I have been working REALLY hard on my other site and the YouTube channel I run with my wife…and it’s been paying off.
We have been fortunate enough to gain over 2,000 subscribers in our first year and I attribute that to years of me experimenting and the fact that my wife is a Historian…and figured out that people like history on YouTube. (niche down they say…and they were right)
I don’t have it figured out though
What do you mean? 2k subs in a year on YouTube is not easy!? What is your secret?
No secrets, just hard work and being willing to change. Change fast.
I love getting feedback as that is really the only way that you can change yourself or your product for the better. That and learning from others…but direct feedback is something everyone should seek.
“To improve is to change, so to be perfect is to have changed often.”
Winston Churchill
We released a membership tier and were pretty aggressive with the pricing at the high end. I worked really hard to make those products and I thought I might be worth more money. But then I saw a friend also release a membership…at a much lower, single price.
It hit me right in the gut.
Be Realistic
His YouTube channel is MUCH bigger than our (about 15 times bigger as of writing) BUT he didn’t offer as much as I do. (interactive maps are work to make!)
So I Changed…Fast
Even though I had just released a smooth and well written and logical 3 tier membership, I changed. I got rid of the low and high and merged my perks to the middle pricing. ($5/month for what we are giving is a freaking steal)
It’s ok to admit you are wrong.
What is not ok is to recognize you are wrong and not adjust…not change.
Worked like a crazy person to get this done. I have a lot to say about how I built this…but for now, see what all you can get with these brand new memberships.
Would love to hear your honest thoughts on the membership options…especially if something doesn’t make sense or looks off. You can message me if you find something like that.
WHAT YOU CAN GET WITH A MEMBERSHIP:
*Stickers, coffee mugs, t-shirts (at no extra cost depending on membership level starting at $2/month)
**Behind the Scenes updates and member posts. (a lot of the stuff doesn’t make it past my editors cuts…)
***Episode Travel Guides! (particularly proud of this one) These are interactive maps that can take you to the locations we filmed at. These took (and will take) a lot of work so access depends on membership level….BUT THE FIRST 5 ARE FREE.
Ok. So there’s a bit more it it than the title may suggest.
The Talk With History podcast is a history based podcast that talks about how the past continues to impact society today and what it takes to produce a successful history based YouTube channel.
My wife and I started the Walk With History YouTube channel back at the end of February and we have been floored at the community that has grown around us.
Even more surprising we were able to monetize in barely 4 months!
To be honest…our 10th video on that channel got “picked up by the algorithm” and that got us to the required 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time required. It took me a little while to get in to the YouTube partner program so we have only technically been monetized since July/August timeframe.
Why Start a Podcast?
I was listening to the YouTube Creator’s Hub Podcast a couple weeks ago and Dusty Porter, the host, had a guest on that is big in the podcast industry and he was talking about how those who run a YouTube channel already have everything it takes to podcast.
They understand audio, storytelling, and the digital medium. And it’s a lot less work to produce a 20-30 minute podcast than it is to make a good video of the same length. (trust me…as someone who makes 12-15 minute videos every week…podcasting is WAY easier)
So this podcast fit right in line with what we are trying to do with the Walk With History YouTube channel…but in a different medium.
We have already done the research (as our podcasts will be in depth looks at our videos)
Barrier to entry is VERY low for podcasting
Audio is the focus…which I’d say is a bit easier than video
Podcasting is only going to grow and not even close to saturated right now
Pretty exciting huh?
Curious on how to start a Podcast or YouTube channel?
Drop me a comment below! I’d be excited to write more about everything I have learned. 😁
Go watch Flashdance…then watch this…or just watch this.
This is a behind the scenes look of us filming an episode of Walk With History in Pittsburgh, PA. We went around to the filming locations for the classic 80s movie, Flashdance.
Super fun day…and a beautiful afternoon spent in the Steel City!
I was pretty excited to discover this lens as I have always been a fan of wide angle lenses. I took a wide angle lens to the UK on a vacation I took quite a while ago (2010)…and the pictures I got are still some of my favorite pictures to this day.
Wide angle lenses are the only way to get those castle and cathedral HUGE ceiling shots.
I believe I owned a Nikon D90 DSLR at the time and was using a Tokina 10-17mm lens. (I loved that lens)
Canon RF Mount Lens Options
Even though the EOS R has been out for a couple years now, there are not many third party options for the RF mount that Canon will be using for the foreseeable future. Yes, you can purchase their “fast” RF lenses…and they are fantastic…but they are also expensive!!
All the others (lots of brands I’m not familiar with and many are manual focus)
There are a few…but none of the typical names you see associated with Canon like Sigma or Tamron. I will say though…Rokinon’s RF 85mm f2.8 lens for Canon looks VERY nice…probably a great deal if you’re considering that focal length (popular for portrait photography).
Rokinon 14mm f2.8 Initial Impressions
It FEELS like a quality lens – I know that isn’t a real metric…but if you have owned enough cameras and lenses you probably know what I mean. This lens is MUCH heavier than my old Canon 10-18mm EF lens…but to me that means this thing is well built. I just feels like it will be able to take a beating and keep on ticking. (heck I’ve already used it in light rain with no issues…thanks weather sealing!)
It is bigger than I expected it to be– You can see the specs on paper, but until you start using it you won’t know how big it feels. It’s nice though…especially with the R6…feels like a pro lens. When taking pictures or video I don’t hesitate to grab the lens for balance.
Autofocus is still fast –Canon’s new Dual Pixel Autofocus is amazing and super fast…and I haven’t noticed any slowing of that with this lens.
Image quality is FANTASTIC – I haven’t had the chance to take many pictures with it yet…but I filmed a video for our Walk With History YouTube Channel on Washington Crossing that comes out on 30 June…and here is a quick teaser clip from that video that I filmed with this lens and my R6.
that little bit of shake is my handheld technique (or lack thereof)
The image is sharp from edge to edge…the Canon “colors” feel so natural (that I don’t always see with Sony images)…and I just love the wide shot I can get with 14mm on a full-frame sensor.
Expectations Going Forward
For someone like me who is a wide angle fan, I know I am going to get some serious mileage out of this. Not only do I enjoy the kind of photography that you can only get with wide angle lenses..but with the vlog style videos I make for my personal YouTube channel and now for mine and my wife’s channel…this 14mm lens is perfect.
I did also purchase the Haida Rear Lens ND Filter kit since this lens does not have front filter threads; rather, it has a rear filter set up…which has its upsides and downsides. (more on those later) I have only used the filters once so far, so I need some more usage before I can reliably write anything on them.
I never knew this place existed…but I’m glad I do now. Highly recommend going if you ever have the chance.
Also…if you want to see a pretty solid preview of the museum (but STILL doesn’t cover it all) you can head over to our new site WalkWithHistory.net check out the most recent post.
For more info on this museum you can go to jimmy.org
Scott from California 