In Champ Life Series, this month we have Amy (Schmittauer) Landino, an award-winning YouTube creator. She’s also an author of the best selling book Vlog Like a Boss: How to Kill It Online with Video Blogging. Amy Landino is also a professional speaker, & CoFounder at Aftermarq.
Let’s see what advice Amy Landino has got for all the newbies in video marketing.
Tell us briefly about how you started? What inspired you to step into digital marketing?
After I discovered a passion for video editing and YouTube, I began to realize that I was actually developing a trade in social media marketing. I was helping a friend one day with an issue on her Facebook, and she mentioned that she’d worked with people in the social media marketing industry. She suggested I look into it, and it was the first I’d heard of a career in that field. I was instantly hooked!
How is your entrepreneurial journey so far? And what made you enjoy it?
Considering the fact that I’ve never had to return to my previous job, I would say my entrepreneurial journey is going great! The thing I enjoy most is the freedom to decide how I spend my time and how I make my money, and that’s something I wouldn’t trade for the world.
What’s the toughest part of being a YouTube creator? What’s the coolest part?
You can’t get too comfortable as a YouTube creator. The toughest part of the job is constantly staying ahead of the curve and keeping an eye on the ever-changing trends of the platform. The coolest part of being a YouTube creator is that talking to an audience comes pretty naturally to me. Being able to have those conversations with a community and make connections that way is amazing.
What, according to you, is one of the biggest misconceptions about making money from YouTube?
People tend to believe that all money made on YouTube comes from Google AdSense. Because of that belief, there’s often a misconception that working with brands for sponsored content is “selling out.” In reality, you need to diversify your streams of revenue however possible as to not put all your eggs in one basket. The ability to work with sponsors that align with you and your values is a great way to be a resource for your community, but it’s the value that can sometimes be overlooked.
There is a myth that “Vlogging takes too much time.” How much do you agree with this? How do you manage your work-life balance?
If you’re passionate about something, it never takes too much time. If you feel like vlogging takes too long, and you may not have the big picture in mind! Find the thing that you’re passionate about, and it’ll never feel like a chore.
This applies to work-life balance too, as the time you spend working on your passion may not even feel like work. I handle work-life balance by hiring a team to take care of the tasks, and I don’t need to be doing, and this allows me to give my all to the things I’m truly passionate about.
What’s the motivation behind your book “Vlog Like a Boss?” How long did it take you to write?
When I started speaking, people were always asking me for a book. I would walk off stage and be swarmed with a crowd looking to buy my book, and I didn’t have one. At first, I thought it was crazy that people wanted me to write how to make videos when I already made videos on the subject — for free! But people wanted a manual, so I had to deliver. It took me about two weeks to write Vlog Like a Boss.
I had blocked out 3 weeks but was invited to YouTube’s next-up camp during one of those weeks. There, I was able to glean some incredible information for the book!
How do you think a brand should integrate video into its marketing strategy that can increase sales?
Do it yesterday. If you haven’t started integrating video into your strategy in 2020, you’re already 5 steps behind. You don’t have to vlog on YouTube, but think about what vlogging looks like on other platforms like Instagram or TikTok. Find where people have already set their attention, and start there.
According to Amy Landino, what’s the most important element one should add in their video to make it successful?
You have to keep the person you’re speaking to in your mind. Not the audience, not the masses, just one single person. Who are you speaking to? What do they look like and what do they do with their day? What are their problems? If you can’t envision that person when you’re looking into the lens of the camera, it won’t work.
You’ve quite an active profile on Instagram. How do you manage that? Do you believe in being omnipresent when it comes to social media marketing?
I don’t believe you need to be on every single platform. But you do need to do well by the ones you use. My team and I use automation tools to map out Instagram grids and create the perfect captions in order to grab and keep attention. It’s all about knowing what matters to your audience right now, and how you can have a conversation around that in a meaningful way.
What do you think about social media automation tools? How do you believe a social media automation tool like Social Champ can help digital marketers?
Automation tools are fantastic when you know how to use them properly, and you don’t need to use every single feature of every tool. If the tool you’re using makes your life easier, take advantage of it however you can. But if an automation tool is making you look automated, it’s not a good tool for you or your community. You just have to find your balance!
Lastly, we would like to know the advice that stuck by amy landino in her journey, and what’s your best advice for the newbies in vlogging?
If you’re new, keep it short and sweet, and above all, be generous. That’s the advice I’ve carried with me in my journey — give your best and give it generously. Always.
