Influencer
YoboyRoy on Being a Full-Time Gaming Content Creator and Exploring the Fitness Niche
For the last six years, YoboyRoy has been a full-time content creator in the gaming niche, which has afforded him many unique opportunities and sponsorships. Today, he discusses his journey as a content creator and plans for the future.
About YoboyRoy
YoboyRoy is a PS4 and PC gaming creator and streamer for Rainbow Six Siege. He specializes in gaming tips and tricks videos and funny edits. However, his massive platform of over 630,000 subscribers on YouTube and nearly 90,00 followers on Instagram all started as a hobby.
Roy shares, “It all happened a little bit by mistake because I enjoyed playing video games, but I didn’t enjoy wasting hours every day. I felt it was a bit unproductive, and one of my passions at the time was to just make movies and to edit things together.”
His passion for video editing led him to start filming gaming content. Recording video games didn’t require much overhead and allowed him to transform gaming into another fun outlet and productive hobby.
“I started my freshman year of college and just used it as a fun outlet for a hobby, just something to get away from the books with, and it blew up my sophomore year and became a steady job by junior year.”
The Key to His Success
Roy shares that one of the keys to his success was looking for smaller, underdeveloped niches on YouTube.
At the time, there were few tutorials for the game he played. Since he was one of the top players in this game, he thought this was an excellent opportunity to share his tips and tricks with the public on YouTube.
“Thankfully, there was kind of room for me when I went into it. If I was to try and do that now, at the current state of where the game is, it’s so saturated with content creators and all the different types of topics. Sadly, when people ask how do I grow and all that kind of stuff, the tips that I tell them helped me probably aren’t as relevant now just because there is so much saturation when it comes to content.”
He adds that this is always discouraging to share with others, but if you can carve out a niche on YouTube by researching what’s missing and where you can add your unique spin, this is a great strategy.
Another change Roy has noticed since starting in 2016 is the focus on clickbait titles and thumbnails.
“Regretfully, I’ve learned that YouTube does pander to the whole clickbait style, and even though I’m still going to be truthful about whatever is in there [the video], you kind of have to over exaggerate in both the title and thumbnail.”
Since YouTube calculates which videos to push out based on impressions, click-throughs, and more, exaggerated thumbnails are a valuable opportunity for creators to get their content noticed and picked up.
Going Full-Time as a Content Creator
Roy has been a full-time content creator for six years. His revenue comes from ads through the YouTube partner program and streaming, sponsorships, and donations from viewers.
“I’d say 65% of my income is sponsorships. I never really realized at the beginning how impactful and valuable that was to go after companies that either haven’t heard of you or are looking for product endorsements.”
Roy also has a management team that advocates for him and helps him connect with companies more personally.
Brand Sponsorships
Roy’s proudest sponsorships have been with AT&T and Samsung.
AT&T reached out to Roy this year about a collaboration after he communicated with them on Twitter about some Internet issues he was having. He was already using AT&T and enjoyed their customer service, so this was a natural collaboration.
Last year, he worked with Samsung for a considerable amount of time. Each month, they would send him a new phone release, which he enjoyed.
Creating Fitness Content
Most people wouldn’t think gaming and fitness content belonged together. However, Roy has found a way to integrate his interest in fitness into his content.
“I started with the gaming stuff. It was my hobby whenever I had time. I wanted to try and put effort into that as a means of entertainment and to get away from all the other responsibilities. Right now, the fitness stuff is kind of that outlet for me. I get away from the gaming by doing the fitness stuff.”
He shares that he’s currently talking to two companies about potential fitness sponsorships.
“All of that [fitness content] is strictly for fun. Something that I enjoy doing. I would love to see it blossom into what gaming has become. For example, I’m leaving tomorrow morning to fly out to Canada to go work out with some guys.”
Prominent influencers who have made it in the fitness industry invited Roy on this trip. He hopes this trip will lead to important networking opportunities and connections to help him get his foot in the door.
Career Highlights
Roy shares that the biggest highlight of his career has been immortalizing the game he plays.
The company even incorporated Roy’s logo into the game so players could choose to put the logo on the side of their guns.
“Being a part of the game that I’ve spent the last seven years on was such a cool token of appreciation like all this hard work went into it, and now I’m actually in the game that I play, and it’s my job. Seeing my community display my logo on the side of their guns as a sign of appreciation and care back to me as the creator was a very surreal experience.”
The Future of the Creator Marketplace
Roy would love to see improvements in the clarity of the algorithm for social media platforms.
“I’d say that the algorithms that these companies implore have always been very confusing, and you feel behind the times if you don’t find that wave or whatever has changed and what the platform recommends to new viewers.”
He adds that even if you have a huge following, social media platforms can shift on you instantly because companies are always looking for the current moment and trend.
Seniority isn’t a factor that is heavily considered.
He shares, “For example, YouTube reached out to me saying hey, we have a new partner program. We want to help your channel get to the next level and all that kind of stuff. In this meeting, they basically just talked about all the features that they were releasing to creators.”
Roy said he hoped this meeting would share practical advice for continuing to grow your channel rather than only focusing on new features.
Content Creator Challenges
The most challenging part of being a content creator for Roy is dealing with stress and anxiety.
He explains, “I was never an anxious person. I am so confident that this job made me an anxious person when it comes to just evaluating your current numbers at a specific time. This whole content creator journey is just one giant up-and-down roller coaster.”
While the job can be stressful, Roy adds that he wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world and is incredibly thankful for the opportunities it has given him.
