Calligraphy Biz Corner

32. Creating Video Content that Connects and Converts: Reels, YouTube, and Showing Up with Confidence (with Shine With Natasha)

• Alane Gianetti, Shaochen Wu • Season 1 • Episode 32

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Ever freeze up when you think about recording a Reel? Or feel like you “should” be on video but don’t even know where to start? You are so not alone — and this episode is here to help.

We brought on the incredible Natasha from Shine with Natasha, a video marketing strategist who makes content creation feel approachable, sustainable, and actually effective for creative entrepreneurs. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned calligrapher looking to level up your visibility, this one’s packed with strategy, mindset shifts, and simple systems to get you out of your head and into action.

If you’ve been thinking about starting a YouTube channel, creating better Reels, or finally showing your face on camera without the imposter spiral, don't miss our episode with Natasha!

🎧 Tune in to hear:

  • Why video matters more than ever for calligraphers, stationers, and creatives
  • The mindset shift that’ll help you actually show up on camera (even if you’re terrified)
  • How to get “reps” in with short-form video and build a sustainable content habit
  • What’s working right now on Instagram Reels and TikTok (and what to skip)
  • Why a signature video series might be your secret weapon
  • How to plan, film, and actually finish your content without getting overwhelmed
  • The truth about going viral vs. going consistent
  • Why YouTube is a massive untapped opportunity for creatives (yes, even you!)

Plus, Natasha shares her favorite tools, gear recs, and permission to start messy. You’ll walk away ready to take that next step — whether it’s filming your first story or launching your YouTube channel.

🔗 Links to resources mentioned in this episode:

Text us a question to answer on a future episode!

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alane_2_05-06-2025_154522:

Hello and welcome to Calligraphy Biz Corner. I'm Elaine.

shaochen_2_05-06-2025_134522:

And I'm Cha Chen and we have a super exciting episode and a guest for you today.

alane_2_05-06-2025_154522:

So picture this, you've just finished lettering, a gorgeous stack of envelopes, or you've just packaged up all of this beautiful signage for a wedding, and you know that it would make such an amazing reel. But instead of pulling out your iPhone and hitting record, you just freeze. You think, do I look okay? What do I even say? Is this worth posting? And the truth is that we have all been there.

shaochen_2_05-06-2025_134522:

Yeah, so that's why we really wanted to bring Natasha on for our listeners, but also for ourselves. And she is here to shake us out of that imposter syndrome and that spiral of self-doubt. We are talking with Natasha of Shine, with Natasha. She's a content strategist and video marketing queen who helps entrepreneurs show up on camera with clarity and confidence. So if you've been feeling stuck when it comes to recording your Instagram reels or TikTok short form video or feeling overwhelmed because you wanna start that YouTube channel. Maybe you're just nervous to even show your face at all, then this is definitely the episode for you. So I first found Natasha through another podcast that I love and listened to, called On Your Terms with Sam Vander Wheelin. And then I got to meet her in person at a business retreat last fall. And it was definitely like. little bit of a celebrity moment for me because at that point I've been following her for a while. And then Elaine and I actually both met her in April when we went to the Creative Educator Conference and Natasha was a speaker there and she delivered a jam packed session all about video content strategy. And so we definitely knew we had to have her on our show.

alane_2_05-06-2025_154522:

Yeah, she dropped so many gems during that session at the Creative Educator Conference, so we knew that having her on the podcast, we'd be able to go even deeper into the advice and strategies that. She shared, but also be able to give it to us in the lens of Calligraphers Stationers live event artists and creative business owners specifically who just might feel a little intimidated when it does come to video. So in today's episode, we are talking about why video matters, especially for creatives like us, some mindset shifts that can really make getting on camera way less scary, and just some practical, doable content ideas that actually connect with your audience and convert. Natasha also shared some behind the scenes stories about what's flopped, what's gone viral, and why YouTube might actually be a bigger opportunity for calligraphers than you might be thinking. So I just really loved how approachable and relatable this conversation was and how Natasha really like meets you where you are in your video journey, whether it's. You know, step one or you've dabbled in it. But like I said, she just had some really tactical tips as well as mindset shifts for getting started. But a couple of the things that stuck with me the most was number one, this idea of just like releasing expectations around the content that you're creating. Like I've definitely spent far too much time on a reel and have been like, oh, this is gonna be my best reel ever. And then it gets like two views and that's really. Discouraging when that happens, but it's like if you just release that idea of like, oh, this is gonna make it, and it's just like, I'm gonna learn something from this instead. I feel like that just shifts your whole mindset when it comes to creating that content. I also really liked her idea of just creating content for one person. Again, I think in today's day and age and with the way Instagram and TikTok is, and like people striving to go viral, like we want to create content that's gonna reach millions of people, but. The reality is we just needed to reach one person in order for it to have a positive impact. And so that's definitely something that I'm gonna bring into my content going forward. And then just this whole idea of learning through doing, which, like, we're recording this in May, but I just posted something on my Instagram, yesterday about it. So you'll have to scroll back if you wanna read it. But just this idea of like being okay with. Being in the messy middle and showing up and doing things imperfectly because you're actually going to learn way more by just. Getting out of your own way and doing it even if you're not ready or you don't think it's perfect, or whatever the case may be. And I think, you know, being okay with being a beginner again, because a lot of us are new to video, so just being okay that like, it's gonna be my day one and it's gonna look a lot different than her day 1000. But I, if I stick with it and I create a habit out of it, and I keep, you know, seeing what works and what doesn't, I can be at her day, 1001 day too.

shaochen_2_05-06-2025_134522:

Yeah, I mean, similar to what you were saying, like I love how she talks about getting reps in. She mentions that a couple times throughout this episode, and it's really this idea that like. It is okay if that one piece of content flops, she talks about how she's had lots of content flop. It's not necessarily about just one piece of content. It's your whole body of content that you're creating, right? Don't put so much focus on just necessarily that one piece. Like think about the learning process that Elaine's talking about. Again, just like getting those reps and you'll get better and better over time. She also talks about like AB testing, in the context of like YouTube covers or just like experimenting and trying different things to see what resonates. And, I always like to say be the scientist in your business. And I think a lot of Natasha's approach also really embodies that. Again, just. The whole like get started and see where it goes. You're gonna learn by doing. One tactical takeaway for me from this conversation is that I'm gonna start putting like a weekly block on my calendar to work on content so that it becomes like more of a priority for me in the sense that I already have time set aside for it every week. I think if I. Go into my week without it already being there. It's easy for me to kind of put it to the bottom of my list. But also I wanna get more specific about how I'm gonna spend that block of time. So if I'm blocking like an hour, Natasha gives some examples of like, content creation actually involves lots of different types of pieces. It involves strategizing, brainstorming ideas. Recording videos, writing captions. So it's really helpful to actually think about like what you're actually going to do at that time and set realistic expectations because you might not be able to do all of those things soup to nuts for multiple pieces of content. But you could probably spend that one hour just strategizing what you're gonna do for the rest of the month, for example, and I think that's gonna be much more doable.

alane_2_05-06-2025_154522:

So Natasha is the host of the Shine Online Podcast and a video marketing coach that's been featured by Meta later Business Insider and Instagram creators, and through her educational content. Programs and video content agency, Natasha helps entrepreneurs and creatives build an original video content strategy that grows their business community and impact. So without further ado, let's jump into our conversation with Natasha Tasha.

shaochen_1_05-06-2025_123955:

Natasha, welcome. We are so excited to have you here on the show. Before we jump in, can you do a little introduction for our listeners to who you are in your business?

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Yes, absolutely. So, my name's Natasha Shine with Natasha is my brand online. And really my goal is to. To help make video content accessible for businesses so they can really leverage the power of it. And really I lean into original content that helps really drive results, can be low lift and really sustainable for business owners versus feeling like you have to chase the latest trends or anything like that. So that's kind of what I like to do in my content and educational resources. And then I also have a video content agency. So we do done for you video content for our clients.

shaochen_1_05-06-2025_123955:

so we were at Creative Educator Retreat together and you had like a talk that you gave and you've been doing video for a while. You shared a little bit about how you like got into the space and like the first videos you created. Would you mind just sharing a little bit with our audience about like how you found your way into video?

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Yeah, definitely. So I ended up starting my business in my college apartment almost seven, eight years ago. And I was essentially just inspired by wanting to help businesses tell their stories. And I found that so many businesses struggled with social media. And so as I was. Studying communications in college and kind of thinking about what I wanted to do when I graduated, I essentially started my own business and started taking clients from freelance websites and was doing social media management. Eventually created courses, and what I've kind of found in the beginning parts of my journey is that I gravitated. So much towards video, even though initially I was even struggling to show up on it, I felt like I had to look a certain way, sound a certain way. It felt very, very intimidating and brought up like a lot of feelings of perfectionism and imposter syndrome. A lot of things I'm sure people listening can relate to. But the more and more I started showing up on stories and then IGTV when IGTV was a thing, and then reels and YouTube and I started just including more video, I realized how powerful it was for. Really telling a story for connecting deeper with people, for being an authority in your industry. And so many other benefits. And it was also just the part of social media so many people struggled with. So I kind of found it as like my, my lane of not only what I like to create, but really what I wanted to end up helping other people do as well.

alane_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Yeah. I love that so much. And I love that you got started in your college apartment and then it just kind of like snowballed from there as you were kind of following, like what lights you up And the more, like you said, you got out of your comfort zone and kind of became more and more comfortable with doing video. You know, nobody is surprised when we say that video has pretty much taken over as a form of content, right? It's like Instagram switched from photos to prioritizing things like reels. YouTube has blown up in the past, you know, probably five to 10 years. And I think that all of these are very clear signs That video is just not slowing down as a form of. Content at this point. So I would love for us to kick off this conversation just by hearing a little bit about why you think video is so important specifically for calligraphers and small business owners in, you know, some of the ways that you just shared of like telling your story really positioning yourself as an authority figure in your space, et cetera.

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Yeah, definitely. I think when I think of video compared to other types of content like email marketing or carousels or caption writing, or even podcasting, what I love about video is it really incorporates all the elements. you're really able to connect deeper and consume even in a more dynamic way than other types of content because you're including text, you're including audio, you're including the visuals, you're including all of those elements together. So if you're showing your process on how you like to do your calligraphy or how you work with your clients or different, like what it's like on an event day or whatever it is, seeing that. Unfold in video footage and hearing a voiceover or hearing the audio of it, like maybe even the as MR of like the, the pen on paper, right? Versus just seeing that as a photo. It's a totally different experience that people are able to have with your brand. And even when it just comes to connecting with your ideal clients, when people see you talking, they hear your personality, they hear your story through video, they're going to be. Such more of a warmer lead than someone that is just reading your words. Right? And while I create and love all the types of content, I really think that video has that like extra layer that really I think any business should be using in their marketing in addition to almost anywhere you're creating video is probably going to be pushing and prioritizing that in the algorithm.

alane_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Yeah, it kind of like touches into all of your senses, right? Like, I guess this, your sense of smell is the only one that it's not necessarily

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Yeah.

alane_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Which I wouldn't be surprised if somehow somebody figures out how to do that too someday. But and I like that it also kind of dials into like a different. Ways that people learn, connect with or absorb content, right? Like I'm a very visual person, so I really like reading. I like to see things. Some people are more auditory, but when you do have video content and if you're doing a voiceover or you're talking directly to the camera, you're also hitting that audio piece as well. So I kind of feel like it just as a nice job of like encompassing anybody's preference for learning, consuming, absorbing, et cetera.

shaochen_1_05-06-2025_123955:

I think especially as like small business owners where we are such a big part of our brand and our like business and company versus like being a big corporation, right? You always hear people wanna learn or buy from people who they know, like, and trust. And like what you're saying, the video really helps to build that. But I think that, going back to what you were saying originally with that fear of showing your face, the imposter syndrome, feeling like you have to be ready for a camera. I think that does hold so many of us back from showing our face in a video or on stories, any kind of video format. I know that, that is something that I think about too before I show up. Do you have like a mindset shift or like a reframe? How do you help people move past this hesitation of being on video?

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Definitely. I think when you realize that it's so much more about the people that are consuming your content and going to get value from your content or like the client that is like looking for you, it kind of takes all the worries you have about. Self away because it kind of shows like, oh, well if I don't push past this fear or these thoughts that I have, then one person could be missing out on all the value that I have to share. So I feel like that is really helpful because I think we often look like we want thousands of views and thousands of likes and thousands of followers and all these really big numbers. Versus thinking like, what is the one person that needs that video? And is it worth me overcoming some of those struggles and fears to really connect with that person? And I think it also makes it a lot less intimidating. I also think kind of what helped me, and I think what is so supportive for so many of my clients is just picking one place to start. I think there's so many platforms, there's so many types of content. There's the. Post a million videos a day kind of strategies. But when you kind of try to shoot for the farthest fence possible, you're always gonna set yourself up for failure and for things to just feel really hard. So I like to say pick the platform you already like a lot and are consuming on. Pick an idea or a format or a cadence that. Feels really accessible for you and just start getting in your reps and really building the muscle of creating video content because it's not that anyone else is so much better at creating videos than you. It's just that I've created thousands of videos. So now the person that created the first video, that was absolutely scared and shaking and not really great at it, I've now gotten so many reps in that it's not that it's. Fully effortless and I don't have to think about it and I don't have thoughts that come up, but it means that I've like put in the work where it just becomes a lot easier and you just don't think about it as much. So I think those would be kind of my two things I'd recommend is really think about who you're creating for and that bigger picture goal with your marketing strategy, and then really get connected to that. Think of that person. Create what that person in mind. But also just think of one small way you can start to get in your reps with video. Don't feel like you need to be on every platform. Do really fancy edits, do all these crazy things, just start getting in the reps. And I promise you like practice unfortunately is one of the best place to get better at something.

shaochen_1_05-06-2025_123955:

I think those two tips resonate so much like the first one about connecting with your audience you really don't know who's like out there listening, watching your content. Especially if you're not getting like a message from them or something. Right. But there's so many calligraphers that I end up connecting with who it might be my first conversation with them. They've been listening to our podcast for a year and they're like, oh, we love your tips. We love your podcast. And in their mind, they already kind of know me, even though I'm just starting to go know them. That's like such a really great reminder for us to kind of share our talents and share our knowledge.

alane_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Yeah. I also like the idea of just like picking one, because I feel like we can get so overwhelmed with all of these different platforms and ways to show up and you know, if you're like, oh, Instagram isn't working for me, maybe I'll just go try TikTok or YouTube or whatever the case may be, and it's like, no, why don't you get really good at one thing first, and then you can start to kind of like branch out and test these other ones too. So when it comes to video content, I feel like Instagram reels or TikTok are usually the most accessible channels for people to be able to share that content. I feel like for some reason YouTube, which just always feels like it's a bigger barrier to entry, which we'll touch on YouTube in this conversation, but most people already have an Instagram account and or a TikTok account. Even with those two though, like I feel like creating reels or tiktoks can still feel intimidating or I know for me. Two, they feel time consuming sometimes with just like the editing process or trying to find the trending audio or what do I even put as like text over the video or whatever the case may be. So we would love to break down a couple different things. So first, do you have any specific ideas for types of reels that like are actually converting or building connection right now for people?

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Yeah, definitely. I feel like if anyone's in my community, they've probably heard me as like a broken record that I feel like video series are one of the best things people can be creating in 2025. And essentially what a video series is like you're creating your own Netflix. Show, but for your reels or your

alane_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Okay.

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

And I think what's really great is it kind of touches on a lot of the things that we've already mentioned, you're getting in your reps.'cause you're not just creating one video, you're creating multiple, like you're already dedicating yourself into it. You're automatically getting that consistency element because chances are you're posting your series weekly or monthly or whatever cadence kind of works for you. But what I also found to be really helpful is whether you struggle with having. Only one really great idea and you struggle with generating a lot of ideas. Or if you're on the other side of the spectrum, which is definitely me, of like, I have so many ideas, how do I pick which one to do? You're able to use a series to go deeper with your content versus having to share a million things in just one video. You're able to dedicate each episode in your series to one very specific thing. And so this can be as simple as maybe every week you like. Put up your phone and you share like a project that you're working on. That could be a weekly series of like the project of the week that you're working on. Maybe it's like a new style you tried, maybe it's a certain type of event you did. So it can be like documenting, kind of building in public, like having that behind the scenes. It also can be sharing just like your process for things, your framework for approaching things like how you like to plan and. Prep and, and create things right. So you can kind of take any topic and whether it's more of the behind the scenes connecting with your audience, or if it's more specific to how you work as like the expert, as the service provider. You can take that big idea and really break it up into multiple. Multiple episodes so you're not always reinventing the wheel and because it's great for binge ability, it's great for new people to your audience, but also people that are already in your audience. So I'd say a series is definitely something that I, I find to be working really well on both of those platforms.

alane_1_05-06-2025_143955:

I love the idea of the series because it also gives you more focus. Like if you pick like one of these ideas, even if it is like I'm gonna start to take you behind the scenes of a, the. You know my favorite project each week that I'm working on, you're not chasing like a reels trend or you know, trying to hop on like whatever it is that's happening in like the reels or TikTok world right now. And I feel like it's gonna help you narrow your focus to then start to build that repetition. So then it will also feel easier for you to be like, oh, this really fun trend is happening now. I wanna go jump on that this week too, because like I kind of have an understanding of editing and audio and all of those kinds of things.

shaochen_1_05-06-2025_123955:

Yeah. I also think it helps you kind of be known maybe for a certain style, like I've seen creators

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Mm-hmm.

shaochen_1_05-06-2025_123955:

I'm trying to. Remember some good examples, but for some reason, the one example that's coming to me is this guy who like films his content with his like phone under his chin or something, and you're just like looking at him from this weird angle and he's just like having a monologue and that's just how he, his content goes. But like, I think as a viewer, you start to expect that and every time you see that pop up on your feed, you're like, oh, it's this person. Like they all of a sudden become familiar to you because they have that signature, that you're kind of talking about.

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Yeah, definitely. And I think that's something I always recommend with a series is like, don't just say like X, Y, and Z ways to do something. Like how can you make the edits, the visuals, like what you're naming the series, like how you're approaching it, like very signature and specific to your brand because anyone can create a great. Series, but how are you actually being known for something? How are you connecting with people and really essentially introducing them to your brand and why your content and your business is different than all the other options that people might have to choose from.

alane_1_05-06-2025_143955:

I kind of have like a nitty gritty question about series while we're talking about this. It's my own curiosity I guess, but. I love this idea, and especially as a way to like introduce new people to your brand, but also keep other people kind of following along on this journey of whatever it is that you're talking about. Do you recommend always introducing yourself like in every video of that series, or does it, do you do it like every once in a while? Like, I'm just starting to think like if you were really kind of trying to bring people into your world, like do you always wanna be like, hi, I'm Elaine, I'm a wedding calligrapher, and then like. To the or can you just kind of like start? Does that make sense?

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Yeah, totally makes sense. I think I always like to start with any series really identifying the goal of it, right? Because your goal can be to reach new people. It can be just to reengage with your current audience. It can be just to increase more conversions. Like maybe it's not about reaching as many people as possible, but you're like, I just wanna get a few clients from this, right? So once you're able to really dial in on like what your goal is for your series, that kind of can inform what you put into your episodes. So let's take the situation of you are trying to reach totally new people. You're wanting to grow your audience, you're wanting these videos to reach people that don't know who you are. It can be beneficial to introduce yourself, but I like to think of like every second of your video is. So precious, especially in the beginning of your, your videos. And so when it comes to retention, saying you're a wedding calligrapher, introducing yourself, where you're based, that type of thing, it doesn't feel like an essential piece of information. It can be an applied piece of information. So kind of a, a stronger hook could be like. I ran into this huge issue that happened when I was doing calligraphy for this wedding. So it's almost implying that you're a wedding calligrapher'cause you're doing calligraphy at a wedding. But it's like such a stronger hook of like what happened at the wedding. Like, oh my gosh, I want to know the story or I. Why you did this, or what was happening or what was special about this project you were working on? So I like to think of things of like every second, every part of your episode. How can it be absolutely essential to making it really interesting and engaging? An example that kind of is relevant to me is. I've been doing a lot of series about video series as I was talking about my workshop on it. Very, very meta. I know. And something that I would do is I would reference that my video content agency, this is a strategy we use for almost all of our clients. So I wasn't saying, hi, I'm Natasha, I own an agency and this is what you need to know about series. I was integrating it as like credibility on like why I know what I'm talking about. But like I said, it doesn't always have to be something that. Is important to add into your videos but it definitely can be to give context on what you're talking about.

alane_1_05-06-2025_143955:

I love that. That's really helpful. And I like that reframe of like, how can you take who you are, what you do, but turn it into something that's more engaging at the beginning, especially to save that precious space like you said.

shaochen_1_05-06-2025_123955:

So let's kind of stay on this topic of short form videos. Do you have some tips for how we can like build video content creation into our weekly workflow? I'm, I've heard

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Love this question.

shaochen_1_05-06-2025_123955:

Record yourself all the time, get lots of B-roll. I've seen people show me like a whole spreadsheet of their planning, like what's kind of a lightweight way to build some habits.

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Yes, I love this question. Systems is like my favorite thing to nerd out about. And so I actually recommend having two specific systems to help build the habit of video in their opposite, which is why I recommend doing them together. The first is that I think every business owner should have a weekly content day. This should be a dedicated period of time. It can be an hour, it can be an entire day, but it should be reoccurring. It should be on your calendar, just like a meeting, just like anything else. And you are not scrolling Instagram, you are not answering dms, you are not replying to emails, you are not working on client projects. You are specifically working on your content tasks because one of the reasons why people struggle to have time for their content is they're simply not making the time like they do for the meetings and the emails and the projects and all the things that we prioritize, and then leave video to the back burner, right? And so once. That's okay. That's okay. That's totally been me too, especially as I was building my agency. Like I was like, oh, why am I not creating as video content? I'm like, oh, I'm like not doing my weekly video content days. Right. So it's something that's so important because you're getting in that rep, you're doing it on a regular basis and everyone can do something totally different. I personally like to batch content on my content days. So some days I do planning, some days I. Film a few different videos. Some days I'm just doing the admin of like editing, writing captions, scheduling things, right? And some people that one day a week, they're just doing their content for that week. They don't like to plan. They don't like to really go far out and batch. So you can kind of customize how long it is and what you're focusing on, but really what's essential is that you're picking one to three very specific. Things to do during that allotted period of time that you can actually get done. So you can't set an hour for your content day and say, I'm gonna batch a month of reels. That means so many things. That means outlining, filming, like editing, caption writing. That means so many things versus being like, I'm filming three reels in this hour that I have. That's realistic. That's very specific, and you're not overwhelming yourself, so you're not actually getting things. Done. So I feel like that's a small thing that everyone can do and kind of to what we talked about earlier in this episode, you're getting in your reps on a weekly basis versus just doing video and your content once a month and then never thinking about it again. So it becomes way more of a habit and you're able to just stay on top of your content. And then the other habit that I think everyone should recommend is one that you kind of already hinted at is essentially create like. Content stacking in your day. So if anyone's into productivity, maybe you've heard of habit stacking, which essentially is like, you wanna create a habit, so just add it on top of something you're already doing. So essentially content stacking is like the content version of that. So the things that you're already doing in your day maybe you're meeting with clients. Can you film a behind the scenes angle of you talking and put that together for a talking video? Are you working on projects? Absolutely, like film yourself, mic yourself up, like get some unique angles. Get some b roll, get some demo videos, like get different things like that. Are you walking into your office for the day? Are you going to do an event? Are you making your coffee for the morning? The things that you're already doing? I don't think you need to create. And document and capture everything because it's really healthy to have boundaries. We have work to do, we have things to do. We can't always be like dragging around the tripod. Right? But if you pick a few things that feel really realistic of like every time I'm doing a client project, I'm at least gonna film these five angles. Or when I know I'm having a really great like call with a couple before a wedding, I wanna film some behind the scenes angles, because I think that would be really interesting talking footage. But essentially what you're doing is you're. Getting in that rep again. But you're also getting content for the times that you just aren't inspired and you don't have the ideas, you don't, aren't feeling like recording. You don't have the video footage. At least you have things to work with when you have your content day because then you can edit that video, then you can put text on it for a quick video, right? You're not always having to start from scratch when you're filming. But I know that sounds like a lot between those two things, but at least it's like an hour a week for your content day at least. And you have at least like one thing you can do with content stacking one part of your day. You can add a content task to, it'll make your video and, and content in general just take a lot less time and actually get done and not be neglected.

alane_1_05-06-2025_143955:

I love the, the tip of like just. Pulling your phone out, recording when you can. You had just said that in your presentation at Creative Educator and literally like that week I got home and I had to record some curriculum for my group coaching program. And I was like, Natasha, I'm gonna take out my phone and like, record myself doing that. And like I ended up getting a great little clip that I ended up using as a real leader that week. And I was like, this content was already done. I didn't have to like worry about it. I didn't have to stress about it. Like it was so nice to be able to take things that I was already doing.'cause sometimes creating content does feel like a heavy lift. And like you said, I don't know why it always falls to the bottom of the list. Especially because it is how like we show up, how we connect with people, how we create new leads, how we generate income. Like there it is such an important piece of running our business, but it is always the one that like it, it drops to the bottom of your to-do list. So I love prioritizing that time too and being realistic with what you can actually get done.'cause I'm definitely one that's like, like I, I love how you said like, maybe I'll film three reels in this hour. You didn't say edit the reels. You didn't say find trending audio. You didn't say write captions. You said film three reels. Like that's it. And then that can get done in another time or another week or whatever the case may be. So, I'm taking that too.

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Yay. Yeah, I love that. And I think to your point when it comes to like, why does it always fall to the back burner? Why is it always a thing that we don't do? And I think it's really understanding like. Creating content is a marketing task, which is a very essential thing all businesses have to do. So it's not that you're like, oh, I'm not a content creator. I don't want to create content. Like, no, this is like an essential thing all businesses have to do, and this time place and, and landscape that we're in, if, especially if you're online and on social media. So it's not like the fun thing that you can do or is kind of important to do, but just like taking care of your client's, essential marketing is just as essential. So I think that shift is really, really helpful.

alane_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Absolutely. So, switching gears a little bit, I had mentioned YouTube before and how that can tend to feel like a bigger leap just being a new platform, but I also think it comes with its own, I don't know if you wanna call it preconceived notions, like. I've had on my list for, I think the past two years now, start a YouTube channel. And do you think I've done anything towards that? No, because it just sounds really intimidating. But as calligraphers, you know, we are such a visual industry, so I. We do see it having big potential as a place for calligraphers to potentially grow their audience, their network, et cetera. So we'd love to hear your take on, do you feel like YouTube specifically can help calligraphers with growing not only their visibility, but also potentially their revenue?

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

I have been loving YouTube, but I mean, I've been on YouTube for the past few years, but this year's been the really big year that I've just been fully focusing on it, and I think it's totally different than any other social media platform, when you think about it, it really is that search engine, right? So the discoverability and the reach opportunities are so strong and to the point of a very visual industry and an industry where people might be searching for very specific things. Maybe it's inspiration, maybe it's like they're doing wedding planning and they're looking for specific vendors. I think it's really important to think about those things as. Where you can essentially be creating content on a platform like YouTube. I think long form it, it honestly takes the same amount of time and capacity. It just might be a new skillset in terms of creating longer content versus shorter content. And I know the editing can feel really intimidating. Editing a YouTube video is actually very similar to editing a reel. So I think it's really important to, if you're adding on a new platform, something we already have kind of talked about is like, I really think it's important to have a strong marketing foundation on your existing platforms. First, I want you to be consistent there. I want you to be seeing results. There. I want you to be in a good flow, having an existing community because it's gonna be making, adding on so much easier because you already have proof of concept, you already have a strategy. You already have some of the skills, you already have some of the things, versus if you're not consistent on Instagram or like you were on TikTok, but now you're like not sure if you'd be on TikTok and you think YouTube is going to be like the quick fix. I wouldn't recommend it unless. already done that work on your main platform. But to the point of like, where would I start when it comes to YouTube? I think if you aren't already a consumer on the platform, definitely get familiar with how YouTube just works and looks a little bit different, even if it's outside of the industry. I think that's where you can kind of start to. See, like inspiration in terms of thumbnails, titles, where you're discovering content, how people are consuming on content, how content actually looks and feels, because I think it's definitely a little bit different. And then kind of from there, just pick a starting point. If it's doing one weekly YouTube video, if it's maybe taking some of the core topics you've already done on your short form platforms and turning that into longer form content, but just picking somewhere to start knowing that. It's just like getting the reps in, right? The more and more you do YouTube when you actually launch it versus like waiting for the perfect moment to launch it, that's when you actually start to get the, the data, the skillset to make it better and continue. Because I started my YouTube channel maybe like 2021, and this year has been the year that it has grown the most and gotten me the most results in my business. So that's been like. Four years now. So I'm not saying it's that long of a game because it hasn't been my main platform, but I'm just saying from those years I've gotten better and better and better at it, which now it's really getting the results from all that hard work.

shaochen_1_05-06-2025_123955:

Yeah, like the idea of like building your other platforms with your video habits first, because I do think when you start moving from short form to long form content, there's a little bit more time commitment. You know, because like is gonna take a little bit longer, the actual recording's gonna be taking longer, right? Reels are like three minutes long max, whereas I don't know what the average YouTube video is, but I feel like, I don't know, do you know, 30 minutes maybe? Or sometimes more.

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Yeah, I mean, I found like. 10 to 15 minutes is my sweet spot. Some industries can go 30 minutes or more. But I think to your point, yes, there is more effort that goes into one video, but also you have to post a lot less frequently. So I think you can post every other week on YouTube, even monthly to start out maybe do some weeks spurts of doing weekly versus I think on a short form platform, you're maybe creating one minute videos, but you're also. Creating a more of a quantity. So it kind of equals out in a way, but I think it can just feel like so much more because you're doing a lot more work at once for one piece of content. But I've even seen some channels do really well with like micro episodes of five minutes long. So video length is definitely a, a spectrum when it comes to YouTube and things like that,

shaochen_1_05-06-2025_123955:

Yeah, and YouTube has shorts now too, so, which

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

right?

shaochen_1_05-06-2025_123955:

To the reels type of format.

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Yes.

shaochen_1_05-06-2025_123955:

When you were saying like familiarize yourself with the platform, even if it's not in the industry because I have a two and a half year old and I just watch Miss Rachel on YouTube all the time. of clocks. He is really into grandfather clocks chiming. And I'm like, these people are like making bank off of my toddler watching the same video over and over and over and over millions of times.

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

That's so funny.

alane_1_05-06-2025_143955:

You know, pro that I could also see too, switching into YouTube and long form content is that. In a way, I feel like that could kind of fuel some of your short form content, right? Because you could then get some clips to be posting on your reels or TikTok or whatever the, you know, main. Theme is, or topic that you're talking about in that YouTube video or sharing in that YouTube video, you could turn that into like smaller pieces of content on your Instagram or TikTok or whatever to drive traffic to your YouTube page. So it's kind of like you are doing more work potentially to get that one piece together, but then maybe it makes the rest of your content a little bit lighter because now you have something else that you're kind of feeding off of.

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Totally. Yeah, I mean, longer form it's a lot easier to make shorter versus the other way around. So, I think it's a great strategy to be able to repurpose your longer form content into video clips. But also just taking a longer outline a transcript, just a concept that you're spending a lot more time on can easily become even just text overlay for videos. Right. So I definitely think there's ways to spending a little more time upfront, but getting a lot more that you can actually work with when it comes to how you're turning that on your short form platforms.

shaochen_1_05-06-2025_123955:

Okay. So going back to what I was saying about my kid watching the same videos over and over again, let's talk about monetization on YouTube and how that happens.'cause I think we all have heard the stories of like people going full-time, YouTubers or whatever. So obviously there is a way to make money and potentially a lot of money from this platform. How do you monetize your YouTube channel, but also when we are going into this venture, can we be like expecting to monetize it? If I saw this correctly, you actually have started monetizing your channel, right? So

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Yes.

shaochen_1_05-06-2025_123955:

That.

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Yeah, I think this is something I honestly didn't know a ton about and was curious like how much, what does it look like? In terms of ways to monetize YouTube, there's a lot of ways outside of just making money from ads sets. And that is one channel, especially if you want to truly lean into being like a creator on YouTube. But it's really important to understand if you're a business owner first, making sales, getting clients, getting leads is also a way to monetize your channel. So it's important to think before my channel was. Properly monetized with AdSense. I was making sales from digital products, I was getting clients into my programs. I was, you know, getting all these other things that I think also see in ROI. So I think it's important to know that if you wanna approach it as a creator and play the AdSense monetization game is a little bit different than. want to grow my business and get clients and leads. They both can coexist, which they coexist for me now, but I think it's important to know that if you want to see an ROI and make money off YouTube, that you also can take that same strategic angle of like. What kind of videos are my clients searching for? So I get a client from YouTube, not just have someone watch an ad. So I think that's the first really important thing, because I think creating as a business and creating as a creator can be a little bit different on a platform like YouTube, but one of the, what I call is like a bonus. Is that, yeah, you can eventually get monetized. And I think because the lifespan of YouTube content is so much longer it means that you can kind of set yourself to get some even passive income long term. But I've been monetized since. February. And I've made over a thousand dollars so far, which I thought was pretty great. I'm like, I didn't really know what to expect, but that was pretty good. It definitely depends on industry, depends on how your videos are performing, all those types of things. But but yeah, so all that to say, I think. Monetization. I think of because I'm a business owner first, as like a really nice bonus of like, wow, this is helping with my time that I'm spending on my YouTube content, the editor that's helping me, right? This is like helping me with some of those extra costs and long-term could be a really great passive income stream, but when I approach every piece of video content, I'm thinking, how can I grow my email list? How can I get a client from my agency? How can I sell my workshop? How can I sell my courses and products? Because I find that gives so much more longevity than just the ad sense, if that makes sense.

shaochen_1_05-06-2025_123955:

monetization with AdSense, just so that our listeners understand, that's like when you hit a certain number of. What is it? Subscribers,

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Certain number of views, actually watch time. It's all based on watch time, whether it's for your main videos, or you can also achieve that with shorts.

shaochen_1_05-06-2025_123955:

Okay. Okay. So then after a certain amount of watch time, you can get paid for ads being shown on your video. Is that how it works?

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Yes, exactly.

shaochen_1_05-06-2025_123955:

so that's kind of what we mean when we're kind of separating out these two types of monetization. There's like promoting your business services and then there's the way to get paid from YouTube, right?

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

exactly.

alane_1_05-06-2025_143955:

so I think you've very beautifully outlined the prose of starting a YouTube channel or dipping our toes in it. So if somebody is listening to this right now and they're thinking. This is maybe something that I do wanna try. Do you have any tips or steps to just help them get started or out of that like overthinking analysis, paralysis mode into actually doing, and that's more like talk to me.

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Yeah, definitely. I think the first thing I would do is kind of figure out like what are some core topics you wanna start with for your YouTube videos and kind of start there. I think the next thing would kind of be your setup and workflows is, I think that can kind of vary from short form. I think have like a great camera.'cause camera quality definitely is important on YouTube, especially since a lot of people are watching on their tv. So just important thing to consider, honestly, you can achieve that with some of the newer iPhones. Like you can definitely achieve that with that. Have a great lab mic and that can be your setup. It can be very, very simple. I personally am loving the dj. I Osmo Pocket three, which is like the kind of viral, little small gimbal camera I think a lot of people have seen. And so that's. My camera of choice. I don't think you need anything really advanced, but definitely do need to have good quality. And then in terms of editing, I think that's definitely where things can be a little intimidating. I personally think Descrip is one of the best tools for editing down content. They have some great AI tools. It's really easy to edit down in the, the. The document form, so you're not having to trim and edit everything. And for all the most basic edits you need for a YouTube video, descrip is definitely the way to go. So I think kind of figure out your workflow there, kind of where you wanna plan out your content, like a content calendar or Google Docs or something like that. And then from there kind of figure out, like I said, kind of more about the platform. So I think things people don't realize. Matter really a lot on YouTube is thumbnails and titles are everything. Titles are definitely more of that searchability. You also have it in your description and in your content, but when it comes to thumbnails, that is like people's first impression of your content, and people are seeing it on the side, they're seeing it on their home screen, they're seeing it in their subscription box, they're seeing it everywhere. And so ideally you wanna make sure you're optimizing it of like, what is that, that. Text that you wanna add, that's like the most important thing. How can you have really strong visuals? How can you see kind of what thumbnails are catching your eye or what are doing well in other industries? I know what's really great about YouTube is there's so much data there and you can actually test thumbnails ab testing thumbnails when you're actually uploading them and adding a few. And then YouTube will pick the one that ends up performing the best. So, I would definitely play around kind of research and play around and, and. Experiment with those types of things. And I think those would be the three areas I would focus on is, is really like, what are your starter ideas? Even putting them into YouTube as a search of like what type of calligraphy should I have for my wedding? Right? So think about what type of things people might be looking for. And then the other thing would be kind of get your setup. Keep it simple. No, you can always grow it from there. I didn't get my first camera like. For, for anything like YouTube, like years into my journey. So you don't need anything really fancy and then start to get the familiar with the platform things that make it specific. So thumbnails, titles, things like that.

alane_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Those are really helpful tactical tips. I also just feel like the theme of this conversation is like, be okay being a beginner again when it comes to video content. Like especially if it is something that you've never done, like be okay. With, you know, your day one, not looking like day a thousand for the creators that you're following on Instagram or on YouTube or on TikTok because you will continue to grow and get better the more and more you do it and you test things out and you figure what does and doesn't work. So that's kind of like what I just keep coming back to and I appreciate you like guiding us kind of from that very day one all the way through to, you know, where you are now.

shaochen_1_05-06-2025_123955:

Yeah, it's like anything else we talk about. It's just like the most important thing is just start. You don't have to have the best mic or the best camera, or even the best thumbnails right now. You know?

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Mm-hmm.

shaochen_1_05-06-2025_123955:

Try it all out. Sounds like you have some specific gear that you recommend. If you wanna shoot those links over to us, we can be sure to put that in the show notes too.

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Yeah, definitely. And I have some YouTube videos very meta on series, on content days, also on my YouTube strategy. So if you want to kind of dive into a few of those topics a little bit deeper, we can link like three of those options for y'all.

shaochen_1_05-06-2025_123955:

So let's kind of bring it back from the short form content, the long form content let's kind of bring it back big picture. Can we talk about like as a video expert, what's one mistake that you see business owners making with video that's costing them something that could be engagement or sales or reputation or something else? Like is there something that we should avoid doing?

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Yeah, I actually um, Wistia a just put out a state of video report. They do it every year where they kind of analyze a lot of content and what they were kind of seeing is that engagement metrics are generally low, but the things that really matter is that people don't have shorter attention spans, but they have higher expectations for the content they're consuming. So really what I, I think a lot of people get wrong is to the thing we were talking about with series of like, do I introduce myself? Do I talk about this? Like, do I add all these things? I think the structure of your video and like how you start it, how you share your main points, like how you end off your video, like how you incorporate edits, like how you put together the structure of your video matters. So much because if you don't deliver on the value, the the goal, the objective of the content in those first few seconds, people have so many other things to consume. And I think that's the biggest mistake I see is I see pauses at the beginning. I see people rambling or introducing themselves or talking about things that people just don't care about and they're not really talking about like the most important things. And even for myself and my clients we often will like have a first draft of content and whenever I'm looking at my own content, I'm like, I don't think this line was necessary. I will call my own content because oftentimes it's okay, like get the idea out there, film what you're wanting, like create the content, but look it back over and be like, does this. This second, does this element, does this thing I said add to the video or does it distract from the best parts of the video? And I think if people are a little more discerning with the things that they're creating, they'll be able to essentially see better results with the content that they're creating as well.

alane_1_05-06-2025_143955:

I like the idea of looking at it, of like, does this add value or is this, you know, distracting from the overall value and kind of using that as your gauge. So we would love to know, have you ever posted a video that either. Totally flopped or went unexpectedly viral for you. Is it just a total crapshoot or are there actually some lessons that we can learn about what does or doesn't resonate with people? If you're open to sharing.

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Totally. I have content that flops all the time. You become a better video creator when you take the pressure off every piece of content to perform well. I think of everything as a data point. I think of everything as this. If this connected with one person, if this got me one sale, it's a win. And so I think in the, in the day and age where everyone's going viral, I think we put this expectation that all of our content should be doing well, if not exceptionally well, when the reality is. Content flops all the time. And so I think it's really important to normalize it because it will make creating so much easier.'cause I don't think of, I posted this very specific video. It has to do everything for me. I think of it as like I'm adding this video to my portfolio of videos. It's not just the one video I'm creating, it's that I'm consistently creating videos. And even when we think of the YouTube conversation, my framing, my lighting, my edits, how I structured my YouTube videos years ago. Sucked. They were really bad. And now I've been able to improve because of that. So I think of it as more of ways that I can like get better. And in terms of viral, I've definitely had a few viral blips. Even when we're talking about YouTube my first vid video I posted of this year, I think like tripled my channel and like two months. Which is viral for me. I think it's important to understand. Viral, I think can mean two different things. It can be viral for you in terms of it being above average results. Engagement follows, whatever. Or it can be viral in terms of over a million, right? Like those really big numbers of, it's just reaching a lot of people and virality is a little bit of luck, right? And that's really where. The more and more you do something, the more coins you have in the luck pond that could lead to something really big. Right? So there's definitely an element of luck, but I think there also is an element of like, the more and more you do it, the better it gets. I did like. Like 50 U YouTube videos to lead to the viral video that did really well, right? So it was like luck, but it was also getting in my reps. So I definitely had both of those things happen. And I think virality can be great when it's reaching the right people. It also can be very detrimental when it's reaching people that aren't a good fit for you the wrong type of attention. even attention you're not necessarily ready for. I had my first viral moment for my business when I was in 2020, and my Instagram like doubled overnight. I was getting all these opportunities, I was getting all these seals, like my business revenue, like tripled that year and I wasn't ready for that growth. Right. And so I think it's important to know like there's, there's the good, bad and ugly on flop content, but also viral content.

shaochen_1_05-06-2025_123955:

That's such a good reminder to just be consistent, be consistent,

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Mm-hmm.

shaochen_1_05-06-2025_123955:

People talk about like, oh, you look like an overnight success, but they didn't see like all of the nights

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Mm-hmm.

shaochen_1_05-06-2025_123955:

It or all the hard work, like they just saw you when you became that overnight, quote unquote success. Right. Well Natasha, thank you so much for joining us for this conversation. It is so clear that you are absolutely an expert in this space, and I love all of the gems and tips that you shared with us today. How to make video really approachable to just remembering that everything is like building a habit, right? And nothing happens right away. I'm sure so many of our listeners would love to connect with you and learn more about you or work with you. Can you share a little bit about how they can find you? I.

natasha-pierre--she-her-_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Yeah, absolutely. Shine with Natasha on Instagram is definitely a great place. And then Shine with Natasha is also my YouTube channel. So a lot of the topics we talked about today, series, YouTube strategy I feel like that'll all kind of be like a really great place to start. Hopefully it was helpful and people left with like, at least one thing they can apply to their video strategy.

alane_1_05-06-2025_143955:

Amazing. Thank you so much. Yeah. I feel like my own head is. Spinning right now with like, Ooh, what can I take away from this conversation and start to implement over the next couple weeks? So I just can't thank you enough for sharing your time and all of your wisdom and knowledge around video with us and just making it feel so, like Chacha said before, approachable and less intimidating and overwhelming and like it's okay to just start.

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Alane Gianetti

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Shaochen Wu

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