Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Mendez.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Stephanie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
One boring day at home two years ago, I just randomly suggested to my little sister (Desarae) that we do the “RUN” vine. I put a quick idea together on how we were going to do it, we grabbed the iPad and my brother as a prop and started recording. At first, the video was just going to be posted on Instagram but after a few minutes, I suggested uploading it on YouTube.
Previously, to that video I had uploaded a few random videos (Harlem shake, Ice Bucket challenge, and an in memoriam for one of my dogs). I had so much fun putting the whole thing together, that later talked Desarae into doing YouTube videos. She of course agreed but however disagreed on what type of content we would be creating, as I wanted to do skits she wanted to do challenges. I then suggested we do two different channels. At the end Desarae won by suggesting we do both in one and that is what we did. During that time, we uploaded one video weekly, alternating every two weeks between skits and challenges. We would have special guest at times (i.e., family). We did this together for a little over a year and successfully we made it to 100 subs, which was very exciting for us! Shortly after we just stopped filming. Our channel went three months without uploading anything. I lost a few subscribers of course. During those three months, I did find myself feeling a little down and like something was really missing in my life. As cheesy or overdramatic as this may sound, it’s so true.
I was actually already doing mini-reviews on my IG stories and while I was talking about Dumbo a light bulb just hit me. I announced it right there that I was revamping my YouTube channel to movie reviews. I changed the name from “Stephanie & Desarae” to “I’ll Buy the Popcorn”. On April 4, 2019 I uploaded my first official movie review, SHAZAM!
Now almost a year later, I am still learning as I making changes and upgrades for my channel to best fit me and my audience. It is important to me that my audience and supporters receive a professional and personal feel for my channel. My family has also been a huge plus in my journey. I also now have a little nuke which I decked out to do my reviews instead of doing them in my bedroom.
Overall, even though I am still just a small channel, I am very happy. Yes, I do still get stressed out, and I wish I could have more content for my viewers. That is just a little bit too difficult for me as I have an 8-5 job that limits me from doing more for my channel. The dream and the goal is to be able to do this full time, I LOVE movies, and talking about them. So why not make a career out of it.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I would say the only issue would be more of a technical problem. I have a very old laptop, so It crashes a lot and exporting takes a long time. I guess I could also say I am struggling with YouTube recommending my videos, lol. Other than that, thankfully, it has been a smooth road for me.
I’ll Buy the Popcorn – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I host a YouTube channel in my spare time. On my channel, you will expect to be updated on new movies, Netflix original’s, trailer reactions, award show related video’s and look forward to classic movie reviews. I also give you my honest and unbiased opinion on every video.
What sets me apart from most YouTubers is that I recognize that I’m not perfect. Yes, I know on occasion I mispronounce names and words. But hey, at least I can call myself out on it. That’s also what makes me so proud of my progress because I can be myself and I feel like that allows my viewers to relate with me.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My proudest moment was actually just a few months ago during award season. When both SAG Winner and Oscar Winner Reaction videos received over 300 views in under 24 hours. Those two days were very exciting for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.youtube.com/stephaniedesarae5
- Email: ibtp.reviews@gmail.com
- Instagram: mendez_519
- Twitter: mendez_519
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