Lucy Bella Simkins, YouTube creator, English teacher, and CEO, shares the challenges and strategies of building a language learning YouTube channel with 10,000,000 subscribers and a thriving 7-figure+ business. She discusses nurturing the audience, growing a course business, the turning point, and the challenges of managing a team.
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Quick takeaways
Lucy Bella Simkins built a YouTube channel with 10,000,000 subscribers, generating seven figures in annual revenue through engaging content and strong audience connection.
Lucy Bella Simkins transitioned her YouTube channel into an online course business, emphasizing the importance of comprehensive courses, quality control, and nurturing student relationships through email marketing.
Deep dives
Lucy Belisimpkins' Success with English with Lucy YouTube Channel
Lucy Belisimpkins celebrates reaching 10 million subscribers on her YouTube channel, English with Lucy. The channel focuses on helping students improve their English skills and has generated over seven figures in annual revenue. Lucy emphasizes the importance of finding a reliable source of new customers and discusses how YouTube has been instrumental in expanding her reach. Through creating engaging content, she has developed a strong connection with her audience and prioritizes building a relationship with her students through email marketing. Lucy also shares her journey from starting as a passion project to building a successful business with a team of 15 members.
Building a Successful Online Course Business
Lucy Belisimpkins shares her experience of transitioning her YouTube channel into an online course business. Recognizing the need for a more reliable revenue stream, Lucy made the decision to create comprehensive English courses. Collaborating with a curriculum designer and a team of teachers, she developed 12-week courses that include engaging videos, activities, and stories. Additionally, Lucy highlights the importance of quality control and the involvement of proofreaders and editors to ensure content accuracy. She also emphasizes the significance of nurturing relationships with course students through email marketing and providing opportunities for them to take the next step in their language learning journey.
Partnerships Between Creators and Operators
Lucy Belisimpkins discusses the potential for partnerships between content creators and operators. She acknowledges that many operators struggle with customer acquisition while creators may not have the desire or skills to run a business. Lucy highlights the idea of equity partnerships where creators invest in companies related to their niche, promoting those businesses as part of their content. She also suggests that operators explore collaborations with creators to leverage their expertise in content creation and marketing. By combining their strengths, creators and operators can mutually benefit from reaching new audiences and expanding their businesses.
Embracing the Role of a CEO and Learning from Mistakes
Lucy Belisimpkins reflects on her journey from being the sole creator of her YouTube channel to becoming a CEO and building a team. Initially unsure about her ability to manage a company, Lucy discovered that she thrived in the role, particularly when working in partnership with her husband, Will. They leveraged each other's strengths and opted to focus on tasks they enjoyed and excelled at. Lucy advises trusting instincts, sharing information with fellow creators, and being open to learning from mistakes. She emphasizes the importance of maintaining content quality, committing to one's vision, and continually nurturing relationships with the audience.
YouTube creator, English teacher, and CEO Lucy Bella Simkins joins Dan on the pod to share some of the behind-the-scenes challenges, strategies, and reflections on turning a passion project into one of the world’s largest language learning YouTube channels and a thriving 7-figure+ business. She also shares the challenges and pitfalls of building an operation of 15 team members capable of turning viewers into customers.
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:06:32) Nurturing your audience
(00:08:02) Growing a course business
(00:16:06) The turning point
(00:22:44) Maker vs manager
(00:43:07) The spreadsheet experiment
Past guests on TMBA include Cal Newport, David Heinemeier Hannson, Seth Godin, Ricardo Semler, Noah Kagan, Rob Walling, Jay Clouse, Einar Vollset, Sam Dogan, Gino Wickam, James Clear, Jodie Cook, Mark Webster, Steph Smith, Taylor Pearson, Tommy Griffith, Justin Tan, Matt Gartland, Travis Jamison, Ayman Al-Abdullah, Tynan, Lucy Bella Simkins