Tony Katz has heard the YouTube success stories plenty of times, and he isn’t buying them. Katz is morning host on 93 WIBC in Indianapolis. He also hosts the nationally syndicated Tony Katz Today from Key Networks and the weekend show and podcast Eat, Drink, Smoke.
Still, he believes creators shouldn’t put all their eggs in the YouTube basket. Katz didn’t jump into video with any guarantees. Instead, he gave himself a year to see what would happen.
“I have no idea if it works,” Katz said. “I have no idea if it’s the right thing to do. I have no idea if there is a proactive, monetizable audience out there. The only thing I know is that there is no way of knowing without doing it. And so I said, ‘Ok, let me give myself a year to actually build something and see if there is something I can do with it.’”
Mixed Results, Modest Money
The results have been mixed, and Katz doesn’t sugarcoat them.
“They’re absolutely, in every way, mixed,” Katz said. “If you ask me, am I recreating my financial future with this? The answer is no. If you ask me, is it clear that I’m reaching people I wasn’t reaching before because I have more content out there? The answer is yes.”
Still, he doubts the big paydays other creators tout.
“There are some people making money that way,” said the longtime radio host. “They’re few and far between. God bless them. The vast majority of people aren’t making a holy damn dime. It’s really a question of asking yourself, what is it that you’re advertising?”
That skepticism extends to the popular creator-exit story. When asked about leaving WIBC for a full-time YouTube show, Katz turned the question around.
“You tell me why I would do it,” Katz said. “Maybe some people like working for themselves. Maybe they feel a better freedom in that. But the economics, I don’t think, really work out that way.”
Build on What You Have
Instead of going all in, Katz favors a balanced approach. He treats video as an extension of his radio work, not a replacement.
“I’m doing what I already do, and I’m finding better ways to share that,” shared Katz. “So it’s only mildly frustrating. Now, find me a job anywhere in America that isn’t mildly frustrating.”
Meanwhile, the team behind his show handles much of the heavy lifting.
“They’re literally creating shorts on the fly with what they’re doing,” said the longtime radio host. “I’m not even sure how they’re actually doing it, but more and more stuff is up and out there of a show I’m already doing.”
By contrast, he faults stations that demand more without offering tools.
“If you’re not getting any help from your station, they’re demanding you do more,” Katz said. “That’s screwed up, and the stations are wrong. And stations don’t like hearing that they’re wrong, but they are. They’re just wrong if they’re not making any investments to help build their local sales.”
Why Local Wins
Despite the skepticism, Katz still sees clear advantages. For starters, he believes the algorithm rewards persistence.
“If you stay at it, you will find that because you’re putting more content out there, the algorithm works,” shared Katz. “It’s real, and it will reach more people, and more people will have a chance to hear you or say that they saw you. You’re therefore more top of mind.”
Furthermore, he thinks that visibility pays off locally.
“It’s seeing you and seeing you and seeing you and connecting you to the station,” said the longtime radio host. “Therefore, sponsors are connected to you, and them feeling good about what it is you’re doing, that you’re serious about what you’re doing — that’s the circle of build. That’s where the money is.”
Of course, none of it works without regular effort.
“The more you have out there, the more you get seen, and the consistency is everything,” Katz said. “You’ve got to do it all the time. You have to have a regularity.”
Ultimately, Katz credits his own results to identity and volume.
“I think our success is from having a real identity in Indianapolis, a real identity with WIBC, the regularity of the content, and, for me, because of my rare position in doing two shows, how much content I have out there,” shared Katz. “I just have more than the average guy because I do a lot.”
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