NEWSLETTER 5!
I think I’m going to call this “Wiseguy’s Wanderings” – what do you think?
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BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!
Without a doubt, this is the busiest time of the year for me. Mostly because my job as a track coach at Wichita State University is pretty crazy every April. In this month alone we will host 7 days of meets, compete in a half dozen competitions, and travel to Waco, TX, and Manhattan, KS. This upcoming week is always my busiest as we host a huge 3-day meet with over 100 schools in attendance. So I was wanting to send this out while I can because next Sunday afternoon, I’ll be in the middle of my third or fourth nap by now.
Since my last newsletter on March 15, I’ve only been able to explore once. I went to Woodson County, KS, and made three videos. I’ve released the first one already about Yates Center, and plan to release the other two later this month. In those videos I’ll go to every dot on the map, finding every ghost town, cemetery, and historical landmark I can find. It was a great trip – hopefully the videos turn out well. I was encouraged that the Yates Center video was particularly popular for a “small town, USA” release.
With my busy schedule, I’m not sure the next time I’ll be able to get out on the road. I might do a random Sunday in a couple weeks – if I have the energy. I have two videos I could film in Wichita if necessary. We’ll just have to wait and see.
FUN FACTS
Through the first 25% of 2024 here are some of my travel stats: 10 states, 5743 miles driven, 1503 miles flown, 3 airports, 13 hotels, 28 days and 18 nights on the road, 13 towns stayed in overnight.
EXCITEDLY LOOKING AHEAD TO THE SUMMER/FALL
My job keeps me pretty busy until the end of June, so I won’t be able to do any big YouTube trips until July. But I’ve started the process of figuring out a few things. I’m planning a trip to Alaska around the July 6-17 range. I think I’m going to fly into Fairbanks and try to explore in the northern part of the state and possibly drive over to the Yukon of Canada as well. I’m really excited about this trip and need to get some details in order soon. If you have any ideas of places I should go be sure to let me know!
At the end of July and beginning of August, I’m planning to fly to Minnesota and hang out with Cole and Rachel from Workin’ for the Wild (and other friends). They used to live in Wichita, and it’ll be a blast checking out their new place. From there I’m going to road trip back to Wichita, possibly going through Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio (where I grew up), and who knows where else.
One more trip I’ve already started planning for is Hawaii. I’ve been to all 48 continental United States, so Alaska will be 49, and Hawaii will be 50. And I’ll be there for my 50th birthday (Oct 11). That’s 6 months away. With everything else going on, I’m sure it’ll fly by.
PROMOTION
If you’ve watched any of my recent videos, you may have noticed I started putting some promotional stuff at the end. I’m not a big fan of self-promotion, but I know it’s part of the deal in order to help grow the channel. I added the “thanks” option to the videos and have already received some nice donations! There are a few more merchandise items available as well. Last time I asked if you would be interested in a membership like Patreon, and to my surprise it was very well received. I don’t envision anything like that happening until later this summer at the earliest, but I appreciate the input!
Q&A – HOLY MOLY I GOT 4 THIS WEEK!
Please send any questions you have to jwise@goshockers.com and I’ll try to answer them next time!
Q1: I always click on the like button, but does it help build your viewership and monetization if I also make a comment on all the videos. – Ken
Q1: Great question Ken. My short answer is I think so, but it’s complicated. The way you earn money is by views because ads pop up whenever you get a view. You don’t earn money by subs, likes, or comments, but it helps YouTube recommend the video to more people. I’ve talked to a lot of other YouTubers and watched several videos on this subject. It seems the more interaction the better. So if you have time to do those things I’m sure it helps. The biggest way to grow the channel is to get other people to watch who haven’t seen the channel previously. I’ve seen the biggest growth when one of my videos was shared on social media or there was an article written about it. The YouTube world is fascinating and often confusing, so I’m just happy to have the channel grow to the point it has so far!
Q2: How do you find your ghost towns? – Scott
A2: Lots of ways! When I moved to Kansas, I bought a book about ghost towns written by Daniel Fitzgerald, and it was a terrific resource to get started. There have been way more books written about ghost towns than I would’ve ever imagined. Through the years I’ve probably bought around 20 of them. Then I found some websites like ghosttowns.com that had more info as well. Often, I end up doing videos about places I had no idea if it was a ghost town or not. I go there on a whim by seeing a dot on a map. I also end up going to a lot of places and finding nothing. I started a project of making a Google Map of all the places I’ve visited with links to my videos. I hope to finish that this summer and make it public.
Q3: Would you ever consider going to other countries to make videos? – Matt from the UK
A3: Yes absolutely! I’ve actually published 3 videos about trips I did to Peru, Bolivia, and Easter Island. I filmed these before I had a YouTube channel. But since I started the channel, I have been wanting to do some international trips and find ghost towns and road trips in other countries. Once I get through my 50 states (October), I am hoping to plan a trip like that!
Q4: Have you ever gotten creeped out being inside any of the old buildings you’ve visited? – Becky
A4: I don’t get creeped out very easily (might be because I watched every horror movie possible as a kid). But there have been a few times that made me pause. Dead Women’s Crossing near Weatherford, OK, was a creepy one with all the birds flying around in a swarm that is allegedly haunted. On a couple of occasions I’ve been inside an abandoned building when a large bird flew up out of nowhere and scared the $#!% out of me. Once time in Missouri I was unknowingly on private property (long story but believe me it was an innocent mistake) and basically hid out like the Dalton Gang until I felt it was ok to leave the premises. I’m still looking for a big supernatural incident or aliens!
FOR THE DIEHARDS
Thanks for all the questions! For those of you who made it all the way to the end, here are some Easter Eggs (appropriate for this time of year). Look for a bonus video Tuesday. I recorded on my GoPro the entire 13.1 miles of Route 66 through Kansas and made a video driving it on 2x speed. Come to think of it, that would be the exact distance for a half marathon! Anyways that’ll be available Tuesday morning at 7am. Also, on Thursday, I’ll be releasing my 2nd “show” where I interview another (more popular) YouTuber. This time it’ll be Kyle from Geography King. And then on Sunday I’ll be releasing the first of two videos about Kansas Route 166 – the “other” Route 66 in Kansas.
If you enjoy my channel and want to help it grow, feel free to share videos to your friends and/or family! I also have Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (Instagram is probably the best to follow).
Thanks for all the support and we’ll see you down the road!
John Wise
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