Tarantula Kat is verging on OG territory when it comes to content creators, as she first created her YouTube back in 2012. She spoke with us recently for our Creator Catch-Up interview series, where she revealed that, at the time, she had no real intention of being a creator, let alone turning her passion into a career.
After graduating with a degree in fine arts, she ended up working a retail gig while attempting to pursue her YouTube side gig, which evolved from videos of her pets to a more specific niche of spiders. Her determination to make YouTube a viable source of income eventually paid off - although it wasn’t without risk, as she reveals she was at first funneling more money into her channel than she was actually making from it.
These days, Kat is known for her tarantulas, as well as other creepy, crawly things. She’s also branched off from YouTube to cultivate a mix of a short-form and long-form video content, whether it be on Instagram Reels or as YouTube Shorts.
Hi Kat! So tell us, what year did you first start your account? What sparked your desire to share your passion for spiders and other spooky pets with the world?
I originally made my YouTube in 2012 with no intention to be a creator. I posted a few random videos of my pets around 2014, but it wasn’t until early 2017 I began keeping spiders. I found a few tarantula keepers on YouTube I would watch and that’s when I felt inspired to join them in sharing my experience. It felt nice to become a part of a community of people interested in these types of pets, who wouldn’t roll their eyes everytime you started talking about your pet spiders or look at you funny when you used scientific names of different species.
What platform did you start on? At the time, was your intention to really become a content creator or simply have fun and pursue this as a hobby?
I started on YouTube, and would originally just post pictures of my spiders on my personal Instagram as well. Once I noticed more and more people began to follow my Instagram too, I decided it was best to separate that type of content and make dedicated social medias. I never expected it to become what it has, although ever since I made my first MySpace I definitely had dreams of working in social media. I just never felt inspired or knew what kind of content I wanted to make until I became really interested in tarantula keeping and the pet side of YouTube. After that, it all just came organically and I began growing as a content creator and a tarantula keeper.
“I just never felt inspired or knew what kind of content I wanted to make until I became really interested in tarantula keeping and the pet side of YouTube.”
At what point in your journey did this seem like a realistic career (and is it your career at this point, or do you have another job)?
When I started YouTube, I had just graduated college in fine arts and also just had a baby. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do for a career yet, and I also wanted to stay home with my baby. I ended up getting a retail job to work a few nights a week. Pretty much everything I made there went into my pets and growing my channel, so it was a long time before I actually made any kind of income. In fact, I was probably putting in more than I was making. Eventually, there was a combination of events that happened where I started thinking of leaving the retail job and just throwing everything I could into making YouTube a career. It was a huge risk, but I remember thinking “I need this to happen” so badly and just submerged myself into content creation completely with hopes it would work. It wasn’t easy, but it’s where my heart was and what my family also needed at the time.
“Pretty much everything I made there went into my pets and growing my channel, so it was a long time before I actually made any kind of income. In fact, I was probably putting in more than I was making.”
What aspect helped with the growth of your account in particular, if you can pinpoint something (or several things)?
I like to get people’s attention by presenting these “big scary spiders” but by the time they finish a video, leave them thinking “wait, that wasn’t scary it was actually pretty cute.”
I feel like as long as you are creating interesting, consistent content that you're passionate about, and keep finding new and unique ways to present it, growth is almost always inevitable and your community will find you, and grow!
How much time do you spend filming and/or editing, creating content per day or per week?
Filming the YouTube videos are usually the easy part, and I try to film twice a week. It usually takes me 1-2 hours to actually film, but then 5-8 hours to edit a 10-15 minute video. Add a few hours here and there for fighting with technology, because that’s a big part of the job too.
I am loving the short form content on Instagram too now though. I can film and post a reel in under an hour and the reach on Instagram is different from YouTube.
What’s your favorite platform to share content and why?
Definitely YouTube. I enjoy consuming content there and also creating it. I am someone who likes to put on a longer video for background noise while I’m feeding inverts or cleaning enclosures. It’s like hanging out with a friend! It’s really cool and flattering that people do the same with my videos.
We’d love it if you could share one final piece of advice for a creator that’s just starting out!
Make sure you find a niche you enjoy, that you could talk about forever, and focus on making that kind of content. Evolve that content to keep it interesting for the viewer as well.
It’s really important that you love what you’re making, connecting with it and connecting with your viewers.
Be your genuine self and be transparent. Don’t worry about what other people think. You won’t be able to find your people or create your community if you don’t put your whole self out there honestly.
And be consistent!
