Reflecting on 30,000 Subscribers: The Journey, The Team and Future of The Urban Motorhome
In the world of YouTube and content creation, reaching milestones is a big deal. For me, hitting 30,000 subscribers is a significant achievement. (Nov 2023: Since writing this, I have now tipped over the 40k mark and I couldn't be more thrilled!).
But many don't realise that it takes a team of people to create and publish regular content and when its your full-time job, it's important to build a strong team around you.
The YouTube Journey
Building a YouTube channel is both challenging and rewarding. It's certainly not easy, quick, or forgiving for that matter! It takes a lot of graft and persistence. Even more so when you have to observe changing algorithm trends and the saturation risks with the growing number of motorhoming YouTubers. But when I think back to those early, cringeworthy videos ('um, um...'), I am so happy with how far I have come.
Especially when I reflect on the rewards my channel has brought me. Such as travelling on a yacht with Cat Zero, attending product launches, and meeting fellow content creators and travellers that are now life-long friends. Not to mention all of the awesome subscribers I have met. Without them, I wouldn't have got to where I am now.
Building the Dream Team
As I mentioned, creating and publishing regular content requires a team when you get to a certain level and one of the significant changes I made in the last 12 months was to start the development of "Team Urban."
Let me introduce the team. First up is my awesome Virtual Assistant Tash. She takes care of a range of admin duties for me including, but not limited to, posting to socials, editing the website, producing digital material for talks and helping with messages and brand correspondence.
You may have seen her face pop up in my videos before as she is also part of the travel channel Life Beyond Bricks. She lives and travels in her motorhome with her husband and 3 cats and has been a part of this community for many years now. Who better to help me than someone in the business! I met Jon & Tash 4 1/2 years ago and we pretty much hit it off straight away. We regularly hang out now and attend shows together. They say you shouldn't mix friends and work but in this case, its a strength.
Then there is my video editor Luke. He is a kick ass editor and I'm chuffed to have him as part of Team Urban. When he's not editing for me, he works as part of the Carpology team, testing and reviewing the latest in cutting edge fishing gear.
He is also a fellow 'van-lifer' and talented photographer, living in a converted Sprinter with his partner and cat.
Our goal is to work together to create high-quality content and build a dream life, centred around travel and adventure.
New Ventures: Fishing and Food
It's no secret my passions in life apart from travel are fishing and food and my plans to start new dedicated channels are coming along nicely. I want to ensure that my viewers are happy with the direction of my channels and the content, hence why I am starting dedicated channels for different interests.
I'm pleased to say my fishing channel, Urban Hookers, is up and running now!
Funding and Advertising Transparency
It's also really important for me to be open about the financial aspects of my channel(s). Some viewers get frustrated with adverts and sponsored posts but it would be impossible to run channels and build brands without advertising, sponsors, and partnerships.
With that in mind, I want to make sure viewers know that I only go with partners and sponsors that I myself believe in. Integrity and authenticity is my top priority. Any dedicated integrations will be ones that I believe will benefit my audience.
The Future of Urban Motorhome
Overall, it is my goal to create a symbiotic circle where the team, viewers, and myself all benefit from the content.
Again, I want to express my gratitude to my subscribers and hope you can share in my vision for the future, including expanding the team, launching new channels, and ensuring transparency in advertising.