“It’s the only way to think about
your YouTube channel in a success-
ful way,” JK explains. He shares
how he’s had to adapt, “...instead
of being strictly what do I want to
talk about, it’s now looking at this
(trending subject), find things you
want to talk about, and how can
that relate to something that you’ve
experienced in your life.”
Once the idea is set, JK gets to
designing and baking. This stage
typically takes 6-7 hours to complete
then and an additional 3-4hours to
edit the video. Over the years JK has
found different systems to stream-
line his process so he can optimize
his time. He explains, “I actu-
ally have cakes already baked and
they’re in the freezer. And so, I can
make a cake, turn on my camera,
and just start shooting.”
JK’s whole set up is in one room.
He has his kitchen set and computer
together so as soon as he finishes
making a cake, he gets started on
the edit. To make sure he can get
something out fast, he gives himself
no longer than 45minutes to get the
cake portion of his footage cut down.
“...if I take any more time than that
then I’m going to be stressed out
about shooting the parts where I’m
talking to the camera.”
I’m making sure that my videos
are 3 to 5 minutes instead of the
YouTube 10 minutes, just so I can
make sure, make it easy for myself
to post on all the platforms in a
way. It’s a lot of time manage-
ment now, just making sure that
I’m not wasting too much time
on something and making myself
overwhelmed.
CHALLENGES
Decorating and designing baked goods for the internet
is no cakewalk. JK makes the clear distinction that “I’m
not a baker in a bakery. I’m a YouTuber who’s baking...”
and with that comes its own set of challenges.
The biggest obstacle is being the only cook in the
kitchen. JK reveals how overwhelming it has become
not just producing the content by himself but also
marketing it to multiple social media platforms.
“People don’t understand how many times or how
stressful it is to just post on two platforms, and let
alone three...not only that, you’re supposed to meet
the time limit for each different platform.”
With the ever-growing number of different social
media platforms and trying to optimize for each plat-
form’s elusive algorithms, JK’s work gets multiplied
with each new video. He admits, “I’m barely starting
to read and reply to comments and even messages
[on social media] because it was just too much of my
time being spent posting the content and then having
to create, then film, and edit. I still feel a little over-
whelmed doing it. JK shares that he has recently hired
additional help for the first time in his YouTube career.
“I just realized that you had to hire more help
instead of just drowning in posting on all the plat-
forms. Having someone who can help you with all
that makes such a difference.”Each cake takes JK about 6-7 hours to design and bake — and that’s in
addition to the time it take to edit and post to social media.KOALIPOPS
AN INTERVIEW WITH JK DENIM