Turning Youtube into a full time career with Katie Steckly
I am thrilled to have the opportunity to introduce Katie Steckly, a highly successful YouTuber and creative entrepreneur who has been sharing valuable content creation and social media tips videos for years on various social channels. It is an honor to feature her on the blog today and to share with you all the insights she has to offer on how she become a successful content creator and turned YouTube into a full-time career!
Katie has built a loyal following on her YouTube channel by providing engaging and informative content that resonates with her audience. Her knowledge and expertise in the field of content creation and social media have made her a go-to source for those looking to improve their skills and grow their presence on these platforms.
In this interview with Katie, she shares with us her personal journey as a YouTuber and the challenges she faced along the way. Overall, Katie's story is an inspiring one that demonstrates the power of creativity, hard work, dedication, and a clear vision for success. Thank you, Katie, for sharing your experiences with us!
Sophie: Hi Katie! Thank you so much for joining me today and being part of the blog :) I’m so excited for everything we’re going to learn from you. Can you tell us about yourself and who you are?
Katie: My name is Katie Steckly and I’m a YouTuber and online entprepreneur. On my YouTube channel, I share tips and advice for growing content creators, and share about my own journey as a business owner. In addition to my YouTube channel, I’m the founder of Creatorly Media - a content creation and social media marketing agency. At Creatorly, we work with small business owners and online content creators to build out Instagram strategies, edit podcasts and YouTube videos - and more. Outside of my work life - I love to travel. My partner and I converted a cargo van into a camper van during the pandemic and we love to travel in our van (and sometimes also without our van) while we work remotely. We document those travels on our YouTube vlog channel, Katie and Dan in a Van.
Question: How did you get started with YouTube + Content Creation? How did that evolve into the services you offer today with Creatorly Media?
Answer: I started my YouTube channel when I was 12 years old - very cringey and embarrassing. I had nerdy interests that my friends from my small town didn’t share (namely; Harry Potter) and I found YouTubers talking about Harry Potter online. That’s how I discovered YouTube - I loved the idea of making videos talking about all the stuff that people in my real life weren’t interested in - and sharing them with an online community. When I started, no one was a professional - and I had no idea that YouTube could become a job. I just made videos because I really loved to. I continued making videos throughout high school and university and during that time, YouTube and the online space in general had really evolved. The job of being a full-time YouTuber started to emerge and I decided that’s what I wanted to do. When I graduated university, I had around 2,000 subscribers - definitely not enough to make a full-time income from. So I started using my skills that I built through YouTube to do freelance gigs for local businesses. I made promotional videos, filmed weddings, and created social media posts for people around my city. All the while, I kept growing my YouTube channel, sharing more about my journey and what I was learning from being a creative freelancer. Eventually - both my YouTube channel and my freelancing grew to a point where I needed more help, so I slowly grew the Creatorly team that I had today.
Sophie: I think so often people assume we have to go to college, get the four year degree, and then work a corporate 9-5 our whole lives, which is a fantastic career for some, while for others with the entrepreneurship bug, this can feel really hard and draining. I know I wish I would have known when I was in college that it was truly possible to take my business full time someday. What advice would you give to someone that’s early on in their career but sees great opportunity in content creation and service based businesses?
Katie: I would say start looking for the opportunities to grow your business- no matter how small. My dream was always to become a YouTuber, but when that wasn’t something that was immediately accessible to me (it takes time to grow an audience). I found other creative ways to use my skills to build a business. Even if filming real estate videos for local realtors wasn’t my dream job - it was something that helped me build my skills and learn valuable lessons about being a business owner. So if you want to build your own business - don’t overlook even the small opportunities.
Sophie: What’s one thing you wish you would have known when you first started your journey as a YouTuber?
Katie: I wish I would have known how to grow! I was totally clueless about the algorithm and how to find an audience when I first started - but, at the same time, I wouldn’t change my journey because all the years that I spent cluelessly making videos that I loved (even if they didn’t get views) helped build the skills that I have today. Also - spending almost 10 years making YouTube videos and seeing very slow growth has made me a very resilient person, haha. So I also don’t regret it for that reason. However, now I share tips for other growing creators to hopefully help them fast track that struggle.
Sophie: What has been the most rewarding part of offering your expertise as a service for clients? How have you seen clients winning when they work with you?
Katie: I’ve really enjoyed helping clients redirect their focus to doing what they really love. So many business owners are overwhelmed, focusing on not only their business offerings, but also their marketing. At Creatorly, we can help business owners get their time back to focus on what they love doing most - serving their customers.
Sophie: Can you share with us one of your proudest moments as a small business owner?
Katie: I think what’s made me feel most proud is seeing my team succeed. It’s such a great feeling to see talented and skilled people that have been brought together by my business being creative and collaborative with one another.
Sophie: What’s one thing people often get wrong about social media algorithms?
Katie: A lot of creators and business owners think about the algorithm (on any platform, really) like it’s a little video game. Like, if you input the right number of posts at the right times of day, and reply to the right number of comments - you’ll get the secret password right and the algorithm will reward you with reach. It doesn’t work like that. Ultimately, the algorithm is just a representation of human behavior. So if you want to succeed on these platforms, you need to create for people, not for “the algorithm”
Sophie: Top three tips for staying productive and on task when you’re your own boss?
Katie:
Have a strict schedule. I work 9-5 everyday (mostly because my husband words 9-5, so it’s easy to stay on the same schedule as him) and it gives me structure to my day. It forces me to be productive during the workday, because otherwise, I won’t get everything done.
Set boundaries around checking social media. Especially in my line of work, it’s easy to get caught up in “research” aka, endlessly scrolling. I try to set specific times when I’ll check Instagram, and otherwise, I try to stay off my phone while working.
Use a task management system that works for you - for me, that’s Notion. I love keeping track of my weekly and daily tasks, as well as my content calendar (and honestly a million other things) in Notion.
Sophie: For those that are trying to grow on Instagram but still using 2020 tactics and methods to do so, what’s one important shift to make in their content strategy to adapt to the ever-changing algorithm?
Katie: Focus on video! I know you’ve heard it a million times, but seriously, if you want to grow faster, think about how you can create authentic and engaging short form videos for your audience. And it’s not all about trends and viral audios - think about how you can provide value in an original and authentic way, as well.
Sophie: Any exciting opportunities, new things coming soon for you that you can share with us?
Katie: I’ve just gotten back from a big remote working trip in Europe - so I’m excited to be posting some travel vlogs soon! Otherwise, I’m honestly excited about a slightly more chill season of life this summer. If you want to see more from me, I’m always posting new content for creators and online business owners on Youtube at youtube.com/@katie and if you’d like to see my fun travel vlogs, that’s on youtube at Youtube.com/@katieanddan.
ABOUT KATIE
Hey! I'm Katie Steckly. I’m a creative digital marketer, YouTube creator, and travel enthusiast. I’m always down for seeing and trying new things, and what I’ve learned over my 10+ years as a creator online is that content creation is one big old adventure
I started my internet journey over a decade ago as an awkward teen girl making YouTube videos about Harry Potter in my bedroom. Now, I create content on YouTube to help creators and run my content creation agency, Creatorly Media.
