The genesis of her craft journey is a result of the pandemic. Even though she came from an artistic family and dabbled with crafting over the years, she never thought it was good enough to share with others. In August 2020, Megan started watching craft videos on TikTok and Dollar Tree crafting videos on YouTube. Then, she went to a local Dollar Tree one day, picked up many Halloween supplies, and started creating. Focusing on Dollar Tree and thrifty DIYS, her channel began with 30 subscribers in September 2020. Eight months later, she was able to monetize her channel. Now her channel has over 5,000 subscribers. During the interview with Megan Quinn, here’s what she shared:

What led you to do DIY Crafts on YouTube? How did you get to a place to feel comfortable doing videos?

I had an idea to hydro dip foam pumpkins. Even though I had never done it before, I wanted to try it. Then I realized I should make a tutorial if others want to try it; that’s how my channel started. I joined YouTube and started crafting as my therapy. Any stress I was feeling seemed to lead to a good idea for a project. Sometimes I can look at a project and remember why I made it. Maybe we can all relate to that a little bit! My thinking was, “what if I just try this?” and going in with no expectations. Having that mindset helped! Because it was working out, and I got better and better with everything. And I have to give major credit to my wonderful husband, who encouraged me to follow through with my dream. In my first ever video, he was behind the camera encouraging me the whole time, and he even did some directing! And now we’re a YouTube family/team. Unfortunately, I’m still terrible at editing my videos – one skill I have not perfected during my YouTube journey. So he volunteered to help me so that this dream could come to fruition! So he now does most of the video editing for me, and then I take over and do the rest. I feel very blessed to have a life partner that believes in my dream!

Tell us your experience with the YouTube channel. What tips and advice do you have for new channel creators?

YouTube can be fickle sometimes. No doubt about it. Sometimes it feels like the algorithm loves you, and then other times, it feels like you can’t get it right. So instead, I stopped focusing on the “algorithm” so much lately unless it came to things like making my videos more searchable. I play around with different tags/keywords and always use all 500 tag characters YouTube gives you. It matters more than you think! So I recommend paying attention to what your YouTube Studio analytics are telling you. However, the most important thing is to make the videos you want, not just ones you think others will like. You have to find a balance between those two things, but it’s more critical personally to do what you want. It is essential to point out that you want to show up as much as possible; participating in challenges is excellent for that, and you get to meet many people at once. Nevertheless, the catch is not doing too many and not biting off more than you can chew. I’m saying that as a person who used to run my monthly challenge! I am talking from experience.

What was your experience with partnerships? What did you learn, like, dislike? Do you have any advice regarding collaborations?

I have collaborated with big and small channels alike! For me, though, I feel like I mostly have teamed with people who share a similar crafting style. That’s something I started doing not long after starting my channel, and I feel like that has led to making long friendships in this crafting world. Get yourself out there and get to know people! I will say that when you’re collaborating with others, it is a way to hold yourself accountable too. I am the type of person who used to become obsessed with a new hobby and then be done in just a few months and never pick it up again. Crafting is the only hobby/passion I’ve never left behind. You need accountability partners! Moreover, don’t be afraid to ask people you may feel intimidated by to collaborate – the worst they can do is say no. The only downside to collaborations is scheduling yourself for too many and then burning out. So I have personally found success with planning two collaborations per week.

Dollar Tree DIY’s are highly competitive. How do you set yourself apart from other dollar tree crafters?

I don’t look at Pinterest unless I feel uninspired because I want to be different and stand out. I let the ideas flow naturally. If I get stuck, I step away, take a break, and do something unrelated to crafting. It’s when you stop overthinking that sometimes the ideas will flow better.

Any plans for DIY videos? Have you thought of ways to monetize other than platform payouts?

I will probably be doing more videos on using the 2022 Dollar Tree calendars – I’ve just started a series of those, so I’m excited for part II! But also, I would like to do more videos with a large number of crafts in them. On my channel, my favorite number of DIYs in a video on my own is seven. Still, I typically can only think of three to four DIY ideas when I do collaborations. I mostly monetize through YouTube ads. I have an Amazon affiliate account that allows you to make a small amount from every sale done through your Amazon links. Still, mostly, I’m focused on brand partnerships. By brand partnerships, I mean ones that will pay you your worth! As creators, we put out a lot of free content – every day. A brand shouldn’t expect you to do the same for them. Focus on the brands that value your work and put together a media kit, so you’re ready when those opportunities arise. Talk to other creators if you have concerns about pricing your services. My fellow content creators have been honest about underpricing, and I’ve appreciated the opportunity to learn from them.

How did you gain subscribers consistently? 

I think it has more to do with making the kinds of crafts you want to make. I have not done a challenge or collaboration video in almost three weeks. I’m now only doing one video a week. Instead of negatively impacting my channel’s growth, my channel ended up growing more during that period than ever. I’m not saying you shouldn’t do collaborations. I’m suggesting you make sure to make that time to try the ideas you’ve been meaning to try and let your passion show through! Also, be consistent on social media and try new ways to make sure your content gets seen. So I make Reels and TikToks a few times a week that link back to my YouTube channel as well.

The Crafty Quinn’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/thecraftyquinn