I’m putting all my money where all my mouth is, and launching a 'TV channel' in my small town, which is a suburb of Manchester. The high street is famed for indie businesses and street art, in a world where many main drags are overtaken with illegal vape and chicken shops. Plenty of good stories to uncover. I’m starting this as a very, very small project, with the aim of gradually unfurling to incorporate Manchester as a whole. This is the trust-building exercise, plus a video lab, where I will hone my style and build my reputatiojn. Here’s the method behind it, for anyone wanting to follow the same model: 1. Pick your test bed – start in a small, manageable area where you can get access. I chose Withington because it’s vibrant, community-led, and has lots of businesses and street art worth filming. 2. Immerse yourself in the community – spend time walking, filming, and quietly observing. Don’t just make content about businesses; capture the streets, the murals, the atmosphere. This builds a library of authentic b-roll and establishes your presence locally. 3. Start with teasers – short, cryptic clips that hint at your series without giving everything away. My first teaser is a retro static intro, just saying Withington TV, coming soon. Simple, premium, and intriguing. 4. Be the face of the content – I’m both presenter and filmmaker. This makes the channel personal, trustworthy, and action-oriented. My style invites people to experience the place, not just watch it. 5. Engage businesses naturally – start with hellos, casual introductions, and show them the vibe of the series. Don’t pitch hard at first; trust and credibility matter more than immediate contracts. 6. Build a coherent body of work – every video, teaser, and insert contributes to a portfolio of high-quality content. This is what can scale beyond your initial area and attract clients, sponsors, and bigger projects. 7. Think long-term, not viral – this isn’t about chasing views or subscribers. It’s about creating a sustainable model, with a signature style, trust with the community, and proof of concept for future work across Manchester. 8.

Hello Creators, Want to know how to start building your local presence and making profitable partnerships? Here's a live example. If you're new to my story, I've been making local videos, with great effect, for ten years, but since I moved to Manchester, I haven't pushed the project. So we're working through this course in real time together, and I want to share a nice little local win. A few days back, I was at a gig for a band who hadn't performed for thirty years. It was in a small local hall. At the gig, I noticed this historic venue had a new co-working incentive, funded by the government. The 120 year old venue is located in a fabulous vibrant area of Manchester, famous worldwide for its street art. Now I suffer terribly from isolation, working from home, and I realised if I were to start co-working, and making videos and streaming from this community venue, it would raise my profile, and hopefully get a stack-load of footfall for the hall. It's very early days yet, but to show I mean business, I made a demo video for the band (which could also result in a commision one day, as their star rises) showed it to the venue owner, and with a bit of luck, I'll be working from this cosy hall, able to use their blazing hot wifi, and piggybacking my local presence right in the thick of a newsworthy regeneration project. I shall see whether the venue owner will be willing to swap co-working for free video, as we will both benefit immensely. He gets free footfall videos, I get a high visibility base to work from, with a natural story arc. Plus I get access to fellow freelancers who may need video, and access to the local shops and venues in the town. Wish me luck! This is what Local Creator Cashflow is all about. Building trust on a hyper-local scale and working outwards from there. Rather than losing yourself in the millions of creators on Youtube and TikTok, you're establishing a powerful local voice, gaining trust, and winning videography / reels commissions right on your doorstep.

Hello Creators, I was out filming a pilot for my latest series, A Year in Platt Fields. It might seem small, but I spotted a bin cover by the lake from a company called Earth Anchors. These covers prevent litter from blowing into the water, and the company name was engraved on it. I checked their website and noticed they had no video content, which is surprising given how visible and essential their products are – they also make signposts and way markers for footpaths. I decided to feature them in my video and sent them an email, hoping they might get involved with the series. I thought this would be useful to share because you can adapt this as a template for your own local features – a simple way to contact businesses while creating valuable content for your projects. Take a look: Hello Earth Anchors, I’m Vicky, a videographer currently filming a long-term documentary series called A Year in Platt Fields. While filming this week, I captured some great footage of your bin covers by the heart-shaped lake. They look fantastic, and I know the Friends of Platt Fields worked hard to get them installed. It’s great to see them making a difference in the landscape. You can see the shot in my pilot here at 18:20 mins. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQGc9hWxD20 I’m looking for a brand partners to sponsor the series. Rather than traditional ads, I want to feature the infrastructure that makes the park work. I think this is a great fit for Earth Anchors because: - Real-World Proof: It shows your products in a busy urban park, proving they handle the elements and the public. - Targeted Reach: The series will be followed by the people who commission your products: Council officers, Parks Managers, and "Friends of" community groups across the North West. - Content Assets: You would be welcome to use the high-quality footage of your products for your own website, LinkedIn and social media channels. I noticed your website features catalogue photography. High-quality video is a natural next step: it's a much more immersive way to show your products in a real-world setting.

Alongside hosting this Skool community, I am pushing myself to make many more local videos. It's a joint evolution as we work together and inspire each other. Today I took my new camera on a Test Shoot around the park, it's pretty much one unbroken take. The final video looks highly polished, the sound was great, and I only needed minimal editing. I've cross posted it to numerous local Facebook groups, and I've already got a first sponsorship client in my sights. They've provided bins and signposts for the park. As the project is young, and I only have 88 YouTube followers (d'oh) I'll be offering sponsors an 'early adopter' discount, approaching businesses within and around the park first. As the project grows, I'll be hustling larger Manchester and even national clients - I can always use some of their revenue to boost the video on YouTube, leading to more followers and more visibility. What local projects could you film to boost your visibility?

What does a local video creator do when she's stuck in bed at rock bottom? She reinvents herself, buys a new camera, resurrects a dormant Youtube, and starts enormous new local project. She also has a mini glow up and throws all her crappy old clothes away. You can follow my project in my 'Real Time Video Workshop' section and on Youtube.