It’s time for another installment of Darby Comm’s Ask the Experts series, where we feature interviews with some of the incredibly talented people we get to collaborate with. For this edition, we’re digging in deep with YouTube creators to learn how they got started with video content, how they’ve grown their audiences, the evolution of their content strategies, and advice for anyone just starting out on the world’s second-most visited website.
Tim & Kelsey Huber
Salty Sunrise
James Harris
Junkyard Fox
Elina Osborne
Elina Osborne
Devin Ashby
Backcountry Exposure
What made you want to start a channel?
Tim & Kelsey Huber: We started our vlog when we hit the road to travel, so we have been posting weekly videos for about 7 years. Our family thought we were insane for quitting our jobs, selling everything, and hitting the road to live out of a 4×4 (originally the idea was to travel for one full year) so we thought we would share our experiences traveling remote places and just our experience in general. I (Kelsey) also had a hobby of editing videos so I was excited because I wanted to do it anyway for our own memories, and the idea of sharing it with family and friends seemed fun.
James Harris: I’ve always been a creative person and have enjoyed telling stories since I was a child. I’ve drawn my own comics, made paintings, written short stories, etc. my whole life. I live in West Texas, and as I got into survival skills and bushcraft around 2013, I realized there wasn’t much [of that] shown on YouTube. I decided to make a channel to shed light on these methods and to share the beauty of the American Southwest to demonstrate the desert isn’t some barren wasteland, but instead, a beautiful landscape full of wild edibles, wildlife, and opportunities.
Elina Osborne: I made a short film I wanted to share online. I didn’t have plans to “start a channel” but simply to share one video I had made! I’ve had my personal channel since the end of 2019, but I had done previous work on other channels before, so effectively I’ve been creating on YouTube since 2017.
Devin Ashby: I started making videos on YouTube around October 2014 as a creative outlet after having been a professional freelance portrait photographer for years. I needed something to keep my brain moving and active and I’ve always really enjoyed gear, so it seemed natural to talk about gear, although it was very basic and quite poorly produced. YouTube 10 years ago was a bit more forgiving on production quality compared to the incredible videos you see from so many channels now.
How has your channel and/or content strategy evolved since you started?
T&K: First, we gained an audience, a really loyal audience at that, of people who love the way we travel, respect our opinions, and view us as friends. From the start, we have been clear about promoting only the products we use and can genuinely get behind. We want to feel good about sharing brands/products, and we aren’t actors, so keeping it all real is just better. We often reach out to brands after we have done our research and determined that this is what we would spend our money on. If we can work together, it’s great.
While it may not be the smartest way to make a living, it ensures our audience will continue to trust our recommendations and helps us build mutual respect in our relationships with brands.
DA: Since I’ve been making videos on my channel for so long, it’s gone through a pretty substantial change. Initially my goals were to share my trips as a simple vlog and talk about the gear I was using. It was a bit less technical and more informational on the gear. But as YouTube and my career in the outdoor industry have evolved, the potential of being a YouTube creator and the value content can bring to brands and viewers have created a completely different landscape. For one, real opportunity to support my family financially is huge, but also, I’ve made an effort to create content that helps others have a better experience in the backcountry. That’s my main goal in my content.
When I am reviewing a piece of gear, I work really hard to speak to the use cases, why you would choose it, and how it can provide a positive experience on your trips. But also, showing real-world use of the products in the field so people are able to see some perspective on its use and get a better idea if it’s good for them or not.
“YouTube has evolved (and devolved?) a lot since I started consuming and creating on the platform, and there’s a lot of room for creators to change the space, reach niche audiences, and build a business. I think that’s more what it feels like now; a space for entrepreneurs, with a business mindset.”
-Elina Osborne
What have you found to be the most effective way(s) to grow your subscriber base?
EO: Creating things you’re genuinely excited to create, where you’re enjoying the process along with the outcome. Creating consistently, owning your voice, and speaking to a specific group of people.
DA: Authenticity, transparency, and being honest. I believe that those attributes being your north star are the basis of trust and growing an audience.
T&K: For us, going to the places we are excited about really has translated into our viewers. We try to avoid creating clickbait thumbnails, but by going to beautiful places, we can create clickable thumbnails. Once we have a new viewer, if we have good, engaging content, we can keep them. We find that if we are passionate and excited about a place or experience, those genuine feelings come across, and a viewer who may not have been interested in the featured place or activity originally will comment saying we opened their eyes or they just enjoy watching us enjoy a place. People want a friend to check in with once a week.
Does affiliate marketing play a role in your content strategy?
T&K: Because of our staunch effort to only promote things we like, product integration is natural and easy for us. We use it, wear it, talk about it in our videos, it’s included in our content authentically. It is a huge bonus for us when we have an affiliate link, which we always list in our video descriptions. As a smaller creator getting a kickback for our recommendation is huge, every little bit helps keep us creating (and traveling). We also really appreciate when a brand gives us a small discount that we can share with our viewers.
JH: Yes, affiliate marketing definitely plays a role in our content strategy. In our modern day, everyone goes on YouTube to look up opinions and reviews on whatever item they are interested in buying, so it makes sense to review quality outdoor gear on the channel after it’s been tested by us, and we provide our honest opinions. Whether it’s a city slicker interested in their first camping trip, or a seasoned outdoorsman looking for a new hunting knife, it’s a great way for folks to find our content, plus we get to work with great brands, have items sent to us, and sometimes even get a small commission via affiliate marketing.
“Our followers feel as though they know us, just as we feel we know many of the people we watch on YouTube. Because of this, a product recommended by an ‘online friend’ carries much more weight than any other type of advertisement we can think of.”
-Tim & Kelsey Huber
What advice would you give to anyone starting a channel now?
DA: Create content because you love it. It’s so easy to get caught up in views, the algorithm, and number of subscribers, but you really have to set that stuff aside and create content because you’re passionate about it. Everything else will fall into place and you can learn better YouTube strategy over time. But do it because you want to, and just be consistent.
T&K: We would say just start, be consistent, always keep learning, and make sure you are passionate about your content.
JH: The advice I would give anyone starting a channel now is this: a creative job, such as being a content creator, is 50 percent creativity and 50 percent business. That balance is ridiculously important.
Focus on the things you love and are passionate about. Share them with others, there will always be a community on the internet that enjoys like-minded things. Find your community, make friendships, connections, share your work and learn from peers.