Facebook Messenger.
The print on demand apps rock.
People start ordering swag early on.
Save that money, reinvest that in,
and then you can start making real products
and actually have a multiple stream income business,
not just a YouTube channel.
- Absolutely and, you know, I totally agree.
If you can monetize from day one,
still have the content, the focus, not the monetization.
There are people that will watch one video
and if they love you--
- And fall in love with you, and buy your shirt.
- They'll buy your shirt, right?
So why not do it?
The reason this is so important,
because you're not gonna make a lot of money on AdSense.
If this is something you want to make a living from,
you gotta find ways to monetize very early
and do it in a way
that's not necessarily just tasteful, but smart.
So, lead with content and add value,
even if it's entertainment, and then ask for the support.
- Right, absolutely, that's how it works.
- There you go!
So, the last thing I wanted to ask you,
Jase, is about other platforms.
So, you and I, home base is YouTube,
correct me if I'm wrong.
It's so important to build out social media.
Everybody knows that, right?
What's the next app.
Can you tell us a little bit about this new strategy?
I know that you recent...
By the way, I can talk about it, right?
It's on your Facebook page. - We can, right, we can.
It is released, in public.
- You've got these two new opportunities,
or two new channels, on Facebook TV.
New shows are coming out.
Can you talk about how you got this opportunity
and what your plan is and why you're doing it,
even though you're having success on YouTube?
- I love risk, I love taking those jumps,
those leaps of faith, putting myself out there.
My family loves it, too but, right now,
all of our eggs are in that YouTube basket.
So we've got this new Facebook Watch page,
this one that we're working on right now,
and it's going to be much more...
Our YouTube channel's very, very kid,
it's just us messing around with our kids.
If we get 10,000 ball pit balls sent to our house,
we slide down our stairs
and have treasure hunts to find stuff in them.
I don't know.
We love playing.
My goal in life was to get paid to play with my kids.
- Well, you're doing it!
- So, Facebook reached out.
We met with them.
Two days, really intensive time meeting with them.
So we've got this new Watch page
and it's gonna be much more about our family travels.
We live in a van down by the river now.
For those older generations, you understand what I'm saying.
- We understand.
(laughing)
- So that's gonna be all about the travel
and much more pretty, exciting stuff
that our age group really likes.
How many people want to be digital nomads?
- Yeah, yeah totally!
- That's what we're gonna fulfill with the Facebook page.
- By the way, I personally would love opportunity
to be able to travel with our family.
Like you, like being a dad and doing YouTube
and having a vlog with my family, I love it.
It's a priceless experience. - It's incredible.
- So, if I can continue to do that
and travel the world, how amazing.
Specifically, what I'm so impressed with you
is that you're willing to take this risk
and do something even more
because it's already a lot of work,
what you're doing on YouTube. - So much.
I only sleep five hours.
- It's a lot of coffee.
Do you drink coffee? - I don't.
I was born-- - With energy?
- The color of my shoes.
I just always--
- Do you just sit out in the sun
and let the rays and then turn you into Superman?
Is that what you do?
- Actually, my wife makes fun of me.
During this conference, every day I go outside
and face the sun, and I just go.
- I'm from Seattle, so I know exactly how you feel.
- "Here we go, I got this."
- I like sitting in the window, just letting...
The reason I bring this up is because,
it is so important to build your other platforms.
- Absolutely.
- And actually, to pioneer new trails,
and that's where you find a lot of the opportunity.
For those of you that maybe YouTube isn't
a main part of your industry, right,
maybe creating online videos
and using social media is really new,
that's a good thing, right?
You want to be the first on-scene.
So that's why I might be following you into
that new pioneering trail.
- I've made it, I made it, we're good.
- That's how you become successful.
You don't just do what everybody else is doing,
you also try new things, you do what's different.
Anything you want to say on that note?
It's 'cause you're doing it.
- I always do that.
The skate company I had, we made skateboards
out of bamboo with ceramic bearings.
They were really expensive.
We were the only ones doing it, but because
we made a skateboard that didn't break, didn't rust.
It was always, do something new.
Differentiate yourself from everybody else however you can
and if there's a new platform, go test it!
You have no idea.
There's so many people that got huge on Periscope.
Everyone was like, "Eh, what?"
But then they hopped over to YouTube, made that work.
Vine. - Vine!
- Vine's a huge example.
Papa Bee, if you're watching, bro,
that's like, dude, he was Vine.
He made certain brothers huge
because he re-Vined all their Vines.
Then they all hopped over to YouTube.
Papa Bee's the man.
- At the end of the day, though,
we totally believe in YouTube.
We call this video Influencers because all platforms
are inheriting video and utilizing it,
but YouTube is where it's at.
Don't leave, you guys.
- It's the only one willing to,
you don't have to pay to play,
they pay you to play.
- Exactly. - It's the only one!
- And search is so important,
and that's what they're so good at.
- Analytics, baby.
- Boom.
Information.
Data, you guys.
Alright, thank you so much, Jase.
I really appreciate it.
Looking forward to having you on the channel again.
Potentially be on your podcast.
You want to tell them about that,
and where they can find you?
- I was writing a book for three years, stopped it.
Turning it into a podcast this week.
Tracks to Run On.
It's all about how successful people laid tracks,
put their business on it, and got to where they were.
- We'll put the link down below.
Thank you guys so much.
As always, here on Video Influencers,
helping build your influence, income,
and impact with online videos.
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