Nerds On Tap

Mental Health, Haters, and Building a YouTube Audience

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What does it take for a teenage creator to build a YouTube audience from scratch? Discover the remarkable journey of Tory, a young content creator who secretly launched her channel less than a year ago and recently celebrated hitting 1,000 subscribers.

Tory's story begins with filming room tours on an iPad and nervously revealing her secret channel to her parents a week later. Rather than facing punishment, she found unexpected support that fueled her creative journey. The conversation explores how she transformed basic equipment into a platform for authentic expression, eventually posting an astonishing 15-20 videos daily and amassing over 600 videos in under a year.

While funny videos and lifestyle content helped grow her audience, Tory found her true voice creating mental health awareness videos. Her willingness to discuss difficult topics and provide resources resonated deeply with viewers, culminating in her most successful video about beauty standards reaching over 150,000 views. Throughout our discussion, Tory reveals how she handled classroom bullying by turning mockery into motivation, explaining that "haters will hate" but shouldn't derail your passion.

The episode offers valuable insights into YouTube growth strategies, including the importance of consistent posting, utilizing "remixing" features to collaborate with other creators, and staying authentic to attract the right audience. Most remarkably, when asked about future goals, Tory emphasizes that making people happy matters more than subscriber milestones—a refreshing perspective in today's metrics-driven content landscape.

Whether you're an aspiring creator or simply fascinated by how Gen Z is reshaping digital media, Tory's story demonstrates that authenticity, resilience, and a genuine desire to help others can build not just an audience, but a supportive community. Subscribe to Tory's channel by searching for "totally_tory" on YouTube to follow her continuing journey as a rising content creator.

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Introduction to Teenage YouTube Creator

Speaker 1

Hello and welcome to another version of Nerds on Tap, where we dive into deep discussions based around entrepreneurship and business. But it always has to be fused with technology, all while tasting a flight of favorite brews by our guest. And we couldn't do this show without our fantastic sponsor, digital Boardwalk, where businesses plug into smarter IT at gomodernofficecom. So today's episode, my guest won't be drinking bruise, because my guest is a teenager. She'll be drinking her favorite drink, alani. You want to show them the Alani? Is that what you're going to be drinking? Her favorite drink, alani, you want to show?

Speaker 1

them the alani um is that what you're going to be drinking today?

Speaker 2

yes, uh, this is an energy drink with 200 milligrams of caffeine but I might, might sample a beer or two, is that okay? If you're not driving home all right.

Speaker 1

Today's episode, number 24, is going to be about her journey as a YouTube content creator. We'll discuss her beginnings, how she grew her audience, how the content has shifted over time and what's next for her. I know that if you're listening to this episode and want to learn some tips and tricks, or just hear an incredible journey, you'll want to stay tuned through the entire episode journey. You'll want to stay tuned through the entire episode. I've watched this sweet and sassy teen develop her channel since its beginning, because I just happen to have a very close connection with her. She just happens to be my daughter, tori. Hey, tori.

Speaker 1

Hi but what makes this even more special for me is that I've watched her grow and learn and get better every single day. So welcome to the show, Tori.

Speaker 2

Thank you.

Speaker 1

So a little bit about you. Her YouTube channel can be found by following the link on the screen if you're watching this on YouTube, or you can search for Tori or Libby inside of YouTube. A little bit about Tori she loves the color purple, she loves music, she loves fashion and she loves sports, and she also loves making videos and creating content for YouTube. So, tori, let me ask you a question have you ever watched Nerds on Tap or listened to my show?

Speaker 2

My mom has played it in the car Very nerdy, okay.

Speaker 1

so if you've listened to it in the car, what's the first thing we do, really?

Speaker 2

I don't remember.

Speaker 1

We drink a beer. What do we got today? Suds. Today we have the Emerald Coast.

Speaker 2

Ultra Premium Lager. It's a light-bodied lager with a golden pale color and has a refreshingly crisp taste and a clean, dry finish.

Speaker 3

Wow.

Speaker 1

Let me pop this open. Yeah, yeah, it's warm. Ooh, I like that. That's a good beer I will be drinking that on the show today.

Speaker 2

What are you drinking, Tori? I already said it, but a Lonnie energy drink.

Speaker 1

Okay, so welcome back to the show everyone. Today we're diving into the digital journey of Tori, creator, storyteller and rising YouTube star. From humble beginnings to hitting 1,000 subscribers, tori's story is one of grit, growth and what's next? So let's get into it. Next, so let's get into it. So, tori, I'm gonna put you on the spot and you gotta forget that I'm your dad here asking you questions, because you know you don't need to react to me the same way you do at home when I tell you to do your homework. So what? How did you first get into youtube?

Speaker 2

um, so my parents didn't know that I started youtube at the beginning and what I told them about it about a week later, after making videos and this is before I got my phone I was still filming on an iPad and so I did it through an editor called CapCut and then I would have to post it and the quality was like really bad. And then about a week later, I told my parents and they weren't as upset as I thought they would be. I thought they would like ground me for like two years, but they didn't. And they weren't as upset as I thought they would be. I thought they would like ground me for like two years, but they didn't. And they let me actually keep the YouTube channel.

Speaker 1

And why do you think that is?

Speaker 2

I get grounded a lot.

Speaker 1

You do.

Speaker 2

You should know this by now.

Speaker 1

Well, let me just say this If you're you know, when you started this channel, it was an outlet for you, right. Talking to started this channel, it was an outlet for you, right. Talking to the mic, it was an outlet for you, right. So it was an outlet to be creative, get your thoughts out and do things like that, right? Yes all right. So what did I get you for christmas last year?

Speaker 2

a phone, oh and um, no wait, no, no, I got a phone for my birthday last year and then, um, for Christmas. I got a lot of editing or not editing, but I got a tripod and I got mics and I got a lot of creativity stuff. So you got a lot of content creative. Yes.

Speaker 1

So you got mics, portable mics, you got some lighting, you got, uh, an automated tripod that follows you around, so it gives you a chance to be creative, and you've been using all these things. I've watched you over the past year, and this last year is when your YouTube channel really heated up, right.

Speaker 2

Yes.

Speaker 1

Okay so.

Speaker 2

My first ever video, I think, was a room tour and there was just music and then I would just kind of follow the camera around my room and I was just really happy because I had a way to express myself to people and actually get my word out there, instead of just knowing the people that I already know now.

Speaker 1

Right, so that's great. So it was a. It was a room tour, so you showed off your room to an audience you've never met before.

Speaker 2

Yes.

Speaker 1

And what was the reaction to that?

Speaker 2

to that I have a lot of Olivia Rodrigo merch in my room and it kind of captured the interest of some fellow Olivia Rodrigo fans and so I kind of I started that video and I was just happy with it at the end because it was like my first one.

Speaker 1

So for those listening, if you don't know who Olivia Rodrigo is, she's a Grammy award winning singer, right.

Speaker 2

Yes.

Speaker 1

So what were the biggest challenges in those early days? I mean, obviously for all of us, including myself, it's you know. It has to do with not knowing how to edit and do all these things. We have to do what you know, I know. For me, the biggest challenge was learning, learning, editing, what. What was it for you?

Speaker 2

My biggest challenge was, I think, just finding things to make videos about.

Speaker 1

I would say things to make videos about. I would say Um uh, just trying to find content. And where did you get inspired? Like what inspired you for each one of your videos that you made?

Speaker 2

The thing that inspired me was that I can share my emotions with other people and knowing that I'm influencing other people and I post a lot about mental health as well, because everything I do, I don't care how many likes I get, I don't care how many comments I get, I just want to make other people happy.

Growing an Audience

Speaker 1

You want to make it. That's fantastic, and that's why I think we back your channel more than we probably would if you had been creating content. You know about things that we wouldn't accept. I mean, you know mental health is important, and I know, especially for your generation, it's extremely important because you guys are all plugged in and the world is full of bullies, right, yes, okay, so it's a good outlet for you. So are there any moments along your journey, tori, where you almost gave up with YouTube?

Speaker 2

I remember I don't know how far I was along I think I had like around 125 subscribers, and that's when people in my class at school started figuring out my channel and all of them started making fun of it and they would call it cringe and everything. And at that time I felt like giving up because I didn't really want to, I didn't really want to, um, keep going with that. But then I realized, oh, they're just jealous, they don't have a youtube channel. And then, um, because they are saying stuff like, oh, I could probably get a million in a day and I was like it doesn't work that way, because it's not how it works.

Speaker 1

They don't know anything about it haters will hate. Right, haters will hate. Yes, yeah, that's too bad, but the the neat thing is you progress through it. You, you didn't listen to them, you were. It encouraged it actually. I I feel like it actually encouraged you to create more yes right, and what is the feeling you get after posting a video?

Speaker 1

I know you made a video of me recently. I don't know if I want to talk about that on this show, but that video we thought you know within what 10 minutes you already had over 6,000 views thousand views.

Speaker 2

It was around two thousand and I guess my analytics glitch, but at the end it had about 6.7k views and it was about him pretending to be me and there was a scene in it where he got. He was like he was like coconut milk, spicy pickles Where's my Alani? And then he found the energy drink and he was like downing it.

Speaker 1

There wasn't anything in it, but Folks don't go look for that video, but you can watch the rest of Tori's videos, but it is on her channel. And again, if you're watching this online as opposed to listening to it on the, where you listen to your favorite podcast, tori, again, where can they go to find your channel on YouTube?

Speaker 2

My channel is on YouTube and you can either search up Tori or Livy, but I've recently changed my name today because the Livy I got from Olivia Rodrigo fam, but in the future I knew I wouldn't want to have it. So now, while I'm still a small creator, I want to change it. So I changed it to totally underscore Tori, which will take probably 24 hours to update.

Speaker 1

Okay, so we've got totally underscore, Tori. If you search for that on YouTube, you'll find Tori's channel. So we're going to go into segment two, how you grew your audience. Okay, normally we would sample a beer here, but because I have you on the show and I've got to drive you home later, we're going to. We're going to limit, limit the intake. Right, Maybe I should switch to a Lonnie and get a little energy. Yeah, All right. So growing your audience what helped you start gaining traction? Like when did you know? You kind of had a winning formula.

Speaker 2

I remember this really clearly. I think it was either in December or January, after I got my mics, and I remember my dad, I would, I used to paint rocks with these acrylic markers and I would paint rocks and some of them were actually pretty good. Then I would I went downtown and I took the mics and I was talking about how I was going to plant the rocks for other people to find and I tagged different businesses in them where I planted the rocks at and that at first I didn't. I thought it was going to be a good video, but at first I didn't get any attraction. After a later I gained probably only 80 views, but that was a lot for me at the time and then I got 10 subscribers and after that it started going up.

Speaker 1

So does it matter Like when you, how many videos do you have on your channel now? I have over a little over 600, 600 videos, and when did you start this process? This process was started.

Speaker 2

Like when did you start this process? This process was started like when did you?

Speaker 1

from the time you made your first video and posted it to now, how long has it been?

Mental Health Content & Viral Success

Speaker 1

november 2024 so you've been doing it a little less than a year a little less than a year, and we'll talk about your big milestone in a minute. But so you've been doing it a little less than a year, um, and so once you started to get more videos on there, let's say you pass the 100 mark, then the 200 mark, then the 300 mark as far as content on your channel. The more videos you have, the more followers you get more frequently, right? So what is the trick? Just to keep creating and keep posting.

Speaker 2

What I figured out is usually when I find a video or someone that I really like, I will go into their channel and sometimes, if they only have like 15 videos, I obviously don't want to watch it because I know it's going to stop too soon. I want to keep watching more and more. You go on your channel and they just scroll and scroll and scroll and scroll and what I've noticed is people think it's like endless so they can just keep watching, like some people I know have watched every single one of my videos and they still haven't gotten bored.

Speaker 1

So there's another trick, right, isn't it called remixing?

Speaker 2

There is a remixing where you can remix audios. You can green screen videos. They're called the kids who green screen are called green screen kids. Oh wow, they're called the kids who green screen are called green screen kids. Oh wow, some people call them annoying. I've never green screened a video before, but other people make videos to try and get them on and trick them into remixing their videos so they can get more views.

Speaker 1

So if someone remixes one of your videos, what does that do for your channel?

Speaker 2

this is one of your videos. What does that do for your channel, my channel. If someone searches up my channel, another person who tagged me in their video will pop up, or that person. If people are watching a different person and they see, oh, another person is tagged in it, they automatically think this is another channel that is related to that one, so it's like that one in a way. So they want a similar channel to watch, so they click on yours.

Speaker 1

So technically you could remix somebody's video. That might have a million subscribers and it would help one of your videos show up. Is that what I'm hearing?

Speaker 2

Maybe, but most of the time it's people who have more subscribers than you that remix smaller creator videos that do better.

Speaker 1

Interesting. So how did you figure out what content resonated? This is the big one, right? Because if you're creating goofy content that people just don't want to see, um, you know, I know that on my one of my channels I made a how to video. I usually made other, more creative videos, but once I made a how to video as a I usually made other more creative videos, but once I made a how-to video as a test, that video has gotten more views and everything than any other video I've ever created. For you, what content resonated with your audience? What?

Speaker 2

does recusignated mean?

Speaker 1

It means what content changed the game for you Like what, what content did you start putting out there that really started making your channel grow?

Speaker 2

I posted funny videos and those went a certain way, but sometimes people want something more meaningful, and when I started posting about mental health, people started coming to me and thanking me because they liked that. People started talking about this and they would thank me for talking about it, and people can tell that I'm genuinely a good person by wanting to help other people, and I really want to help my subscribers with their mental health as well and give them someone to relate to so they don't feel alone.

Speaker 1

And when you post those videos, I've seen you post the numbers for Suicide Hotline and mental health, different phone numbers that they can call correct.

Speaker 2

Yes, that is probably one of the first videos that my friend from school hasn't remixed, because my friend tags me a lot. But there was this girl I think her name is Addie or something. She came to my channel and she asked me if she can make it again, because she really wanted to help people as well and she wanted to inspire people and spread the word. So I said, of course you can, and she tagged me in it. So every time you search up my channel and you'll see her video pop up as well.

Speaker 1

Interesting. So have there been any surprising moments or viral wins along the way, like is there? Is there a video that you created that surprisingly went viral or went close to being viral?

Speaker 2

Yes.

Speaker 1

Besides me, of course. Of course, you put me on any video, oh, okay.

Speaker 2

So this video is my most viewed video and it's about how everyone is beautiful in their own way. And I really didn't do anything. I did not expect it to blow up because I barely really did any work. I just searched up the word pretty girls on the search bar and I scrolled through shorts. As I was screen recording, I said, oh, what it would like, um, what I would do to look like them. And then in the caption I wrote everyone is beautiful in their own way. Don't let this trick you. And it got about 500 comments, 4.5k likes and over 150,000 views.

Speaker 1

Wow, that's impressive. I've seen that video so I was impressed. And you're not even in the video, are you?

Speaker 2

No, I'm not.

Speaker 1

So is that why it went? I'm kidding, I'm kidding. You need to stop, all right. So last question on this segment before we go into the what's next chapter of this how do you stay consistent and motivated, tori?

Speaker 2

I'm get bored very easily and I know if people are watching me, that inspires me, that people want to see my every move. So if I make new videos and constantly upload them, people start watching them and people want to see my videos. Because what I've noticed is some people that I'm subscribed to they post maybe like five times a week. I don't do that. I post maybe one to 15 to 20 times a week. I don't do that. I post maybe one to 15 to 20 times a day. I or I try to at least.

Speaker 1

I think that's the secret. Right Is posting consistently each and every day. Yes, so you get people looking forward to the next Tori video. Uh, as far as your audience goes, I would imagine, cause they're popping up and they're like oh, there's tori again, wow yes, um okay, so let's talk about what's next.

Speaker 1

So a few simple questions here before we get into the rapid fire round, and I'll tell you what that is. You obviously haven't watched my whole show tori, or you would know what rapid fire is, but but what does hitting 1000 subscribers mean to you?

Speaker 2

1000 subscribers, I never thought I would even make it to 100. It was really hard for me to get to that 100 mark and I didn't expect it to get to a hundred or a thousand, because I think two or three days ago I was only at 800 subscribers and I was really happy because I was like I didn't even believe it was real.

Speaker 1

So you told me a story before the show. Do you want to share that with everybody, but leaving out the expletives?

Speaker 2

Okay, well, I'll say it. I'll just say I won't say the whole word.

Speaker 1

Yeah, please don't.

Speaker 2

Okay.

Speaker 1

Otherwise we're going to have to have a talk.

Speaker 2

So last night I was at 910 subscribers. I did a million. I did a bunch of streams One of them I did a cooking stream and YouTube AI thought I was too young so I had to turn off my camera and I had a lot of comments going about 2,000 comments in that whole live stream. I streamed for about two hours and I was waiting to get 1,000 subscribers. I made it to about 1,015 last night and I got off. It was like 12 am 12 am, that's past your bedtime.

Speaker 2

I don't have a bedtime, so I ended up going to bed at 1 am, but it was like 12, and I went to go take a shower and I was like I got in the shower and I was talking to myself and I was like I'm an effing um youtuber, and then that's what I said to myself and I was like hyping myself up a little bit too much.

Speaker 1

but so these strange voices I'm hearing in the middle of the night? That's you talking to yourself in the shower okay, no, that is him he has like okay, I'm crazy. So what are your goals for the next chapter?

Speaker 2

my goal is for the next chapter. I don't really care what I do, as long as I'm influencing people to be better people so you're not looking at.

Speaker 1

So you're not looking at milestones, you're not looking at hitting a hundred thousand.

Speaker 2

You're not, you don't care about that A hundred thousand would be great, because I know I'm getting my word out there more, but the most I want to do is make people happy.

Speaker 1

We know that. I mean that's the one thing I hear consistently from everybody that meets you is you inspire and you bring out happiness in others. Because you're a helper is what I hear.

Speaker 2

Yes, I try to be.

Speaker 1

Then why? Then? Why do you argue so much when we ask you to unload the dishwasher?

Speaker 2

Because mom does it like eight times a day.

Speaker 1

We could do this all day on here, but I'm not gonna do that to you, so any advice for creators.

Speaker 2

Just starting out, tori starting out, I never even thought I would make it to 100. Just know that you can do it, and as long as you're not like some people, go viral for being like rude, and that's the one thing you don't want to do, because you're getting followers from people that aren't very good people. But what you I do is I try to influence people who are a little bit rude and try to make them into good people okay, that's awesome, so again.

Speaker 1

Uh, where can they find you on YouTube?

Speaker 2

It's important. So I changed my username today so it might still pop up as Tori or Libby T-R-Y-O-R-L-I-B-I-E, but I changed it to totally underscore Tori.

Speaker 1

Okay. What can your audience expect next from you, Tori?

Speaker 2

My audience.

Speaker 1

What are you going to do next, or do you want to leave that as mystery?

Speaker 2

I don't know yet. Okay, oh wait, I have posts about it, but I'm doing another live stream today because I collect Alani cans and I'm making a um sniper and hot gluing all the alani's together so again, uh, tori's drinking an alani on here.

Speaker 1

It's a uh energy drink that she likes. Yes, um, and I think she only likes it because she wants these cans to no, that's not not true.

Speaker 2

They're really good and they give me anxiety, which gives me energy.

Speaker 1

Oh, anxiety gives you energy. Yes, Alright. So do you know what rapid fire questions are?

Speaker 2

What the heck is that?

Rapid Fire Questions & Final Thoughts

Speaker 1

So I'm going to ask you 10 to 15 questions in a very fast pace and all you have to do is give me a one to five word answer. Not a long story, just a one to five word answer on each. Don't look at my screen. Are you ready? Yes, all right, here we go. What was the title of your very first YouTube video?

Speaker 1

Olivia Rodrigo Rimsor or one creator who inspires you. I don't know her name crickets chirp. I don't know her name, you don't know her name and she inspires you, I don't remember all right, we'll skip. What's the weirdest comment you've ever received.

Speaker 2

Okay, so there was like an old man.

Speaker 1

Oh, what An old man.

Speaker 2

I don't know if it was an old man. They just acted old and they were like they just put like that one like hot emoji thing with like the person. I don't know if it was an old man, it was probably a little kid, but I haven't really got that weird comments?

Speaker 1

I'm gonna stop you right here. So when, when? What do you do when people give you weird comments? Because I know we preach to you all the time that someone you think might be a 14 year old-old kid could be a 1,400-year-old weird guy.

Speaker 2

So I just blanked. So these people, most of the people that I have talked to, which I don't really do this anymore I don't talk to people online that much but most of the time I know what they, the time I know what they sound like, I know what they look like but I don't really do this anymore. But people on YouTube who act weird, I just literally block them from my channel or you could block people, just block them.

Speaker 1

Good answer. So if you could collaborate with any YouTuber, who would it be?

Speaker 2

I think, is it the kid with the curly?

Speaker 1

hair. I think. Is it the kid with the curly hair? What's his name? No, no, okay.

Speaker 2

I don't know. I Ooh, there's this one girl. I kind of forgot her name, but I think her last name is Campinos or something, and she's a really good-hearted person that I've seen. She has about 100,000 subscribers on YouTube.

Speaker 1

Wow, that means you. I mean you're good hearted. That means you, when you hit a hundred thousand subscribers, you're going to think back to this podcast and you're going to go my channel.

Speaker 2

I was just really um, I was really insecure and I didn't think that my channel would even reach a hundred, because I was just a really sad person. I feel like youtube is one of the reasons why I'm happy now, because I have all these people that I know actually online, because I know how I act to big youtubers online. I think they're really good people and I feel like that's how some people act towards me so what did you wish you knew before starting the channel oh, I forgot um what I wish.

Speaker 2

I knew that the haters can hate. There you go.

Speaker 1

Good answer, favorite milestone moment so far.

Speaker 2

A thousand.

Speaker 1

A thousand. What's your dream video to make?

Speaker 2

My dream video. There's like a thing called the Glow House where all these big YouTubers go, and I would love to go there.

Speaker 1

What's your go-to snack while editing videos?

Speaker 2

I don't really edit, sometimes I do.

Speaker 1

What's your go-to snack?

Speaker 2

A lawny.

Speaker 1

Okay.

Speaker 2

What's the strangest place you've ever filmed content. So when, um, when I'm so, I'll like sometimes, when I'm about to get in the shower before I take off my makeup and stuff, I'll have the water running and I'll wait for the water to heat up While I still have all my makeup on. I'll film. There's stairs down, so it looks like there's this itty-bitty door.

Speaker 1

Okay, if your YouTube channel had a theme song, what would it be? I don't know what would it be? No answer. Okay, last question and be careful with this one. Be careful with your answer for this one. Who was your favorite guess that you had on your channel?

Speaker 2

I can say her name. Well, she doesn't care.

Speaker 1

Her, you mean him.

Speaker 2

Okay, not you. So I have posted with my best friend who I've tagged her in some of my videos. It's called the Girly Pop Channel, but her username is Ava Madeer, like one, two, three or something, okay.

Speaker 1

And so I just want to thank you for sharing your journey. Thanks for coming into the studio today. It's summertime, so we got you in here, otherwise you'd be in school. Uh, finally, again, let everyone know how to find you on youtube.

Speaker 2

And some final comments so, um, you go on youtube. I just changed my username to totally underscore tori, but that might take maybe a little bit to update.

Speaker 1

So if you type in tori or livi, t-o-r-y-o-r-l-i-v-i-e, then it still might pop up so, whether you're just starting out or chasing your next milestone, remember every click, every comment, every connection counts. Until next time, tune in to Nerds on Tap, keep creating. Ladies and gentlemen, have a great one.

Speaker 3

Cheers. My fellow nerds and beer lovers. Stay tuned for more Nerds on Tap. Oh, and one more thing Help us spread the nerdy love and the love for grape brews by sharing this podcast with your friends, colleagues and fellow beer enthusiasts. Let's build a community that embraces curiosity, innovation and the enjoyment of a cold one.

Head Shot

Tim Shoop

Host
Contributor

Tory Shoop

Guest