Everything Pawel says in this video is 100% correct. The thing that people don't understand about influencing and affiliate marketing is that, to be successful at it, you have to provide value to your viewers, and you have to be a trusted source of information. Providing value brings them back to watch more videos. Being trusted means that when you recommend a product, they go buy it. Providing value means that when you ask them to click the affiliate link, they feel like you've earned it, and they go do it. So many people seem to think that affiliate marketing is just a matter of putting a link dump underneath your video. That might have worked in 2018 but it doesn't work today. As with any succesful business, the first question cannot be, "what will the customer give me?" The first question has to be, "How will I serve the customer," and only then can you start thinking about compensation. And I think a lot of creators, influencers, and affiliate marketers miss that. I honestly believe the reason I am so successful is that I put out a LOT of educational content. So I have a massive bank of good will stored up that, when I ask people, hey could you use an affiliate link or join my patreon, they are happy to do it. Channels that only do reviews have to work harder to get the bank of good will. They think, "Affiliate Links = Money," and, "Reviews = Affiliate Links," so clearly the right approach is to put out as many reviews as possible. But obviously that's wrong.
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
Yes, educational content that provides value is the key to having an audience that trusts you. Totally agree on channels that concentrate on reviews only. It has to a nightmare to keep up the pace and roll out new review video every 2 days. A year ago I cut number of videos I create from 2-3 per week to only 1. And it's still a lot of work, but I reject most review offers I get (with some exceptions of course) and concentrate on content I want to make, educational, hopefully evergreen that audence wants to see. The results are mixed, but surprsingly, channel number are basically the same as when I produced 3 videos per week. Crazy :)
@TMacDo24310 ай бұрын
Well put. Just something I've noticed over the years from review based youtubers is their lack of good intentions. On the outside, their intentions seem to stem from just wanting free stuff from the company for being a reviewer. As a result, they never tell you what they really think about something. That's been the biggest detriment to the fixed wing hobby for years, IMO. It's the same with 3D printing, and pretty much any reviewer that gets provided products for free in return for views. I would go as far as to say that it's quite toxic, actually. But you two... You two have provided me with a wealth of knowledge and actual value, and I know I speak for everyone when I say I appreciate you guys and the effort you put into this hobby.
@NorthIceMan10 ай бұрын
Hey Joshua--don't be surprised if you see a AtomRC Dolphin(with maple leaf) fly over yer backyard - I'm just north of you about 600 km? Hell-thats only a hop-skip-and-a-jump for the gear we have out there now! 😁
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
lol@@NorthIceMan
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
Happy flying@@TMacDo243
@BOTGRINDER10 ай бұрын
Thanks for the shout out! and damn what a fantastic video! all such good points.
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
Thanks man!
@ZoeFPV10 ай бұрын
Never wanted to be an influencer; just fly and be a pilot that builds/makes cool stuff that flies hahaha. Really hoping I can find a way to get into the commercial side of drones and let 3D / Racing become my passion untainted by trying to monetize things.
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
I think barely noone started this adventure with "I will be an influencer" in mind. It happened in between secod and third viral video I suppose! Good luck @ZoeFPV !
@JDDupuy10 ай бұрын
Dang Zoe FPV you still in CA?
@CurryKitten10 ай бұрын
Ok, you've got them all fooled. I'll see you at the monthly KZbinr's Lamborghini street race soon :)
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
I'm more of a Rolls Royce guy ;)
@dronecamps10 ай бұрын
Hahaha @CurryKitten. We saw a GOLD Lamo today. We all said wow and took a few selfies lol. After our kids game we came out and the owner was sitting in his gold Lambo with the engine running. He was wearing a HUGE Puffy Fur jacket, Prada glasss, and a huge hat. We lost all admiration instantly and looked away. 🤡
@kardady10 ай бұрын
haha cool
@marcdornan145410 ай бұрын
If I may say I throw you $5 a month because you are truly one of the few that supports the hobby with educational videos as well as your stellar iNav contributions. FPV is way too niche for anyone to make any serious money influencing. I suspect that Bardwell is himself wondering how long he can do this full-time as his revenue must be declining. Can't believe I would ever enjoy someone with a nose ring so much -- but I do like Botgrinder's content and spirit.
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
Thank you very much !
@edrone_10 ай бұрын
Having my KZbin channel since 2009 I can safely say that maintaining that channel and consistently uploading while interacting with your community is alot of work. Keeping up with trends in the hobby can create alot of pressure on video creators who are trying to make a living out of this. Thankfully for me KZbin has always been an extra source of income that I put back into the community with giveaways to keep my focus on having fun and creating content that I want to create versus having a whole room full of review products to make videos on that for me would lead me to burnout. Great video and points!
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
Thanks! Happy flying man!
@DanoFPV10 ай бұрын
The best advice I got when I was a kid was this: Dont let others influence your decisions, take their opinions into consideration, try things out for yourself and make up your own mind whats good and bad.
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
that is an outstanding advice! Exactly, see how others see it and project onto your needs
@fotalimark10 ай бұрын
Pawel, Hello again from Des Moines, IA, USA. I have a great idea for INAV it would be nice if the 3D Cruise had an altitude adjuster. Put an OSD element that says "Requested Altitude", and then we could put it on a rotary switch and set it up or down as we like. Then the plane will stay in 3D cruise, and climb or descend to the requested altitude!
@NorthIceMan10 ай бұрын
BTW - You, Mr D (England) and Joshua are probably the most entertaining and educational to watch. You don't get paid enough and if I was a rich man I would donate much more!
@Kleinage10 ай бұрын
Thank you Pawel, your wisdom is refreshing and grounded in reality.
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
No, thank you!
@kellybrown24578 ай бұрын
Influencers ruined the hobby years ago.
@FPVUniversity8 ай бұрын
please elaborate
@michelbrusq398110 ай бұрын
Hello Pawel As an old graduated mecanical engineer (composites materials specialized), 4years ago during covid era, I discovered DIY thechno hobby (3Dprinting DIYCNC droneFPV VTOL Autonomous flight) I was very impressed with the pedagogy content of youtube videos and "quasi professional" freeware tools that enable anyone to do anything !! Very impressed but also very worried ! Could you imagine 4years ago that FPV will be a NEW WAR GAME CHANGER ? If you want an easy way to make money with your FPV experience and knowledge : You can go sell your soul to the devil ! but we all know you're a good guy. Take care of you and take care off the "good" use of Inav Developments Best Regards Michel from France
@peterdeacon408510 ай бұрын
Some influencers on YT may not be the best but this is definitely one of the best and most entertaining videos you have published and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. Liked and subscribed and I will now join your patreon group. Your video on re-winding motors is excellent and persuaded me to have a go and I have now repaired several motors that I thought were toast. They all now work again! Thank you.
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
Wow, thank you! Happy flying!
@sptrader631610 ай бұрын
You are an influencer for me. You got me into INAV and I love it !
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
Another satisfied customer ;)
@ArezkiB10 ай бұрын
Massive thanks Pawel, keep going supporting the hobby I enjoy watching your videos and learn from you 🎉
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
Thank you!
@BonesFPV9 ай бұрын
Most of us are just under the influence.
@Videolinquency10 ай бұрын
The FPV community is technologically aware,, we will listen to resources like yourself, but not to impostors. Most of us can tell the difference. Those who can't will soon enough give up because they can not make anything work. Thanks for helping the rest of us. Happy flying!
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
Happy flying
@grimripperrr10 ай бұрын
5:30 it's not impossible, I just haven't gotten there yet. ;) no but seriously the biggest issue is that most FPV content that we have is pretty much all the same, and a lot of it is very focused on very specific things, which makes it alientating to other audiences, but if someone were to make FPV content that was more approachable to more people, then certainly they could get millions of views.
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
We can discuss how big the potential audience is. I say it's very small comparing to others.
@craig1999 ай бұрын
It’s called “Imposter syndrome“ so basically when a genre or new fad starts catching on there is a lot of this type of drama until one or few eventually dominate the field. In this case all of these FPV folk are not calculating Chinese manufacturers that are flooding the hobby with drones using the same “influencers” so for them it’s literally a circle of progression but for the “US influencers” it’s about who will dominant on thier own. It’s very similar to how Bitcoin or NFT start, no audience to up and downs and then becoming a “household topic”. FPV is in its infancy and is too early to have real complete influencers. If you are reading this now Is the time to get into it if you want to dominate there is time.
@Slash7FPV10 ай бұрын
That's why i support you on patreon. Hoping that you can continue to give niche knowledge and keep having motivation to innovate this great Hobby 🤘
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
motivation if you ask me is a problem recently. But as you see, I still try !
@JDDupuy10 ай бұрын
So glad I own and run a regular business! Most of the time after 2 minutes of and FPV Influencers babbling I hit the go back button!
@PowerThumb.10 ай бұрын
Thank you for this honest video/statement!
@NorthIceMan10 ай бұрын
One question🙃 where does blackbox get its date/time for recording (timestamp on .txt files) ?
@NorthIceMan10 ай бұрын
The reason I ask is my log files have the wrong time--I assume it gets it from GPS and my GPS time is correct (+4 hours from Greenwich)
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
if you have GPS, from GPS. If no GPS then on SD card it's just the same time in the past. For logs from flash downloaded via Configurator it's date you download
@theRealJoelB10 ай бұрын
Downloading from SD is not possible? I'm playing with wings and INAV for the first time ever and found it cumbersome to undo the plane just to get to the SD card on a Speedybee wing FC... 😅
@NorthIceMan10 ай бұрын
@@FPVUniversity Thanks Pawel--I think it was my own goofup! looks like the GPS was not on at the time! I forgot a 2nd uestion/complaint? When I run iNAV v7.1.0 I cannot get the Mission Planner to come up - all other menu items in configurator look ok-just Mission Planner?
@johncarold10 ай бұрын
Hi Pawel, Great video and information. Yep I dailed as a KZbin reviewer, I had a friend who wanted to start a drone reviewing channel for disabled people. He was going to have me as a pilot because I was in a wheelchair and has C.P. but he moved, and I suck at flying drones, thanks again for the video and information.
@NorthIceMan10 ай бұрын
Very influential! 😄 I often review your videos and they are VERY helpful (influential? - NOT - just good engineering info!) Thanks!
@ricardoferreira281110 ай бұрын
Influencer steps: 1) create stupid thumbnail 2) use and abuse auto silences removal tool 3) say "best drone ever" or "game changer" dozens of times 4) have too loud annoying background music 5) add ingraved large and colorful subtitles 6) many many affiliate links
@kardady10 ай бұрын
haha yea
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
Huge subtitles are super effective tool for keeping audence retention high! Do not underestimate huge subtites!
@kardady10 ай бұрын
@@FPVUniversity oh really? thanks man
@oziumentisis10 ай бұрын
I learn from the mistakes of others who have taken my influence
@photosbyjames_9 ай бұрын
Only time I can disagree with the statement of “not every drone is the drone of the month” would when DJI releases something fpv related, they’re products receive so much hype, even when we don’t intend to buy it’s we still research about it
@fxbd10 ай бұрын
Kabab? Most influental person since years. Not many people helped delvelop fpv more than him
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
Kabab is a dentist ;)
@shannonreddaway180310 ай бұрын
Great topic, I’ve been employed by the ‘drone industry’ for the last decade, and tbh it’s a tough game. Anyone thinking drones are an easy solution to a difficult problem… Shine shoes, easier and more profitable. That being said, it’s been amazing. But peeps, FPV=Build/fly/Crash repeat.
@breakflight10 ай бұрын
Everything you said is correct, and it's also true that the wannabe influencers do the most damage because newbies don't know who to trust, so they trust them, and the wannabes have less integrity than true influencers because they are scrapping for every cent and like.
@ugpfpv36110 ай бұрын
Though i agree that there are only a few influencers in the rc/fpv..., there are more influencers in something like the independent photo,/film industry that also use drones, they use the drone as a tool and not as just a fun hobby/toy... There's also a few "professional reviewer's" iJustie comes to mind that will suggest something they have no clue about, and everything they get(including drones) is the "grestest' cough cough DJI fpv drone.
@ones_flow565210 ай бұрын
True words and entertaining. Happy flying to you too!
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
Happy flying!
@PopGheorghe10 ай бұрын
Pffff when I see the ad for your video I say to myself…. yeah…look at this guy he’s also trying to profit from the 2024 drama/can-can in FPV. BUT your clip was really good so 👍👍👍
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
Well, I definetly would not record this video if not @BOTGRINDER material. Let' say topic is inspired. And thanks a lot!
@snapgarrett110 ай бұрын
There are certain people “specifically one” who say this is their only job then brag about their views and follower count. They do a lot of scummy stuff to their viewers and relay on their large amount of followers to continue following while deleting comments and ignoring messages from the people they burned. And then they play the victim and brag about being strong when called out.
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
Let me ask like this: what's wrong with having a successfull career and telling others about it? I mean, this part alone is just OK. On the scummy stuff, you have to be more specific over here
@snapgarrett110 ай бұрын
@@FPVUniversity I agree with it not being an issue about talking about your accomplishments but there’s a huge difference between talking about it and rubbing it in our faces which he has used to belittle people just starting off. I’ve personally seen him burn people who bought stuff from him on his discord when it was still being used by people. There was a person who dc made a bundle for and was sent dead items. He then was ignored for months and was asking for help on the discord and was being ignored there as well. That’s just one of many reasons why his discord is dead now. We call it the waving discord cause it’s just welcoming message after welcoming message and nothing else for the most part. There’s also the fake giveaway for the DJI fpv kit that was promised a couple years ago that didn’t happen. Other giveaways that involved jumping through hoops just for him to pick someone based on their user name being funny that didn’t even enter the contest. Prizes for competitions that winners had to fight for months to receive with almost endless back and forth emails. Then there’s the shady way he decided to charge for his discord sections by telling us basically if you can’t afford it then you don’t belong here. He also gives people attitude when he doesn’t get his way or if you know something a little better than he does.
@nitronut172310 ай бұрын
What a classy guy. We need more like him in the FPV Hobby
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
thank you
@MJ-bj1gn10 ай бұрын
Ahh Paweł, you‘re such a great guy! We need more relaxed and tolerant people like you in this hobby
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
It's a hobby, it's for fun. Everyone should relax a little
@LalapopApple10 ай бұрын
You Forget to mention that some "influencers" sell products they got for free. But thanks for sharing ur points 👌👍
@BrainDeadEngineering10 ай бұрын
The entire UTube platform is a influencer ! ..let's not deny ! Lol
@TorontoFPV10 ай бұрын
Good points lol especially the amount of time put in to make almost nothing. Peeps don't know how hard it actually is.
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
Exactly!
@TorontoFPV10 ай бұрын
If you are down to have a chat sometime I'd love to do a fun livestream with you to talk about FPV. I never forget your red wooden drone, enjoy Chatting with different creative people every week or so. If you could spare an hour or 2 let me know. I'm in EST so figure out time difference and let me know when is best for you and we can go at it!@@FPVUniversity
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
Drop me an email at fpvuniversity@outlook.com I'm pretty sure we can try to figure it out@@TorontoFPV
@DeMoNSe3d10 ай бұрын
10,000 dollars a month, shit that gets me in perspective. In my country, Mexico, 10,000 a month is considered being a rich man! If I can make 1000 dollars a month as an influencer, that would be enough!
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
Like I said, it's subjective
@Terry_Fritz10 ай бұрын
And then we have non-influencers like Primitive Technology based in North Queensland, the opposite end of Australia from me. 10.9 million subscribers and millions of views per video. He doesn't even speak, just puts some subtitles in the video to explain the difficult bits. His only influence is to show you how hard off-grid living would be just to build yourself a shelter let alone whacking wallabies and goannas over the head so you had something to eat.
@mati_fpv10 ай бұрын
This man is spitting straight facts!
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
With a grain of humor I hope ;)
@mati_fpv10 ай бұрын
@@FPVUniversityyeah, it’s just a meme 😅
@ayoaina_fpv10 ай бұрын
Thanks Pawel! Burst a few bubbles, why don’t you eh? 😂
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
@BOTGRINDER inspired me :)
@malachiteofmethuselah97139 ай бұрын
2nd best video in FPV... forevermore.
@FPVUniversity9 ай бұрын
which is the 1st?
@malachiteofmethuselah97139 ай бұрын
@@FPVUniversity Only time will tell. Fly hard
@lrogalinski10 ай бұрын
:) so true in every hobby. There are so few who can make a living from it.
@kardady10 ай бұрын
very cool, thanks man, you are awesome 👍🙏
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
thanks!
@kardady10 ай бұрын
@@FPVUniversity just keep having fun 😁🤘🙏
@MCsCreations10 ай бұрын
Yeah... Only fans definitely isn't for me... 😂 Thanks, Pawel! Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
You too!
@eymen1310 ай бұрын
The simplest things are the most difficult. Dlatego dzieciaki dziś myślą że jak dorosną to będą (youtuberami) To nie jest takie proste, to złożony schemat z wielu elementów w tym pieniędzy. Paweł jak zwykle merytorycznie rozebrał temat na atomy świata FPV i sławy z nim związanego. 😎👍
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
tak mi się jakoś w głowie poukładał zarys i dalej jakoś poszło ;)
@SuperSurfingman110 ай бұрын
You forgot about Drone Camps.
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
DC is not in my information bubble.
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
But even so, I do not count DC as full blown "influencer"
@dronecamps10 ай бұрын
I can tell you. I make maybe a 1/4 of what Bardwell makes. That said. Bardwell deserves what he gets paid. But he LOVES drama. His videos are closest thing to Fpv's TMZ Channel. However JB has even helped me in the 10 years of our dedication to fpv. I get up every day and do RC, Fpv, and related videos. Why? Because Pawel nailed it. I LOVE IT. 💪🏻 And yes not every drone is the best. But I will tell you what the best of "what I have personally flown." No more no less. - If you think otherwise...Go fly and rip it.
@AfafPrinceOSH10 ай бұрын
Given that this fpv community is very small, these influencers should get a life and not ruin it having no indepth knowledge about fpv 😑
@RedwoodRc10 ай бұрын
I'm not influenced by anyone! I buy what I want when i want. I watch a lot of these video. From everyone that considers themselves an influencer. It doesn't push me to purchase. I basically take in the info and move on. Some people are weak minded, sorry but it's true. If you watch a video of a new product and then run and purchase it, your weak minded. Whether you can afford it or not. First question I ask myself , do I really need it? 9-10times I don't. This is how people get into Finacial troubles. I actually stepped back from purchasing when the fake chip shortage happened, allowing manufacturers to charge more. What ever happened to that situation prices never changed after that. One company stayed the course Speedybee. I love there affordable products that work flawlessly every time.
@bangkokpete503210 ай бұрын
Thanks for the video, hopefully young people stop dreaming to become „influencer“ and decide for a decent job
@neilfpv10 ай бұрын
I have an officemate who is a very famous youtuber. I'll keep his channel name confidential because I'm going to write the amount he's earning. His stuff is not related to fpv. He told me one time that in just "views" alone, he gets at least $5-$6k per month. However, for the sponsorship such as when someone buys stuff thru him, he said, that's where he gets big money. However, there is still one thing I haven't said. He has not resigned our company because the amount he is earning from youtube is not enough to cover for medical insurance. He has about 700k followers.
@Kleinage10 ай бұрын
Yeah, creatives sometimes forget that when you look at peoples salaries in buisiness, education, government or whatever, that our base salaries (for me as a teacher) is just the taxable cash I earn, while I also have a huge percentage of untaxable compensation in medical, dental, vision benefits. A full time self employed person has to pay all that stuff out of pocket. So a $65,000 education or corporate job may actually need 80-90k KZbin income to replace salary plus benefits.
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
The struggle is real! And that is a big channel in term of both views and subscribers. A few millions views per month for sure. And if this is a big niche with big brands then yeah, brand deals are possible!
@neilfpv9 ай бұрын
@@FPVUniversityYep, totally agree with you. Great video! It will definitely wake up others and what they're dreaming about.
@SebastienChedalBornu10 ай бұрын
Kinda agrees with you but there is one fkaw in your deduction: you measure each possibility alone and not as a package youtube-patreon-affiliate. And the proof is the reaction of rc drone camp.
@Carboneye710 ай бұрын
We saw a shill called a shill and lost their shilling mind
@shadofpv10 ай бұрын
LOL out of those “influencers” you named for our hobby of fpv, i only watch one…. And that is bardwell. The other’s are a waste of time to watch 😂
@ulightme10 ай бұрын
Loved it Paweł!!!!
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
Thanks
@dabfpv10 ай бұрын
as an influencer you will earn more by testing cat litter than the latest Flight Controller;)
@Sonic_Ox10 ай бұрын
Yeah, I think only a VERY small percentage of KZbinrs actually make enough money on here for it to be their full time job. Especially in the RC/FPV world. In my opinion, when you try to turn your hobby into your job, passion wanes and you lose the joy that the hobby provided. I think to be financially successful on KZbin, you really have to work your a** off too. Probably ok as a retirement gig if you don't need or expect much but as a main job or even a side hustle, "YT influencer" probably isn't the best choice. Just my 2 cents worth of advice.
@Ja-Ko10 ай бұрын
wait man, you just forgot PETRINCIC BROTHERS!!!!! :)
@pgh412reviews10 ай бұрын
bro I am crushing it with my onlyfans, it's just weird that some of my family subscribes.
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
lol!
@schtinerbock457010 ай бұрын
You influenced me to subscribe.
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
Thanks! Happy flying!
@Farming-Technology10 ай бұрын
Influenzas make me sick. 😂😂
@butcher9 ай бұрын
Hahaha, finally. Thank you :D
@FPVUniversity9 ай бұрын
Welcome!
@senseisecurityschool933710 ай бұрын
Looking forward to subscribing to your OnlyProps. I *hope* that all the time you put in brings a *little* bit of money from KZbin ads, a little bit from Patreon, though it's probably less than minimum wage.
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
LIttle bit here, little bit there and indeed there is some. Usually this somer would not be enough to pay rent of buy food.
@ShebanFPV9 ай бұрын
reverse onlyfans is hilarious ))))))
@DigitalCruzer10 ай бұрын
FDC
@bisopbisopbisop10 ай бұрын
nice
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
Thanks! Happy flying!
@Skysurferdrones10 ай бұрын
nice
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
Thanks. happy flying!
@Skysurferdrones10 ай бұрын
@@FPVUniversity i just started but thank u 👍🏼
@skycontrolproductions10 ай бұрын
not everyone wants to be an "influencer " some just like to fly, make content and better their craft. i see fpv as a lifestyle, hobby, sport & job , if you can make any money from doing this go ahead and try ......sounds like you failed and trying to tell everyone they will fail too , thats what i got from this video ...... botgrinder called out some shit he saw and drone camps ratted on himself , you guys are funny just send it !!!! i guess i fly alone so much cause sometimes people just dot like the truth ......aloha
@dario_hxc10 ай бұрын
Siguen con la misma wea, no sean chillones la cdspm! Yas atmeet teet!
@MessingWithCode10 ай бұрын
hahahahahaahahhaha i love your Irony.
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
Cool! Thanks a lot
@FattyFPV10 ай бұрын
Yes, you are ruining FPV. Please stop.
@FPVUniversity10 ай бұрын
thank you, but I was not talking about that at all