Episode 801: YouTube Shorts Made Simple: Just Hit Record and Go With Jeanelle Castro

EBT801 – Jeanelle Castro

[00:00:00]  Megan Porta 

If YouTube Shorts has felt confusing, intimidating, or just like another thing you should be doing, this episode is about to simplify and clarify everything. Jeanelle Castro of Jeanelle Eats joins me to break down what’s actually working right now. From why titles and thumbnails matter more than you think to how to stop overthinking and just hit record.

We talk about consistency, personality, and how to repurpose content in ways that fit, feed the algorithm and grow your audience. This episode is jam packed with YouTube gems, and honestly, it might be the push you need to finally get started with YouTube shorts.

[00:00:39]   

Hi, food bloggers, I’m Megan Porta and this is Eat Blog Talk. Your space for support, inspiration, and strategies to grow your blog and your freedom. Whether that’s personal, professional, or financial, you are not alone on this journey. 

[00:00:55]   Megan Porta

Hello, Jeanelle. So, so happy to have you on the podcast. How are you?

[00:00:59]  Jeanelle Castro 

I’m doing great. I’m glad I finally got to talk to you again after it’s been a few months. So. Yeah, thanks for having me.

[00:01:06]  Megan Porta 

Yes, we had you at Flavor Media Summit last year, so in 2025, and you were a hit. Your session was a huge hit. Everyone loved it. I mean, you provided so much juicy information about YouTube and, and specifically YouTube shorts. So I’m like, I need to get her back or I need to get her on the podcast.

[00:01:25]   

So thank you so much for joining us today. Curious. Jeanelle, if somebody’s like browsing through and they start this episode and they’re like a few minutes in, like, I don’t know if I should listen, what would you say would prompt them to keep listening to this episode?

[00:01:43]  Jeanelle Castro 

Sure. Well, the number one thing that I’ve always wanted to let food bloggers know is that video creation could be so much more attainable and more simple than you think to integrate into your workflow. So if short form video is something that you’ve always wanted to do, this is something that me and Megan are going to be talking about. So you can continue listening. If you want to get some juicy nuggets of information, it’s not as hard

[00:02:10]  Megan Porta 

as you think it is. You break it down so well. So, so we’re going to do that today. So give us a little bit of a background on your business. Jeanelle Eats, you started out on YouTube, correct?

[00:02:21]  Jeanelle Castro 

Yes, so I actually started. Oh yeah, for sure. So I started back in 2016. I started my channel in 2016. It was a long time ago, but it was more of like a hobby and I was doing long form video and it wasn’t until post Covid. So about like 2021 when I started doing more YouTube shorts because you could see the trajectory of vertical short form video starting to appear.

[00:02:48]   

And that is what truly made my channel take off. And it was for a multitude of reasons. I was posting very frequently and I was posting a lot of different things just to see what would stick. And now I’m primarily a video creator, but slowly growing my blog. So I am in the food blogging world now and.

[00:03:10]   

And I think we’re doing pretty good compared to what I’ve heard from other bloggers tell me about my channel. Cause I was like, maybe I’m not doing so well, I don’t know. But they said you’ve done pretty well for just starting. And I think it has something to do with YouTube shorts.

[00:03:26]  Megan Porta 

Absolutely.

[00:03:26]  Jeanelle Castro 

And yeah, yeah, I think it’s because

[00:03:28]  Megan Porta 

they’re connected, you know, Google Juice, their time isn’t there. Yeah, yeah, we can get more into this, but I’ve noticed that for sure. So I’ve really dug into YouTube shorts since I heard you talk last fall about. I started publishing shorts very frequently and I’ve noticed a correlation between the more shorts I post publish on YouTube, the more Google favors me and like I will publish content on YouTube and it almost immediately gets picked up in Google in the video tab.And I swear it’s because of YouTube shorts. Right.

[00:04:07]  Jeanelle Castro 

Isn’t that crazy? Because I think that’s why my blog has done better just starting from the beginning, because it’s connected to YouTube. The brand, my brand, Jeanelle Eats is connected to YouTube. And so when people search the recipe with a video and then my blog post comes up, I really, I mean, they always want you to stay in their ecosystem.

[00:04:28]   

So it did make sense to start with YouTube for me anyway. But yeah, it’s. I feel like, I feel like it’s kind of like a superpower.

[00:04:37]  Megan Porta 

I know it is. And I say it to people all the time. I mean, since this started happening and I feel like some people are like skeptical about it, like, okay. But it really does seem like that. And I’ve tested it over and over and over again and it just keeps happening. I’m like, this is not chance.

[00:04:56]  Jeanelle Castro 

Right.

[00:04:57]  Megan Porta 

Like, it’s not just a coincidence that my content is like popping up to the top, whatever. So I think there’s definitely a correlation and I want to get into it more with you. So right now are you doing like how much long form are you doing versus short form on a consistent basis?

[00:05:17]   

Well, I know you have like upheaval in your life at the moment with your house being redone. But outside of that, outside of that,

[00:05:25]  Jeanelle Castro 

I mean, I am still doing primarily a lot of shorts only because it’s so easy to put together and so quick for me because I’ve been doing it for years. I have wanted to go more into long form content for a variety of reasons. I mean, for YouTube, the revenue is better and you can do linking.

[00:05:44]   

That’s the other thing. You can’t do links on shorts. So I’m not going to let go of shorts because shorts is super powerful for visibility, just like we talked about. But there is also value in long form content. And again, primarily I would say linking is a big part of it.

[00:06:03]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:06:04]  Jeanelle Castro 

But both of them work hand in hand. And so I, once we get to the house, I have plans to do a lot more long form video content, recipes, and just always funneling people into the blog. Because right now that’s where we are shifting because. And we were talking about revenue, right. For YouTube shorts to make a decent amount of revenue, you have to rack in the views.

[00:06:30]   

And unless you’re a full time video creator, like that’s all you want to do and that’s all you want your life to be consumed with, then that, you know, go for it. But for me, I wanted something a little bit more stable long term. And so that’s why I wanted, I wanted some balance in my life.

[00:06:49]   

So I also wanted to use shorts as a way to bring people into my blog. And you know what’s crazy is even though there’s no links, no linking, every time I post a video of a recipe directing to my blog, there’s always a spike in traffic. And again, this might be. I’m, I’m not as like big into testing it as you are, but it’s pretty obvious after I visit, after I post a video, I see the visits just like shoot up for my blog.

[00:07:22]   

So, you know, I feel like there’s something there. Google definitely wants you in their ecosystem.

[00:07:27]  Megan Porta 

Yes, for sure. So, okay, I have so many questions I want to ask you. I have to like calm my brain down a little bit. If, if somebody is just like really getting into YouTube and they want kind of a strategy to start with, what would you recommend for long form versus short form?

[00:07:47]  Jeanelle Castro 

Okay, so I feel like if someone’s just starting out, I would say try to start with shorts first. I think the people who do well with long form are the ones who, this is just a generalization, but people who love to go on and talk and they have a lot to talk about and they have time to edit.

[00:08:10]   

And if you’re. Or not, like if, if you just want to publish a talking head video that goes on forever, like, go for it. I think it’s more of like what fits the person’s lifestyle. For me, I, I can talk like just like we’re talking on this podcast, but I feel like I, my strength is in short form video because I have a lot of things that I’m juggling.

[00:08:33]   

A short form video could take me maybe just two hours tops, from beginning to end, like filming to publishing, which is amazing, right? To be able to publish something like that. And if you, this is personally what I think. If you are just starting out and you have no idea which one to go with, I would say shorts, because you can get out more content faster and you can figure out what works for your brand faster.

[00:09:04]   

And then you can do the longer form video. Especially if you’re like a one woman team, right?

[00:09:10]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, yeah, I kind of use that, or I do that for myself. I use shorts as a bit of a testing ground. So all like you said, you can pump out shorts much more quickly than a long form. So I, I just see what hits. So I look for those shorts that rise well above the rest.

[00:09:29]   

So not like, you know, within the range of what is normal for me, but like, like 20,000, 50,000 views within a week or something like that. And then I take that topic and I turn it into a long form video. And usually, I mean, it doesn’t always like hugely take off, but they do really well typically.

[00:09:48]   

So you could do something like that. Like using shorts as kind of a barometer for your YouTube account.

[00:09:56]  Jeanelle Castro 

Exactly. And the thing is with shorts is you can take that same topic and repackage it into a totally different video, but it’s the same thing. You could use the same footage, especially if you’re out of time. So something that I’m testing right now is I just did a Filipino pancit recipe which is a noodle dish.

[00:10:16]   

And what I’m doing is the first video that I released was this. Make this for. For a party that you’re going to. That’s how I like to do my videos. I’m like, oh, party. Because I don’t necessarily want to say make Filipino pancit, which I could, because that’s another video I can make.

[00:10:35]   

But I wanted to capture a broader audience for more people who maybe don’t know what pancet is, or even Filipino Americans that maybe don’t know that that’s what their dish is called. Pancit is very popular, so highly likely a lot of Filipinos do. But for the other, more maybe lesser known Filipino dishes, I’ll use those types of titles and then I can take that same video or those clips, and then next week I’m gonna post a video about the type of noodle that I’m using, and I can just use the same content.

[00:11:06]   

I could also supplement it with a few more clips if I wanted to. But I could repackage that and talk about the noodles or repackage that and talk about the history of the dish. And those could all point to my long form video about making pancit. Yeah.

[00:11:23]  Megan Porta 

Right. Yeah, That’s a really good way to think about it. And the good thing about food is that you can. There are so many different opportunities to repackage. Like what you said. You can talk about history and the ingredients and how to serve it and so many things. Do you have a style of short that typically does swell, like, better than most for you?

[00:11:43]  Jeanelle Castro 

Yes. And it would be that kind of title that I told you about. Um, so it’s a lot of my. My channel is a lot of storytelling, a lot of family stuff, family travel stories, and a lot of sentimental stuff. People love the sentimental stuff. So even titling my video, make this for your next party or I haven’t had this dish in 15 years.

[00:12:14]   

And it’s a lot of that kind of stuff because it is pretty broad. It’s a broad appeal. It like touches people on an emotional level because then they start talking about the dishes they haven’t had in years and forgot what it was called. So I feel like that’s not just for me either.

[00:12:33]   

This is for anyone listening here. You could totally use this. It does take, I would say, vulnerability and stepping out of the SEO box to achieve. But again, I could say it’s simple. But it’s not as simple for other people to share their life like this.

[00:12:53]  Megan Porta 

Right? Yeah. So for titling something like that, just being a little bit more ambiguous, it sounds like instead of like, I need to think about the SEO and the title and strategizing, so it’s more tapping into the emotion. Like you’re saying yes. Yeah.

[00:13:09]  Jeanelle Castro 

And you could absolutely do the SEO. The SEO stuff too. But the technology now on YouTube is so advanced that they know what you’re talking about, which is why people will still go to my blog post. Right. Because they. They know this is a video about Filipino panic, even though that’s not exactly what I titled it.

[00:13:31]  Megan Porta 

Right. Yeah, it’s pretty crazy that they can read between the lines. Kind of creepy.

[00:13:34]  Jeanelle Castro 

Yeah. Yeah, it is creepy.

[00:13:38]  Megan Porta 

So, okay, so for title, that’s great. So for description, what do you fill in for shorts? Descriptions?

[00:13:46]  Jeanelle Castro 

See, okay, here’s the other thing that I feel like is a very juicy nugget that maybe you can put in the beginning. I don’t know, maybe you could have people listen to this. But what I learned when putting out the shorts was that all that stuff, like the description, the tags, because when you upload a YouTube video, even a short, there’s all these things that you have to fill out. And that to me is just an energy suck.

[00:14:07]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:14:08]  Jeanelle Castro 

And it’s so minuscule because basically for description, I have a template that just fills in for every video that I have. I just copy and paste it too. If it’s a short, I’m like, I’ll just take the last one and paste it in. I don’t overthink it. Because what is important is actually the title and your, your title, your hook and the screen.

[00:14:33]  Megan Porta 

Thumbnail.

[00:14:33]  Jeanelle Castro 

Yep, thumbnail. There you go. I have no idea. The thumbnail is important. So little things like the hashtags and description, I’m not going to say they don’t move the needle, but that’s not, you know, like the 80, 20 rule. What? That’s probably in the 20 or maybe even 10%. So I don’t worry about the description too much.

[00:14:57]  Megan Porta 

Okay, that’s great. I mean, that relieves a lot of people probably because that can be a hang up if you’re like, oh gosh, I have to upload the video and then think about the title and the description. So taking that off your list. So for thumbnail, what do you do for that typically?

[00:15:15]  Jeanelle Castro 

So the thing, the thing with YouTube shorts is the part that’s a little, still a little clunky is they say you can upload a thumbnail and sometimes they’ll use it, sometimes they don’t. Like an actual thumbnail outside of your video. Right. Because you have an option to select your thumbnail. And that to me is more reliable than uploading a totally different thumbnail.

[00:15:41]  Megan Porta 

Okay.

[00:15:42]  Jeanelle Castro 

And that will show up on your feed unless they change it. So here’s the other thing. YouTube shorts changes all the time. It’s evolving.

[00:15:49]  Megan Porta 

It always works. I’ve noticed that too. I’m like, wait, yesterday that looked entirely different.

[00:15:54]  Jeanelle Castro 

Yes. So for me it’s more reliable to just select something that is existing in the video and that will show up when it, when the video is being served to everybody. And it’ll show up on your homepage. But I believe. I believe this is still the case. And again, like I said, it could always change.

[00:16:12]   

But when I choose my own thumbnail, that’s not necessarily what YouTube is going to push out to people when it’s recommending it, which is happening a lot to my shorts. Your shorts get recommended, which is great because you get a lot of viewers. But I don’t think it’s guaranteed that that’s a thumbnail that they’re going to show.

[00:16:30]  Megan Porta 

Okay.

[00:16:31]  Jeanelle Castro 

Will show up, I believe, on your page. If you go on your YouTube page and people. Sure, people can see the one that you chose, but basically I’m not leaving it up to chance. So I just stick to picking from a frame within my video.

[00:16:46]  Megan Porta 

And then do you pick a frame that’s you, or do you pick a frame? Like, if you’re talking about the recipe you spoke about earlier, do you find a picture of the recipe or a frame of the recipe?

[00:16:57]  Jeanelle Castro 

Actually, what I focus on. And a lot of people say having your face on there helps a lot. I’m like, okay, great, yes. But if I’m not like, famous famous. I don’t know your YouTube. Famous Beyonce.

[00:17:08]  Megan Porta 

Come on.

[00:17:10]  Jeanelle Castro 

But I guess it was for me. I’m like, okay, I’m not like, Beyonce, right? Like, I just feel like it could be my face if that’s the best thumbnail that I could pick. But usually I try to find something really eye catching, and it works hand in hand with your title. So, for example, I could show my face eating this.

[00:17:33]   

There’s a dessert in Japan, and it’s mochi, but on the outside is edamame, which is crazy. I feel like we just don’t have that here in the U.S. really? We have red bean, but I titled it this is not Matcha. And so you. So then you see that title, this is not Matcha.

[00:17:51]   

The thumbnail that I pick could have been me eating it, but I decided to use the close up of the mochi with the green stuff all around it. And so you see that and people are curious. Well, what is it?

[00:18:04]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, yeah, people, what is it?

[00:18:07]  Jeanelle Castro 

And then they click it. So you kind of think of it as a holistic thing. They work together and. But if all else fails, like, again, we’re trying to make this as easy for you as possible. Sometimes I’ll just be, okay, what’s a good title for this to hook people in. And then what looks really interesting to look at.

[00:18:24]   

Yeah, right. Something eye catching.

[00:18:27]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, that’s smart to kind of. Yeah. Make them play off each other a little bit and invoke that curiosity. Like, wait, the title says this, the image says this and then they have to watch because they’re dying of curiosity.

[00:18:43]  Jeanelle Castro 

Exactly, exactly.

[00:18:45]  Megan Porta 

Okay, so we talked a little bit about logistical things like titles and thumbnails, description. What about if people are hung up on putting their face in video? I know this is a huge thing. I’m sure you’ve heard this a bunch too. Like, people really get addicted to that. Hands and pans, because they don’t have to show their face.

[00:19:07]   

They don’t have to make people listen to their voice. Do you have any tips for this? Like how to show your personality, how to maybe push yourself to get on camera? Anything along those lines, for sure.

[00:19:20]  Jeanelle Castro 

So for me, okay, I could go about it both ways. I could go the fear based route, which is you could easily be replaceable. All the hands and pans, they all look the same. I cannot tell who’s who because everyone makes it look the same. When you put your face there, that is immediately like your brand, like your face with AI.

[00:19:45]   

I don’t know what’s changing. Your face can’t really be replicated and people will know, like, it’s you, like, oh, it’s Jeanelle. So they know exactly what they’re going to get because it’s me, it’s my face, it’s my style. But again, you don’t have to start off that way. I started out doing some videos where I wasn’t showing my face because I just woke up.

[00:20:09]   

And so it could be as easy as like showing everything first. And then you can do your end shot right when you’re done with everything. You can, like maybe I don’t do your makeup. If you wanted to pull your hair back, whatever you want to do and that just be like the one shot you have of your face is you eating the food or one shot of you cooking.

[00:20:27]   

And you can put that in the beginning so people know who it is. And people aren’t really going to notice the difference. They think that, oh, you know, she had her makeup done this whole time. But no, I just, I did it at the end. Like I cook everything because I just rolled out of bed.

[00:20:42]   

And then I’ll just do all the shots with my face in it after I’m done.

[00:20:46]  Megan Porta 

That is such a good tip. Oh, my gosh. So don’t feel like you have to be all prepared just to get started with a recipe.

[00:20:53]  Jeanelle Castro 

Yes. You could do it at the end and Again, too. Like, if you need to work your way into it, you don’t have to do your face. It’s just. It is easier to distinguish you and your brand and people like, seeing people. Otherwise, you’re just another. Right. Like, yeah. Otherwise it’s like, how do you.

[00:21:15]   

How do you know you’re real? It creates, like, a familiarity. And so I think that really helps your brand move. It’s like a. Another superpower. And I feel like that you’re leaving

[00:21:27]  Megan Porta 

on the same way to put it. Right.

[00:21:29]  Jeanelle Castro 

Yeah, Yeah.

[00:21:30]  Megan Porta 

I know so many creators who I know in real life who are just lovely people and they have great personalities and they’re cute and funny and they don’t show themselves in their shorts. And I feel like they’re leaving so much on the table. Like, even if it’s just what you said and at the end showing you taking a bite or just something to know, like, okay, there she is.

[00:21:51]   

She’s so likable.

[00:21:53]  Jeanelle Castro 

Yes.

[00:21:53]  Megan Porta 

Yeah. Just starting maybe with a little glimpse of yourself if you feel uncomfortable talking or even doing voiceover. Just like, I want to see the creator behind spoon. Yes.

[00:22:06]  Jeanelle Castro 

Oh, yeah. And like, I don’t know if you’ve seen those videos where the creator does not show themselves. The one thing people are obsessed with is them finally showing themselves. Oh, this is the thing. Yeah, but I understand, like, why. So again, you don’t. If you need to just ease into it, hands and pans is fine.

[00:22:32]   

But for the next level up, at least add something that’s signature. If it’s not your face, you can add like your favorite, I don’t know, maybe like a little figurine or something. You know, people put all sorts of stuff in their videos that’s like their signature. Like a little duck. Yeah. Or something cute.

[00:22:51]   

That’s something else you could do. And it be your signature style. But again, people can replicate that so easily.

[00:22:59]  Megan Porta 

That’s true.

[00:23:00]  Jeanelle Castro 

So, yeah, just ease your way into it. Once you’re comfortable, once you see that your audience loves you, then you can show yourself.

[00:23:08]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, absolutely. Agree.

[00:23:10]  Jeanelle Castro 

Yeah.

[00:23:11]  Megan Porta 

Do you repurpose a lot of your shorts content? So do you take your shorts and put it on Instagram, TikTok, other platforms?

[00:23:18]  Jeanelle Castro 

Yes, absolutely. That’s okay. That is my other tip. I read this book called the One Thing, and I don’t know if you’ve read it.

[00:23:26]  Megan Porta 

I love it. Yep.

[00:23:28]  Jeanelle Castro 

Yeah. I didn’t trust it at first. I was like, I don’t know, but. But then I tried it. I actually put it into practice and I was like, wait, this works. You do one thing, which is YouTube shorts for me. Right. And again, we talked about description and stuff. The one thing is you get that video out.

[00:23:45]   

Right? For me, it’s get that video out. And the next thing is that I figure out a title. This all was, by the way, this was all like layered on. Like, I didn’t start off being like, I know exactly what my hook is and I know exactly what my title is. Like, first thing was for me, get that video out and then I can iterate upon it.

[00:24:05]   

And the next thing was I. I didn’t post anything on Instagram or TikTok. Was TikTok out back then? Yeah, I didn’t post anything because I just. I didn’t have the bandwidth.

[00:24:17]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:24:17]  Jeanelle Castro 

And so. Yeah. And so I was like, oh, I don’t know yet. Once I had the bandwidth, once I got my process down and then I just reposted everything. So now I just repost whatever I have on YouTube shorts onto Instagram and TikTok. Because the audience is not the same.

[00:24:34]  Megan Porta 

Yeah. And it’s so different, isn’t it?

[00:24:37]  Jeanelle Castro 

Yeah, exactly. So it’s like, might as well. Like people are not seeing it. And even if you did post it just on YouTube, your audience, not your whole audience, sees it. So I’m not saying repost it because I think YouTube doesn’t like it when you just fully repost a video, but you can totally, like I said in the beginning, take that same video, maybe move some clips around, or add another little thing that you didn’t add in your last video and just title it differently.

[00:25:03]   

And you can get so much content from one. And that’s what I’m playing with right now. I’m really trying to stretch out my content because with a house remodel, I like, do not have the energy. So.

[00:25:13]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, right. How do you have a time frame as far as spacing those repurposing moments out? Like, do you wait a certain number of weeks before you do that?

[00:25:24]  Jeanelle Castro 

So right now. No, I think it’s better if you do, because I think bloggers are very organized and they know exactly what they’re going to post. And when I’m like, sometimes I’m just like, well, I feel like posting this today. And that was part of just like not overthinking it and pushing out the content that you want, because I think overthinking is just going to add another layer of difficulty to it.

[00:25:51]   

So if you wanted to, you could turn it into like, maybe something that you could schedule out or just like don’t think about it too hard. Just post it. Because again, not everyone’s gonna see the same video.

[00:26:05]  Megan Porta 

Right? Yeah. It’s gonna get pushed to different people, most likely.

[00:26:09]  Jeanelle Castro 

Yeah.

[00:26:10]  Megan Porta 

Okay. Yeah. The repurposing thing, I think, is a relief for so many people to hear because we get in the pattern of, like, you have to have new content all the time, every week, multiple times a week. But, yeah, you take so much video, you can actually go back and just repackage it all so it looks a little bit differently.

[00:26:29]  Jeanelle Castro 

Yes, that’s what I’m doing. I have, like, thousands of videos. I have, like 2,000 something videos. And I was like that just. But I love to create. And that’s just me. I’m like, yeah, I want to put a video out. But now I’m in the point where I was like, I could do so much content with this.

[00:26:45]   

Like, now I’m releasing, like, five dishes to, you know, make if you want, blah, blah. And I have so much to pick from. So that’s the other beauty of just putting out content is eventually you just have a huge backlog and no one’s even gonna know that you’re using the same content.

[00:27:03]  Megan Porta 

Right. Yeah. That’s a beautiful thing. Okay, I want to ask you this question. Does anyone actually, like, do you actually achieve the 10 million watch hours for your shorts? Does anyone actually get there?

[00:27:16]  Jeanelle Castro 

Is this just like a. I do, but.

[00:27:18]  Megan Porta 

You do, Jeanelle, oh, my God, you’re a miracle.

[00:27:24]  Jeanelle Castro 

Thanks. But at the same time, like, you have to think of, like, the business model that you have. Right. Like, I feel like bloggers have a really steady, like, it’s solid. Like, what you have is solid. And when you’re putting out these videos, even in the beginning, I never paid attention to the watch hours and what you needed because you’re in this for the long haul.

[00:27:49]   

You’re here for the bigger picture. And that watch hour number is. Is nothing like it should try to think of it as. It’s nothing to you because this is so much bigger. What you’re creating is so much bigger than watch hours. You’re creating a whole brand, and at the end of the day, you’re building your brand.

[00:28:11]   

It gets so big to the point where, like, watch hours is nothing to you because the videos that you’re putting out, I’m assuming a lot of bloggers are listening these. These videos are to maybe grow your blog and create more revenue for you in that space. Even if you don’t hit those watch hours, you’re getting people to, like, go to your blog, right.

[00:28:34]   

If you wanted to create the short form video and like make revenue from there, great, go for it. But that’s not everything. Right. You already have an existing product. This is just supplementary. And video is amazing for just selling stuff. Like I sold the musubi molds. I think I talked about this at Flavor Media.

[00:28:52]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:28:54]  Jeanelle Castro 

But it’s just a great way. It’s a marketing tool. Like it’s a channel. Right. Like back then people were posting up commercials in these networks that are kind of like gatekeeping you. It’s like a lot of money to post a commercial, but now you have your own channel and it’s just like people who like to watch you.

[00:29:13]   

So I would say like, yeah, watch hours. I think for people who maybe want to make this their full time job just to do videos, maybe I’d be concerned. But I would say even then, like you should diversify, do your one thing. Yeah, right. Like me, where I was doing just short form video.

[00:29:31]   

But then eventually, like you gotta know once it grows, you do have to diversify at some point. So you’re not putting all your eggs in one basket.

[00:29:40]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, yeah. That’s great advice. I love how you said that. Yeah. Thinking of it more like zooming out a little bit and seeing it as the bigger picture. Like you’re creating a foundation for a brand. You’re not. At least you shouldn’t be super hyper focused on just that watch hour number. And I try not to be.

[00:29:59]   

I don’t go in there much anymore, but I’m always curious. Like 10 million. That. That’s insane. So I’m so impressed that you, that you’re there. It’s amazing.

[00:30:08]  Jeanelle Castro 

A lot. I think I have 2 billion views or something, which is a lot. But that’s. Remember, I’m video first.

[00:30:17]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:30:17]  Jeanelle Castro 

Right. That’s like my strength and that’s what I put a lot of my energy towards. But for the bloggers listening to this, you’re using this as a marketing engine and it’s a very powerful marketing engine. And I would say that you don’t need the 10 million for this to be powerful for your business.

[00:30:38]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:30:38]  Jeanelle Castro 

So yeah, that’s it.

[00:30:39]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, that’s. No, that’s so well said. I love that. So how often do you publish shorts and how often do you recommend we publish shorts if we want to be consistent.

[00:30:50]  Jeanelle Castro 

Oh my gosh. So this is another. What is tough about this question is because I want people to be consistent that is gonna fit in their lifestyle, but also understand that these platforms do reward you for posting more. And so for me, I post almost every day and that’s because YouTube really does not like it when you are not feeding them content.

[00:31:22]   

And this is true for all of the social media platforms, but it’s not necessary. So if you put out like very, very valuable content, there are creators I know that publish one long form video a month and people will eat that up. Right. But that’s their business model. And also that’s kind of scary because like, how do you know it’s going to do well until you get to that point?

[00:31:46]   

Point. For me, I would say if you’re just starting out, don’t be afraid to experiment and post as much as you can just to see what works. Right. You could always like delete it later, but I wouldn’t delete it because you could still potentially gain those watch hours and stuff. I would say it depends on the person.

[00:32:07]   

I’m trying to do at least one a day because that’s what works for me. Try to see what you can fit within your lifestyle. Maybe every other day or maybe three times a week. But it’s more of like, you’re not going to get better unless you post more. This is just like, how did you get good at blogging?

[00:32:26]   

Right. Like it’s kind of the same thing. But I would say don’t, whatever you do, don’t leave for like weeks at a time. If what you can manage is once a week, then do that. But do not like, don’t like go once a day, every day and then all of a sudden burn out and not post.

[00:32:49]   

Because I would say that probably will hurt more than spacing it out.

[00:32:54]  Megan Porta 

Yeah. Which I think sadly is kind of what a lot of us go through from time to time. Like we’ll like, yes, I’m into YouTube shorts now. And then we do it for a month and then we’re like, gosh, that was a lot. And we then were gone for a month. So that’s not helpful from what I’m gauging.

[00:33:10]  Jeanelle Castro 

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean they really don’t want you to like. They also are trying to assess, to make sure that you’re a real person and not just some random person who’s putting out trash content. You know, like the early days of YouTube, you found all sorts of stuff.

[00:33:25]  Megan Porta 

Right.

[00:33:27]  Jeanelle Castro 

So they need the platforms here. Are trying to also make sure that you are a high quality creator. And again, if you got burnt out by posting so much in the beginning, maybe this time you can do like a week’s worth of content. And space it out, and then as you get used to it, do more.

[00:33:50]   

But the game is a marathon. It’s, again, consistency. Right, Consistency. So we talk about consistency and not, like, put as much as you can until you burn out. Like.

[00:34:01]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:34:02]  Jeanelle Castro 

Right.

[00:34:03]  Megan Porta 

So, yeah, in order to stay consistent, I feel like you really do need to be passionate, too, about what you’re publishing. I wouldn’t be able to be consistent if I were like, well, this is boring. I have to come up with a topic to talk about today. I mean, clearly, Jeanelle, you show up and you’re, like, feeling passionate about the things you talk about and connecting with your people over the years, these topics.

[00:34:26]   

So don’t you feel like that’s something we absolutely need on YouTube?

[00:34:31]  Jeanelle Castro 

Yeah. I mean, at least, at the very least, maybe have the passion to, like, help somebody out, which a lot of bloggers, I mean, especially a lot of women, like, love to help. And so I think that naturally comes out. I think you just have to remember that what you’re putting out is very valuable.

[00:34:51]   

And I think at the very baseline level, when I, like, do not have the passion, because there are those days. There’s a lot of those days. And I was like, I just. I don’t feel like it. You can always turn to that piece of like, well, I could help out another mother or I could help out another, you know, woman who’s struggling with this and.

[00:35:11]   

And just have some purpose to each video.

[00:35:14]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, I think that’s what I. Mm.

[00:35:16]  Jeanelle Castro 

Yeah.

[00:35:17]  Megan Porta 

So if you’re not. Yeah, go ahead.

[00:35:19]  Jeanelle Castro 

Oh. Basically, what I want to say is bloggers have so much content in just one blog post that you put in. Like, I think you could probably make five shorts from one blog post because you put so much information in there. That’s it.

[00:35:34]  Megan Porta 

Yeah. No, that’s so true. Repurposing. Keep that at the top of your mind. I have one more question about music. So I know I found that YouTube shorts is pretty picky with the music you can use. And often it’ll be like, this is banned in some areas. We’re not going to show it.

[00:35:52]   

So I’ve just started doing, like, a search for music specific to YouTube that’s like, royalty free. And then I’ll type in the genre or like, if I want 80s music or piano or whatever. And that seems to be working. What is your strategy with music?

[00:36:09]  Jeanelle Castro 

So my strategy with music is that I don’t use it anymore because it’s okay.

[00:36:12]  Megan Porta 

Well, that’s great. Yeah.

[00:36:14]  Jeanelle Castro 

Yeah. Again, we’re talking about my remodel and I’m just like, there’s so much happening. You always got to think of like, what is giving me the most headache. Weirdly enough, music has become such a headache for me to add to my videos that it was holding me back from posting another thing. Yeah, yeah.

[00:36:33]   

Especially with YouTube shopping and they’re so picky with like the music that you use for YouTube shopping because then you can’t tag stuff. And I was like, oh, what’s the point?

[00:36:42]  Megan Porta 

What?

[00:36:43]  Jeanelle Castro 

Yeah, they make it really difficult. And so I was like, you know what? Forget it. So then I was just like, forget this. I’m not posting this with music. If it’s another thing that is keeping me, it’s another like hurdle obstacle. But I do use my voice, so that’s the other thing. Okay, I, I use my voice and so you.

[00:37:10]   

I don’t necessarily need music. I love music though. I love adding it because it adds to the vibe and the mood. But until they fix it with the YouTube shopping stuff or like, this is not supported in other countries, then what’s the point of me using it if it’s kind of hurting my.

[00:37:28]  Megan Porta 

Absolutely. That actually is a relief to hear that you are, you’re, you’re just fine. Nothing changed. I’m assuming you’re views didn’t drastically change once you made that decision.

[00:37:38]  Jeanelle Castro 

Oh, yeah, no.

[00:37:39]  Megan Porta 

Okay.

[00:37:39]  Jeanelle Castro 

Again, it’s like about the content. It’s all about the content and how you resonate with people and how you help people. I would say, though, I’m not gonna ignore that there are a lot of bloggers who like to just kind of do like, like a five second clip of maybe mixing something and there’s text on top.

[00:37:56]   

If you absolutely need to use music. I look for royalty free sources and you can pay for them or you can just find ones that are royalty free. Like classical music is public domain and just use the same ones. What you’re trying to do is reduce the amount of friction that you have from creating the video to posting.

[00:38:17]   

And if music is going to be an issue, but you absolutely have to use music. Look for public domain stuff, look for royalty free, have that in a folder and just reuse the same ones.

[00:38:28]  Megan Porta 

That’s it. Yeah, that’s great. I know. I found a. It’s an instrumental version of one of Eminem songs that’s royalty free. And for whatever reason, like every time I put this with one of my YouTube shorts, people seem to love it. And I was like, okay, I guess I’m an Eminem girl, so I’m embracing that.

[00:38:47]   

That’s so funny. Hilarious. But it’s like, my son listens to Eminem, so he would be just cringing if he heard me say this. Like, mom, you’re not using Eminem for your shorts. But I’m like, hey, it works.

[00:39:00]  Jeanelle Castro 

Yeah, that’s the other thing where, like, the power of using music is sometimes people will be like, wow, I can’t believe you use this. It’s crazy. Like, I used, like, this. I don’t know if, you know, Five Nights at Freddy’s, but I was using that in the background of, like, my videos. And that creates engagement, which is nice, of course.

[00:39:19]   

Nice to have.

[00:39:20]  Megan Porta 

Right. A reason to engage. Like, oh, Megan, I didn’t realize you were so into Eminem. Oh, gosh. Are there any other, like, details about shorts that we’ve missed that you wanted to mention? We’ve covered a lot, but just wanted to touch back on that.

[00:39:37]  Jeanelle Castro 

Let’s see. We were talking about the hooks, titles, thumbnails. You said that those are the most important. And I think we just talked about making sure that your video resonates with people. Yeah. I would say once you upload a video, make sure, you know, eyes on the prize. Right. You know, the goal is to post the video, do everything you can to make sure you post that video and not hold yourself back other than that. Yeah. Like, the only way to get better at making them is by making them.

[00:40:12]  Megan Porta 

Yeah. It’s so true. The more you push yourself to make them, the more progress you’re going to make with getting better. Right. Like, with all the things like you said, figuring out what’s holding you back. What are the hangups? What are the hurdles? What are the things you actually like? What? What gets easy over, easier over time.

[00:40:30]  Jeanelle Castro 

Exactly.

[00:40:31]  Megan Porta 

Yeah. And then as far as. This is something I forgot to ask you. As far as length goes, I know you can go up to, like, is it three minutes on shorts or. Okay, yeah, three. And do you have a time frame that typically works for you or is it all over the place?

[00:40:47]  Jeanelle Castro 

No, I’m just like. Again, like, it goes back to the big picture of, like, why am I posting this video? I’m not here to hit a certain, like, minute mark. It’s more of, like, the value that you’re giving to people. So if you’ve delivered the value, just be done right. Sometimes I add a little something, like a nice little story, but that all feeds into the value of this short short.

[00:41:15]   

Because when I add that story, people remember stories better. And so it’s not something just Philly And I’m not just using it to pass time. Once you’re done with your video, be done. If you want to say something else that you didn’t get to say in that video, great, great news. You have another short that you can make in a few days or next week.

[00:41:36]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:41:36]  Jeanelle Castro 

So, yeah, I wouldn’t pay attention to that stuff again. It’s. I think you really got to focus on just post the video. And if it doesn’t fit in that goal of post the video, then you probably don’t need it. So maybe don’t pay as much attention to how long your video has to be.

[00:41:56]   

Don’t pay as much attention to the description, the tags, things like that, because the big needle mover is the content that you put out.

[00:42:06]  Megan Porta 

Hitting publish. I know we can get so hung up on those little details and talk ourselves out of publishing. I do that sometimes still. Like, oh, I. I want to find the perfect music or I want the perfect text overlay or whatever. And then I’m like, wait, no, just like you’re saying, just get it up and move on.

[00:42:26]   

Learn for next time.

[00:42:28]  Jeanelle Castro 

Yeah. And the craziest part is the one that you held back on, you don’t know, but that one might hit like a million views, Right?

[00:42:35]  Megan Porta 

I know you always hear those stories, like, I sat on this short or video for five months and publish it, and then it went viral or whatever.

[00:42:44]  Jeanelle Castro 

So that’s how it is. I. I could tell you, like, two videos in the last couple weeks that I wasn’t going to post, and they ended up, like, hitting like, a million,

[00:42:54]  Megan Porta 

like, being number one. I was like, that’s c. Okay, so that right there is everyone’s permission to just publish the thing that’s sitting in your drafts folder or that is in your mind?

[00:43:06]  Jeanelle Castro 

Yes.

[00:43:07]  Megan Porta 

Do you have final words for people who haven’t gotten into shorts? Just maybe some final encouragement before we say goodbye. Like, why should they do it? I don’t know. Whatever you have for us, Janelle.

[00:43:19]  Jeanelle Castro 

Well, I would say, again, it is so much more manageable than you think. You just. Just have to slim it down to reach that one goal. And your one goal is to post the video. So anything that’s getting in the way of that, you know, cut it out Again, like description, the tags, maybe even the music.

[00:43:43]   

Your one goal is to post that video. What can you do to post that video with a lifestyle that you have? I understand there’s a lot of moms out there. There’s a lot of women, like, juggling a lot of different things. Just get that video out. You will feel complete and confident that you actually did it.

[00:44:01]   

And then just layer it on, like, get better with each video. And before you know it, you’re in it for a few years and you’re suddenly really good at making videos. But it actually took a few years. Yeah.

[00:44:14]  Megan Porta 

Right. And not to get hung up on the timeline too. Right. Like, yeah, people have in their minds, like, this is going to take me six months, you know, and it’s not just with video. This is for so many things in blogging, like getting your blog off the ground or making Instagram, like getting Instagram followers or whatever.

[00:44:31]   

The thing is in your mind, we can get so hung up on that. But just. Yeah, just doing one. One step at a time. Keep moving forward, being consistent. All the things you said are exactly.

[00:44:43]  Jeanelle Castro 

That’s how you got here in the first place.

[00:44:44]  Megan Porta 

Right?

[00:44:45]  Jeanelle Castro 

That’s right. Got to anywhere in life.

[00:44:46]  Megan Porta 

Exactly. I love it. This was so awesome and just what I needed today. Thank you, Janelle, for this and all the value you shared.

[00:44:55]  Jeanelle Castro 

Of course. Thanks. It was great talking to you too. I was like, oh, I know. Great. Like, I feel like I’m. I’m back. Yay. All this stuff that’s happening. I know.

[00:45:02]  Megan Porta 

I know that feeling. And I know you have services to offer. Do you want to mention this now just in case somebody needs a little help?

[00:45:10]  Jeanelle Castro 

Yeah, sure. So I’ve been helping a few of my blogger friends, like, get their videos up online. And it’s a lot of this stuff that we talked about. Right. Whatever is like holding you back or even like. I think what’s really helpful for people is kind of assessing the different topics they can talk about, the hooks that they could use.

[00:45:30]   

And so if that’s something you want to do, I am offering my consultation services and it’s on my website, jeanelleats.com work with me or just look up jeanelleats.com. it’s one of the tabs, so you should be able to find it there.

[00:45:45]  Megan Porta 

That’s great. And we will put this in your show notes too. So if you just want to go there too, you can go to eatblogtalk.com/jeanelleats either way, you can find that Work with me tab. Um, yeah. Thank you so much. And then our. Do you want to mention, I’m assuming, your YouTube channel? I think it’s just Jeanelle Eats.

[00:46:04]  Jeanelle Castro 

Yeah. Also YouTube.com/Jeanelleats.

[00:46:07]  Megan Porta 

Yeah. And Instagram and TikTok. Same.

[00:46:10]  Jeanelle Castro 

Jeanelle Eats. Okay. It’s consistent.

[00:46:12]  Megan Porta 

Same across the board. Consistency is your middle name. So go find Janelle wherever you want. Especially YouTube though. And thank you again so much for all of this Janelle. We appreciate you and thank you for listening food bloggers. I will see you next time.

[00:46:31] Outro   

Thank you so much for listening to Eat Blog Talk. The best way to support this show is to share it with another blogger or friend who could use encouragement today. Let’s share the love. I will see you in the next episode.