Welcome to Creators on the Rise, the place—in partnership with world creator firm Jellysmack—we discover and profile breakout creators who’re within the midst of extraordinary progress.
Being within the highlight isn’t as easy as magicians make it look–and if anybody is aware of that, it’s Sean Canto Sotaridona, aka SeanDoesMagic.
The 19-year-old sleight of hand specialist has been performing all method of magic for reside audiences since he was a child. Over the previous decade, he’s mastered dozens of maneuvers, from making playing cards disappear (and alter colours, and shapeshift) to “mind-reading” to convincing Oreos to double stuf themselves. As a younger magic fanatic, he grew to become snug presenting his ever-growing trove of methods for household, buddies, and infrequently onstage for strangers.
But Sotaridona at all times felt his largest viewers awaited on YouTube. He simply couldn’t fairly attain them.
Like many millennials and Gen Z’ers, Sotaridona grew up watching creators like OG YouTuber Ryan Higa, and dreamed of getting a digital profession. When he first launched a YouTube channel in center faculty, he hoped the brief magic movies he filmed on an previous handheld digicam would take off like Higa’s antics had–however no luck. Eventually he put a pause on his YouTube aspirations and switched to Instagram, the place his brief clips had extra success: inside a 12 months on the platform, he’d netted 80,000 followers (he’s now as much as 480,000).
Then TikTookay got here alongside.
For Sotaridona, the app was an ideal match. He arrange an account in early 2019, and inside two months, had amassed a million followers with the type of brief content material he’d hoped would discover viewership on YouTube.
We right here at Tubefilter really chatted with Sotaridona in September of last year, after his TikTookay account hit 15 million followers (he’s now at 18.3 million). During our dialog about his TikTookay success, Sotaridona revealed although he was pleased to be constructing an viewers on TikTookay, he hadn’t given up on YouTube. He nonetheless felt that it was the platform for him, and nonetheless believed that in the future, he’d flip over the correct card or pull the correct rabbit out of the correct hat and at last click on with YouTube viewers.
In February 2021, that’s precisely what occurred. The proper rabbit turned out to be YouTube Shorts.
That month, Sotaridona returned to YouTube completely to add content material to Shorts, anticipating that people could be extra receptive to shortform content material. He started making Shorts clips within the first week of February; on the time, his channel had round 280,000 subscribers and netted fewer than 5 million views monthly.
Sotaridona’s channel has grown considerably since January. Data from Gospel Stats.
By February 15, Sotaridona had hit a million subscribers, and had scooped up greater than 150 million views. His Shorts all introduced not less than a million views every, and main hits like Mom Rates My Magic Tricks, My Friends ATTEMPT To Do Magic, and 3 Easy Beginners Magic Tricks racked up 83 million, 44 million, and 20 million views, respectively.
Between February and now, Sotaridona grew his channel to 2.8 million subscribers and greater than 870 million lifetime views–and, he says, it’s all due to YouTube Shorts.
Check out our chat with him under.
Tubefilter: When we final spoke, you’d simply hit a million followers on TikTookay, and had simply determined to focus extra on YouTube. You’re now at almost 3 million subscribers on YouTube. What occurred these final 9 months? Catch us up!
SeanDoesMagic: Since the final time we spoke, I’ve been tremendous blessed with my current channel progress. A number of it has to do with YouTube’s brand-new characteristic, YouTube Shorts. Shorts is YouTube’s tackle the brand new shortform content material wave, that includes vertical movies beneath 60 seconds. I used to be in a position to hop on the brand new characteristic early, quickly rising my channel from 200K all the best way to 2 million in nearly a month or so.
Tubefilter: For those that don’t know you, inform us a little bit about you. What’s your identify? Where are you from? What do you stand up to outdoors of YouTube and content material creation?
SDM: My full identify is Sean Canto Sotaridona. I used to be born in Enschede, the Netherlands, after my dad discovered a job there from the Philippines. We shortly after moved to the United States, the place I used to be raised. I used to be a really extroverted child and I cherished to entertain others. When I used to be solely six years previous, I discovered a love for magic. I’d purchase magic kits, DVDs, particular props, and gimmicks to be taught and develop at a younger age. By the age of twelve, I used to be doing avenue magic and even some stage exhibits.
Tubefilter: When and why did you be part of YouTube? When and why did you be part of TikTookay? What appeals to you about content material creation total?
SDM: I began my YouTube channel in March 2012, at a younger age of solely 10 years previous. I grew up watching the OG YouTubers equivalent to Ryan Higa, and I immediately fell in love with the platform. Soon I discovered that there was a magic neighborhood on the platform I already cherished. This is the place I used to be impressed to create my very own magic channel and produce my very own movies utilizing an previous handheld digicam.
As I grew older, I by no means stopped my love for each magic and for filming movies. By the top of my center faculty years, I discovered a brand new platform known as Instagram. I posted a few of my magic movies there, and by the top of 2018, I had over 80,000 followers. The starting of 2019 is after I posted my first ever TikTookay, and inside the first two months, I had grown a tremendous neighborhood of over a million buddies and followers.
Tubefilter: Your channel has just lately seen an enormous enhance in views and subscribers, which–as you talked about–has so much to do with YouTube Shorts. Do you bear in mind which of your Shorts was the primary to go viral? Are there any which were significantly fashionable and actually pushed folks to your channel?
SDM: The first time I posted a YouTube Short was round February 2021. I had just lately heard that lots of people had been discovering early success inside the brand-new characteristic on YouTube, and as somebody who has already created a ton of shortform magic content material, I used to be fast to hop on.
My first brief was titled, Girl is AMAZED during Magic Trick (Omegle Best Moments), by which I did a magic trick to a random spector on the web. Within the primary week, that video blew up and grew to over 700,000 views. From there, I began taking lots of my shortform content material from TikTookay and sharing it with my YouTube viewers. Soon, each single Short on my web page was rising between one and 10 million views a video.
Tubefilter: What affect has YouTube Shorts had in your channel and its progress? Is there something it provides you and different creators that YouTube principal doesn’t by way of discovering viewers and rising your viewers?
SDM: YouTube Shorts has had a big impact on my progress in my channel. Prior to YouTube Shorts, I used to be looking for my footing once more on YouTube, and I used to be struggling to keep up progress–however with the flexibility to incorporate shortform content material in addition to long-form content material on my channel, it’s actually opened up a complete new viewers to my web page.
Tubefilter: How does YouTube Shorts differ from TikTookay, in your expertise? Is it simpler to go viral? Are there sure issues about Shorts you want higher than TikTookay, or vice versa? Are you focusing extra on YT or TikTookay proper now–or each?
SDM: There actually isn’t a complete lot of distinction between TikTookay and YouTube Shorts. Both are categorized beneath 60 seconds and each characteristic vertical movies. I feel the largest distinction is that, as a creator, I now have to deal with advertising and marketing a title for YouTube
Shorts, as a result of not like TikTookay, Shorts require a title. But by way of what I’m focusing extra on, they’re each shortform content material and lots of the content material stays the identical between the platforms, so they’re equal in my eyes.
Tubefilter: Has your current engagement uptick modified something for you? Do you’ve got any new plans or targets to your content material profession?
SDM: The current engagement undoubtedly has helped convey a brand new viewers to my channel, but it surely hasn’t modified a lot for me. I’ve already been a full-time content material creator for the final two years, and the last word purpose and imaginative and prescient for this 12 months has been the identical: to proceed to develop my viewers and unfold the enjoyment of magic to as many individuals as doable. Whether that’s on TikTookay, Instagram Reels, Snapchat, or now YouTube Shorts–so long as I’m in a position to develop my viewers and unfold the love, that’s all that issues.
Tubefilter: What’s your favourite factor about creating content material?
SDM: What I like essentially the most about creating content material is the concept that I’m in a position to positively affect thousands and thousands of individuals just by spreading the enjoyment of magic. Something I create can genuinely make somebody’s day higher, and that’s one motive why I completely love creating content material.
Tubefilter: What’s subsequent within the instant future for you and your channel? Where do you see your self in 5 years?
SDM: Some thrilling issues which might be arising is that we’re presently engaged on a brand new magic present; it’s been within the works for a couple of months and we’re so excited to lastly share it with the world! In phrases of long-term targets, like I mentioned, I’m engaged on persevering with to unfold the love and pleasure of magic. But except for that, I’d additionally like to get into the
world of performing and internet hosting; and it will be the last word purpose to host the Oscars in the future. However, we’re taking it one step at a time, one 12 months at a time, and I’m very pleased with the place I’m right now.
(*4*)Jellysmack is the worldwide creator firm that detects and develops the world’s most proficient video creators. The firm’s proprietary video optimization expertise and knowledge drive social viewers progress, unlocking new income streams and amplifying monetization.
Currently house to over 150 influential Creators together with PewDiePie, MrBeast, Brad Mondo, and Bailey Sarian, Jellysmack optimizes, operates, and distributes creator-made video content material to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTookay, Twitter, and YouTube. Jellysmack-managed content material boasts 10 billion world month-to-month video views and a cross-platform attain of 125 million distinctive U.S. customers, making it the most important U.S. digital-first firm in month-to-month social media viewers.
Looking to develop your social presence? Let’s talk.
(*1*)
