My 2024 Rewind
What just happened?!
Before I begin this 2024 rewind, I should state that if any family or friends read this (or if you have been following my journey for a while), please understand that my memory is woeful. I’m relying on YouTube videos, social media posts, and Substack articles to help jog my memory. With that in mind, I ask for your forgiveness if some details and dates aren’t 100% accurate.
Overall, I believe the content in this ‘rewind’ is generally in the right ballpark!
You might wonder who I’m writing this for. Honestly, it's primarily for myself, as I see it as a cathartic exercise. However, there may also be those of you who are interested in the behind-the-scenes happenings, and perhaps some lessons will be learned along the way.
After a reasonably successful 2023, I was excited to see what I could accomplish with my YouTube channel in 2024. Just before Christmas, I had hit 1,000 subscribers and felt that the world was my proverbial oyster. However, January brought unforeseen challenges. My youngest son, struggling with his mental health, reached an emotionally horrifying breaking point. This alarming situation forced my wife and I to reconsider our approach to his education. We decided to pursue homeschooling and professional counselling to help address his anxieties. Although I could elaborate further, as I feel a few sentences don't adequately convey the anguish and despair my family experienced at the beginning of January, I also feel it's not my place to share more about his story. Nevertheless, these decisions, while necessary, came with financial burdens, but prioritising my son's health and well-being was (and is) non-negotiable.
I had naively thought I was immune to seasonal ailments, but a cold caught up with me in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Just as I began to recover, a severe chest infection left me feeling debilitated throughout January and into February. This abruptly halted my plans and ambitions, and, together with the other struggles happening at this time, my optimism took a blow. Despite these challenges, I still recorded YouTube videos but paused my Substack for a month.
In February, it seemed there might be a possibility of returning to, albeit new, normality. After some reasonably successful videos in January and Substack attracting a few paid supporters (thank you my friends), a more positive was slowly creeping back in. I even wrote an article declaring a goal of having 1,000 true believers—passionate paying supporters—by the end of 2024. Unfortunately, this highly optimistic goal did not pan out by a long shot! I think I probably dove into writing, making videos, and dreaming big as a way to escape, even if just for a short while, from the pain of what had happened in January.
I maintained a newsletter three times a week: a review, a news-style publication, and a blog(ish). Meanwhile, my wife continued her midwifery studies after taking some time off to help organise our new family routine. I am incredibly grateful to my in-laws for assisting with my youngest boy's homeschooling. My father-in-law, Pete, a teacher for most of his working life, began helping him with maths. At the same time, my mother-in-law, Patricia, who, I believe, has a number of academic degrees, took on English.
We are truly blessed to have this ongoing support now and into 2025. I probably don't express my gratitude enough to Pete & Patricia for all they do. Hopefully, they will read this and receive that gratitude afresh.
In March, things continued much the same as before, and my YouTube subscriber count kept growing. I averaged around 30 new subscribers per week, doubling my earlier rate of about 15. Substack had seen slow growth with just a few new subscribers.
Looking back at my Substack articles from March, I realise I wrote some quite introspective pieces, which isn’t surprising given my challenging start to the year.
In April, I saw a steady increase in followers and viewers on my social media channels. This month, I decided to test my online audience's interest in iPad videos as another potential focus for my content. After extensively discussing Kindle and eInk devices, it was time to explore fresh topics. Additionally, I needed a change for my own sanity. There's only so much you can say about the same kind of device.
During this time, I continued running 5K every other day. I frequently shared these runs on social media through various Shorts and Reels. I felt healthy and appreciated the peace accompanying running outdoors while listening to my favourite podcasts. If you're interested, I can put together a list of those podcasts and explain why I enjoy them in another article.
I decided to offer my content for free on Substack. Although I had put significant effort in trying to build a paying audience—pursuing the goal of "1,000 true believers," this approach limited the number of free subscribers. I concluded that establishing trust and authority in my writing would be more beneficial in the long run before considering charging for it. This decision has certainly helped grow my audience, and perhaps one day, I'll implement a paywall for some content if people find it valuable.
May is my birthday month, and perhaps life seemed much more positive by this time. Although there were still chaotic areas—my wife was quite stressed as she neared the end of her five-year midwifery degree journey, needing to complete her dissertation while maintaining her hospital work experience—there were also some wins. My content creation efforts were paying off, and my YouTube audience seemed to appreciate the iPad videos and, oddly enough, a backpack video! I have a passion for good backpacks, so any excuse to purchase more is always welcome. Additionally, my YouTube subscriber count was still increasing week on week.
During the first half of this year, I was fortunate to have access to an office where I could record my personal content. This office rental was a perk of my full-time ‘real’ job. I'd been busy using this space to record many videos for the Trust I work for, with plans to release these as resources for the Church at large (I'm a Christian, if you didn't know!). These videos are simple desk recordings of my colleague, David, sharing information and teaching on the topic of discipleship. If you would like more information about this, please get in touch with me, and we can chat!
June arrived, and I reached 2,000 subscribers on my YouTube channel. While the first 1,000 subscribers had taken nearly a full year to achieve. It took me just half a year to gain the next 1,000 subscribers. I've learned that consistency and providing quality content that adds value to viewers (and readers) yields results, but it requires hard work, diligence, and patience. Very few online content creators experience that elusive viral video that catapults them into a lucrative sponsorship realm, turning content creation into a full-time career. Growth on platforms like YouTube can be exponential, but you must stay committed!
Surprisingly, I was also asked to help a friend create a music video—this was my second time doing so. These videos are relatively straightforward, but they help me hone my skills as a videographer and editor. I'm very much learning on the job, and I would love to explore more work in videography beyond YouTube. I really need to get started on creating that showreel for my website!
Additionally, I made another change to my Substack. With my full-time job becoming busier and my need to focus on building my YouTube channel (where I can eventually earn decent money), I decided to reduce my posting frequency from three times a week to once a week. I prefer my content to be read and appreciated rather than risk it becoming too spammy for someone’s email inbox. This change also alleviated some of the pressure from my content creation schedule. Surprisingly, writing takes considerable time—this article alone has already taken me a couple of hours, and I'm only in June!
In July, I wrote a piece about how I may be going through a mid-life crisis. While the tone was largely tongue-in-cheek, it nevertheless genuinely reflected my state of mind and my assessment of where I was, particularly regarding family priorities. At this point in the year, my 15-year-old is currently doing his GCSEs (remember, he is being homeschooled), my 16-year-old is at college trying to figure out his next steps, and my 18-year-old daughter has essentially moved out to study youth work while on placement with a youth-focused charity. Their growing independence is a double-edged sword for me—it brings pride but also a sense of loss as my role as their primary provider and protector changes. My wife, Kathi, is edging ever closer to graduation, and we're beginning to consider what our lives will look like later this year.
I started taking affiliate marketing seriously. As a content creator, you can't rely solely on YouTube's AdSense for income; they can take it away anytime. It's essential to build multiple sources of revenue. I created an affiliate page on Substack and posted a link in my social media bios. As my audience grows, I hope it will begin to generate passive income.
By now, in my content creation journey, I had been approached by a few tech-focused companies asking if I would review their products. I’m not actively pursuing paid sponsorships yet, but I’m grateful to receive products for review and to have active affiliate links for these items. It’s exciting to receive an email from a potential sponsor for the first time, as it acknowledges my hard work and suggests that I am 'big enough' to attract such requests. Additionally, this month marked the end of my use of the office space. After completing all the significant videos for my full-time job, we figured there was no longer a good enough reason to keep renting it, and at the moment, I cannot afford a recording studio or office of my own.
In August, I hit half a million views on my YouTube channel. For larger content creators, this may be standard for most videos, but for me, it felt monumental and motivated me to aim for a million views by the end of 2024 (and it’s so close!).
Regarding running, I'm still active, and in August, I started trying to squeeze in a 10K run at least once a month every month. My time for the 5K and 10K runs isn’t the primary concern, but I’m proud that I managed to get my 5K time down to nearly 30 minutes.
We didn’t have a family holiday this year. Our finances were stretched, which made it challenging, but the main reason was that Kathi was doing work experience throughout August, so our holiday plans didn’t align. I'm sure we’ll make up for it in 2025!
I had set myself a goal of reaching 3,000 YouTube subscribers by the end of September, and I successfully achieved that milestone. With this success, I established a new target of hitting 4,000 subscribers by Christmas. Did I achieve it? Read on for a few more paragraphs, and you’ll soon find out. By this point, my wife had completed all her requirements for her midwifery course, including submitting her dissertation. Now, we were waiting to see what her final grade would be.
I'm sad to say that I only posted three Substack articles in October. Unfortunately, you tend to go where the money is, and YouTube is paying the bigger bucks (though admittedly, it's nowhere near enough to live on, so don't get too excited!). I posted nine long-form videos in October, along with several Shorts. As I mentioned earlier, consistency is key to building trust in yourself and the brand you are nurturing. This approach is reflected in the stats: views increased, and new subscribers averaged around 40 per week.
At the start of the month, I bought the latest iPhone (16 Pro Max), hoping to take advantage of its new camera functionality and Apple Intelligence when it became available (in December). I also appreciated the minimal but welcome chip speed bump. Until now, I had used two iPhones to record all my videos and product photos: an iPhone Mini 13 and a Pro Max 15. Keeping up with the latest in iPhonography is important to me. The music video I previously mentioned and the one I recorded, produced, and edited in 2023 was done using just phones.
This month, I finally started using the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 I'd purchased several months prior. It took over as my front-facing camera, with my iPhone serving as the overhead camera. I love the quality of the videos from the Osmo Pocket 3, and with the accompanying DJI mic that connects automatically, I’m happy with the audio in my videos!
I'm also grateful that my youngest boy, who is doing much better by now, decided my online branding needed a professional upgrade. And being an arty soul, he created a fantastic design, and I’m very happy with it. This rebrand is evident across my social media and YouTube, with a bit sprinkled about on Substack. I love the new look so much that in 2025, I plan to do what all good online content creators do: create some merch!
Towards the end of October, I took the plunge and purchased the latest iPad Mini. I love this little device—yes, it's not much of an upgrade from the previous model, but there was enough to entice me. I had missed having it around since I sold the last one.
In November, I decided to purchase a personal domain from Squarespace, where I began posting my articles and videos in addition to sharing them on Substack. My goal was to avoid relying on a single platform for long-term monetisation. Ideally, I want to build an audience outside these platforms so that if they disappear or issues arise, I won't lose the community I’ve created. This strategy is also incredibly beneficial for SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and helps establish an online presence I can truly call my own. This is especially important for me because a prominent former astronaut and current U.S. politician shares my name, meaning my brand competes with someone whose name is everywhere.
Reflecting on my Substack, I struggled to maintain my goal of publishing once a week, which I plan to correct moving forward. For me, Substack serves as an essential email contact list that complements my personal domain presence. November was also a great month for my YouTube channel, which continued to grow in views and watch time. This was boosted by Amazon’s announcement of a new range of Kindles, particularly the release of their first colour Kindle, the Kindle Colorsoft. Videos related to these products consistently perform well on my channel, and this was once again confirmed.
Meanwhile, Kathi received her final overall grade for her midwifery degree: a First Class with Honours. I am still so proud of her! She started working as a 'proper midwife' in the latter half of the month.
By December, I started to reflect on what 2025 might look like. What are my hopes and dreams for the upcoming year? Before diving into that, here are some significant milestones I achieved in December. I reached my goal of 4,000 subscribers just before Christmas, partly thanks to the new Kindle Scribe review. Additionally, my AdSense revenue for December is set to be the highest it’s ever been, even though my video uploads slowed down this month.
Christmas is a joyful and celebrated time for my family, and things get busy on the family front, which is perfectly fine. As I write this, I haven't published any videos on YouTube for about a week, and my subscriber count continues to grow.
I also completed my first-ever giveaway and secured my first direct sponsorship. Unlike previous collaborations, where I received products to review without payment, this time, I actually earned money for my work. This experience has boosted my confidence in requesting compensation for my efforts, and I plan to gradually increase the amount I ask for until I find a reasonable rate.
On a personal note, my daughter Niamh started her first apprenticeship 'job' in November. She found a position at a local school near our home, and although it was initially a shock to her system working full-time, receiving her first payslip in December made it all worthwhile. Who knows what the future holds for her once she completes this apprenticeship—perhaps teaching?
My eldest son, Noah, is halfway through his final A-Level year at college. He wants to continue his studies after college around music. He picked up the guitar for the first time last year. He's already gotten quite good at it, and it has become one of his passions.
My youngest, Nathanael, is thriving and is expected to take his GCSE exams in 2025. I’m just so relieved that he is in a much better place now than at the beginning of this year. What a difference a year makes!
What does 2025 look like for me and my online endeavours? As mentioned, I plan to be more consistent with my Substack and continue growing on this platform. I love writing and aim to contribute to more publications this year. In 2024, I was asked to write articles for three different publications. While I haven't secured any paid opportunities yet, I’m hopeful for this year.
My YouTube channel will obviously continue, but I want to approach my content more thoughtfully. I plan to prioritise storytelling in everything I do, even product reviews. Rather than just unboxing and reviewing at a desk, I want to use products as intended and share real-world experiences. I would love to interview people about their favourite tech products and explore how they enhance productivity or provide entertainment. I'm techy, so it would be interesting to hear from 'ordinary' folk and see how tech brings value to their lives. Additionally, I want to improve the presentation of my videos, keeping them relatable while making them as professional as possible without losing that casual “let's have a chat” vibe.
I plan to take on more videography work in 2025 and, as I mentioned, open an online shop. This will feature my merchandise and online courses that offer real value to people. I’m so invested in this idea that I’ve even purchased a .shop domain—let's see where this goes!
I have a major stretch goal (I'm a sucker for those!): by the end of 2025, I would love to transition to full-time work with my online and offline creative endeavours. To achieve this, and to be blunt, I need your help and support—something I’ve greatly appreciated in 2024. I hope you’ll continue to encourage me and hold me accountable constructively. More than that, I ask you to consider financially supporting me through paid subscriptions on Substack, channel memberships on YouTube, or by making a monthly contribution to my BuyMeACoffee page, which functions similarly to Patreon.
I have big plans and dreams; help me make them a reality and provide you with more content you love!
This coming year, no matter what challenges might come my way, I will keep pushing forward, focusing on the positives. As the Monty Python gang wisely sang, “Always look on the bright side of life.”
Here’s to a fantastic 2025!
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