- In this video I interview Pailin from Pailin's Kitchen,
and we talk about how uploading less videos
could lead to more growth on your channel,
while imperfections are sometimes
the most needed thing to connect with your audience,
and her advice on brand deals.
Comin' up!
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- Hey, what's up guys, Sean here with Video Influencers.
Helping you build your influence, income, and impact
with online video and we're here at Clamour 18,
and I'm talking to Pailin from Pailin's kitchen.
How's it going?
- It's going very well, thank you.
- Uh huh, you're welcome and thank you
so much for being on our channel.
Super inspired to talk to you.
You recently crossed half a million subscribers,
plus you are really kinda the leading influencer
in a small niche, which is very powerful.
- Mhm. - Doing Thai cooking,
in English speaking, right? - Yes.
- So super powerful, you're putting out
weekly cooking videos, you have a book out.
We're gonna talk about how YouTube can lead
to other things, but let's take it back.
Tell people a little bit about who you are,
and your start getting into all of this.
- So I started my channel in 2009.
I was going to culinary school at the time,
so I'd always loved cooking, ever since I was a kid.
It's been a passion, but more than that,
I'd always wanted a cooking show.
I watched Jamie Oliver, I watched Nigella Lawson.
I just remember thinking, "That's exactly what I wanna do.
"But like, how do you get on TV?"
How do you do that, where do you apply? Right, you can't.
So then I just thought, "You know what,
"I'll just become a chef."
But then when YouTube came along,
all of a sudden a light bulb went off.
It's like, wait a minute, now I can just
have my own cooking show, I don't need to be discovered.
I can make this happen for myself, and so I did.
- That is super cool and super inspiring, right?
'Cause we're living in this age where
you don't need to go on TV, in fact in a lot of cases,
it's almost more powerful-- - Yes, absolutely.
- To just step out on a digital channel
and build your own thing, however, how'd you do it?
I mean, there's a lot to do, like, the cooking show,
Jamie Oliver's got a production manager,
he's got videographers and everybody helping him.
You've done this all kinda from scratch on your own.
- Yup. - Take us through
how you learn this stuff, how you got started,
in some of those beginnings.
- Everything was self-taught, and in the beginning
I was so excited about putting out content
that I cared not one bit about quality.
I just wanted to put out a video.
Point and shoot camera that we had.
I had my brother, I said, "Can you be my camera man?"
He said sure, and I just went.
And he just followed me with a little point and shoot 480p,
it looked terrible, but the content was good
because the passion was there.
And little by little, I improve.
Little by little, okay, somebody suggested,
"Maybe you should get a microphone," I got a microphone.
Maybe we should get two cameras, so I two cameras.
Maybe we upgrade the cameras, okay, we upgrade the cameras.
So just really little, little by little.
- I love that, and then you also edit your own videos.
- I edit my own video, I teach myself
all the stuff that I need to do.
- So what'd you start on and how are you editing today?
What do you use? - I started on
Windows Movie Maker, or whatever the free program
that came with, like that's all you needed, right?
And then I moved into iMovie,
and then now I use Final Cut Pro,
and I just used Lynda.com to teach myself all of that stuff.
- Super smart, and Lynda.com's a great resource.
We'll link that in the description below.
If you wanna learn something like editing--
- Yeah, there's so many resources out there.
There's no excuse why now you don't know how to do anything.
Learn it. - That's true.
Go to the internet, teach yourself,
that's super powerful and inspiring that you stepped out
to do that, and so you launched out,
you started with this little point and shoot camera,
but eventually things began to grow.
What are some of the things that lead to growth,
and tips that you have about that?
- Very clearly, it was consistency in putting out content.
'Cause in the beginning, I just did it because I loved it,
because it was fun, so I did it whenever I had time.
And when you work in the restaurant industry,
you don't have a lot of time, so it wasn't very frequent.
But then there came a point where I thought about,
"You know, maybe this has legs.
"Maybe this has potential.
"What if I tried to be a little more consistent?"
So I started doing once every two weeks
so then it started growing.
And then eventually when I did once a week,
it just absolutely skyrocketed.
It was the most obvious change that led to growth.
- That's powerful, and it's interesting about once a week,
it's funny, you were doing more than once a week,
but you went back, I mean, you were doing two.
You went back to once a week, but off camera
we were talking about how much effort
you put in to one video, and I think
that's something that a lot of people can't see.
You test out your recipes. - Yep, multiple times.
- Multiple times, three or four might fail.
I feel like there's a pressure in today's
kind of YouTube economy to be putting out content
so fast that it's rushed. - Yes.
- That the quality's compromised.
Would you say that that intentionality
to put out one super high quality video a week
has been powerful, and what are your feelings about quality?
- I think quality's everything.
For example, I test my recipes multiple times.
I make sure, if I tell you one teaspoon of sugar,
I mean one teaspoon of sugar, I don't estimate.
Because if people follow and then it doesn't work,
they're not coming back for your video.
They know that your things don't work.
I have people who make my recipes over and over again,
and then they buy my cookbook because
they know that "If I follow Pai's video,
"it will work, and it will taste good."
And it's super important. - Yeah.
- It's building trust with your audience, right?
Especially when you're doing how-tos.
People are coming to you to learn something.
So your thing better work. (laughs)
- That's really amazing, and influencers,
I wanna encourage you, I think there's
so much pressure right now, where everyone's saying,
"Post more, post more, post more."
And really, breakthrough could be posting less,
better. - Better.
- Like putting out that higher quality content.
Putting more effort into it, that's super powerful.
And what's amazing, is again, from this desire
to have a show, not knowing how to even have a show,
you started a YouTube channel, but it led
to other opportunities, and that's a book deal,
TV even. - Yeah.
- So what's been happening as a result?
- Yeah, so at about 50,000 subscribers
people were asking me for a book.
"We want a cookbook," which really surprised me,
by the way, because I thought,
"I already giving you recipes, why do you want a book?"
But it's a very different thing.
It's very different when they can
hold your product in their hand.
It's a lot more intimate that way.
So then I started wanting to self-publish
but eventually I went to a publishing consulting
and the person who's now my agent said,
"Pailin, this is pitching quality.
"What you've written, we can pitch a publisher,
"and somebody will publish."
And that's what happened, and my book
got picked up by Random House Canada.
- [Sean] Congrats, Random House Canada.
- Yeah. - Amazing.
So proper book deal, and then what happened
with television as well, now you're there.
- Yeah, and now in Canada we have a show called
One World Kitchen, where it's a show that features
cuisines from around the world.
You know, because we're all about diversity
and all of that in Canada right now,
and so I was cast to do Thai segment in that show,
so we have two seasons of that show that
also gave me a lot of credibility
for other things, you know to say
that you've been cast for a television show,
it carries a lot of power when you're
negotiating brand deals or you're just
trying to get another job somewhere,
trying to get a speaking gig somewhere.
- That's super powerful, now you brought up brand deals.
- Mhm. - And I'm curious,
a couple things, one, when was the time
when you jumped out to do this full time?
I'm really inspired that you do this completely solo.
And you mentioned you have a friend
that helps behind the cameras,
but you shoot, you edit, you do it by yourself,
and you have YouTube ads going,
but also some brand deals, but I also love
what you said about you've had some cool opportunities
that really sat right with you, but you've also
said no to deals. - Yep.
- What advice would you give
to influencers watching about brand deals?
- Brand deals says a lot about your values.
Who you choose to work with,
your audience gonna look at that
and equate that brand with your values.
So it better line up.
So I've made that mistake before where I was greedy,
like you're new and you're excited
a brand has approached you, and I do it once,
and then it's like, "You know what?
"I don't feel comfortable about this.
"It's not perfectly lining up
"with what I'm trying to advocate."
Which is like fresh cooking and things like that,
and so I said no the next time somebody comes to me
with a pre-made something or other,
and I said, "You know what?
"I'm sure it's a great product,
"but my channel is not about using pre-made food,
"it's about making food from scratch."
So I will happily work with ingredients.
I will happily work with equipment.
But pre-made stuff that then,
you know, that's just not my thing.
And you're giving up money, but you're not giving up
on your integrity, and that's the most important.
Again, it's about trust that you build with your viewers.
- So, so incredible.
Well are you ready for the lightning round?
- I am now. - Awesome.
Lightning round, lightning round, three, two, one.
Coffee or tea? - Coffee, always.
- Always, but first, start with coffee.
One book every influencer watching should read,
besides your cookbook which, by the way,
we'll throw a link to that in the description below.
Pick that up if you want some good (clicks) Thai food.
But a book you think that is good for maybe
learning some of the skills in this industry.
- Change Anything; it's not particularly to this industry,
but it's a book that talks about how do you change a habit,
and I think when people work for themselves,
you have to have so much discipline
and you have to develop such strong habits,
because you're kind of your own boss,
which is a double edged sword,
and this book just talks about really specific ways
you can form habits that work for you.
- Wow, man I think every influencer should read that.
We'll link that up in the description below.
Favorite TV show, or one of your favorites?
Or Netflix show?
- Um, favorite TV show.
Can it be a YouTube show? - Of course.
- Worth It, Buzzfeed.
- Worth It, Buzzfeed. - (laughs) It's just so...
- Why do we even ask about TV?
Cat or dog? - Dog.
- You have a dog? - At home in Thailand, yes.
But not in Vancouver, there's no space for dogs.
- Favorite social network besides YouTube.
- Instagram. - Instagram's where
it's at. - Yes.
- Favorite documentary or movie?
- Jiro Dreams of Sushi. - Yeah?
- Beautifully shot and the story is told
in such a compelling way, and it's all about
passion behind a craft, and I think
if you need a boost in inspiration,
watch Jiro Dreams of Sushi, and you're just inspired.
- Super powerful.
What's a hidden talent that you have
that people wouldn't know about?
- Um, I can sing pretty well, I think.
♪ I heard he sang a good song ♪
♪ I heard he had a style ♪
- There it is! (both laugh)
Powerful, got the pipes!
No-miss morning ritual, something you do every morning.
- Making coffee. (laughs)
- Come on somebody, that deserves another one.
- Oh my god, like just...
- If you love coffee, let us know in the comments below
if that's one of your no-miss morning rituals.
If you could give a TED Talk,
what would it be on, what would it be about?
- I would give a talk about not getting held back
by the technicalities, and just go for it.
Because that has been the theme
of my career that has helped me.
When I started the YouTube channel,
I filmed before I knew I had to edit.
- Yeah. - I ended up
with footage and then I thought,
"Oh, well how do I turn this into a video now?"
But if I had stopped to think about that,
maybe I would never have filmed,
because I'd be encouraged or intimidated.
When I wrote my book, it was the same thing.
I don't know how to get a book out there,
but let me just write it in a Word document.
When I have the book,
then I'll figure out how to publish it.
And I think it's helped me to not get bogged down
by little things and the fear and the tech,
"I don't know how to do this."
Just do it and you'll figure out later.
- Man I love that, I love that.
Is there a failure or a set back
that set you up for future success in your life?
Like if you have a favorite failure that you learned from.
- (sighs) Favorite failure that I've learned from.
I think not being completely comfortable
with my own personality.
When I first started my cooking videos,
I really wanted to make it perfect.
I look very prim and proper,
and I wanted to make sure nothing spilled,
and God forbid I make a mistake.
But now I just kind of roll with it, you know?
If I spill something, okay.
If sometimes, 'cause I don't film in my own kitchen,
sometimes I forget to bring something.
I roll with it, I said, "You know what,
"I was gonna use this, but I forgot to bring it
"so this is what we're gonna use instead."
And it makes it a lot more relatable for people,
then people are not looking at this
extremely perfect cooking video and they think,
"Hey, I can actually do that.
"Like she makes mistakes, she forgets things."
- Wow. - "That's just like me."
Yeah, and it's helped me, too,
to be a lot more relaxed when filming.
- I love that, and that kinda shows that authenticity wins.
Kinda vulnerability, nobody's perfect.
- Yeah. - And relatable really wins.
That's strong, and then favorite place
in the entire world and why?
- (sighs) Gotta say Thailand.
Gotta say Bangkok; it's home for me and it's so warm.
The food is so good, and just lots of people that I love.
My family's there, and everybody loves Bangkok.
The people who are watching my show,
most of the time they go to Thailand,
they fall in love with the place.
Now they're back in whatever cold country they are,
and they wanna relive it, so they come to my channel
to at least relive the food, so there you go.
- I love it. - Thailand's awesome.
- I love that. Lightning round.
Choo choo, choo choo choo choo choo!
- There you go, that's the sound lightning makes.
- For people that wanna check you out,
where are you at online, we'll of course put all the links
in the description below, but what do you have going on?
Your channel names and stuff.
- My channel name's Pailin's Kitchen.
I got two shows, Hot Thai Kitchen where I do Thai food.
That's my main thing, and then I also have a second show,
Pai's Kitchin, where I do food outside of Thai cuisine.
'Cause, you know, I cook more than just Thai food,
and I wanna share that with everybody else, too.
- That's super powerful, and thank you so much
for being on the show. - Thank you.
- I really just want to acknowledge you for
how inspiring you are. - Thank you.
- We're talking off camera, and I think
what a lot of times people don't see
is what goes on behind the scenes.
And that there's all these cameras,
and there's footage to edit, and all this time and work
that goes into it, and all this testing,
and all these failures and discouragement.
It's a lot of work, and so it's inspiring
to see over the last years you've put in
that hustle and that it shows that it's possible
to really kinda build a life and a business
and a career on your own terms doing something
that you love. - Absolutely.
- So thank you so much for that.
- Thank you for having me.
- Question of the day, influencers,
is what was the biggest takeaway from Pailin
that you're gonna apply?
Post that in the comments and remember that
it's never just about getting information,
it's about taking action, so I wanna hear
what you learned that you're gonna
implement on your channel.
Pailin, give us one final word of encouragement.
You probably remember what it's like,
looking at your views, looking at your subscribers,
putting out your best video that you thought,
but then being like, people didn't appreciate it.
Just encouragement for people that are on the journey
building their influence online.
- Always keep an open mind, believe in what you do.
Always keep an open mind when people give you suggestions.
Of course, not every comment is worth listening to.
But if you hear something over and over again,
maybe there's something there that you need to think about
and improve, always trying to improve yourself
and as along as you believe in what you do,
you love what you do, you'll be fine.
- Super strong, thanks again for being on the show.
- You're welcome. - Influencers, subscribe
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