He Made $30K on YouTube While Working a Full-Time Job

[00:02] hustle income through his YouTube channel. And the wild part is he did it with a channel that's currently sitting around 12,000 subscribers. was like the most I'd ever spent on a pair of boots. And my teenage son was

[00:14] pair of boots. And my teenage son was like, "You need to review those." And I posted maybe like four or five videos a year. I didn't realize at the time that I was actually working a strategy that I didn't know that strategy till after I

[00:26] joined VRA. When I'm going to spend over 100 bucks, I'll look for reviews on YouTube. If somebody's thinking about doing a review channel, do it because it's probably the lowest hanging fruit on YouTube. You don't have to be the

[00:39] some of the other people in your niche. >> Lee is one of the most dialed in small channel creators I have ever had the honor to sit down with. Okay, it is time to lean in. This is a take notes episode. He's literally

[00:53] crazy. He just shared everything. His four revenue streams, how he picks weekly workflow that makes things predictable, and the way he even reviews repeat. It's just crazy. It's loaded with gems. Lee, it's so good to have you

[01:08] >> Great to be here, Nathan. Thank you so >> Yeah, let's rock. Well, hey, your channel is called Stray Reviews. Can you what kind of videos you make cuz it's funny. I mean, your profile picture it I

[01:24] it's just a cat's face. But then I look at videos and I see boots and jackets and Filson. What's going on here? >> Uh well, actually that profile picture >> Okay. >> who came in as a stray.

[01:38] So when we when I started the the the channel, it's actually I had bought a pair of really nice boots. It was the nicest pair of boots I'd ever bought at that time. I don't know if you remember way back in like 2016, you might have

[01:50] >> I was 8. Like >> Um uh Thursday Boot Company had just come out of like their crowdfunding um part of their business, okay? So, they were huge. So, I picked them up and at that

[02:03] like the most I'd ever spent on a pair of boots. And my teenage son was like, "You need to review those. them." And I was like, "Maybe."

[02:16] You know? So, I did that and I posted maybe like four or five videos a year. like posted a boot review and get 30, 40,000 views.

[02:28] But I didn't realize at the time that I was actually working a strategy that I didn't know that strategy till after I joined VRA. decided, you know, I'm going to do this every week and see what happens.

[02:41] >> This is amazing. Okay, so first off, shout out to your son, the OG YouTube strategist to be like, "Dad, make a video about that." And then hilarious, you're like, "Oh, this is just normal." You have to post video. You get like

[02:53] tens of thousands of views. No, not normal. Awesome. But not normal. >> Okay, so that's the starting ground. I I'd love to hear really quick before we where we went from there because what a start to YouTube. Last year you brought

[03:06] in around $30,000 in side hustle income, which I think is just super awesome. And through that stack. Like, how did that stack up? Is that, you know, all YouTube? Is it because of YouTube? What's responsible for that income?

[03:21] >> Yeah, there's actually four revenue streams for my YouTube channel. And I would say the most money comes in through affiliate revenue. partnership with a brand. Maybe they send you a sample to review and then you

[03:36] send you a sample to review and then you get a code or a link to that product and then you get an affiliate commission for it. So, that's the That would be the the biggest one. And then we there would be ad revenue through YouTube.

[03:49] >> Which is fantastic. For my particular niche, the RPM is between four and eight dollars on that one. like an entertainment channel or something like that.

[04:03] And then there is sponsorships would be the other one. think a lot of people don't really think much about it and it's um when you I don't know if you can see in my studio here all of the stuff. See all

[04:16] stuff. >> It's really cool and everything but like I don't have room for all this stuff and I don't need it after a while. So, eBay sales has become a revenue a revenue stream

[04:29] >> No way. >> Yeah, so those four streams really are are where the the money comes from. >> Okay, I'm interested in the eBay thing but I do want to touch on the biggest bucket here is affiliate income. Okay,

[04:43] coaching people and this question comes up a lot. Like what's that whole what's the whole thing about putting links in your description and and obviously you tell your dad make a video about those boots. But like

[04:58] you how that's such a big portion of your income? Did you just keep making videos like that cuz it looks like okay, straight reviews were reviewing different things. So, how did it how did your journey on YouTube continue after

[05:11] such a strong start by the way posted video tens of thousands of views. Like how what did what did life look like you know in your YouTube week after >> Yeah. So, somewhere along the line I had another

[05:25] video pop off. It was back in 2023 and that was actually just before I joined Had a video pop off and you could say it's part luck, part whatever but I get this email one day. I I remember it was like late at night and

[05:39] checking my email and I get this email from uh an online store that just happened to be my favorite place to go get clothes. And imagine that, like your favorite store

[05:55] some samples." >> Um, yes, please. Yeah. >> Yeah. >> So, that was very cool. And so, my >> So, that was very cool. And so, my initial motivation was like, yeah, I

[06:08] guess if they want to send me free stuff from my favorite store to review, then maybe I'll just start making weekly videos and see what happens. and of course they set me up with an affiliate account and that's when I

[06:23] started to get, you know, maybe 50 bucks in a month or 80 bucks in a month. And I was like, this is pretty cool, you know? I mean, that's coffee date with the wife >> So, that's kind of where where it all started there, yeah. And then it just

[06:37] adjustment to say I'm going to make one every week, considering I was just going to make one every, um, you know, whenever the motivation struck me. >> Yeah, this is fair. >> Yeah, yeah.

[06:52] week and I think one of the one of the things that I like to say about YouTube that process is that, you know, this I like to look at YouTube not so much as a business, but as a discipline.

[07:06] And, you know, the the old saying, you know, you don't rise to the level of >> Mhm. >> I like to say that you don't rise to the the level of your discipline. >> Woo.

[07:20] >> And so, I decided I'm going to make this a discipline because every discipline discipline to work out, it's going to pay you back in fitness. Or if you have discipline, it's going to pay you back. And sometimes that discipline doesn't

[07:35] work out for 3 months and all of a sudden start seeing a six-pack ab, right? But if you start, uh, you know, you do that for a year, you're going to this a discipline and I want to see what the rewards bring back. And that's how I

[07:50] I've done it every week since, since 2023. Um I don't even know where to begin, but I least I'm curious about, so maybe someone listening could be as well. How

[08:03] did the How did the original company get your email? that on your channel strategically or like how did Do you know how that >> Yeah, no, it was on my channel. And so, you know, of course, I'm kind of

[08:17] even before I was doing that full-time, I went and got a domain and set up a >> So it's, you know, [email protected].

[08:31] yeah, you never know what's going to happen, might as well. And so, yeah. how did you have the foresight to be like, yeah, I'm just going to kind of know what I'm saying? Like you're saying stuff that like nobody thinks of until

[08:44] it's like after the fact. So how did you have experience with something before? >> Yeah, well, domains are cheap. So if I go way back to like 20

[08:57] >> I was working for a ministry. I've been a I've been a pastor for about 30 years. And so that has been my main job is in ministry. I've been in ministry for a >> Okay. >> And not like the sexy big church

[09:11] ministry, either. Like I've been like our church plant in a poor neighborhood, time. And so I was a part of a ministry back in 2008 who decided, look, we're just going to fire half the staff because of

[09:27] the financial downturn. So So I lost my job. And I knew how to build websites and I had a lot of connections with just thought, you know, I'm going to build websites for ministries. So, that

[09:43] became sort of a tool in my belt that when YouTube came along, I had that predisposition, you might say, to register the domain, pop up a website, and have something for people to go to. >> Wow. Okay, that's very cool. And and a

[09:58] pretty cool tactical gem just for anyone who's listening to think about cuz just you know, when you started posting on thought you you would be where you're at now and last year was the year that it

[10:10] was, right? It's so but just planning, you know, and planning like positively, thinking about like, man, cuz a lot of people will say, "Well, what if this doesn't work? What if YouTube doesn't pan out? What if it's too hard?" And I

[10:22] learned to ask is like, "Well, what if it does?" >> What if it's awesome? >> What if it's awesome? And what would I >> Yeah. >> Okay, that's cool. All right, so like

[10:35] big big tip right there if someone's thinking about affiliate stuff and how money plan. >> Yeah. it's like a pretty tactical thing is make your information available, right?

[10:48] Like just be contacted. >> That's right. If they can't get a hold relationship. >> 100%. Quick pause here. If this episode far. Lee isn't winning because he's

[11:01] lucky, he's winning because he has a process. And if you want a simple system that you can follow, I want to point you to our free YouTube strategy class at thinkmasterclass.com. Sean breaks down the one strategy that

[11:13] we use at Think Media to drive serious views and how to build a channel that doesn't rely on hope, randomness, or even just AdSense. When you register, help you apply it, you get an action guide, and a simple money plan. So, if

[11:26] you're ready to stop guessing and start building something predictable, is your next step. Again, that's thinkmasterclass.com. Okay, back to Lee cuz we got some more

[11:40] nerding out to do. Okay, all right. So, let's jump back in. You are creating you're doing reviews mostly? Is that dominantly like whatever video it is >> Reviews and roundups. Okay, what's the difference between a review and a

[11:54] >> Um typically a review would be one product and you know, I I I like doing roundups. I prefer roundups because the

[12:06] uh roundups tend to get on my channel anyway about 60% more views. anyway about 60% more views. And when I am planning a review, what I like to do is ask myself what are the words people are looking

[12:20] for to find a review. So, a lot of people best leather jackets, best American-made boots, best mock toe boots. And so, the niche is sort of like, you

[12:35] stuff that doesn't go out of style, kind of high-end casual gear. And so, you know, there's I don't think there's anything south of $130 on the

[12:48] Just to kind of and then they go up to I reviewed a pair of boots not long ago that were $750. Because I like to review products number one that have a certain financial barrier to entry. Otherwise, nobody's

[13:01] going to be looking for a review for a $20 sneaker or whatever unless it's a $20 sneaker or whatever unless it's a Converse All Star. Right? So, believe it or not. That's huge. So, I like to look for something where

[13:15] So, I like to look for something where there's a barrier to entry and um where people are searching for it. And so, when I started out, a lot of do is I would go to other channels in my niche and I would type in like a product

[13:32] brand usually like Red Wing and I'd go, "Oh, look at all these videos popping up now. This guy's got 10,000 subscribers, but there's 20,000 views on his Red Wing video." And so I I I started choosing those

[13:46] things to review to build up the channel as long as they were within the niche. >> Yeah. >> you can look at your own analytics >> and see what your audience is looking for instead of somebody else's.

[14:02] And so yeah, that's that's how I do it and keep it coming and if I do a roundup it's stuff that people are looking for. Best leather jackets for men under $500. People are searching for that and then you don't have to pick brands that

[14:17] are like super popular. You can just pick, you know, four brands that you think are good um that don't necessarily have that that search behind it. >> Yes. >> Okay. And so for the if you have let's

[14:30] your channel, you're I mean obviously like some of your most popular stuff it it does look like a roundups of boots for men. That one of the ones you did just a couple months ago, strategic timing 65,000 views, the best winter

[14:43] coats for men and you've got names in the title. I'm assuming these are brand >> Yes. >> So this is a big unlock. What you're already doing, which is what I spend a lot of my time coaching on Lee, is

[14:56] better ideas. >> Yeah, absolutely. >> So what's what's your like do you have a formula? What's your process now? What things like, well, I'm making sure people are searching for this. What's

[15:09] your process? Let's say like we get to just spy on you for a second, you know, like SparkNotes version, but if you were going to start researching or vetting a topic for your next video, where would you start? What tools do you use?

[15:21] >> do like to use I do come back to just using YouTube search a lot. >> And I do use analytics. Sometimes I'll use VidIQ a little bit, but >> Um, when I go back and I just see what's getting views. I I want to I want the

[15:38] way I see it is if this is getting a lot of views, then it would really serve my audience well to help them with that. I'll give you an example. One of my I'll give you an example. One of my highest viewed videos is for uh

[15:50] Birkenstock Arizonas. Now, I there you know, Birkenstock Arizona sandals, I'm not a huge like, you know, sandal wearer. >> Birkenstock. >> Yeah.

[16:02] Uh, not a huge sandal wearer, but you know, I noticed that when I went some of the other channels and saw, you know, maybe videos that they did that >> Yeah. >> or when I looked at trending topics on

[16:16] >> Okay. >> these things had a disproportionately higher search volume to them, disproportionately higher volume. >> And for that particular, you know, pair of sandals, I was like, I'm not even

[16:31] going to buy a pair because, you know, that $125 or $150 that I spent on those sandals is going to pay me back four times over. And so, I got the sandals, I did the review, I cut a short, and it's got

[16:48] review, I cut a short, and it's got nearly 100,000 views now, and the $125 that I spent on those sandals has paid me back $450 in ad revenue. And >> Just in ad revenue, and they've also gained me another like 100 plus

[17:01] subscribers. So, if you're strategic that way, and then the thing about it is for certain brands, and you just kind of >> Mhm. >> And I don't know about you, Nathan, but

[17:16] when I'm going to spend over 100 bucks, I'll look for reviews on YouTube. >> And I honestly feel like if somebody's thinking about doing a review channel, do it because it's probably the lowest hanging fruit on YouTube.

[17:30] >> And when I when I started, I was like, should I do cuz I'm actually a professional life coach. I'm credentialed with the ICF as an ACC. Professional Christian Coaching Institute, and I thought

[17:44] going and do life coach stuff and whatever. >> And then I was like, but I've got these companies reaching out to me to review stuff. And I decided that I was going to do the

[17:56] low-hanging fruit and do that because it is so if you're a life coach, it is so because what you're doing is you're building an audience. It's not so much people out there searching, what's my purpose?

[18:10] >> Mhm. >> But there are people going White's MP Sherman review. You know, Red Wing boots. And so I I may still get this life coach thing going one day, you know, channel, but

[18:25] right now, you know, I'm going for like what's should talk about reviews. Honestly, review channels because when you go on and you look at YouTube education stuff, videos online

[18:39] and stuff, it's it's like they're telling you things like, oh, create a >> Yeah. >> Add value and all this stuff, which is cool. But when you're a review channel, it's a little bit different, and I would

[18:52] >> Mhm. >> Anyway, so I don't I don't want to get >> thinking about doing reviews, do reviews. >> No, this is so strong. I like this is actually it's it's re-inspiring me, Lee,

[19:06] you know, like one of our video strategies at Think Media is RSP. >> specific products. >> So, you're living proof that like your what >> RSP, you're doing versus? Like that's

[19:21] another huge VRA strategy, and so you're able to implement these things right away. All you really need to do is make the product the hero. >> Mhm. So, and that that what's cool about that is I don't know if you notice on

[19:36] almost all my thumbnails, it's the product. My face isn't in it. Something like that. >> So, especially if you are already in the >> So, especially if you are already in the mindset of a shopper, right?

[19:48] boots. You know, I I was already looking for leather jackets. I was already, you I was already shopping at these places, you know, that were coming to me, and then I was able to send out emails to some of them and go,

[20:00] "Man, I just bought a pair of your boots 6 months ago. They're fantastic. Now I'm doing a roundup where I'm doing, you know, a boot that you make that would fit in there. How would you feel about sending

[20:12] >> And wow. >> Half the time they say yes. The other half the time they say say no or just don't reply, but the half the time they say yes is totally worth it. >> It's totally worth it. Are you adding

[20:24] anything to those emails? And maybe it's different now than it was before, but in terms of just like have you noticed, do companies like to see subscriber count, view count? Like what's the consensus there? Do a lot of

[20:37] you had to provide that before? >> Uh with some companies they want to see like a media kit. And for me that media kit is just one page on my website. It's not in the menu. I'll send them a link. And it'll

[20:50] give numbers and other partners that I've worked with and some statistics >> And so some of them want that. Some of them will Once they get my email, they >> That's true, too. >> You know, make sure that

[21:05] um, you know, the videos are quality, and I think that's important for people >> Yeah. >> really make the product look good. Like, put it on a turntable, light it up real nice, and, you know, make it make make

[21:20] their product the hero, and they're going to want to work with you. So, but if it's like you or if you got like, you know, the the boot out in front of the camera and you're not showing your face and you just sort of like meandering on

[21:32] about it at whatever, you know, I wouldn't expect a whole lot. But when you treat these brands with a measure of honor and this is their product and you make it look good and you light it up nice and you keep your

[21:45] review nice and succinct, they like to work with you. >> Man, okay, this is like worth rewinding if you are at all implementing review about it. I hope you're getting as pumped up as I am and like I don't even

[21:59] man, maybe I should just start a new review channel on the side. And just cuz it sounds like so much fun. Okay, so I want to get into a little bit more tactics and specifics around how to pull off a good review video. We've

[22:13] already talked about ideation, topic selection, but I want to get into title >> Okay. >> But real quick, kind of like a behind-the-scenes note here, Lee, where are you calling in from right now?

[22:25] >> I am calling in from nowhere, western Illinois, John Deere country. Man, there is like like the the Quad Cities uniform is a pair of jeans and

[22:37] some Hey Dudes. Like So >> That's where I'm calling in from, yeah. >> Well, definitely goes to say we're >> Well, definitely goes to say we're definitely not in the same place.

[22:51] crazy is even where you're at, which I love that description, the reason this same studio is because we're recording on Riverside, who is the partner of today's episode. If you've ever wanted to do interviews like this or start a

[23:05] podcast, but the part that gets in the way is the editing, man, Riverside has made this whole process so much easier. Because it's not just a recording tool, it's a full workflow platform. For starters, you can record up to 4K with

[23:19] clean separate audio and video tracks for each person, and it records locally on each person's device. Which just means if the Wi-Fi got weird, you're not real win, especially if you dread editing, is their AI-powered editor. You

[23:33] don't need complicated timelines, just edit the text and the video instantly updates. AI can remove any filler words, it can clean up those awkward pauses, automatically. And their magic clips feature can even turn your best moments

[23:48] into clips perfect for shorts, reels, or TikTok, all from the same dashboard. And for podcasters, Riverside can actually host and distribute your show to Spotify, to Apple Podcast, even YouTube. So, instead of spending hours in

[24:02] finish an episode in a fraction of the time. If you want to try it, use code THINK MEDIA at checkout for 1 month free of Riverside's pro plan. Link is in the description and show notes below, and again, that's code THINK MEDIA at

[24:17] checkout for 1 month free. Okay, Lee, so I want to jump into how you're What are some things that you've learned when it comes to, you know, especially love what you You said, the big the big take-home point is make the brand the

[24:33] hero, make the product the hero. You're doing that well in your thumbnails. I to articulate your strategy to someone who's just getting into this, what would it comes to titles and thumbnails for review videos?

[24:46] >> Yeah, I mean, I would if you don't mind, I'll just rewind just a tad. >> When I review when I choose a product to review, review, I I a product where I am 90 to 95% sure

[24:59] So I mean I want to I want to start there. >> not just picking anything and everything. Like you're you're really you're going to go for. Okay. >> Cuz that's going to help quite a bit.

[25:12] Like when you're shooting it, when you're reviewing it, things like that. I >> Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Okay. >> So title and thumbnail because about 40% of my traffic comes in through search. >> Hey.

[25:26] >> What I like to do is I like to load my titles with SEO. >> Okay. Like how many times have you gone on and search for the best of something? So if you look at my title

[25:41] >> The best the best leather jacket under $1,000 the best you know, boots, the best whatever. So a lot of times I like to put put my head into the mind or put

[25:53] who's maybe looking for the product. >> Yeah. >> And so that usually will go sort of at etc. etc. >> God.

[26:06] >> back end of the title, it's usually the brand. uh because a lot of people are searching you know here's a freebie. Go get a pair And then and then review them on YouTube. Because everybody's looking for

[26:22] >> The title. >> Fresh content. >> Just go get a pair of Red Wings, go review them on YouTube. Well I'll do the I'll do the title that way the best such and such and then I'll put

[26:36] looking for you know that particular brand. And so that's how my titles. I don't you know uh Sean says like you know clarity beats cleverness all

[26:49] >> Yeah. >> So be just be really clear with your >> Mhm. >> And then for the thumbnails, that's kind of where I try to maybe be a little more clever or elicit some curiosity. Maybe

[27:03] ask questions like worth it or you know, put the price if it's really expensive. And then I also like the product to be the hero of that thumbnail. >> And so I want the product to look good. Um I use a combination of AI and I use

[27:18] Photoshop to make these and usually they're AI backgrounds, but with the actual product sort of placed over them. Um because I want them to jump out and I like to try to keep the colors the same so that when somebody sees one of my

[27:32] >> Can you talk about that real briefly cuz this is a common question is like, you know, how do I how do I get my a branded thumbnail? And this could this is know. Like because we can take a we can pursue a

[27:46] branded thumbnail at the cost of a good thumbnail. >> just stuff gets stuffed, your logo and your little picture and like whatever. So, you've done it really well. Your thumbnails look clean and spaced out.

[27:58] And so and I can Well, here's what's funny. I look at your thumbnails, I see a vibe. I get a vibe. I see consistent colors, consistent even formatting. So, how did you how did you arrive at a thumbnail that feels like you?

[28:12] sound funny like when I chose that yellow color, I actually used a color picker and took some of that yellow out of the cat. So, just kind of hover it Oh, there's a nice one right there. Boom, you know,

[28:25] and I got a nice yellow and it pops. So, that's kind of where that yellow comes from. And then just kind of keeping that consistent vibe, product. So, a lot of the products are more rugged, you know, Red Wing boots

[28:38] are rugged and leather jackets are rugged and I wanted something sort of outdoorsy, rugged, that sort of thing. And I wanted to keep the You know, it's funny. on, I was like, "Dang, every time I put my face on one of these things, I

[28:51] I put my face on one of these things, I get less views." >> So, you cut that pretty quick. >> Yeah. If you want to brand your >> Yeah. If you want to brand your uh thumbnails, I don't put your logo on

[29:05] them. It's a It's a waste of graphic real estate. real estate. And so, don't put your logo rather than that, just use the same colors. I also say, you know, you I like to use all

[29:18] caps. We use all caps. Maybe, you know, I try to keep the the words four or less words. >> go. Okay. >> go. Okay. >> And I do not ever want to repeat

[29:31] the text on the thumbnail and the That's just in the title because that's just a waste of text then. So, elicit some curiosity. better than some of the other people in your niche.

[29:45] >> Like, you know, if There are people that are, you know, in my niche that have you know, their silver play buttons. There's a guy with a with a million uh him. But, I keep track in VidIQ of the other

[30:02] >> Yeah. >> And I like kind of look at what they're better than them. >> I love that. That's like, yeah, choosing First off, I hear it's like you versus you is is part of this, you know. Um and

[30:18] your analytics to help you out just a little bit. But, I also love what you're Cuz here's what's crazy, you know, I I'm I'm a a musician-ly, and something that's commonly said in the musician

[30:33] world is very similar to the creator world, where it's like, someone asks you what you do. Oh, yeah, I'm a songwriter. Okay, immediately, if they don't If they assume nothing good's happening. It's like You know what I mean? It's

[30:45] really weird. It's like if you're not Beyoncé or Ed Sheeran or Taylor Swift, music As if there isn't all these little steps along the way of like thousands of good living that you've never heard of. It's the same thing here, right? And so

[31:01] it's kind of like if you know your your zone, you know where you're playing at hear like, "Man, okay, last year like as a side hustle like 30k, you know, from money plan strategically." That's how small channels, right, can bring in big

[31:17] income. Um it's just awesome. It's awesome to see, man. Um I I want to jump into a little bit of your review process and then I want to get into How do you hustle? You know, like I want to get into scheduling, but let's talk

[31:30] analytics for a second. What have What have you learned to pay attention to? analytics, especially knowing a lot of your traffic comes from search, like when you crack open YouTube Studio. >> Yeah. I know that there will be people

[31:45] that disagree with me, but like the at the end of the day, it's about >> Mhm. >> Um I'm not selling Porsches. So, I can't make $30,000 on 100 views. And so, um

[32:01] I like to look at views because, you know, bottom line, that's going to give me information about how my packaging is doing and things like that and title and um and then I like to look at my retention.

[32:14] I'm Are people staying with me? What are some things that I can do uh to hold >> Nice. >> Uh Sean says, "Be bright, be brief, be fun, be done." And that has sort of been like a mantra of mine with these videos.

[32:29] Um uh you know, I don't want to do 20-minute reviews. And part of that is just putting your own self into the mind of the people looking at these things. When I'm looking for a review for something, I

[32:41] don't want a half hour review. Like, just get to the point. Yeah. What's good? What's bad? You know, is it worth my money? Is it going to last? And so, I try to present with that

[32:54] information. Most probably the vast majority of my my reviews are around the 8-minute mark, maybe 6 minutes to 8 minutes. Some of the roundups might go up to 11 or 12 minutes.

[33:08] after it. Like >> Yeah. Get in there. Be succinct. And you would be surprised at how many people will come back and they'll comment and they'll say, "I picked this up because of your review." And so, that kind of is

[33:22] some affirmation. I'm doing something right here. But the process usually what I'll do is in November, I'll actually go away and I'll have like a little YouTube retreat, right? I'll just go away for a few days.

[33:36] And I'll look at my analytics. I'll see what topics got the most views. I'll look at my competition and I'll make an I'll make a list of like 50 to 60 video ideas. I'm I'm not going to do them all. Right? And so, I'll make that list and

[33:50] that sort of like becomes the foundation of the next year. These These are the That way I can work in advance. I can whatever. I can reach out to brands early enough to see if I can get some samples from them.

[34:03] >> And so, I I do that early enough and then inevitably, I'll get emails. People will say, "Hey, you know, can you review this boot of mine?" And so, a lot of times I And this happens all the time.

[34:17] Um let's just say a sneaker, right? And say, "Hey, you know, do you want to review my sneaker?" review my sneaker?" And I'll do the test, right? I'll go and

[34:29] search for that sneaker brand. I'll see if they're getting any views. "Look, um how about this? >> Mhm.

[34:42] >> Because more people are searching for best sneaker than are searching for sneaker brand XYZ. So, you kind of following me with that? >> Yeah, for sure. >> So, uh if you know, anyway, so that's

[34:57] kind of how we'll do it and we'll roll that way. And when I um that way. And when I um review product, I do like to use AI to shorten the uh the time. So, there's two AIs that I use

[35:11] for um writing a script cuz everything's scripted out. >> I use a teleprompter because early on I discovered without one, it took me too >> Right? You know what I'm saying? >> Yeah, for real.

[35:24] it, deliver it, move on. >> Exactly. That's right. And so, I I have an AI, it's called Laterally, and I have it on my phone. And I'll talk into it while I'm giving my observations. Oh, I'm putting it on. This is what I

[35:39] decide about the fit. Everybody wants to know how stuff fits. everybody wants to know, "How does it fit?" And so, I I give it information like this is how it fits, this is how it feels, this is my observations on the

[35:52] construction quality, all the stuff. And I put I give it to Laterally. it'll kind of clean it up for me a also create blog posts and things like that out of it, but um and then there's

[36:06] another AI. It's actually it's called Subscriber. And uh Subscriber AI. And what Subscriber AI does is it will actually crawl my channel, determine my voice, give a profile of my viewers.

[36:20] And it will write my scripts based on that. So, I'll go on the Subscriber and I'll say, "I want to do a comparison video in this format. Here's the links to the products so that it it will pull in the

[36:32] the specifics about the products and put it in the in the script. And here are my observations. And so I copy and paste my observations into it. And beautiful script for me. Which I will then kind of throw into

[36:47] notion and I'll clean up and make it sound even more like me or things like that. But that's what I do on Friday. That's my Friday activity is writing my script. And I might shoot b-roll at that time,

[37:01] too. Hats off to the Pocket 3 is probably the best tool in my tool belt. >> So like, if you're like, what camera do I get? Just get the Pocket 3, stop >> Just move on. Yep. >> Just just move on.

[37:15] Um and I use the Pocket 3 on a selfie stick. When you see my shoes walking by there in slow motion, that's me holding out a Pocket 3 with on a selfie stick. It's not a camera person. And then there's another great one,

[37:30] And then there's another great one, bonus information, the Hover uh Hover X1 Pro, something like that. It's a drone about this big. And you just like you go like, all right, follow me. And it'll follow you.

[37:44] camera man. It'll get out in front of you and get on the side of me. And then around me. It's super it's like just super easy. So I use that a lot, too.

[37:56] And so I'll do my b-roll usually like maybe Saturday afternoon whatever I'll run and do my b-roll. And then Monday I'll shoot my talking head. so now we're at we're at probably 8, 9, 10, probably about 12 hours. And then

[38:10] I'll get another few hours into editing it, which is usually sort of like a the week. Uh I check my analytics to see when my most of my viewers are online, it's Saturday

[38:23] mornings. So, I have every uh Saturday morning at 7:30, a new stray review drops. And if I get around to it, I'll drop a short in the middle of the week, but um you know, I they're not short viewers.

[38:36] You know, they >> So, uh Lee, you are what we would call a >> So, uh Lee, you are what we would call a complete savage, my friend.

[38:50] whatever, 5 minutes like what? You just broke some brains there, talking out loud to AI while I'm trying on stuff. I got this drone that follows created homie. Okay. Wow, wow, wow. That is just

[39:05] a masterclass. It's so, so cool. Here's Here's what's amazingly and this is a perfect segue to where I want to go next. You're a guy that clearly has some systems down. You've like You've got a routine.

[39:18] the fact that you have a YouTube getaway. More of us need that. I just spirit. But like that you got routines. You've got a system. You just know what's up. You You come across very dialed in to

[39:33] is because you're in your analytics. You were able to say 40% of my audience is coming from search and you know that headspace and you're aware of that. So, you're creating and planning around that. This is like a level of mastery

[39:46] where it's like, no wonder. 12,000 subscribers to be bringing in $30,000 last year. It just makes sense, man. I know that there's a lot of reps and years and who even knows the true line through your whole life that like leads

[39:59] to now and you being able to execute at this level. So, like that's awesome. But for the person who just heard you spout off like, you know, acting like you're Yoda out here just like you crazy lightsaber stuff, the

[40:13] like as a Padawan trying to figure out what to do. What is What has helped you develop this routine? Like how did you get into this zone where now it feels like this is autopilot, it's predictable, and funny enough now it

[40:27] for you off the back of understanding these things and having the stuff that you put in place. Like baby step us. What is life is random, my approach to YouTube makes no sense. I feel like I'm just

[40:42] throwing darts of energy everywhere and not hitting anything. How can that person get more calibrated and more into a workflow and a routine like you just described? >> Well, I think it's key to

[40:54] >> Well, I think it's key to be in a place or like create a system there's almost like there's tension between excellence and sustainability. And to ask yourself, you know, what is the level of excellence I can execute

[41:09] every week? Not like what's the level of execute excellence I can execute, you know, now, but can I do this every week? Now, if if

[41:21] I have an idea, like I should I should do this, and this may work and this may increase retention or it might get whatever. If I have an idea that I feel like I couldn't do every week, I just don't do it. And so sort of just

[41:34] eliminating those things that are like, oh, they're big ideas, they're good ideas, but you know, I might be able to do it for one video or every fifth video. And so you have to be able to you know,

[41:46] even if the if the best you can do every week is something on your phone, you know, or the best that you can do every week is, you know, whatever, then do until you're able to stack another discipline. You know, until you're able

[42:01] to stack another, you know, process to make it 1% better. >> Yeah. >> Not trying to put It's really like to removing a lot of things. Yeah, like removing pressure, clearing things out.

[42:15] What do you think is something that people should stop doing? Something that you see, maybe you notice in either the VRA community or you just notice with or even yourself, something that you stopped doing and it gave you a pretty

[42:27] >> I think one of the things that I see a lot that people they they should stop doing it anyway, but like um motion graphics and sound effects. That's probably adding, you know, another if depending on how proficient

[42:41] another hour or two to your editing process. You don't need bing bing, whoop whoop, you don't need that stuff. It's annoying anyway, but it's taking time. You know, it's take adding time to your editing process. Just release that.

[42:57] You know, that's not not something you need. You you may decide that adding background music is just too much work right now. Just eliminate that. right now. Just eliminate that. And make the absolute best videos that

[43:09] you can make with what's in your hand right now and you have time to do. I school before I started working out. There was a guy said, "Look, Lee, you are better off doing one push-up a day than you are doing a hundred push-ups

[43:24] >> Wow. >> And if you could just apply that to your YouTube, like you're better off making one video every week that's your contact content, you can make it good with your writing, but

[43:39] back so that you can make it every week, then scale it back so you can make it every week. And then just add little things as you go. >> Wow, man, this is Thank you so much. All right, huge shout-out to Lee. What in

[43:52] the world? That episode was a master class because he didn't just share tips. The guy shared a machine. And the line that he said I can't stop thinking about was when he said you don't rise to the level of your passion, you fall to the

[44:04] And man, that's the difference. Can I just you and and you can hear it and you can see it in Lee. Like he's a confident creator. That's what I want for you. And process that he can run every single week. The results just compound. So, if

[44:20] you're ready to stop guessing and start building a real YouTube system that works for you in real life, your starting point is our free YouTube your starting point is our free YouTube strategy class. thinkmasterclass.com.

[44:33] This on-demand training lays out the core strategy that we teach inside of Video Ranking Academy, which is the exact same system that Lee used. So, head to thinkmasterclass.com, watch it, and start building your

[44:47] system. Again, that's thinkmasterclass.com. today. How could you not? Let Lee and I know. Like, rate, share, review, wherever you watch or listen. This is the Think Media Podcast. I'm Nathan

[45:01] Esau, and I can't wait to connect with you in a future episode.