Why I'm Not Leaving YouTube

Amy Niti, a YouTuber and music educator, shares her reasons for staying on YouTube despite the challenges. She started in 2016 and, after six months of daily videos, had 10,000 subscribers. Although YouTube income alone wasn't sufficient, she supplemented it with a PDF shop on her website. When the pandemic hit, she was introduced to Nebula, a platform that provides sponsorships, a supportive community, and additional revenue streams. Nebula has helped her create classes, extended videos, and a new show, 'Quarter Notes with Amy Niti,' allowing her to continue her passion for music education and interview her jazz heroes. Amy appreciates the lack of ads and comments on Nebula, which she finds healthier for her mental well-being. She encourages her viewers to consider supporting her through Nebula, which offers a subscription for access to her and other creators' content.

Takeaways

• 🎥 Amy started YouTube in 2016 on a dare and has grown her channel to 10,000 subscribers in 6 months.
• 📈 She realized that income from YouTube alone wasn't sufficient and started selling PDFs on her website to supplement her earnings.
• 🤝 Amy's friend, Rick, has a more successful channel and they often discuss strategies for growing their channels.
• 📊 She averages around $1,000 a month from YouTube, which wasn't enough to support her family, even with additional income from PDF sales.
• 🎓 During the pandemic, she was introduced to Nebula by fellow YouTubers, which has helped her improve her channel's performance.
• 💼 Nebula provides sponsorship management, setting up deals for Amy's videos, which has significantly increased her income compared to YouTube ads alone.
• 🚀 Amy's favorite aspect of YouTube is the ability to share her musical ideas and receive feedback from her audience.
• 🎼 She finds teaching jazz piano students emotionally draining and prefers to share her knowledge through YouTube videos.
• 🌟 Nebula has helped Amy produce full-length internet courses and has even flown her out to create classes in their studio.
• 🎙️ Amy's new show, 'Quarter Notes with Amy Niti,' is exclusively on Nebula, fulfilling her dream of interviewing her jazz heroes.
• 💰 Nebula's subscription model allows Amy to make a comfortable living, and she encourages her YouTube followers to support her by subscribing to Nebula.

Q & A

What was the challenge that led Amy to start her YouTube channel?

Amy started her YouTube channel in 2016 as a dare from her friend Rick, who believed she could be successful if she made one video a day for six months.

How did Amy's YouTube channel perform after the initial six months?

After six months of posting daily videos, Amy had successfully gained 10,000 subscribers on her channel.

What was the initial realization Amy had about her YouTube income?

Amy realized that the money she was making from YouTube alone wasn't enough to sustain her financially.

How did Amy supplement her YouTube income?

Amy started a PDF shop on her website, selling worksheets related to her music instructional videos for $5 each, which helped her generate about $50 a day on top of her YouTube earnings.

What was the average monthly income Amy was making from YouTube before joining Nebula?

Amy's average monthly income from YouTube since she started was around $1,000.

How did the pandemic affect Amy's career and how did Nebula come into play?

When the pandemic hit in 2020, Amy's YouTuber friends suggested her name to a company called Nebula. The CEO, Dave, contacted her and they discussed how Nebula could help her as an online video creator.

What benefits did Amy find in joining the Nebula platform?

Joining Nebula provided Amy with a constant ongoing conversation with other creators, sponsorship management for her YouTube videos, upfront payment for creating classes, and the opportunity to produce her own show, 'Quarter Notes with Amy Niti'.

How does Nebula support creators financially?

Nebula supports creators by setting up sponsorships for their YouTube videos, paying them upfront for creating classes, and continuing to sponsor their videos to attract subscribers to the Nebula platform.

What is unique about the Nebula platform that Amy appreciates?

Amy appreciates that Nebula has no ads, comments, like buttons, or view counts, allowing her to focus solely on creating content without worrying about audience reactions or video analytics.

How has YouTube impacted Amy's life outside of financial stability?

YouTube has allowed Amy to share her passion for music, connect with her audience, travel for jazz festivals, give clinics and masterclasses, and judge high school big bands, opportunities she wouldn't have had otherwise as a stay-at-home mom and jazz musician.

What is Amy's hope for her future on YouTube and with Nebula?

Amy hopes that her YouTube channel and Nebula will continue to open opportunities for her as she starts performing in bigger venues and touring, now that her children are growing up.

How does Amy feel about the support she receives from her viewers and the Nebula platform?

Amy is grateful for the support she receives from her viewers and credits Nebula as the reason she is able to continue her work on YouTube, expressing her appreciation for the opportunities and financial stability it has provided.

Outlines

00:00

🎥 The Journey of a YouTuber: Challenges and Growth

The speaker, Amy Niti, introduces herself and her channel, reflecting on the challenge that led to her YouTube journey in 2016. She discusses the initial success after six months of daily video uploads, reaching 10,000 subscribers. Despite her friend Rick's channel outperforming hers, they still share insights on content creation. Amy realized that YouTube revenue alone wasn't sufficient, leading her to sell PDF worksheets alongside her instructional music videos. This additional income, combined with her YouTube earnings, was helpful but not enough. The pandemic brought an opportunity when her YouTuber friends recommended her to Nebula, a company that could potentially assist her as a content creator. Through Nebula, she learned the importance of titles and thumbnails, and she gained access to a community of creators for support and advice. Nebula also provided sponsorship management, allowing Amy to earn money upfront for her videos, which significantly improved her financial situation.

05:02

🎼 The Joy of Sharing Music and the Support of Nebula

Amy expresses her love for YouTube, not just for the financial aspect, but for the platform it provides to share her musical ideas. She shares her personal experience of teaching jazz piano and how creating YouTube videos is more emotionally fulfilling for her. Since joining Nebula, Amy has been uploading her videos to both YouTube and Nebula, offering extended cuts and exclusive bonus content on Nebula. She is proud of the classes she has created with Nebula's support, which include comprehensive lessons on music theory and jazz improvisation. Nebula has also made it possible for Amy to realize her dream of hosting her own interview show, 'Quarter Notes with Amy Niti,' featuring conversations with her jazz heroes. Amy emphasizes that by putting her best content on Nebula, she hopes to attract subscribers who value her work and are willing to support her through the platform.

10:03

💰 Financial Stability and the Impact of Nebula's Support

Amy discusses her financial stability as a content creator, highlighting that while YouTube was a dream come true, it was not financially sufficient on its own. She emphasizes the role Nebula has played in her ability to make a comfortable living. Amy invites her viewers to support her by subscribing to Nebula, which offers a wealth of thoughtful content beyond her own, from various creators. She appreciates the platform's lack of ads, comments, like buttons, and view counts, which allows her to focus solely on creating quality content without the pressure of audience reactions. Amy also mentions the absence of comments on Nebula, which she finds healthier, as it prevents her from getting caught up in people's reactions. She concludes by expressing her gratitude to her audience and her hope that her story can inspire others to consider supporting creators through platforms like Nebula.

Keywords

💡YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing platform where users can upload, share, and view videos. In the context of the video, it's the primary medium through which the speaker, Amy Niti, shares her music content and connects with her audience. The platform has been central to her career as a music educator and performer, allowing her to reach a wide audience and generate income.

💡Subscribers

Subscribers on YouTube are users who choose to follow a particular channel to receive updates on new content. Amy Niti mentions that after six months of posting daily videos, she had gained 10,000 subscribers, which is a significant milestone for content creators on the platform.

💡PDF shop

A PDF shop refers to an online store where digital documents, such as PDFs, are sold. Amy Niti created a PDF shop on her website to sell worksheets that complement her music instructional videos. This diversifies her income and provides additional value to her audience.

💡Nebula

Nebula is a company that provides support and resources for online video creators. In the video, Amy Niti discusses how Nebula has helped her by offering sponsorship opportunities, a community of creators for feedback and collaboration, and assistance in producing high-quality classes and interviews.

💡Sponsorship

Sponsorship in the context of the video refers to a business arrangement where a company pays a content creator to feature their product or service in a video. Nebula acts as a sponsorship management company for Amy, securing deals that provide her with immediate income for her videos.

💡Middle-sized Creator

A middle-sized creator is a term used to describe content creators on platforms like YouTube who have a substantial but not massive following. Nebula's mission, as mentioned by Amy, is to enable these creators to make a comfortable living from their content, which is a key factor in her decision to stay on YouTube.

💡Extended Cut

An Extended Cut refers to a longer, more comprehensive version of a video. Amy Niti offers extended versions of her videos on Nebula, providing additional content for her subscribers there, which is part of the value proposition for Nebula subscribers.

💡Bonus Videos

Bonus videos are additional pieces of content that are not available on the main platform (in this case, YouTube) but are offered as exclusives on another platform, such as Nebula. Amy Niti uses bonus videos to provide extra value to her Nebula subscribers.

💡Quarter Notes with Amy Niti

Quarter Notes with Amy Niti is a show that is exclusively available on Nebula. It's a series where Amy interviews her jazz heroes, providing insights into their methods and thoughts about music. This show represents a dream come true for Amy and is facilitated by Nebula's production support.

💡Stay-at-home mom

A stay-at-home mom is a woman who does not work outside the home and primarily takes care of her children and household. Amy Niti identifies as a stay-at-home mom who also has a career as a jazz musician, and she credits YouTube for allowing her to balance her family responsibilities with her passion for music.

💡Jazz piano

Jazz piano refers to the performance of piano in the jazz genre, which often involves improvisation and a unique rhythmic and harmonic style. Amy Niti's background as a jazz pianist is central to her content, and she shares her knowledge and love for jazz piano through her YouTube channel and Nebula classes.

Highlights

Amy Niti started YouTube in 2016 on a dare and has since grown her channel to 10,000 subscribers in six months.

She initially realized that income from YouTube alone wasn't sufficient and decided to create a PDF shop on her website.

Amy's PDF shop helped her generate an additional $50 a day on top of her YouTube earnings.

She averages around $3,000 a month from YouTube, which wasn't enough to solely rely on.

During the pandemic, Amy was contacted by a company called Nebula, which offered to help her as an online video creator.

Nebula provided insights into why some of Amy's videos performed better than others and emphasized the importance of titles and thumbnails.

Amy joined Nebula for its community of creators, sponsorship management, and the opportunity to grow her audience.

Nebula helps Amy secure sponsorships for her videos, allowing her to earn money upfront.

Amy's video about John Lennon earned her $564 from Google ads, whereas with Nebula's help, she could potentially earn three times as much.

Since partnering with Nebula, Amy has been able to do at least two sponsor ads per month, significantly boosting her income.

Amy enjoys having a platform to share her musical ideas and receive feedback from her audience.

Nebula has allowed Amy to create and sell online classes, providing an additional revenue stream.

Amy's online classes on Nebula cover a range of topics, from chords to jazz soloing techniques.

Nebula has also helped Amy produce a new show called 'Quarter Notes with Amy Niti', which is exclusively available on their platform.

Amy's show is inspired by her teenage years when she listened to jazz interviews, and now she gets to interview her jazz heroes.

Nebula's platform is ad-free, has no comments, like button, or view count, allowing creators to focus on their content.

Amy appreciates the supportive community on Nebula and the opportunity it provides for creators to make a comfortable living.

Nebula's subscription model allows Amy to earn a sustainable income while providing high-quality, thoughtful content to her audience.

Amy's experience with Nebula has been transformative for her career, allowing her to continue creating content on YouTube and beyond.