It’s hard to believe that the term “creator economy” didn’t really exist just a few years ago. It just wasn’t a thing. Fast forward through the course of the pandemic (where the whole world was locked away and spending more time online than ever before), and we have a fully-fledged industry steamrolling traditional media and everything else in its wake. Nowadays, the creator economy is the industry to be involved in.
With so much buzz and traction, not to mention its crazy 24-hour, non-stop nature, it can be hard to keep up with new trends and really understand the creator economy. This is because it’s all so new, and many of us are making our way through uncharted territory. Fortunately, there are experts at hand to help. For YouTube gurus Colin & Samir, this is their bread and butter.
At a glance
Colin Rosenblum and Samir Chaudry are 2 creators making videos covering a vast array of topics around the creator industry, as well as interviewing plenty of the biggest names on YouTube. These interviews and breakdown videos reveal industry insights and lessons that prove absolutely priceless when starting your own YouTube channel and gaining traction across social media. So it’s no wonder that they’re well on their way to 1 million subscribers, having ratcheted up over 220 million video views.
Here’s how the duo package themselves:
It’s clear they mean business. So, how exactly have Colin and Samir managed to become the experts on the creator economy?
They identified a niche
First and foremost, Colin and Samir did what every successful YouTube creator does – they identified a niche. “We wanted to create a show that provided a sense of community for creators,” Samir told Rolling Stone Magazine recently. “A place to learn about what it’s like to grow a career and to feel less alone.”
As YouTube and the creator economy blossomed over the past decade, Colin and Samir realized that there would be plenty of creators starting out who would need support, guidance and insight. For a long time, it has felt like people have just been randomly stabbing around in the dark and having to forge their own way because the space is so fresh and new. There’s no blueprint. Colin acknowledged this: “we feel like being a creator is one of the most sought-after careers and also one of the least understood. Our goal is to shine some light on how different people are actually pursuing this career.”
So, in short, the Colin & Samir channel fulfills a need with highly educational content. And there is a demand for their type of videos.
They can speak with authority
As that Rolling Stone interview so elegantly put it, Colin and Samir are “elder statesmen of YouTube.” Their videos wouldn’t work half as well if they didn’t have the experience that they do. In their channel description, you may have noticed that they first started on YouTube 10 years ago, building up The Lacrosse Network.
Despite creating videos on YouTube for over a decade, the pair openly admit that they really feel like they’ve found their stride only in recent years – that niche we discussed above. Having been through these 10 years of different learning curves and experiences, both Colin and Samir are positioned very well to speak about the creator economy with an authoritative voice. They’ve been there and done that. They understand the ins and outs of the industry, and this understanding helps shape the many great interviews they’ve done. They know exactly what questions to ask and exactly what their audience is looking for.
Their content model is genius
Whether it was fully intentional or not, the content model for Colin and Samir is genius. They’ve spoken openly about how they often struggled to put out videos consistently until they stumbled across the “podcast format.” Initially, they experimented with podcast episodes on a second YouTube channel that was effectively just them sitting down and discussing different subjects and topics around the creator economy.
Because it came naturally to them and something they were already doing day-to-day anyway, it didn’t require much effort to film and record, meaning they could consistently put out at least one video a week. Having seen the positive feedback, Colin and Samir took this format onto their main channel and haven’t looked back since.
With these long-form episodes, their team can also create plenty of short-form content for other social media channels – soundbites and short insights or funny moments from guests can all go viral and help promote their show and channel to a much larger audience.
On top of this, interviewing prominent creators such as MrBeast and Marques Brownlee helps elevate their own channel, attracting those creators’ fans. So, the more interviews they make, the more it snowballs, attracting more subscribers and creators who would also like to chat on the show.
Subscribed?
So, are you subscribed? I genuinely think watching and listening to the Colin & Samir show is essential for any creator. They’re that good. The value (and entertainment as an added bonus) they provide is unrivaled, and it’s the essence of why we all love YouTube. If you want to understand this fascinating new world of the creator economy and grow on YouTube, listening to the experts is a great place to start.
