Interview with a Young Content Creator

Latayvia Ransom is a young content creator, specifically on the YouTube platform, who goes by the name "prettytayta". I had the privilege of speaking with Ms. Ransom, and in this interview, she discusses her channel, her content, and how she became a monetized YouTuber at just 17 years old!

JM : How are you doing today, Ms. Ransom?

LR : Hi!! I am doing great how about you?

JM : Great now that I have you here! Thank you for asking 😊. I guess the first thing I want to ask is for you to describe your channel & content to those who may have never watched it before.

LR : Okay that's good!!! And okay!! My channel name is prettytayta!!! I love my channel actually!! I do a lot of great funny and helpful videos for people!! I actually enjoy doing it because I like influencing & also helping other content creators out as well!!! I do a lot of tutorials and also give lots of advice that is really helpful to others!! I give advice for upcoming small youtubers to help them grow their channel!!

JM : Yes, I love the variety of content you have on your channel! & I love the fact that your content can't be put into one category. Now, I understand that your channel is fairly new, what made you start YouTube? Is it something you've always wanted to do?

LR : Thank you!! I actually started YouTube because when I was younger, I always edited videos and enjoyed doing "Stop Motions", which is when you are recording and editing videos, but it's much harder! I became better at it and as I got older, I discovered YouTube! I get as if it was the best thing for me to do being that I'm always in the house!! I'm basically a home body, so I realized that I have so much talent in editing that I might as well start a YouTube channel!! When I found out that people make good money on it, it encouraged me even more to do it!!

JM : I admire that you have a passion for what you do. Speaking of the monetary aspect, can you talk a little bit about your journey to monetization? I know it wasn't super easy & your channel has been up since way before quarantine, but you just got monetized more recently.

LR : Yes!! Okay so getting monetized on YouTube is very hard actually!! YouTube only allows you to get up to 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in additionally all in one year!!! That was pretty tough on me and I'm not going to lie it was pretty hard but I got myself through it and I'm proud. At first I was nervous because I did start my channel when school started, which caused me to slack on my YouTube channel because I didn't really want to be noticed by anyone that goes to my school, because of how nervous I was. I got to the point to where I really needed to get monetized because I really wanted to reach that point. I started putting more and more time into my YouTube channel and helping others and I noticed an extreme change in my channel. My subscribers actually met the requirement for monetization before the watch hours did! The watch hours is of course the hardest because you have to do everything you can to get people to stay on your channel without clicking off of your video. As long as they stay for a while, that's still good! I got better and better at my channel and I actually got monetized like four to five months before the deadline, which was pretty challenging, and I was pretty shocked but I did it!!

JM : Can I just say that I am also very proud of you? Like ever since you started publicizing your channel, I've admired it because you would make videos so consistently & I could tell that you really wanted it. You have an amazing work ethic & it really shows.

Obviously your consistency & work ethic have helped you greatly in reaching your goals for your channel. Is there anything else you would say has been helpful in getting you to the point you are at now with your channel?

LR : Thank you so much!! Also yes!! I would say that putting out helpful content for others is most definitely something that will help content creators get noticed more. At a time like this as well because of COVID!! We have all the time in the day to come up with very good content for the world to see. Being consistent is also the key to being noticed as well, because people see that you're putting your hard time and work into your channel that they would love to be there for your growth. If you're just slacking on your channel and asking others to support you, it would most likely not happen, especially if they see that you're not being consistent and taking your time with it!!

JM : Yes definitely. If you're always putting out content on YouTube, odds are somebody's gonna notice you!! How many big YouTubers do you know post every other month?

LR : Right!!! And I actually stopped watching big YouTubers because I feel like they don't put their hard work into their channels, I feel like everyone does it for one thing which is the money. Which, I don't blame them, but it's always an audience watching and I just feel like YouTube should be a fun thing, it's like YouTube is all about drama now. Now, when I used to watch other big YouTubers, I noticed a lot that I then forgot about because of the lack of content on their channel. A lot of big YouTubers I know that do slack or just upload at least once or twice a month like for example, Dearra & Ken, Jazz & Tae, Tay & Jass, and other big YouTubers!! I guess they feel like they big YouTubers that they don't have to work hard anymore because they know that with the fan base & big audience they have, they would watch anything at any time, no matter how long it took them to upload.

JM : Now, I know I've already asked you this before, but I know readers are curious as well. Do you see your channel or your content creation as a for now thing or something you want to continue going forward into college & adulthood?

LR : I do see my channel like something that I want to continue after high school, because I'm making enough money and I so have many talents that I feel like I shouldn't have to go to college for, so I might not go to college, but I do want to continue my YouTube channel for a while actually!!!

JM : I'm actually very glad you said that because it seems as if YouTube is giving you a good source of income, especially as young as you are, & I wouldn't want you to stop anytime soon! Is there anything in particular that keeps you motivated as a small YouTuber? Besides the monetization?

LR : Thank you :)) !! And yes!! It's actually a lot of things that motivate me and keep me going with my YouTube channel besides monetization!!! I would have to say when I get messages from people saying how helpful, honest, well going, and all types of positive things from supporters!!! It just motivates me to keep going because sometimes I be needing that!! I feel like I don't be doing too good on certain type of videos that I drop, but I have to always remember that someone is wishing they were doing as good as me. Like sometimes it will take a couple of weeks for one of my videos to reach a certain milestone of views or even for my channel to reach a certain percentage for being recommended to others!! It just makes me feel confident and want to keep going because someone is always watching me. Everyday I get a positive message from someone, even hate, but it just means that I'm doing something really good for myself and others as well.

JM : That is a very heartwarming message. How do you define success?

LR : Thanks!! If I had to define success, I would say that success is having a plan and being good at it. Starting off with baby steps is important because you don't want to make big jumps into something you're trying to accomplish, because what if you don't succeed in it? Even if you don't succeed, you shouldn't give up. That is success, even when things are not going your way and you're still getting up and trying again, that just means you're strong and you're really trying to accomplish your goal. Just because you didn't achieve it on time doesn't mean you're not successful, as long as you're fighting until you get what you want. When you're about to give up but you have to keep reminding yourself, "what made me want to do this", it just makes you want to hustle even more. What I mean by that is, not rushing your goals. Take your time and let things move itself in. Don't force it. I feel like if you follow the right path you will be successful. Everyone doesn't have to do the same thing and follow the same path to be successful. Having your own mindset and being positive is also the key to having success.

JM : Wow, that is an amazing take on success. What advice would you give to any upcoming young content creator or people who want to get started but aren't sure where to start?

LR : The advice I would give to young content creators or people planning on starting is to most definitely plan it out first. The first mistake I made when I started my YouTube channel was not having a plan. I just went right in. Now, I did have my channel set up and all of that but I didn't have any content ideas. When starting a YouTube channel you need to most definitely get creative with it. Don't be boring, don't be quiet, don't be shy. Show confidence and show that you want this YouTube channel. Have a bright smile and speak up when talking. Always be in a quiet area or be in an area where your audience can most definitely hear you!! You want people to like you, not just ignore you like you don't exist. Once you start your channel, don't stop. Once you upload your first video, be ready to upload even more and better videos. I see that mistake in a lot of people starting their channels. They self promote their channels all over social media and get people to subscribe to them just for them to stop putting their time and effort into their channels. That doesn't make sense to me in my opinion, like don't waste nobody's time. I feel like that's another reason why it's so hard for us young creators to get up there because of the people who waste others' time by self-promoting their channels when they're not even going to be posting. Just to be consistent and to keep going!!

JM : Ms. Ransom, thank you so much for your time today, you have been an amazing guest & I was honored to gain insight from a young content creator like yourself!! I love your videos and I can't wait to see what other type of content you produce!!

LR : Thank you so much, I actually enjoyed this as well :) ! Thank you for having me!! 🥰🥰❤️

Links & Socials

YouTube : PRETTYTAYTA

SnapChat : im_p0pping

Twitter : PRETTYTAYTA

Instagram : prettytayta

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