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After finding success as a freelance voiceover actor and video editor on Upwork, Jennifer Thompson decided to share her experiences by creating a YouTube channel. She initially posted videos on applying for jobs and landing clients, drawing from her freelance expertise. Although she had previously taught English in Madrid for five years, she left to pursue freelance work and the flexibility of living between Canada and Spain. Thompson taught herself audio editing and bought a microphone to enter the voice-over industry, making $24,300 on Upwork in 2019.
In October 2019, she began creating YouTube tutorials to help others start their freelance careers, leading her to earn $3,500 in a month in 2021. Thompson also published videos about starting a career as a transcriber and being transparent about the challenges of making a sustainable income in this field.
As her tutorials gained popularity, Thompson noticed a demand for English teaching content, especially from non-native speakers who were interested in transcription jobs. Consequently, she launched the Sparkle English channel in February 2020, sharing quick tips and grammar lessons using Camtasia and Audacity for recording and editing.
Thompson adapted her content based on audience feedback, ultimately using YouTube's analytics to identify successful video topics. She promoted Sparkle English on her main channel and eventually met the requirements to start earning ad revenue from her videos in December 2021.
In addition to her YouTube work, Thompson has integrated AI technology, particularly ChatGPT, to create example sentences for grammar quizzes in her tutorials since November 2022. Although she finds it necessary to tweak the AI-generated sentences for accuracy, she values the assistance it provides.
Currently, Thompson aims to transition from freelancing to focusing on her YouTube channels as her primary source of income. She dedicates about five hours to creating and editing each video, striving to publish at least one video per week on each channel.
Despite her success, Thompson sees herself as a teacher above all else, emphasizing that education is at the core of both her channels.