Shea Whitney is back and grew almost 400k subs in one year!: The YouTube Power Hour Podcast 151
“Fluffy is easy, but that’s not gonna get you results.”
Don’t miss out! Apply to the waitlist for the Zero to Influence YouTube Bootcamp now to ensure you grab your spot!
The last time she was on she had 30,000 subscribers. Now she has over 400 thousand and its only been a year! Luxury & style YouTuber Shea Whitney shares the most impactful lessons from her rise to the top on YouTube while maintaining her sanity in a hectic world of family and a full-time job.
Since Shea started, she’s always tried to maintain a release schedule of 2-3 videos per week. As you can imagine, that isn’t easy when kids and a full-time job are in the mix. But being the #GirlBoss she is, she makes it work any way she can. Shea believes you can have anything you want in life if you’re willing to go for it. The biggest tipping point for her channel was the video she made titled “10 Ways to Always Look Expensive” which, over a year later, has over 4 million views is still getting her new subscribers.
“I want the person when they click on my videos to not know what to expect.”
Shea started her YouTube channel in September 2016. In only a year she hit 100k, and it’s only been 11 months since then, but she’s already at 400k. She uses her instincts and an unusual approach to finding inspiration for creating engaging and high-quality videos for her luxury-loving and stylish female audience. She lives with her husband and two small boys and continues to work her full-time dream job as a Human Resources Specialist.
“When YouTube sees there’s a boost in subscribers, it’s going to promote it even more, and it’s just like this big cycle.”
7 Key Interview Takeaways
- Be specific and detailed in the value you’re giving. Its easier to do what the majority of people in your niche are doing. Maybe they’re doing hauls or just talking to the camera but if you put in a little more effort to teach something in depth and craft a unique experience to add real value to someone, your content will start to pay huge dividends. Shea says when she started doing that, her view count quadrupled.
- Research your video topics and titles. Never forget that YouTube is a search engine. Shea mentioned that one of her video ideas came to her from researching keywords in Google. When she saw “How to look expensive” ranking high on the frequently searched list, she made a video on that. That video today has 4.1 million views and is still pulling in new subscribers.
- Use YouTube content as homework. There are tons of great pieces of content on YouTube, both within and outside your niche. Those could be good sources of inspiration and ideas. Keep a notepad with you as you go through videos that have a high rating or from top YouTubers, and jot down any ideas that come up for you. Those are the building blocks for winning videos on your channel.
- Improving your sound can make a huge difference. Bad audio is something hardly anyone can ignore. Invest in your audio by getting the best mics for your budget and do DIY fixes to treat the room you’re filming in. If you don’t have carpet lay down a rug or anything that can absorb the sound and not reflect it. Also, if you get a mic for your camera, ensure the internal camera mic is turned down.
- Using numbers in your titles appeals to viewers’ need to complete things. Have you felt that way before? If you’re watching a video on “5 Ways to Improve your Camera Skills”, you’re much more likely to watch the whole video than you are to watch a video that has no number, no structure and aimless rambling. Try to make those adjustments to your videos to tap into the same behaviour in your viewers.
- Think of your thumbnail before you record a video. Another big lever for your YouTube growth is the thumbnail you use for each video. Don’t get stuck doing what’s been done before or what everyone else does. That idea has already been exhausted. Be creative! Before you start recording, think of the thumbnail that you’re going to create. That’s another piece of the puzzle that contributed to Shea’s amazing growth.
- Start your channel in a very small community. If you can get almost all your subscribers to watch your videos, you create a nice balance that YouTube likes and promotes. That’s a signal that small niches are where the magic happens. If you’re the best channel in the “luxury handbags for working moms” niche, you’re off to a great start when all the working moms who love luxury raise their collective hands to watch your content.
Resources
Shea Whitney’s Video: 10 WAYS TO ALWAYS LOOK EXPENSIVE
The YouTube Power Hour Podcast 97: The Best YouTube Thumbnail Tips with Karina Garcia
My favorite free SEO tool for YouTube: TubeBuddy
(Discount code ErikasBuddy for 20% off the paid version)
PR Guide: How to Get onto PR Lists and Get Lots of Free Product
Getting Started on YouTube: The #1 Downloaded Free Niche Discovery Workbook
Connect with Shea
Facebook Group:
Podcast Music Credit: Boop by x50 @x50music
Music provided by Free Music for Vlogs youtu.be/o52xQkQWzyU
