Hello! Right now you’re reading “The Creator Confidential”, a blog where famous YouTubers share their stories and tips they have for growing a YouTube channel. Over the past week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Audrey, and here is the finished result. Enjoy!
This is the story of how Audrey Carroll started her channel 5 years ago in middle school and today, at the age of 16, gained over 6.5 million views and almost 100,000 subscribers.
What inspired you to create your YouTube channel?
I started my channel back in 2014 when RCLbeauty101 and Bethany Mota dominated the YouTube world. I was obsessed with beauty and fashion at that time, and these YouTubers always inspired me to start my own channel. I remember I always loved filming myself, I would take my moms old phone and film tutorials like I was a YouTube star when I was young. But honestly, I was just a bored kid in the summer who randomly started.
Did anyone at your school or friends around you make fun of you because of your videos?
I started my channel in the summer before sixth grade, and somehow people found my channel very quickly. I was always very insecure about it when I first started, and people would always try to play my videos in class or bring it up in front of my teachers which I did not enjoy at all.
I remember one situation where I was invited to a birthday party, and they were planning to do a movie night, but instead they were going to play my videos in front of everyone. Luckily someone told me about this, and I did not end up going. I’m not sure if that actually would have happened, but I would have been mortified if it did. Other than that, nobody was ever mean to me, they just joked around with me about it. I remember in 8th grade I hit 1,000 subscribers and finally people took me seriously, and since then I haven’t had any problems with people messing with me.
Do you think your family or background/where you grew up influenced your content?
I definitely think my background has influenced my content. Growing up in Florida, I sometimes do beach vlogs, or videos revolving around the fact that I live near the beach. I also do ‘Day In My Life’ videos where I would show my viewers what I did in the day, usually going out somewhere in my town. For me I think of YouTube as a way to document my life, so I basically show all of my experiences like traveling, or just casual days at home.
How long does it take to edit one of your videos?
Every video is different, but editing is a long and tedious process. Luckily, I love editing because it is creative and artistic and pulls the whole video together. Depending on how much creative effort I put into the video, it can take anywhere from 3 to 24 hours.
What are the top 3 tips you would give small YouTubers trying to start a successful YouTube channel?
My number one tip would be to do it because you truly love it. These days, viewers see YouTubers living in huge houses, getting free things, and getting paid a lot, and sometimes people go after that instead of having a passion for creating. Everyone grows at different rates, but it took me so long to earn money from my videos, and only in the past 2 years I have gotten sponsorships from brands. YouTube is a lot more work, time, and dedication than people think, and it takes a lot of time to reach success.
My second tip would be to be yourself and create videos you love. If you are passionate about something, make a video on it, and set yourself apart from the crowd.
Lastly, I would say to not join a networking or management company early on. I remember when I was around 10,000 subscribers, management brands would reach out to me, promising new opportunities and growth for my channel. I got so excited because I thought it meant I was successful, but really these people were just trying to take advantage of my small channel. I have heard so many horror stories where YouTubers sign contracts when they were young, and get stuck in them, or they take all their AdSense money. I still do not have a manager, and I don’t feel the need for one right now.
What do you think was the biggest mistake you made in starting your channel?
Since I have been doing YouTube for a long time, I have gone through many phases with my channel. I wish when I was younger I would have been more real and honest in my videos, and created creative videos that I was passionate about. I was obviously pretty young and didn’t have fancy equipment, but I wish I was more true to myself.
How do you find new opportunities with brands?
One thing that is important is to always have your email in the description box of your videos. This is where brands will look to reach out to you. I also recommend making a media kit, with sponsorship rates, previous collaborations, and your channel statistics. This is a professional and easy way to get sponsored from brands, and let them learn more about your channel. There are lots of videos on YouTube on how to make one.
Working with brands goes both ways, the influencer can reach out to brands, and brands can reach out to the influencer. I remember for my first collaboration I emailed a bunch of smaller makeup companies from the email on their website, hoping that someone would respond. Essence Makeup responded and sent me a package of makeup for a video, which was really exciting. About a year ago, I reached out to Princess Polly asking to collaborate, and ever since then we have had a long term relationship with multiple collaborations. But mostly, brands email me now. Don’t be scared to reach out to brands though!
What is your experience with hate comments and how do you deal with them?
Luckily I don’t have too many experiences with hate comments, but as my channel grows more and more, the hate comments also increase in prevalence. The hard part is it is easy to misunderstand something YouTubers say, and sometimes people forget that YouTubers are human: we sometimes say the wrong things and make mistakes.
Most of the time people comment on my physical appearance, saying I am a slut for dressing the way I do, calling me ugly, asking why my body looks the way it does, and so on. I also experience disgustingly sexual comments from some men. Most of the time I block the person, and I try not to think about the comment too much. I am not the type of person that gets offended by comments really easily, which I am very grateful for. I love reading and responding to comments, so it would be hard to see a bunch of negative comments. I just try to remember that these people do not know me, and are cowards for hating on a young girl on a screen. But it is something that you sign up for when you post yourself for everyone to see, and over time you will learn how to deal with it.
Can you tell me about your process and experience with making merch?
Merch is a super fun way to engage with your audience, and I have created two different launches. Everyone goes about it in different ways, but an easy way to do it if you don’t have money to spend on production and a website, and don’t have a large audience, is through Bonfire. I worked with them for both of my merch launches, and it was super easy. For me, I come up with an idea, and either describe it, or send pictures of my drawings to one of the people who work there. Then, they come back with a draft of a digital version of my idea or drawing. Then, we go back and forth, adjusting the design. The best part about Bonfire is it is a limited time campaign, and they print the design after everyone buys them, so you don’t have to spend any money buying the product ahead of time. Although this method is only temporary, it’s great for beginners.
Thanks for reading! A huge thanks to Audrey for taking the time to answer all the questions. Here are the links to all her socials:
Instagram: @audcarroll https://www.instagram.com/audcarroll/?hl=en
YouTube: Audrey Carroll https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPTw7w-cq2l8oMsToJStzPA
This is the very first post on The Creator Confidential, please let me know how I did! You can email me at thecreatorconfidential@gmail.com or complete the form on this website. Please subscribe to be notified whenever a new post goes up :)
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