You're listening to cubicle to CEO episode 226. With over 122 million active people on the platform every day, YouTube is the second largest search engine on the internet. Our guest is an artist turned CEO who has built her makeup channel into the primary lead generator for her business. Harriet Hadfield, commonly known as Harry is an alias, celebrity, makeup artist, YouTuber and business coach, empowering creative freelancers with the tools and strategies to dismantle the starving artists narrative, by booking celebrity clients and global brands without needing an agent or relying on word of mouth. In today's case study we examine how Harry drove $330,000 in revenue to her own offers this year directly from YouTube. Get the inside scoop on how to create content that speaks to multiple audiences. What takes someone from a casual viewer to paying customer creative collaboration ideas to expand your reach on YouTube, and ways to double dip by turning one monetization opportunity into multiple income streams on YouTube. Whether you publish on YouTube or elsewhere, this episode will help you leverage long form video content to sell more products and programs.
Welcome to cubicle to CEO the podcast. I'm your host Ellen Yin. I quit my job without a backup plan and bootstrapped my first $300 freelance project into $2 million in revenue by age 28. On the show, you'll hear weekly case study interviews with leading entrepreneurs and CEOs who share one specific strategy that successfully grew their business revenue. Skip the expensive and time consuming learning curve of testing everything yourself by borrowing what actually works from the best and brightest mentors. You'll also get a front row seat to my founders journey through transparent income reports and behind the business solo episodes, subscribe now so we can grow together every Monday.
Hey, everyone, welcome back to the show. We have a guest that is very unique from other guests that we've had on the show before Harriet Hadfield. I'm going to call her Harry because that's what she's known by. But if you're searching on Google use Harriet Hadfield. Harry is an incredibly talented celebrity makeup artist. You've done Olivia Rodriguez makeup, you've done so many faces that we all know and love. You're a YouTuber, you're a business coach, you're a fellow podcaster. And what I really admire about you, Harry is you are fighting against the starving artist trope. You're also neurodivergent, which I have loved featuring other entrepreneurs who are neurodivergent as well, because I think that's your superpower, the way that your brain thinks and works is different. And your case study today is going to be centered around how you're utilizing YouTube to really leverage and sell your own unique offers. But we'll also touch briefly on some of the other ways that you're monetizing YouTube. Before we get into that, Harry, welcome to the show. And I would also love to hear your cubicle the CEO story how you made that leap into entrepreneurship.
Thank you so much for having me. lol I'm so excited to be here. Yes, to all of what you just said. I feel like my story starts with I guess being like the black sheep of the family. I think a lot of people will recognize we all have a narrative we hear growing up of like, you've got to be a doctor or a lawyer or go to university. Like there's a lot of boxes to check. And I always knew like I've always been the creative kid that was like collecting the cereal boxes to make something random, like anything that got like was gonna get thrown away. I was like, Mom, no, no, like, I need that I'm gonna make Tracy Island, I'm gonna make a jewelry box, like whatever it was. I was always creating.
And I think the hardest thing for me like growing up was I was also aware that being a creative was seen as cute like it wasn't seen as a business. So when I think back to being at school, especially school didn't really set me up to be a creative entrepreneur because it was like, What's your plan B? What's going to be your real job like this real job rhetoric. I think it's so painful for creatives, because getting taken seriously. It's not just society at large. It starts at home with our families. It starts with our friends who are also getting nine to five jobs. So I definitely grew up identifying as a creative who. It wasn't till I got to about age 14 I would say I remember my mom got this book for Christmas. It was by really famous makeup artist. Keep in mind this is pre shoe. This is pre Instagram, we still use books.
Wait is it Bobbi Brown by chance?
No, it was Kevin Acoin. But I have books were big at the time too. And I remember my mum had this book and I was like, Wait, this can be a job. Like I think it was the first time I'd actually seen someone. Talk about traveling the world And this person in particular was a celebrity makeup artist. So I was like, Oh, that's a thing you can get paid to do. And back then there really wasn't. Again, I think about makeup courses. Now the ways there are to learn how to be a creative and really hone your craft, those things didn't really exist. It was like, you can go to art school. Like there wasn't really anything as specific or specific as what we see today. But I did manage to find a I mean, I remember school having like the school plays, and, you know, productions and being like, Can I do makeup and really trying to just do anything I could to learn.
I did find a makeup course, like at a local college. In the UK is not college like what it is in the US, like our university is your college. So college in the UK is more like a post education almost like you don't have to go. But it's something you can do like in between school and university. And I found this course and it was kind of like a little bit of everything. It was like its beauty therapy, its makeup, its special effects. And I was like, This is amazing. Okay, I can't wait to learn. And doing that. I was like the geek who just was like going all in. I was like, I don't care how late you need me to stay. I'll do all the things. From there, I moved to London. And I think that was where my education really began. Because it was like, Okay, there's no roadmap to be a successful creative. And I was very aware then that the rhetoric was still, oh, you just have to get an agent, you just have to assist if that as if it was that easy. Because we didn't have YouTube yet. Because we didn't have. I was like the MySpace generation. So I feel like MySpace was the first time I realized, oh, things are gonna change, like how we get work as creatives were being given these platforms that we get to really utilize in a way that feels authentic to us, it gives us the power back.
And I think that was the first time I've even become aware of something like YouTube and was like for me to get people to know my work. I don't have to send my 11 by 14 books that cost me a fortune to production companies like that was what I grew up being told would happen. And I think as well, like in terms of my story, the thing I've been most aware of Ellen is the fact that there's so much secrecy in creative industries. Yes, very much like the dog eat dog. The starving artists narrative exists, because the fear is the pool of success is small. So if I help you, you take away from me being successful. And that's really where freelance where freedom that business I have in terms of being a coach came from.
I love the abundant philosophy that you have, when it comes to the creative community, the artists community, I think that is such a game changing narrative for people to really hear and not only hear, but see lived out in the way that you practice your business. And I think this is something that we really try to cultivate in our community, too, that life and business are not a zero sum game that the pie is ever expanding. And the thing I always like to say maybe you can even relate to this, Harry is that, you know, even if you wanted to, let's say, do everyone's face of makeup in the entire world, like you just physically don't have the hours in the day to actually serve every possible person. So to try to act as if someone taking a client means that you'll have less is almost silly when you think about how many billions of faces there are to do makeup on right. So I really love hearing your story.
And you know what you said especially about how artists and creatives traditionally have been excluded from the conversation or even the possibility of business is it kind of reminds me of this past year actually, I spoke at an event hosted by KS WELI which stands for Kendra Scott, Women's Entrepreneurial Leadership and that's kind of a you know, a mouthful, but anyways, they are in a you know, an entrepreneurship center based at UT Austin here in the States and Kendra Scott is obviously you know, legendary female entrepreneur billion dollar jewelry brands, guest shark all the things but what I loved about something she said in her speech at that event that I think connects directly with what you said is she was very intentional about placing her Entrepreneurship Center, not in the business school where people would assume that something like that would go she instead chose to place it. I think and I might be misquoted here, but I think it's actually in the art school, which is like the last place that people would think you would put an entrepreneurship center and so I just think women like you women like her are really helping to change the narrative around what an entrepreneur can look like and who they can become. So thank you for that wonderful introduction.
Your case study today is you have made $330,000 from selling your own business offers So like you mentioned, you have a program freelance with freedom, you also have a mastermind for higher level entrepreneurs, you've sold $330,000 directly from YouTube, I want to first kind of just set the scene for listeners. So freelance with freedom, and then industry icon mastermind, what is the offer price of each of those two programs? And what are the sales vehicles for those two programs? As in? Do you direct people to a webinar? Are you directing people directly to a sales page? Are they hopping on a sales call? How do you actually sell each program?
So Freelancer Freedom is my lifetime program. So that one is 3500, it started off as a six month program, everyone just kept wanting to resign. And I was like, I actually want a program that is lifetime where creatives can be nurtured and feel they have a support system to consistently be a part of. So that was my first program, I had to learn how to get really good at selling that before I even thought about introducing a mastermind. So if I start with freelance for freedom first, it was built off of my community, again, listening to people and I think the more I talked about both on my YouTube channel, and on my Instagram, I really was very vocal about the things that that if I'm allowed to sweat, the things that really annoyed me about my industry, like it was being very vocal about like, Hey, are we okay with this? Like, I think so much as an industry.
And I think, you know, the strikes are a great example of this. But for most freelancers that aren't typical governing bodies, where we can go and collectively say, hey, this isn't okay, hey, there's gates being put in front of us, when it's so nonsensical, like you said, yes, there's more artists than ever before. But there's also more clients than ever before, like that you can't argue with. And I think, for me, what I did with YouTube, especially was, it started with, I think, really, like when you have an offer, people buy your mission, they buy your movement, like I think so many people were connected to what I was talking about. And so many people felt like, this is me, oh my gosh, I know what it's like to feel blindsided to obsess for 10 years, and then not have any idea how I'm gonna make my own money. I'm still playing by the old school rules. I call it like the old school narrative. And they're wondering why they're still not making money.
And I was just like, again, are we okay with this, I was like, This is so nonsensical. And I think because especially as someone who had come from a small town, moved to London, built celebrity clientele. And then I had to start again from scratch and do it all again, in LA and it, it kind of didn't matter who I knew in London, I literally was starting again. And because I've been able to move markets twice, and I've had agents, but I've also learned how to make more money without one. So I had the skill set to teach other people exactly what I've done.
And people wanted it people were like, I think it starts with your mission. It starts with your movement, people feel seen people feel connected to something. So it started really with telling people about it. And it did start with a waitlist. But now we do use webinar strategy for Freelancer freedom because I think I'm at a point now where more cold people are coming in more people find me through someone else. And helping them the way I see the beauty of a webinar is you can give someone the story in a condensed space, you can kind of give them like the bullet points in a way that with a waitlist, I think more people signing up to a waitlist, for the most part know about you or have a level of interest in you already.
Yes, 1,000%. And I can totally agree, I think we sold our evergreen offer for years through a webinar funnel. And actually, you're so right. I don't think people always talk about it that way. But it is it's a storytelling format. And I think you know, so many people when they think webinar, they think sales pitch, they think, you know, logistics that they're not really focused on the story. But I I really admire how story is so central to everything that you do. So I think that's a great reminder. And story kind of leads us I guess, into this big picture of what your youtube content strategy looks like. You know, I think the thing I'm really curious to know from you, Harry is there are so many ways to approach YouTube, some people approach YouTube as full time content creators where you know, the content is the product itself. They're not necessarily leading anywhere, I think where you really shine is you are utilizing the content to drive sales to your own offers. So can you just walk us through real quick as a viewer? What kind of content are we seeing on a weekly basis from you?
So right now, I think and this kind of leads more into my mastermind as well. My mastermind is really about being an industry icon, which is how I position myself on YouTube. So I think a lot of people once they've learned how to get bookings, they're coming to me to be like, Okay, well, how do I get people to book me outside of just being an artist to want me in a capacity of whether it's them educating other people, whether it's them doing speaking agents, whether it's them getting contracts with brands where they become an educator for a brand or like a higher level endorsement. For me, my YouTube strategy had a lot to do with identity. I feel like the way I use my youtube channel was like, I'm going to show up as if I already am the celebrity makeup artist before I was one. So that for me, a lot of my strategy was like, how would I show up if I already had those clients? How would I teach.
And I think the biggest thing that helped me with YouTube is a lot of people spin out around, I don't want to make how I'm the know it all. And I'm like, You're just teaching your way. Like, for me, I don't ever see my way of doing makeup as the right way. I just see it as my way. So again, in terms of, there's almost like two audiences I have really, there's the people who love makeup and style and who want to be a part of that world. And there's both as well, some people are that and they're people who are also a creative themselves. And then I have people who are also like, I just want to be able to build a real business. And I think for me, I definitely consider myself a multi passionate person. So it's almost knowing like, I call it like a dance. It's like understanding the dance of like, who am I speaking to when I'm giving out particular kinds of content? So YouTube for me helped me understand what are people asking me in my comment section, like what content is resonating with people.
And I think it was also a case of this is where Instagram did come into the mix, because there did come a point where I actually then did create freelance for freedom as its own Instagram, because I recognized there was an audience there that was connecting so much with a story that was almost like, here's our common room, here's our place to hang out outside of YouTube. But I think the conversations started in YouTube. When I first started out, I remember when I would show videos of my kid, people would I knew the people watching that primarily were makeup artists. So again, the questions they were gonna have was very different to someone who's like, what's in your makeup back? So I think as well, when you're making content, who are you making it for? Even if you do have a split audience, or your audience, avatars, if you like, are starting to shift and evolve.
I want to circle back in just a second to kind of like the more day to day view of like the types of videos posted. But before I forget this question, because you brought it up. If someone is serving a split audience, like you people who are just wanting to learn makeup for fun and who enjoy doing makeup on themselves versus people who want to do it for a career and as a business, I guess how do you split your attention in terms of what percentage of content is catered toward that more amateur audience versus the more professional audience? Especially knowing I suppose that the professional audience is the one actually buying your offers? So what percentage split would you say you allocate to those two audiences?
I think I went with what had been successful to start with, which was me as like, I guess you would call it the makeup artist and the content creator, which did quite easily speak to both audiences, I would just say that the questions were different. Spoiler alert, we are actually starting a secondary YouTube channel next year. Okay. For Freelancer freedom, because we've now got to the point where I feel like I know both audiences, my advice at the beginning would always be just spend some time getting to know your audience in order to work out what that split is, because I think it's different for everyone. I knew the content I would make around my top favorite foundations would still speak to makeup artists as much as it would the beauty lovers. So there was some content where I knew I could make that had the crossover.
And again, when I first started YouTube, I was also using it strategically to get brands to want to work with me in the lens of sponsorship and stuff like that, because that also brought me a lot of income. And it gave me more power being booked as a celebrity makeup artist, because they knew I brought with me an audience. So again, let's say someone's doing the Oscars, you get paid X rate for doing the Oscars, your rate could treble what it starts as when you're then being sponsored by a brand to do said person or the Oscars as well. Whether it's the skincare, the makeup, whatever. So for me my split at the beginning, I would say it was very creative and experimental at the beginning and that I think of it as like testing your audience, like I would test to see like, okay, who's really loud when I make content for makeup artists.
So I think like I said, my community started to grow from a place of people sending me like private DMS or sending me messages where I was like, I have five other questions off the back of this video. And the more I was seeing the questions come in around the business side of things. That was when I started to get the idea of, okay, there's a whole other community that's waiting to be served here. And that was when I did start to kind of split the content. So it would be like this is if you're a makeup artist, this is if you're a beauty lover.
Got it. Okay, so it was really more of like a social listening exercise, rather than a cut and dry. Yes, and I suppose from the beginning So then if we look, again, back to your weekly schedule, how many videos do you typically publish a week? Can you just walk us through? Like the different types of video content you post? And on what days?
Yes. So for me, given how busy my schedule is, now, one a week is the most I can commit to it. That is a lot what I think that still feels like being in full time creator mode. So thankfully, I have a team that cannot help me with that. But for the longest time, I was doing YouTube by myself. So if I was thinking about my makeup audience who are beauty lovers, for example, it could be my top 10 foundations in my red carpet kit, which even that would still speak to both the makeup lovers who just want to know and are curious, and the makeup artists right away, I feel like I kind of. And this is kind of what I mean about like, at the very beginning, when I was testing to speak to my clients who will as funny as it were clients to the viewers who I knew were going to become clients of like my courses, my programs, it would be again, using my story.
So I remember doing a video, it was like how I got fired for my first makeup job. And then I kind of was able to talk about how that hadn't stopped me becoming a celebrity makeup artist. And using my story, I do think when I think about YouTube, in order to stop it becoming like a channel where it felt completely separate. Like I do this over here. And I do this over here. I think I've always made content where it could still speak to both audiences. But both people know what they're taking away from it. And kind of like what the questions are that are kind of come next. And when I first not when I first started my YouTube channel, but when I started to split my content, one thing I did do that was really helpful.
I remember I had a again, before I even knew about webinars, I had a mailing list where you could actually select, are you a makeup lover or an artist and I actually used to create two separate newsletters. So from YouTube, I could bring everyone in. And then it was actually in the back end of kind of my my newsletter. Before I had separate Instagrams, I was starting to I guess you would say like split test, like, Okay, if I send this content over here to the people that I know, are artists, and potentially my ideal clients for my coaching business, and the makeup lovers, it was a great way for me to continue to test what is resonating. And that was probably the first thing I did before I even started a separate Instagram account was making sure whoever was coming to YouTube, I was collecting email addresses. Like it didn't matter what you were, if you were a makeup lover or an artist, I was collecting email addresses but tagging them from the beginning as to kind of which category I was putting them in
That's smart. Like a wider with the funnel at the top right with the I just get eyeballs on your content, and then kind of filter and target with specific messaging or offers on the backend? Totally makes sense. I'm curious, what are the type of videos that you are seeing drive the most new leads? So people who are opting into your list people who are opting into the moment? Or can you give the specific category of videos that you see are the most effective for that particular purpose?
I would say it's the biggest I call it like the beginner friendly content. So again, I think when you have been in the industry for many, many years, you forget where the baby version of you started. So I know that my clients are like, what are the do's and don'ts of booking celebrities like what it's almost like the BTS slash the things that I think when you've been in the industry for a long time you just presume people know. But coming back to the most basic things. Again, when you work with a celebrity, being on time, of course, you want to be on time, but you don't want to be half an hour early because you're probably going to be at their home, or their hotel room. No one wants like a stranger sitting in their hotel room with a boss. But if you're maybe doing a production shoot, it's going to help to get there early because you might have difficulty parking or there'll be people around doing stuff. So I think really talking about the nuance of where it was different. And really identifying if I could wave a magic wand for my audience who wanted to be a makeup artist, what would they want to learn from me. And that was where I leaned into, I can teach people how to book a celebrity no matter where you live, no matter what city you're in, no matter how many Instagram followers you have.
My programs have proven like with freelancer, Freedom especially will show you how to double your bookings any market, but we'll show you how to book the clients you want. Because the internet has made that very possible. Again, you don't have to live in London or LA or Paris anymore to book those kinds of clients. So I think when it comes to the content, again, my question would always be is like what are your people searching for? And again, like have you covered the basics, the beginning foundational questions that they would be searching for, in order for them to learn what step five is?
Yes. Okay. I can see how especially the nuanced piece like that was really interesting just even to hear like, oh, yeah, I didn't think about that you're right for a production shoe. It would make a lot of sense to be as early as possible. But yeah, Nobody wants you just like awkwardly standing in there, while they're waiting, waiting to get to have their face done by you. So that makes a lot of sense. I would be interested to know, do you see that? So those types of videos, those beginner, like, top of mind questions are like kind of more just, I guess like scenario based videos, those are driving the most leads for your business. But are those also the most viewed videos? Or do you find that there's a difference between the videos that get the most traction in terms of views versus the ones that get the most traction for actual leads? On the back end?
That's a great question. Again, I know whenever I do things about kit, those videos perform really, really well. Because I think, obviously, being a makeup artist, for example, is very visual. So you are how you present yourself how your kit looks, it needs to be neat and needs to be tidy. And also, it's a lot of stuff to carry. So you're also thinking how can you condense things. And I think that's also a trend within the niche of my industry right now. So departing videos like perfecting your kit, people are searching for that, even if they haven't got questions about business yet, and then it starts making them go. I wonder how she booked that I wonder how she works with those people. So it's kind of like picking the intrigue to start with like, what are they looking for already?
And I definitely would say they're like my highest performing videos when it's a bit like the practical things. And that's what I mean, when I say usually, that's when I get questions from those videos. So it'll be like, I've heard you say you work with celebrities? Like I'm just curious, what would I need to do if I wanted to go do front row celebrities at Paris Fashion Week? What would I want it need to do if I wanted to book a celebrity for a music video, like the questions then come, which then shows me how to make other content. And the best advice I would say to everyone with YouTube is, even if you're not getting a lot of views, it doesn't stop you getting a lot of leads, if that makes sense. So just because you have a video that maybe if I give you the example of my kit ones perform really well. But it could be talking about how I booked my first celebrity, that that actually might be more niche and more nuanced. But that could be the video that actually sells more people into my program.
Yes, and I would have to agree with you just across the board. I mean, I'm, I shouldn't say I'm newer to YouTube, I've technically been on YouTube, since in some capacity since like 2008. But like, back in my years, like in middle school, in high school, I had a music channel just for fun, like I would do covers and like nothing to do with my business. So we didn't really start using YouTube for business like what I currently do as a professional now until really seriously about a year ago. So we're in the baby stages when it comes to the growth and I guess using YouTube as a lead gen for business. But I do think it's so smart how and I just want to pull this kind of takeaway out for our listeners of how, let's take again, your kit videos, right where you're showing me this is what's in my kit. I like that you seed like a situation into that video. Like, oh, like this is the kit I took to the red carpet for the Grammys like I'm making that up. But like, yeah, that's not the focus of the video. But like you said, it gets people to like kind of their ears to perk up and go Wait, what like, I'm interested over here about how you even got into that situation in the first place. So I think that's really helpful.
And also hearing too, that your highest viewed videos don't always correlate to them so many leads. And I find that to be true even on like Instagram, for example. That's where I was going a whole thing is that, you know, sometimes the posts on Instagram that to the outside viewer will be like, Oh, that post completely flopped, like got, like less than 100 likes that barely got any views. And there's like two comments. On the back end. Those are the posts that are sparking so many conversations in the DMS that get me sales that on the front end you would never see so super encouraging, I think for people who are posting maybe not seeing that view traction on YouTube, but knowing listen for the questions on the back end. I'm kind of also wanting to know in the early days when you did have a much smaller YouTube audience and maybe you weren't receiving as many inbound DMS from people asking questions. Is there anything that you would do to try to pull out more questions from people like if someone commented, is there any specific strategy that you would have to try to make that conversation extend beyond like, Oh, love this or it was helpful? anything come to mind for you there?
I'm going back to like past Harry, I'm like, there were definitely a mix of things we did. I mean, I remember we had a little giveaway thing we did called obviously my Instagram or YouTube channels called Harry makes me up we had Harry made me up. And then we did like competition winners could be made up by me. So and I think back to that, like for me, the online world there's so little IRL Okay, and I think that's the hardest thing like you can't touch the person you can't hug the person like right the intimacy is created I think more through the storytelling versus like actually being Was someone in real life?
Great point.
But I do think like, whenever I did a giveaway, it was like, Okay, what would really help my audience. So that was a good example of how people were excited at the possibility of like, oh, we entered, we should hang out. Like I think even like, one thing that I loved about my YouTube audience very early on, is that there were people who met in my comment section that actually did their own meetups. And I always thought that was like the coolest thing, wow, live community where I was like, I don't even have to like, believe in the conversation for you all to be so engaged.
So the other thing I did as well, in the early part of my YouTube career, which I think was a big part of not only people speaking to me, but the growth was collaborations. So I was really heavy on who else has an audience similar to mine, who else is content feels really in line with my own, and I didn't just go down this other makeup artists route, you know, there were content creators, I saw who I was, like, I love the way they do this series, or I love the way they've created this, like, regular thing that they do week to week, or I just liked them again, I'm very drawn to people that go like that's very much in my personality. And collaboration was huge for my channel, not just in the sense of naturally, from a lead generation point of view, more people find you more people know about you.
But I think it was like, Okay, if no one's listening, if no one's talking, am I asking enough questions? Like, do I need to repeat the question? So I also think as well, like any kind of platform you're on, whether it's YouTube, Instagram, email marketing, there is a lot of repetition required? And are you willing to show up when for one of the better word, no one's watching? Are you willing to go live when no one's there? Like, are you willing to keep showing up and asking the questions? And I also think, get creative with that. Like, it's almost like how can I ask the same question in 100? Different ways? Like what is the information I need? Because also, when your community is talking to you, that's also how you figure out what your objections are, like, that's the other thing that's really important with your community, is you get to understand, okay, what are the things they believe about themselves that make it impossible for them to do this? What are the things that are circumstantial that they believe makes this impossible for them? And I think getting people talking, like, Are you leading by example, like, if you're never showing up and never instigating conversation? Why would your community do so with you?
That's so true. I would love to know in this last year in, you know, the 330,000 that you've generated from your own programs, what is the most successful collaboration that you've done in this last year, I love that you brought that up. And so YouTube is such a unique format, you know, on Instagram, you might do a collaboration with someone and it's really easy, you just tag them on YouTube, you know, there's so many, I think, and again, I'm not as familiar with using YouTube for business as you are. But if I am, please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but you can like Link someone else's video as like an end card, like on your video, right? That will direct them there. Or, I guess we could do like a joint video series where maybe Part one is on your channel partners on someone else's channel. But what was your most successful collaboration that worked really well for you this year in driving new leads to your offer?
Great question. I think collaboration is something we're coming back to because it was something that worked so well in the early days. So it's actually something we're bringing back more, I've done it more on Instagram, because I was growing a new Instagram account this year. But when I think about collaborations that were really successful, for me, it was definitely from the lens of, and again, I think you can make it as simple as you want it to be. So if you can be there in person, there were definitely ones I did in person. So sometimes it was someone who I really wanted to talk to about their business or their experience in industry, and I would do that makeup. So sometimes it was having them where, again, the makeup lovers will please because I was doing makeup but the people who also wanted that like BTS, like the real nitty gritty of like what it takes to be in the industry, they will also like with their pen and paper writing down notes as well.
So definitely like when I could do something with someone and definitely in my beginnings of my YouTube channel, anytime someone was in my city or I was going somewhere where I knew it and other YouTube was safely on my ad, I definitely was thinking about how could I you know, whether it was offer up like, Hey, are you going out for dinner that night? And do you want to come be on my channel and I'll do your makeup, we can chat. And you know, I think when you've built a community, you will attract people with bigger audiences anyway, because there were people earlier on that were like, Oh, I would love to have your perspective on whatever topic it was. And for me it often did look like either we did a video for my channel and their channel or we were doing something where maybe it was equally combined with Instagram as well. So you know, sometimes we get really creative and be like, we're going to do this hair and that over there. But there were people I definitely did collaborations with that weren't in person as well, where we would literally just say whether we've picked a theme we're going to talk about Topic.
I know there was a makeup artist in Canada, and she had a huge following of makeup artists. And I remember she was like, Can I review your program? Like, can I review it and I was like, Oh my gosh, I would love that I would love them to see a perspective from another professional makeup artist. And that brought in a ton of leads, because not only do people trust her and know her as an expert, but it was also like, they got to have the kind of seal of approval from someone. And I think some people would be very nervous about that. But I wrote my program, I was like, I also would appreciate your feedback. You know, that was the thing as well, I knew it would help me make my programs better hearing anything that they didn't think I could improve.
I love that. I think that, again, it's a testament to if you feel comfortable having a peer that you respect, review your program so publicly that you must really believe in the quality of the program and the results that you can offer your students. So that's actually really interesting. It's kind of got my gears turning. I don't know if many of our listeners are thinking along the same lines. But that's an interesting collaboration I haven't seen really done much, at least in the online business space. So thank you for that. Great tip. This is your encouragement, maybe find a peer in your industry that is willing to give an honest review of your program and maybe do a collaboration where you review theirs, and they review yours. And whether you post on YouTube or Instagram or across all of your different channels. That is super juicy. So love that I think that's my highlight gold golden nugget so far from this episode. This is great.
I would also just kind of like to touch on this trend, I think that sometimes can keep people away from using YouTube as you know, a traffic or lead gen source for their business. And it's this idea. I mean, we've all heard that saying like, Oh, I learned it on YouTube University. It's like a cheeky joke, right? Like you can learn anything on YouTube. Because of that. And because it's the world's second largest search engine. I think oftentimes, and again, this is not speaking to every YouTube viewer, but a lot of times it does attract a lot of DIYers a lot of people who are freebie seekers, they just want to learn something in a free tutorial. And they're not really in that mindset of buying. Right. So I'm just curious how you have navigated that and made sure that you're creating content that does get people or does incentivize people to go to your offers to opt in to your list rather than solely attracting freebie seekers who just watch the content and then peace out?
This is such a good question. Two things I think, first of all, just because someone starts as a freebie seeker doesn't mean they're going to stay a freebie seeker. So my belief is like, just because someone's for want of a better word shopping round, or like just trying to get the need to know information. Again, what do I have ready for them to be like, Oh, you like this, you should watch this. So again, the end bought on YouTube is a great way to be like, if you like this topic, make sure you check out this.
So the other thing I would say is, the best demonstration I can give you is like if I break down by the side of the road, yes, I might watch a video on YouTube of house like change a tire? Am I gonna subscribe to that channel? Probably not. So I also think this is where your story is so important. I do think there has to be a level of vulnerability if you want your audience to care if you want your audience to come back, because if I think about the example of, you know, a smoky eyeshadow tutorial, there are plenty there's a plethora of more online. So why would someone come to you? And again, this is why I think we see people online who maybe they're not, quote unquote, the best makeup artist or the best photographer. But what they have done is they've let their audience in what they have done is their audience know why they make this content, why it's important to them.
And I think sometimes that goes further than being good. Like I think the belief you just have to be good. I don't believe that anymore. I think there's lots of great people whose content doesn't get seen, because there's like a boundary, there's a barrier between them and their audience. Now, to be clear, I'm not saying you have to tell your life story. But I do think like, are they invested in you teaching the content? Or can anybody else be teaching it? And when it comes to like I said, they want to know why this is important to you. Like when I think about Freelancer freedom. So many people are connected to destroying the starving artist narrative, they are so tired of it, that it's like that's what brings them in and makes my program different from someone else who maybe is I don't know, a generic marketing person where they could go and learn an Instagram course, but they're like, that person has never been in my shoes. That person doesn't know what it's like to live paycheck to paycheck, and not even know if I'm gonna have a booking in the next five months. Like my story is their story or has been their story.
So I do think like the example I gave you of like changing the tire like maybe if it was like I don't know that it was a female founder teaching me how to change a tire and I was like, oh my god, I love how she got into like automotive. Like automobiles sorry. Like if there was a story maybe I would subscribe. Yeah. I again, I think it's like how we consume information is different. Sometimes we just want to fill a knowledge gap. But why would you subscribe if you know nothing about the person and about their world and why it's important to them?
Absolutely. And I think you're you hit the nail on the head is that ultimately, there are many ways that you can find the answer to a question, but who you choose to go to? For set answer is all about perspective. And the unique filter or lens in which you share knowledge, right. And so it's funny that you talk about how the core like, I guess worldview that you hold that the starving artist narrative is not true attracts so many people. I feel like having that strong stance and sometimes polarizing stance not to say that people should be polarizing for the sake of being polarizing. But if you do have a really strong opinion, or strong viewpoint on something I think being really upfront with it does really attract your best fit clients that I guess repel the ones who don't necessarily agree with that standpoint.
And I see that true even in one of our past podcast guests this year is also a huge presence on YouTube, Codie Sanchez, and her whole thing. You know, she's really a strong stance that like buying a boring quote, unquote, small businesses is more effective than doing a startup. Not everyone agrees with that, or her idea that like having ownership over something is what leads you to have freedom over your life versus being a consumer or a renter, again, a very strong opinion that some people may feel put off by, but for her, it works. Because that's like the movement, like you mentioned earlier, that she's creating. So anyway, that's just kind of what it sparked for me. And if you're listening to this today, and you haven't heard our episode with Codie, I'll make sure to drop that in the show notes so that you guys can check it out. I think it's a great companion to what Harry is sharing here about having really strong viewpoints in your content, outside of listening to your audience for questions they really want to know and telling your stories and you know, building a movement around dismantling the starving artist narrative, do you do any keyword research when it comes to does that play at all into your content strategy? And in thinking about what is like most searched on a month to month or, you know, annual basis?
I think when it and again, I would say as we're moving into like setting up the new YouTube channel, which will be our secondary one for Freelancer Freedom. Now, I'm always looking for if, again, like you said, YouTube is a search engine, I think, yes, of course, there are so many sites where you can look for specific keywords and get very hyper specific with it. But to me, when it comes to generating ideas, again, I have the privilege now of having a program where I know, pain points my clients have I know things that they're struggling with. But I also think like, I'll go back to my comments, both in Instagram and YouTube and look at what questions I was asked. And I still think, again, something that is super helpful, if you want to sell education is go back to the baby version of you. And think about the things you were searching for.
So sometimes I will literally go on to YouTube and be like, how do I become a makeup artist? And I'll look at like all the video suggestions that come up. And notice which ones are people clicking on? Like, which ones do I think like, oh, I have a unique technique of how I could do that video. And actually, I think this person missed out XYZ, that I could go way more into detail in from the lens of what I know, my people want to learn from me. So I think the way I like to use both, I do this with Pinterest as well. Sometimes I will just go on and I like pretend to be starting from scratch again. Or I'll think about like pain points that I know my clients have actually said like, Okay, I know I need to do this, but I don't know how to do it if I live here, or I really want to do this. But I haven't got a website yet. So again, I think trying to think about the what is it they're looking for, but there's like the side problem of the what if like, I want this, but what if like I think that gives something much more context as well. Because how to come and make partis Yes, that's helpful. But again, what if I do live in the middle of nowhere? What if I haven't got a website? Yeah, I think like those videos for me feel much more. I know the people coming to my YouTube channel, I get to get much more specific help and support than some generic information.
We that's so smart. Okay, that's this is my second favorite Golden Nugget you shared today. And it kind of ties back to your earlier point that I'm just gonna bring back to the surface. You said answer the same question 1000 different ways.
Exactly.
Right. And so that that makes a whole lot of sense. And I can even see it being helpful, like you said for location based like answering that question. How do I become a makeup artist? In San Francisco? How do I become artists in the Midwest? Right, like it's the same question but like you said, a slightly nuanced answer. And so that is so so smart. I love that. I hope that anyone creating video content in general runs with this golden nugget, even if you're not necessarily publishing on YouTube yet. Do you feel feel, this is kind of just a hot take, do you feel that if you stopped posting forever today, obviously that's not gonna happen. You just announced you're gonna launch a new YouTube channel. But if you were like, I'm done, I'm done creating YouTube content. Do you think the existing bank of videos that you've created in the years thus far would be enough to sustain new traffic from search results and new leads coming into your program for a considerable amount of time, even if you stopped creating new content?
Yes, I think as long as you have systems in place, so that you are again, whether it's like people can join a waitlist, or there's some way you want them to go in the meantime, I mean, I'll be honest, like, I need to check how many years it is exactly, but I think it must be around 10. With that amount of time on YouTube, there have been gaps there. 100% have been times when I've been like, I need a month off. Or maybe I take a hiatus for like six months. But I'm always amazed by the amount of work I did upfront has afforded me the luxury to come back. And when I do my audience are so excited that I'm back. They're like, Oh, my gosh, we've missed you. I've been like check refreshing my subscription thing to see if you're there.
And I think, again, if you go I went all in at the beginning, when I first started my YouTube channel, I think there's so much talk in the marketing world of consistency. And I do agree with that. But I think as long as you front load at the beginning, you give yourself the space that when you do need time off. And again. Now the way I run my business, I have repurposing content strategies, there's lots of things I can do behind the scenes to give me more time off without my audience knowing I'm having time off. Right at the beginning. I definitely think like when there's been times where I've taken breaks, I've still seen people find me. And again, sometimes you do, they're like, oh, just curious, where did you find this? And they'll be like, Oh, I saw a YouTube channel where you'd linked it, I'd seen a video. And you're like, Hmm, that's amazing that that still works for me. And again, because it is evergreen content, I think with YouTube.
Again, when I think about Instagram, I love Instagram, and I think creators benefit hugely from it. But I do think Instagram again, to search for something so specific. It's not a search engine. And versus YouTube. Like I still It blows my mind. So my videos now that I've had hundreds of 1000s of views where I'm like, I forgot I did that. And you see questions come in where you're like, Oh, that was 10 years ago, and there's still something that's completely irrelevant today, even if other things within the video are no longer for sale, or maybe something I did then would be different today. There's still something people can take away.
And like I said to you, I think more than anything, it's bringing people into my world. Like I still think with YouTube, when you've done the work upfront where there's enough content for someone to have like a binge marathon. Like I love it when I get one of my DMs being like, Oh my God, I've just discovered you. And they'll send me an image of the playlist. And I can see your face. And I'm like, Oh, good. Like, again, if I took a year off, like there's enough of me online that that there's enough of them to be in my world know what I'm about feel like, if they met me in real life? I'm not. I don't think I'm wildly different from why I'm online. And again, for them to know what's important to me, and why I want them to be a part of this world.
Yes, I think that is honestly my favorite thing about YouTube is the longevity of the content, you create the legacy that you're really building with that content bank. It's just so unlike any other content channel. And so I appreciate you sharing that through your perspective.
To wrap up our time together today. In this case study I promised our listeners I would circle back to this brief point you had mentioned at the very beginning around brand partnerships. So just to give a little bit of context, like we've talked about today, $330,000 is how much you were able to make from your own offers. You also earned an additional almost $2,000 from AdSense. So that's for those of you who are not familiar with YouTube, if you become monetized on YouTube, you can earn ad revenue from you know ads that play in the middle of your video. And then you also play in the world of brand partnerships making between 3500 up to $10,000 per brand deal.
I don't know if you know off the top of your head, how much in total you made from brand partnership revenue this year, if you want to share feel free tangential to that I also kind of want to touch on this idea of like multiple touch money. And again, you briefly threw it in at the beginning. But I don't know for all of our listeners caught it, you were saying how sometimes you get paid to do one thing like a service like a makeup look for someone for an event. But on top of that if you're able to bring in a brand who's sponsoring that you're making an additional couple $1,000. So can you talk a little bit more about that MultiStation strategy and then also if you want to share any other data surrounding your brand partnerships from this year?
Yeah, so I would say this year I actually took more time off brand partnerships to focus on because we brought a new mastermind out which is industry icon where we actually teach people how to get five six figure sponsorships and sell education and become an instructor. Um, so that was like our focus this year. But I know the year before and even, I would say the last five years of being a makeup artist, that was definitely a huge part of me having consistent five figure months, because, like I said, you could have a scenario where the job you're being paid to do, whether it's a celebrity, or high profile person is, let's say, it's $1,000. But then a brand comes along and is like, Okay, if we, you can say, you've used this, and we can get you to use our product, and you show it the product in action with that person, we will pay X amount for it.
And again, I think that's also because they know I've built an audience that trust me that they built an audience that value my opinion, and there's a lot of things I turned down, I will be very clear about that. There's a lot of things I turned down. But yeah, I feel like that was early on in my career as well. Like that was a huge part of me realizing how many different ways there are to make money as a creative entrepreneur, as a content creator, as an artist, as a creative. I think my first YouTube video ever got sponsored was like $3,500. And it was a brand that I love. Like, I felt like I'd won the lottery, I was like, so I'm gonna talk about our brand that I love anyway, and always talk about and they're going to pay me $3,500.
And again, I think from what I've seen as well, I think because I'm very vocal on like, you are getting an expert, you're not just getting a content creator. Brands also trust me when it comes to the deliverables. There's not like pages and pages of like keynotes and key points, like, of course, yes, there are key language or key points that I have to discuss. But it's also like, we want you to put your spin on it. And that's the collaborations I love the most because I think the more it's collaborations than a sponsorship, and that a brand wants my input they want me to show my audience thinks that maybe the brand doesn't even know about their product. Like I'm like, did you know you could do this. So that makes it really fun for me.
And I think, you know, sponsorship and education are becoming interchangeable now. Because you can also sponsor something with your own products. Like when I do my podcast, I'm able to sponsor via my own courses, my own programs. But I think again, if you've done that front load work of having content for your audience. So even if you haven't posted for a year, and someone finds you right now, is there somewhere for them to go from that? I guess we call it a CTA, a call to action? Is there something for them to do from that video? I think that's important to think about as well. Like, where are you sending them next? Even if you're not there? Where should they be going?
Yeah, no, absolutely. I think to your point, it all kind of is it's like a flywheel, right, like whatever you're doing over here, it can impact or have some sort of benefit to something else that you're doing. So if you kind of zoom out and look more holistically at everything you've got going on in your ecosystem, you're going to make some thing that you do have a much bigger, or much longer, I should say lifespan and a greater impact. So yeah, that is an excellent. And I think to this case study, this has been really helpful.
Thank you so much, Harry, for coming on our show and sharing your experience as a YouTuber. Obviously, people can find you on YouTube, we'll make sure that we'll make sure that your links are below in the show notes. But where else can our audience connect with you if they want to learn more about the work you do?
Thank you so much, Ellen, I love being here and sharing with you. Harriethadfield.com is like our Home Hub. Come there for everything again, Harry Makes Up you'll find me there on Instagram and YouTube. And we also have at @FreelancerFreedom on Instagram, which is a community of creative entrepreneurs. So yeah, come join.
Amazing. Thank you so much for your time today.
Thank you.
Thank you so much for tuning in to our final guest interview of the year. It just so happens that Christmas falls on this Monday. So for those of you who are listening in real time today, thank you for spending part of your Christmas with me. Merry Christmas to all who celebrate and Happy Holidays to everyone. We'll chat again in the new year.
