The TRUTH Behind Hyram’s Meteoric Rise to YouTube Superstar: 3.5 million Subscribers in 2 years : The YouTube Power Hour Podcast 240
“Followers are the new currency.”
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I am THRILLED to welcome one of our most highly-requested guests to the show: Hyram! Whether it be critiquing celebrity skincare routines, giving brutally honest brand reviews, or reacting to one of his TikTok follower’s skin transformation videos, Hyram has established himself as an influential skincare content creator. With a combined following of 10 million, Hyram is dedicated to being an entertaining and trustworthy resource for skincare knowledge, growing from 100,000 to 5 million followers on TikTok in only 4 months. His primary goal is to empower viewers with skincare education, positivity, and a sense of social responsibility.
Hyram was a makeup artist before becoming a YouTuber, and frequently saw people drop upwards of $1000 on a single skincare product, but upon examining the ingredients, he noticed that these products were NOT worth the money. He also noticed that in the skincare scene, there were two camps: the salesperson and the densely-packed, scientific dermatologists. There was a gap and a need between these for people to have someone to be able to explain skincare simply. He started his channel in 2017, but was only uploading about once a month. His New Year’s Resolution on January 1st, 2019 was to start taking his channel seriously, and so began the journey of his incredible growth in a “saturated” niche. He really started to focus on YouTube, set all his entrepreneurial projects aside, and it took a few months for him uploading 2-4x a week to start seeing growth. And despite believing that there maybe wasn’t room for him in a saturated industry, his consistency paid off when he grew from 100,000 followers to 700,00 in a single month. That was truly the defining moment for him when he realized that YouTube was his new career.
“YouTube is all about short-term investment for long-term rewards.”
But it wasn’t JUST consistency that made Hyram successful, it was his experimentation with content strategies and his unabashed fearlessness to be himself. He is constantly redefining his content, and capitalizing on what his followers were saying. His comment section was full of people talking about binge-watching his videos, so he made sure he created a backlog of similar, bingeable content. Hyram strives for authenticity because he did not want to portray himself to be professional or eloquent, because the reality is, he’s neither of those things. He is admittedly all over the place, cusses a lot, and jokes around. He is brutally honest, and that brutal honesty might mean he won’t get brand deals, but that’s ok. He approaches his videos like a friend helping you shop for products. His mantra? “The ingredients don’t lie.” His high standard for ingredients means he is selective on which brands he chooses to work with, but his transparency with his audience when it comes to ingredients shows his audience that he has high standards, regardless of whether the video is sponsored or not. His growth has translated over to TikTok as well, where he has been since March, and where he gained 800k followers in a SINGLE DAY. But what is most extraordinary about Hyram is that he films all of his videos ON HIS PHONE. He has no expensive cameras or equipment, so when he sits down to film, it feels the same as it did when he first started, and that’s what feels natural to him.
“Find a way to give your authentic voice while being completely different from everything. Don’t be afraid to be completely different, to go against the grain, and be a personality unlike anyone you’ve seen.”
3 Key Interview Takeaways
- Find a specific niche. Find a hole in your industry, and start filling it with your content. Hyram realized quickly that there was no middle ground in those creating content about skincare, so he created it. Find something that nobody else in your niche is creating, focus on it, and commit to consistently churning out content for it.
- Don’t pretend to be something you’re not. Hyram is the first person to admit that finding his voice took some time. It’s awkward at first to talk to a camera as if it were a human being. But Hyram is authentic in his videos, and it is authenticity that will draw people to you, whether they are interested in your niche or not.
- No excuses. You don’t need a fancy camera, a perfect setup, or tons of equipment, and Hyram is proof of that. At over 3.5 million subscribers, he is still filming on an iPhone 8. If he can do it, so can you. If you’re thinking about starting a channel, do it NOW.
Mentioned in the Episode:
Specialist Reacts to DIY Microneedling
I TRIED ARIANA GRANDE’S SKINCARE ROUTINE
Connect with Hyram
Resources
Add your name to the Zero to Influence YouTube Bootcamp waitlist so you are notified when space becomes available!
Watch my replay of my FREE Zero to 100k Subscribers Masterclass
FREE GUIDES:
Creating Content During Crisis: How to Create Impactful Content During COVID-19 Pandemic
Getting Started on YouTube: YouTube Niche Workbook
How to get onto PR lists and receive a TON of free product even if you have a small following: PR List
YOUTUBE OPTIMIZATION PLUG-IN I RECOMMEND
TubeBuddy [Use the code ErikasBuddy to get 20% off]
MY FAVORITE BUSINESS TOOLS
Course Creation: Looking to create a course? Kajabi is the BEST platform hands down. I use this for my course after extensive research on all the other platforms.
Live Calls and Interviews: I use Ecamm for my podcast interviews, both audio and for YouTube that you see here on YouTube. It makes it super easy to share my screen and create the split-screen with my guest. I’m not super techie and this software is really easy to use!
Webinars and Live calls: I use Zoom.us for my group coaching calls in my private membership group for female YouTube creators. It’s also the software I use to record my Road to 100k YouTube Subscribers Masterclass!
THE BEST YOUTUBE/PODCASTING EQUIPMENT
After interviewing HUNDREDS of successful YouTube creators, these are the pieces of equipment that hands down get mentioned time and time again. You can’t go wrong with anything on this list!
- 4k Camera: Great for starting out and vlogging
- Lens: This lens is recommended highly by many of my podcast guests, it gives the blurry “YouTuber” background look.
- Audio: If you want to upgrade your set-up, audio should be one of the first investments (after a good camera). This microphone is unanimously the favorite amongst my podcast guests.
- Podcast/Voiceover Microphone: If you are looking for a great microphone for a podcast or video voiceover, this is it! This is the one that you see in all of my videos and the one I’ve recorded my podcast on for years.
- Webcam: For my interviews, that you see in my videos, this is the webcam that I use. Super inexpensive and easy to set up!
- Inexpensive Lighting Kit: Need to pick up some lights but don’t want to spend a ton? This is a great set that will get you started and help improve the look of your videos.
- Ring light: Looking for that beauty look? Invest in a ring light! This is an inexpensive light that does that trick!
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**Disclaimers: all opinions are my own, sponsors are acknowledged. Links in the description are typically affiliate links that let you help support the podcast at no extra cost.
