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My whole life was dedicated to baseball from an early time. People say, “Don’t put your identity,” or “You’re not a baseball player. That’s not your identity.” It really is though. While it’s not, it feels like it, because every decision I made, everything I was passionate about was baseball and achieving the next level.

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Family YouTubers Dee & Jerry Lavigne! (#73)

Dee and Jerry Lavigne
Episode 73

If you’re a close follower of YouTube trends, you must be familiar with the LaVignes. They have built an impressive following on the multiple channels documenting their personal and family lives.

Dee and Jerry LaVigne (and their cute children running in the background) are the guests on this episode of Skyler’s podcast, where they talk about their success, their use of different platforms to build their brand, and life in Arizona.

The LaVignes are big fans of creating content outside of creative hubs like Los Angeles or New York City and they tell Skyler how living first in New Orleans, and now near Phoenix is helping them win over and connect with their audiences.

Dee and Jerry explain how they decide to venture to new platforms (the most recent is a podcast) and how they approach new digital trends.

Watching their open and funny videos today, it might be hard to believe that early on Dee was camera-shy, as she admits on the podcast. She discusses overcoming such obstacles and getting out of one’s comfort zone, which is essential because that’s where “great things will happen.”

About:

The LaVignes are the poster family for YouTube success. Jerry DeLavigne was an early adopter of the medium, having started vlogging in 2007. At first he focused on his drawings: “I started doing artwork and this is how I wanted to be successful. Nobody could tell me different. [I was] veeery stubborn.”

When Dee got pregnant, they started documenting their personal life in YouTube vlogs. As she tells Skyler, “we just thought it’d be cool to document our journey as new parents. A lot of people could relate to that.”

Now they have two kids and live in a big house near Phoenix and you can watch it all on their YouTube channels. They film their house, shopping, trips, family banter, as well as emotional moments.

They both strongly believe in growing their audience organically and staying authentic. Dee: “It all started naturally. We were not doing it for the money or to get a large following.”

That was their streamline to success: “People gravitate towards relatable, because not everybody lives in LA. Show YOUR experience. You don’t have to be Hollywood, you don’t have to be New York. A lot of people will come to you naturally. Start locally and get it going.”

Along the way they experimented and tested things out, which they think is a good way to find what you really want to do. Jerry: “I did rants, artwork, pranks. I think the funniest ones were rants. I was very truthful and many people found me funny. I have extreme opinions about things.”

They love what they do and they are always looking for ways to do more of it. Recently they started a podcast, which they don’t see as something completely new, just another platform through which to continue growing their brand.

Links:

The LaVignes’ YouTube Channels: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheLaVigneLife/channels

Find the Lavigne’s YouTube Channels: HERE!