This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Passive income with YouTube toy reviews. This is a fun one. I always enjoy working on these segments. Our first $1,000. How does someone make their first $1,000?
In fact, how do they get going? How do they get their idea and turn that idea into income? And in today's episode, we're gonna hear from a YouTuber who starts a toy review channel and gets paid for thousands of views. Might there be a channel waiting for you to launch next? Well, let's delve into it.
Let's get to it quick because one thing I've learned is that once you begin to earn real money, the steps required to go to the next level, whatever that next level is, $2,000, $5,000, $10,000, and more, those steps are often easier than that first real paycheck. So today's story comes from Tyler. Tyler has found a way to monetize his love of toys. Well, I guess everybody loves toys. Who doesn't love toys?
But also he's found a way to package it in a way that's compelling, getting lots of views and such. So let's talk about the business details of the channel. Well, let's hear the story from him and I'll come back at the end with a quick wrap up. [Music]
Hi, I'm Tyler. A few months ago, I decided to combine my love for toys and my passion for creating videos by starting a YouTube toy review channel.
Here's how I earned my first $1,000 and turned a fund hobby into a profitable business. It all started when I noticed how much my nieces and nephews enjoyed watching toy review videos on YouTube. They'd spend hours watching other kids unbox and play with toys, and then it hit me. Why not make my own channel? I had some experience with editing videos and a genuine love for toys, so it seemed like a perfect fit.
I began by researching the most popular toy review channels to understand what made them successful. I noticed the most popular channels had a few things in common, high quality videos, engaging content, and a consistent posting schedule. Armed with this knowledge, I set out to create my own channel. I invested in lighting equipment and a backdrop to ensure my videos look professional. I also made a list of the latest and most popular toys to review, focusing on ones that had a lot of buzz and interest from not only kids, but adults too.
My first few videos were simple unboxing and review videos. I focused on being enthusiastic and detailed in my reviews, explaining what I liked about the toys, how they worked, and who they'd be perfect for. I posted my videos on a regular schedule twice a week to keep my audience engaged and coming back for more. Well, I say audience, but it took a while. It was small at first, but I engaged with all my viewers by responding to comments and asking for suggestions on which toys to review next.
This interaction helped me create a sense of community and more people began to tune in. Monetizing the channel was a huge step. Once I reached 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours, I applied for the YouTube Partner Program to start earning ad revenue. Additionally, I joined affiliate programs for toy retailers and included affiliate links in the descriptions of my videos. My first significant income came from a combination of ad revenue and affiliate commissions.
One of my videos reviewing a popular new toy went viral, attracting thousands of views and driving a lot of traffic to the affiliate links. Within a couple months, I earned my first $1,000. And before I knew it, I was bringing in $1,000 every other week. Today, my YouTube toy review channel is growing steadily. As I've expanded my content to include toy giveaways, collabs with other YouTubers and even some behind the scenes looks on how I make my videos.
The initial success of earning my first $1,000 has given me the confidence to continue growing my channel and exploring new opportunities. Starting this YouTube channel has been incredibly rewarding and I'm excited to see where it takes me next. The key to my success has been staying passionate about the content, engaging with my audience and continuously improving my skills and videos along with them. [Music]
Thanks so much to Tyler for telling us about his first $1,000. Remember listeners, there's something you can do as well.
There's a way to take your skills, your knowledge, your experience. Could be something you never even thought about much before or it's something that you do think about as a hobby a lot but you never thought about it as a business but there's a way to take that and turn that into a product or a service, something that other people value and something that you can get paid for. That's what we're all about here every single day, 2,800 plus episodes and counting. So I hope you enjoy it. It's always free.
You can subscribe, follow wherever you get your podcasts. If you have questions, sidehustleschool.com/questions. Today's notes, sidehustleschool.com/2830. And that's it for now. My name is Chris Guillebeau.
This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
From the Onward Project.
