We’re reaching out to some popular creators to get their best tips and tricks for success and better understand the ups and downs of life as a trailblazer on the internet.
This week, we spoke with Lizzy Capri, a YouTuber and content creator with over 12 million followers across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
On YouTube, Capri is known for her fast-paced, brightly colored, and highly produced viral comedy, challenge, prank, and vlogging videos. She also recently launched a YouTube channel for her dog, Milli, which has reached over 1 million subscribers. In addition, Capri regularly posts lifestyle and travel content across all her social pages.
Capri co-founded creator collective and content house Team Rar alongside long-time boyfriend and collaborator Carter Sharer. Team Rar regularly collaborates and works behind-the-scenes to help each other develop their businesses. The collective is currently made up of Capri, Sharer, and other well-known YouTubers Stove Cho and Ryan Prunty.
Prior to becoming a content creator five years ago, Capri was working 9-to-5 as a technical writer at LinkedIn, having graduated with a degree from Carnegie Mellon University. Once her channel gained over a million subscribers, she decided to pursue content creation full-time. Capri’s career has taken off, and she has been able to work with high-profile brands like Lego, Elmer’s, Michael’s, and GoDaddy. She also has received recent support from creator funding company Spotter.
In an interview with Passionfruit, Capri described the evolution of her content over the past five years, how she uses analytics to maximize viewership, the success of cute dog content, long versus short form content, fan engagement, and more.
The following interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Can you tell me a bit about how you got started on YouTube?
The first video I ever posted was about five years ago and I honestly never thought I’d be creating content as the main objective of my career. For most of my life I was taking the traditional route. I went to college and then got a job as a technical writer at LinkedIn after I graduated, however, after a year I decided to quit and become a YouTuber. I posted my first video in the basement of the house I grew up in and continued to pour my passion into every piece of content I posted. Eventually my channel started gaining traction and I continued to grow. Soon I was able to go viral, do crazy, larger than life things like making my own songs, working on marketing campaigns and brand deals with some of my favorite companies.
How has your video style evolved since then?
Since I first started on YouTube, my videos have evolved a lot. I’ve learned so much since my early days as a creator and the scale and scope of what we’ve been able to create has really exploded. I’ve also been able to work with great companies like Spotter which have been able to help me grow the production quality of my content. Spotter’s helped me build out my production team and helped me pull off some of the big ideas I’ve had in mind, for example, I’ve been able to buy my very own content house and spent the last four months building out a whole studio warehouse where my team can work and grow.
How do you utilize video analytics? Do you have any advice for other creators trying to decipher their own analytics?
Using video analytics is very important to growing my channel and making sure my viewers keep getting excited about new content and to keep watching. You can maximize your viewers watch time by studying where viewership drops off and analyze the content to improve it in future videos. The algorithm as well as viewer behavior is constantly evolving so focusing on the different metrics that YouTube and your audience favors definitely gives you a leg up in this saturated market.
What led you to start a channel for your dog, Milli? What has it been like to launch that channel?
I decided to start Milli’s channel because she was already featured so much in my content as well as the rest of the content created by Team Rar as a whole. I myself am a huge consumer of dog content and I wanted a creative outlet where I could showcase how cute my own dog is. People already loved Milli and most people already love seeing cute dog content online, so I thought, “Why not?” Her channel now has over a million subscribers and it’s crazy to think that many people are tuning in to see what my little pup does on a daily basis.
As someone who distributes content to multiple platforms, what are some of the pros and cons of posting to YouTube as opposed to TikTok or Instagram? How do you tailor your content to each platform?
A pro of posting to YouTube rather than TikTok or Instagram is that long form content is more monetizable. It’s way more difficult to keep an audience engaged for 10 minutes vs 10 seconds. I also find it more enjoyable to tell a story through long form content than through a short clip.
A con would be that there are so many more creators trying to make it big which means a lot more competition in getting eyes on your videos. When it comes to tailoring my content for specific platforms I always make sure to keep in mind that getting the attention of users is different across the different apps. I also make sure to create content that is suitable for both horizontal and vertical content.
What are some of the ways you connect with fans?
I really try to connect with my fans in as many ways as possible. I always make sure to interact with them in the comment section of my videos as well as focusing on my community tab on my channel. I’ve played online video games with them in the past and I’ve been able to spend quality time with my fans by inviting them to the Team Rar house for a fun pool party and featuring them in my videos! I also just started interacting with my fans through my community phone number where I can directly message them.
Has there been a moment where you felt like you “made it” as a creator?
There have been so many amazing moments in my career! Content creation has allowed me to meet so many of my personal idols and attend so many amazing events but ultimately I’m really proud of the community we’ve built both online and off. I’m so thankful to lead an incredible production team and create meaningful spaces where we can be creative and make content we love.
Thank you, Lizzy, for chatting with us!
Are you a well-known creator? Reach out to grace.stanley@dailydot.com for a chance to be featured in an upcoming newsletter.
