How YouTube Helped Christina Scalera Increase Revenue in Her Online Shop
It’s no surprise that we’re big fans of YouTube around here. At this point, I just feel like saying, “What can’t it do?” But a lot of people still don’t see it that way.
They look at YouTube as this massive time suck, something that’s going to end up taking up more time than it's worth putting into it. So they put it off…and keep putting it off…and then they never get around to it. Or they finally decide to give it a try, like my friend Christina Scalera, and they’re like, “Yeah, why haven’t I tried this earlier??”
If you’ve been putting off YouTube because you’re worried it’s just too much to handle right now, take a few minutes to watch this video or catch the recap of my chat with Christina. You’ll see just how much is possible when you go all in on YouTube.
Meet Christina
Christina Scalera is the attorney and founder behind The Contract Shop®, a contract template shop for creative entrepreneurs. She started her journey back in 2014 when she found herself dreaming of pursuing a more creative path, and she started to look for alternatives to her in-house legal job. She did everything from teaching yoga to becoming a freelance graphic designer, and even opening an Etsy shop.
But by 2016, she had created a business that brought together her legal training and creative mind to help others get their booties covered… legally. She also learned that, if you can find an audience, you can sell them something! She's now teaching others how they can create a successful online shop, create daily income, and step away from the grind by learning how to run on autopilot with digital products.
Why Christina decided to start focusing on YouTube
When I asked her why she decided now was the right time to get her YouTube game plan together, Christina said:
“I had such a hard time getting my head in the game before, but this time I decided to commit. We were blogging and using a newsletter, along with Instagram — all the normal content strategies, but I don’t think anything really started working until we got on YouTube. That’s when it all came together.
And it took me so long to start because I was worried I wasn’t put together enough to record. I’ve moved three times in the last year and life has been hectic. I wasn't convinced the end result wouldn’t be top-notch like I wanted it to be.
But I wish I would have started sooner. It's really the best platform to grow your business — and that’s coming from someone who's all about TikTok.
It’s here to stay. It’s searchable. It’s easy to use. We’ve now bumped up to two videos a week and it’s worked well. And you’ve really helped with that Trena! We consistently have this huge traffic generating machine now thanks to you guys.”
The surprising thing about YouTube
“I was surprised at how slow it took to grow at first. I was really thinking it would take off fast, and I even got comments like, ‘Why isn’t your channel bigger by now??’ I had heard a lot that it happens slowly, but that you’ll wake up one day and it’ll be a hit.
But waiting was hard! I was just surprised at how patient I had to be, but I’m glad I was. I mean, in December 2021, our goal was to hit 500 subscribers, and now in August 2022, we have almost 8,000. I’m really happy about how it’s turned out!”
Growth of Christina’s channel from December 2021 - August 2022
Contributing growth and success to YouTube
Since starting her YouTube channel and working with our team, Christina says:
“Our revenue has either stayed consistent or gone up every month since starting my YouTube channel. I think it's because we have consistent traffic coming to our site.
I’m still active in other places, but I think YouTube is what drives it home. If I were just relying on those other platforms, I don’t think we would be hitting the numbers that we do.
Someone from TikTok is probably not looking to buy a $500 course or $3,000 coaching package. But usually people who are coming from YouTube will. It's hard to quantify specifically how it contributes but it’s clearly doing something for us. It’s all just continuing to grow.
And hitting monetization on YouTube was a really big deal for me. It came down to being patient. It didn’t happen immediately, not even right after some of our better months. But now that it’s here, it's nice to see that we’re getting paid for the content we’re creating.
And the community it's built is really nice. It's a totally different audience than Facebook or Instagram. They’re really engaged and they’re the best followers I have on any platform!”
Christina is monetizing her channel now:
And each month, she’ll make more!
We can also see which videos lead to the most money:
YouTube is the new media
Christina, who is “big on TikTok” as the kids say, knows the importance of creating content across platforms. And while she consistently posts on Instagram, engages her email subscribers, and has frequent lives or free trainings, she also recognizes that YouTube is a new frontier — one that she’ll want to leverage as the way we consume media changes.
“YouTube has made things so much easier on me content-wise. And working with you is really easy because you guys give me all the stuff I need — the script/outline, the thumbnail ideas, things like that.
My company has become a little more media-focused recently, and that’s where YouTube fits into the bigger picture.
It’s more than hopping on trends — it provides stability to our content and helps us know where we’re going. YouTube is the new media, and it’s not going anywhere. I definitely don’t see TikTok replacing it.
As long as you can be patient, and you know it’s not always going to pop off and go viral like TikTok, you got it. And YouTube is more intentional about who they show my content to, which is people who are the most engaged, the ones who really want to see my videos…whereas TikTok is still kind of experimenting with who they’re showing things to.”
The longevity of YouTube videos
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: YouTube videos just stick around for longer. That’s been Christina’s experience, too:
“All of my older videos are still doing pretty well, the ones from about a year or so ago. They’re actually getting a lot of traffic. Which tells you that the content on YouTube lives longer. I can’t say that about anything I’ve created on Instagram or TikTok.
But the cool thing is that the newer videos are getting pushed too. So it’s kind of a win-win because it’s just all getting views. And driving people to my website. Even what I'd consider low-view videos still boost my channel and help me get those sales. I don’t ever feel like my time and effort is wasted on YouTube content.”
Just look at these videos that continue to drive the most views on Christina’s channel:
What more people should know about YouTube
We know that YouTube feels like a “big thing.” It requires you to get on camera, edit video (if you do it yourself), and monitor your metrics to know what’s working.
As Christina puts it, it’s worth it, but it does require patience.
“Patience is a big part of it. Which I know I’ve mentioned like 20 times. But seriously, that and I wish people wouldn’t be scared to get started. I was scared to just do it for so long, but it ended up being the type of content that takes me the least amount of time.
And so what if it isn’t perfect? It’s still better to have something than not posting at all. Don’t let not having the best equipment or the most aesthetically pleasing background stop you from starting your channel, because it will never be the right time.”
Want to make this happen for you?
If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed about YouTube like Christiana was, it’s time to breathe a sigh of relief. You don’t have to do this alone. You don’t have to sacrifice your entire schedule to get started.
You can have a successful channel, minus the stress. And I’m here to help make that happen!
With my YouTube Production Package, you’ll get help, just like Christina, in creating your YouTube channel and video content. You’ll learn how to manage everything on your channel, while driving the results you’ve been looking for within your business.
You’ll get everything you need to succeed — strategy, graphics, video for YouTube and other social media platforms, and more!
LEARN MORE ABOUT WORKING WITH US HERE
You can also make this happen YOURSELF
Want to learn how to see success with YouTube, but can’t work with us right now? Want to learn how to do it yourself? That’s what Video Strategy Academy is all about.
This is your fast-track system to unlocking the secrets behind just throwing any video up on YouTube, to seeing a spike in sales every single time you publish a new video.
Inside VSA, you’ll be able to:
Download the Fast Action Playbook to avoid procrastinating and have your channel working for you in 30 days or less
Learn the 4:1 video planning method so you can film a MONTH of videos in just one day (Yes, that means only doing your hair and make-up once a month!)
Watch your site traffic and sales increase with each published video even if you are STRUGGLING to get sales and traffic now
Know that you have consistent trust-building content for your audience (so you can make more sales and book more clients)
Build a no-overwhelm system for filming videos every single month even if you’ve NEVER done YouTube videos before
Lessen the amount of content you are creating by knowing your YouTube videos are doing all the hard work for you
You’ll get 6 modules AND a private Facebook group where you can ask questions, share your successes, and learn from our team and other VSA members.
Get ready to see success with Video Strategy Academy — JOIN HERE NOW!
