259: YouTube Roundtable: How 3 Video Creators Built an Audience and a Business on YouTube

<p>This week’s show is a roundtable episode on the topic of YouTube, and specifically how 3 different channel hosts have gone about growing their presence and profits on the YouTube platform.</p> <p>My esteemed panelists are:</p> <ul> <li>Jon Shanahan from <a href= "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBkL03Y0hIZAsv3rWyrSCtw" target= "_blank" rel="noopener">The Kavalier</a>, a men’s style / men’s fashion channel.</li> <li>Pete Sveen from <a href= "https://www.youtube.com/user/DIYPROJECTSWITHPETE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DIY Projects with Pete</a> and <a href= "https://www.diypete.com/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">DIYPete.com</a>, a home improvement channel and website.</li> <li>Matt Tran from <a href= "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChj0w0duKtp7SDd_X9CNptw" target= "_blank" rel="noopener">Engineered Truth</a> and <a href= "http://engineeredtruth.com/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">EngineeredTruth.com</a>, a career advice channel.</li> </ul> <p>They explain how and why they started using the free YouTube platform to grow significant followings and income streams, and share some actionable advice on how you can do the same.</p> <p><em>Note: <a href= "https://nickloper.lpages.co/leadbox/14754c3f3f72a2%3A12b7a20bab46dc/5743900618653696/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to download the panel’s top tips for building an audience and generating revenue on YouTube from this episode.</a></em></p> <p>They each raise some interesting points as they have very different approaches to how they publish content and monetize their channels, proving there are many ways to turn a YouTube channel into a side hustle or a full-time business.</p> <p>Jon uses what he calls a “spray and pray" strategy for content creation. Pete’s DIY videos are edited down from 3-5 hours of footage to just 8-12 minutes and he releases one a month, while Matt publishes once a week (usually interviews) to, “try to get the weekend crowd.”</p> <p>On the monetization side, Jon has opted to go ad-free for a better viewer experience and ear