u/silent1mezzo

I've been modding Casio and Seiko watches for years now to help have a creative outlet. About 11 ago I started filming the builds because I noticed people on reddit asking how certain things were done.

Three things came out of it and only one of them really counts as passive.

First one is commissions. People watch a build and message me asking if I'll do one for them. This brought in some extra change and helped me fund new build for the channel.

The second one is ad revenue, which is the part I find interesting. Currently it's sitting around $100 a month and a decent chunk of that comes from videos I uploaded months ago and haven't touched since.

The third one is affiliate revenue. In each video I link to the parts and tools I use throughout. This one started really small but now it's hitting $75-80/month.

The workflow is simple and that's the main thing I'd want anyone to take from this. I'm filming the thing I was doing anyway. Actual video editing consists of cutting out the dead space, so the silences, me fumbling for a tool, the bit where I drop a spring bar and spend four minutes on the floor looking for it. Then I record a voiceover on top of what's left. Thumbnail, title, upload. No script, no second shoot, very little b-roll. For a full video it takes an hour or so.

Obviously ~$175/month isn't life changing but it helps fund a hobby I love which in turn slowly increases the money I make. It's also not instant and the first handful of videos made basically nothing for a long time, which I'm guessing is where most people bail.

The reason it worked for me is that the filming attached to something I was already doing. If I'd had to go find a hobby to film I don't think I'd have lasted more than three months.

I've been modding Casio and Seiko watches for years now to help have a creative outlet. About 11 ago I started filming the builds because I noticed people on reddit asking how certain things were done.

Three things came out of it and only one of them really counts as passive.

First one is commissions. People watch a build and message me asking if I'll do one for them. This brought in some extra change and helped me fund new build for the channel.

The second one is ad revenue, which is the part I find interesting. Currently it's sitting around $100 a month and a decent chunk of that comes from videos I uploaded months ago and haven't touched since.

The third one is affiliate revenue. In each video I link to the parts and tools I use throughout. This one started really small but now it's hitting $75-80/month.

The workflow is simple and that's the main thing I'd want anyone to take from this. I'm filming the thing I was doing anyway. Actual video editing consists of cutting out the dead space, so the silences, me fumbling for a tool, the bit where I drop a spring bar and spend four minutes on the floor looking for it. Then I record a voiceover on top of what's left. Thumbnail, title, upload. No script, no second shoot, very little b-roll. For a full video it takes an hour or so.

Obviously ~$175/month isn't life changing but it helps fund a hobby I love which in turn slowly increases the money I make. It's also not instant and the first handful of videos made basically nothing for a long time, which I'm guessing is where most people bail.

The reason it worked for me is that the filming attached to something I was already doing. If I'd had to go find a hobby to film I don't think I'd have lasted more than three months.

Looking for some advice on choosing a camera. Right now I've been using an iPhone 14 pro for all of my videos. I build and modify watches and I've been planning to start reviews as well. The majority of my content is overhead shots but I've been getting into more talking head shots.

I can't tell whether or not the z10 will drastically improve things or if I should just get the 18 pro when it comes out.

When I was setting up my channel I initially thought I'd be turning it into a business. As the channel grew and evolved it mainly turned into me building watches and messing around and I'm curious if it'd be better to move away from a more business-y name to something more personal.

Current Name: Northern Lume Watches
Possible Name: Adam Builds Watches (or something more personal)

Has anyone done this before? Would this affect viewership/subscribers?

I've done a few tutorials over the last year, latest one is pretty simple case swap and stoplight mod.

I'm currently filming an "oil slick" hydromod video and hope to have that out soon.