How Paul Got His First 5000 YouTube Subscribers Reviewing Phone Cases
Paul Rankin • Published March, 2024
SIDE-HUSTLE STATS
35
Hours Worked Per Week
£350
Revenue Per Month
1
Founders
0
Employees
$0
Startup Cost
36
Months Before Profit
YouTube
Main Growth Strategy
95%
Net Profit Margin
Table Of Contents
Working As A Security Officer And Creating YouTube Videos
Paul is a security officer who runs a YouTube channel with 5,300 subscribers, where he reviews phone cases.
Today, he receives so many free phone cases through the mail on a daily basis that he’s “lost his living room” to them.
But like many YouTubers, staying consistent with an upload schedule was. a struggle for him in the first few years.
In his story, you’ll learn how Paul went from creating personal vlogs, car content, and smartphone reviews to settling on a niche in smartphone cases.
If you’re an aspiring YouTuber, he shares some valuable tips and common mistakes that most YouTubers make when starting out.
Coming Up With The Idea
What made you want to start a YouTube channel?
Going back to family vacations, I always loved taking pictures and filming. That’s what got me into taking pictures. And I ended up becoming a wedding photographer.
But the passion was always there in the background to still carry on doing videos, so I’d make many home movies. That was when YouTube first started out.
The more I watched, the more I was like, you know what, I could possibly do this. So I gave my very first video a try. I cringe when I rewatch your back. It’s rough. But again, I suppose it’s where my journey began.
When I joined YouTube, I did it to look back on my life. When I started doing it, brands like Samsung, who don’t normally work with just anybody, put me on to a PR company. The PR company was like, we’ll send you the phone.
Back then, it was different; big brands could send you a phone, which wouldn’t happen nowadays. I ended up with the phone and reviewed it.
I thought this was the start of something good, but then I ended up taking a six-month break from YouTube because I didn’t feel like it was going anywhere. There was so much going on at home and stuff too so I was like, yeah, it’s time just to walk away from it and just go back to normal 9 to 5.
I went back to it six months later around the time Casey Neistat was doing his daily vlogs.
That got me thinking about putting my life online, whether it gains any traction. So I gave it a whirl and got through the entire year. I even had a broken MacBook and iPad while trying to edit, which was a crazy part of the journey.
If people go back to my channel, they will see that my niche has completely changed over the years. I’ve adapted and gone with the content.
How You Chose A Niche
When it comes to choosing a niche, how did you decide on reviewing smartphone cases?
Before the phone cases, I was doing car reviews. And the car reviews really took off.
But I was like, I can’t do this. The car videos weren’t sustainable because I was doing new vehicles that I rented in Florida. I would only be making one video every three or four months.
And then this phone case company reached out. They were like,” We see, you’ve got a lot of mobiles. Can we send you some cases?”
They sent me these phone cases, and I reviewed them. Within a few months, the video had over 50,000 views.
So I was like, maybe I can make phone cases sustainable andgo down the accessories route with mobile phones, but still do my own style of content where I’m reviewing stuff.
Unfortunately, there are too many case companies reaching out to me now. It’s impossible for me to do any type of phone review now.
But I was in a really good position with phone case companies and accessory companies that were reaching out to me. They would go,” We’ll send you this case. Can you do a review on it?” And it’s like, yeah, absolutely. Just send it out.
How Sponsors Work
Do phone case sponsors pay you? What does a typical deal look like?
I’d say 75% of sponsors send products only.
I don’t tend to argue with the company because I don’t want them to take my time away.
So, basically, sponsors have no say in the video. They have no editorial input. They have no right to any corrections, subtractions, or additions. And no inputs on the thumbnail, or my Amazon affiliate links. I make sure that they know they have zero input.
They send me the case. The video will be done when it’s done. There’s no emailing me asking me when it’s going to be done or nothing like that. It’s a case of, you send me the case, and I’ll get done eventually.
If I’ve got videos or brands that have paid me, then unfortunately, they come first.
And I make sure phone case companies know that that’s the case. If you’re sending me product, then it may see the light of day, or it may never see the light of day.
I have one brand that I’ve been working with for the last few months. I have about two contracts with them.
They were both for $600 apiece. It was meant to last for 12 months, but they cut it short because of another new product coming out. They were happy with the response they got from the first video, so they were happy to partner with me again for the second lot.
Getting Free Stuff
How often do phone case companies send you free stuff?
I’ve actually lost my living room to boxes.
All the cases go to the office, and then I go and pick them up. I’m literally picking up eight to ten boxes on a daily basis.
Key Strategy To 5,000 Subs
What was a key strategy that got you to 5,000 YouTube subscribers?
I’d say consistency is key.
That’s when I started to grow. Consistency is definitely key, but I feel like the audience also needs to know what time you’re going to upload.
I think that’s where there’s a lot of fracture in my channel. So to not have a fractured channel, I need to make sure that I niche down and stay consistent with the days and times I’m uploading.
This is so people know when new videos are coming out. I think that’s what I’m finding – a lot of people have not come back. They’re not returning because they don’t know when the next video is.
So I’d say consistency and having an upload schedule, at least.
I mean, at the beginning, you don’t really need a niche. It will just be trial and error, and then it’ll be what works best for you. But don’t do something that’s not fun for you, because if you take it on and it’s not fun, it becomes just like your normal 9-to-5 job. And in the end, you’re going to hate that.
What's Your Biggest Struggle?
What’s been the biggest struggle for growing on YouTube?
YouTube is a very, very lonely place. And I think that’s why so many people give up.
Surround yourself with creators that make similar content to yourself. Speak to them and ask questions. Maybe some of them won’t answer.
But some of them will.
I was in a position a year ago now where I was able to meet people on Twitter, and we started a little group chat.
Now we bounce ideas off each other. I’ll send them a couple of thumbnails and ask,” What do you think of these?” They’ll do the same and we’ll bounce ideas off each other and help each other out to grow together rather than just growing alone
Common YouTuber Mistakes to Avoid
What’s a common mistake most aspiring YouTubers do?
There are a few out there. The content is all over the place. One minute, it’s a phone case; the next minute, they’re exploring an abandoned ghost building.
That’s where you do need to niche down because no one who’s watching your channel then knows what your content’s about.
Like with my channel, people know it’s either going to be some kind of smartphone or something about cars.
I’m not saying that’s a good thing for me, because technically, I probably should niche down a little bit further than where I am.
For those guys, it seems a bit sporadic and all over the place.
Again, it goes back to picking what you’re happy showing people and what you’re happy entertaining people with.
For me, I get a lot of joy out of installing screen protectors. And it’s a teachable moment.
So whether it’s because you’re entertaining or teaching someone, that’s where you should be looking to grow.
Maybe your focus needs to lie a little bit on whether you’re actually teaching someone something or you’re entertaining them because YouTube has become the new television. I think it’s the entertainment factor people are looking for because I’ve noticed a lot of long-form blogs getting a lot of traction again lately.
Revenue + Earnings
On average, how much do you earn from your side-hustle each month?
I started YouTube when you could be paid without depending on your views or subscribers.
You were still getting paid as long as you were at the threshold of £60 in AdSense. You’d get paid £60 and whatever you’d made over.
Now you need 1000 subscribers, and 4000 hours of watch time.
I think my channel hit this new requirement in 2018 when it kicked in.
But for earning £350 a month, that’s been in the last year and a half.
As your subscribers grow, so do the RPMs and CPMs on your channel.
For me, older videos started gaining a bit more traction, and I make more money off them. It all aided to this point.
I was sitting at 2000 views every 48 hours consistently, over and over.
And for the last four months, it’s now sitting at over 10,000 hours every 48 hours.
So there’s definitely a steady incline with a couple of spikes every now and again when a video hits, but there are a lot of old videos still gaining traction.
You know the original Google Home?
I did a video on that, and it was at 500 views for a long time. A couple of months ago, I went back to a few of my videos, and I saw that it had taken off. That video has like 45,000 views.
Camera & Lighting Setup
What’s your full camera setup right now?
Right now, I use a 2021 M1 Mac Pro and a 16-inch MacBook Pro. I edit on Final Cut.
My front-facing camera is a Sony ZV-E10 with a Sigma 16-millimeter f/1.8 lens. The overhead camera is whatever smartphone I’m using.
If I’m making videos on the Samsung Galaxy S20, I use an iPhone to film from the top. If I’m making iPhone videos, then the S21 Ultra is used for the top-down.
I’ve got a key light, which is just a generic £27 Amazon light, an Elgato Key Light Mini that is front facing onto me to boost up the shadows on one half of my face. I’ve got a ring light off to my left-hand side. And then above me, I’ve got an Aputure 60D with a key light mini dome with a diffuser on it.
And then I’ve got an Elgato key light that holds the mobile phone up and over the desk for the top down. I spent £45 on backdrops from Amazon. I went with the gray cement, which seems to work best for me. I’ve got a £3 Ikea plant. That’s it to the side and some of the thumbnails.Tips For Starting At Zero Subs
What tips do you have for aspiring YouTubers starting with 0 subscribers?
Like every well-established YouTuber, I’ll tell you to always start by using a mobile phone because you never know whether you’ll like it or not.
I’ve gone from filming in front of the family toaster to now filming in the living room.
But that’s like the progression of things, I suppose. That’s where you start. That’s where you see the progression.
What’s the point of spending all that money on hefty camera equipment when you have a mobile phone in your pocket?
Although it doesn’t do a better job than some actual cameras out there, it films in 4K. There’s not much more you can ask for. You can edit from your phone, too.
What's Your End Goal?
What’s the deeper motivation for YouTube? Do you want to be famous? Or quit your job?
To be honest with you, I’d like to get it to at least £1,000 a month from my side hustle.
But I’d still carry on with my normal 9 to 5.
I don’t mind being recognized. I have been recognized before in the past, but there is a certain level that I wouldn’t want to be known.
If it’s to the point where you can’t go shopping without being stopped, I can’t do that.
With money, I definitely want to be somewhere around the £90,000 taking home a a year, just to supplement being able to do family vacations and stuff. That’s probably where I’d be comfortable at.