How iJustine Built Her Digital Empire

Justine Ezarik aka iJustine is one of the OG YouTube stars– one of the very few people who have been on the platform for over a decade. You may remember her from her first big hit, her “300 page iPhone bill” video way back in 2007 or from literally streaming her entire life for 6 months, and since then she’s had several other hits that helped her build a huge following based off the kind of DIY hustle that I absolutely love– for example her early videos were shot with a $400 point and shoot and a green rug from Ikea that served as her “green screen.” She’s one of the people who blazed the trail for the YouTubers and vloggers of today, and she’s parlayed that into a ton of opportunities outside YouTube including appearances on shows like Law & Order and Criminal Minds as well as being named by Time as one of the top 100 most influential people to 18-34 year olds.

Very few people have been doing this as long as Justine, and this is your chance to hear what a grizzled veteran has learned from being in the trenches as long as anybody.

Today on the podcast,

She talks about how she got her start in her hometown of Pittsburgh– she didn’t need to be in New York or LA or SF to make things happen, and neither do you. I love how she puts it: “Be the best where you are, then move when you’ve outgrown it.”
We riff on one of my favorite topics which is the idea that stamina wins, that the most important thing is just to keep grinding and over time the ups and downs will just be noise.
She’s got a really great perspective on negative feedback. Any creator gets some, and the standard response is to ignore it. But here’s the thing — as she says — sometimes they’re right. Sometimes you should listen to it and adjust accordingly.

Enjoy!

If you just don’t quit, eventually you’re gonna make it – so you just have to keep going.

FOLLOW JUSTINE:
facebook | twitter | youtube | instagram | website

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Some Questions I Ask:

Are you comfortable? [1:30]
So you recently did a 10 year retrospective of the iPhone? [4:58]
For the handful of folks who don’t know you, how do you define what you do? [5:15]
In addition to being a content creator, you’re also doing TV, books, and music. What else are you doing? [7:00]
Tell us about the music thing you’re doing with your dog. [9:00]
Will Matty make celebrity appearances with other famous animals? [9:58]
Do you think of your career as based in any one medium? [12:10]
What advice would you give to people on how do you decide where to put your energy? [13:00]
Is creating your own job really as simple as choosing different things that make you happy and then putting them together? [15:30]
What’s your stance on whether or not to pursue something because someone else might already be doing it? [18:36]
Any advice to the folks who quit when they’re just getting started? How hard should they go at their dreams? [21:10]
What kinds of cultural pressure have you felt? [22:30]
Who tried to talk you out of doing this stuff? [26:05]
How do you stay safe while streaming your life for 6 months? [27:00]
How did you stay “on” while always being live and watched by others? [28:20]
Was streaming your life on justin.tv the catalyst for you getting on youtube? [29:54]
What’s happening with live video right now, where in many ways it’s really hitting it’s stride, but for a lot of folks like us, we are doing less live than we were before. [31:05]
What’s the future in live streaming? [32:15]
Because there’s more risk with streaming live, does it draw you towards doing it or scare you away from it? [33:30]
What kinds of structure do you apply to your posts? [34:49]
What’s the tougher side about doing what you do, being your own boss, and being the hyphen that you are? [36:35]
Did it take you a while to find the balance of being real and being positive in your videos? [38:33]
How much of what you create is cultivated for your audience vs created just for you? [39:03]
Do you have a filter for when to listen to constructive criticism? [40:26]
Is it important for your art to be miserable? [40:50]
What’s the personal arc going from Pittsburgh to LA? [43:30] \
Did you go to college and was there pressure to do that? [45:55] \
Was it somewhere in the middle of your two year degree that you decided to go to LA? [48:50]
What kinds of emotions did you feel when you were making the move out west? [58:14]
What’s your favorite beverage? [1:01:25]
Favorite candy? [1:01:46]
Favorite movie? [1:02:30]
Favorite town that’s not your own? [1:03:23]
Favorite place abroad? [1:03:32]
Favorite non-cartoon character? [1:03:50]
What advice would you give your yesterday’s self? [1:04:12]
Do you have any questions for me or the people at home? [1:04:40]

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

What brought me and Justine together for the first time [2:00]
The nostalgia of unboxing old iPods [3:15]
YouTube is being consumed one billion hours per day! [6:10]
The technique Justine used to get her first role in one of her favorite TV shows. [7:30]
Why Justine doesn’t set goals. [14:15]
Justine’s ever-short packing list when she moved to LA that clearly stated where her priorities lie. [15:00]
How staying on the cutting edge of new tech has helped Justine create her own destiny. [17:25]
A key to Justine’s longevity has been saying “no” to opportunities that don’t align with her mission. [18:05]
Failure isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If you don’t quit, eventually you’re going to make it. [19:40]
The side jobs Justine had while she was working on her side hustle. [21:42]
What it was like to live stream Justine’s life for 6 months. [27:10]
How to use your audience to your and their benefit. [36:00]
Justine’s happy place is editing video. [42:55]
How Justine stumbled into technology and content creation. [44:20]
One of Justine’s first side hustles was making websites for the local sheep farms. [46:30]
How Justine got her first video editing job without knowing how to use Avid, learned it, got fast at it, and then leveraged her free time to make videos about her passions… making oatmeal in the microwave. [49:50]
How Justine taking second place in Yahoo’s talent show gave her the confidence and set her on the right track to getting the first iPhone, which was the gift that changed everything for her. [52:35]
Why AT&T sent Justine a 300 page phone bill. [54:09]
Why Justine is perfect living proof of why you don’t need new gear or a new location to pursue your passions. [55:17]
Justine’s recommendation for sweets; Sarris Candies and Valentine’s Day Swedish Fish Hearts. [1:02:10]
My favorite thing. [1:05:00]
Why Justine is vocal about the things she likes. [1:06:29]

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