Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Megan Skinner. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Megan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?
Absolutely! I’d probably be way further in my journey by now. I’m not currently monetized so it’s been difficult to do this. I do often wish I started in 2014 when I first started having this idea and wanting to do it but I figured it was better for me to get a full time job and work my way up. And for a while, it did work. I got a job at a news station, then taught English in Japan, came back and got a job at a local production company, and then eventually Warner Bros Discovery. I never imagined that almost ten years into my career I’d be getting laid off and have such a difficult time finding a job. The only thing keeping me afloat right now besides my husband is doordash, and even that is dwindling.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a very small gaming Youtuber (just a little over 500 subs at the moment) (https://youtube.com/@themegchan) who loves playing indie horror games, stardew valley, and retro games. I’ve been doing this consistently since 2023 when I lost my job at a big media corporation. I’ve seen steady growth since then but my background is in editing, television, and production coordination. I went to the university of Tennessee where I got a degree in Journalism. Right after college I discovered youtubers like markiplier and game theory and thought…I could do that! But I didn’t (because of my reasoning in the last question) but ten years later found myself in a position where the universe was literally forcing me to go back to it, and I’m glad it did! I believe entertainment is my true calling in life and I love being funny and reacting to jumpscares on camera (though my life will probably be ten years shorter now) and I really hope I can make this my actual full time job one day! The highest compliment I’ve received has being compared to Markiplier himself (it’s happened twice now) so I truly believe I have what it takes to one day reach a million subs.
How did you build your audience on social media?
I’m in a small youtubers group on Facebook (of which I’m a moderator) and I see a lot of people come in and ask “how long until I’m monetized?” or “what’s the fastest way to get monetized?” and although money IS important, if that’s all you’re aiming for, you will fail. Even when you do hit the monetization threshold (1000 subs and 4000 watch hours), the road to that first $100 pay check sometimes takes months. This is a field where you have to have passion and love what you do. You have to have personality (for God sakes do not use ai to create your channel, people can tell and there’s no creativity in it). Think about the big youtubers and what they have in common…Markiplier, Jacksepticeye, Matpat, even Mr beast… They all have personality and amazing camera presence.
When I boot up a game and turn on my camera I smile, face the camera, and with a boisterous voice, I enthusiastically say “hello my babies! Tis I, themegchan!” which is silly and almost cringe but it gets your attention, and it shows personality. But you don’t want to overdo it either. The best advice I have is be yourself! And be silly! Be cringe! He authentic. I’ve had many people tell me I’m cringe and I own it with “I’m the queen of cringe.”
That’s another thing is there will be people who will try to troll you or get you to give up but they’re just jealous they don’t have the guts to do it too.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
Matpat’s final video on actual game theory has helped me a lot, as well as listening to him talk about YouTube in any other video. I followed his journey from the early days so I take his advice very seriously. I also like Mrbeast’s (although he has been controversial lately) advice on your first 100 videos. Your first 100 videos will probably be crap. But every video you do, learn from it, build on it, and take that to the next one. I do a “post mortem” on every one of my videos and pick something I did right and something I did wrong and can change for next time.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @themegchan
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1DJ5jqb39Z/
- Linkedin: Megan_clifton
- Twitter: Themegchan
- Youtube: @Themegchan
