May 01, 2023 [[read-time]] minute read
Scott Frenzel is now known for his fast talking, mini microphone and fake braces, but it didn’t start out that way. After he lost his restaurant job in the pandemic, he started making videos to pass the time. His videos revisit old trends and nostalgia, and sometimes dabble into reaction videos. Once the videos started to get some attention, he used his mix of an entertainment business and social media background to build a brand and create a dream career.
So how did he make this happen in just some handful of months? Here are Scott's tips and advice.
"Listen, I'm a little lazy, I’ll admit it. I don’t want to come up with a brand new revolutionary video idea every day and I don't think I could," he says. "But I figured out early on, when I did brainstorm, if I thought less about a single video and more about how I could create a series, it would be much more successful."
Scott says that with a series, it's much easier to rinse and repeat, tweaking it so it’s different enough to be interesting. Since his videos are primarily comedic, he'll use the opportunity to add a few new jokes and boom! Content! For example, his series, “What your elementary school school supplies say about you” became very easy to just plug three more school supplies in and make a couple jokes.
Some of Scott's most successful series are the “That Kid,” “Embarrassing Mistakes Every College Freshman Makes” and “Things I thought were expensive as a kid (that are shockingly cheap)" series. They're all relatable and funny enough to create multiple ideas and conversations about.
"Basically if I had a fun idea for a video, I asked myself 'If this does well, can I make a part 2, 3, 4, 16, 30 and so on of this?'"
“If you enjoy creating the videos ... you’ll never get burnt out because you’ve fallen in love with the process, not the results.”
Scott Frenzel
Chasing after metrics might be exciting at first, but if that's all you're after, you might be in for a disappointment. "When I first started doing well creating content, I was working as a server at a restaurant and it was such a sugar high seeing the likes and views rack up on my videos. It felt like my ticket to my dreams in entertainment," Scott says. "But I remember the dark feeling the first time I had a video flop, and then another flop and another. I felt like it was over, that I had caught on to some fleeting fame and then it had slipped through my fingers, it was gone.
"The truth is you’re never in control of the views, likes and subscriber counts, but you are in control of the content creation process. If you enjoy creating the videos, if you make yourself laugh when you film, or impress yourself trying new editing skills or create a sick new transition, you’ll never get burnt out because you’ve fallen in love with the process, not the result."
“Views can pay your bills, but a community makes a career.”
Scott Frenzel
There's a difference! "Followers will watch your videos, but fans will buy your merch, fans will come to your show, fans will freak out in public when they see you and ask for a picture. Which do you want?" Scott ponders. "There’s no right answer, but I’m proud of the community I’ve created online. That took more than just making videos, it meant going on live streams and connecting with my audience in a more intimate way. It meant making a more personal video that I knew wouldn’t go viral, but that would be very meaningful to my close community.
"Views can pay your bills, but a community makes a career."
It's an advice often given to budding creators, but means very little to Scott. "We’re retiring the word niche. It’s tired, it’s 65 and it wants to cash out its pension and vacation in Puerto Vallarta," Scott jokes. "Every time I see content creator advice videos, they say 'niche down,' 'find your niche,' meh. I consider my niche'“nostalgic comedy, life hacks and college tips' — but what does that mean? Who knows!"
Instead, think of niches that exist as a place to start but find ways to set yourself apart. The only thing that makes a cooking video different than the next one is the creator themselves. "It doesn’t matter exactly what your 'niche' is, the best creators can cover all different types of niches, but they are always able to inject themselves into it to make a unique experience for the viewer, something no one could ever copy," Scott says. "For me, I’ve boiled it down to putting a little wittiness, a little heart, a little humor and a little knowledge into every video, and when I can put those ingredients in it always makes a uniquely 'Scott Frenzel' video."