Earl Tolliver Kept And Told

No sales funnel mapped for this channel yet.

Niche

Appalachian moonshiner folklore and survival-rule stories

Audience

Viewers of long-form Appalachian history, folklore and old-timer storytelling, likely older and interested in woodcraft and moonshine lore (inferred from titles and descriptions).

Avatar

• Realistic avatar · Talking head
• A photorealistic older man with a white stubble beard, a dark brimmed hat and a red plaid shirt with suspenders, shown centred at a wooden table in a dim cabin.

Format

A ~20-minute first-person story by an old moonshiner, often a numbered list of five or seven warnings or rules with a teased last item told at the end; closing line 'keep your fire low'.

Content pillars

• Woods warnings (sounds, smells, marks, trails)
• Moonshiner survival rules
• Moonshine history and legends
• Personal stories from the Smokies
• Moonshine myths and NASCAR origins

Title patterns

• 5 [Things] In The Woods You Should NEVER Ignore (From a Retired Appalachian Moonshiner)
• 5 [Things] You Should NEVER [Do] (From a Retired Appalachian Moonshiner)
• How [Moonshiners] [Did X] (From a Retired Appalachian Moonshiner)
• 7 Things Ancient Moonshiners Did When [X], Most People Don’t Know

Thumbnails

The same older man in a plaid shirt and hat, close-up and often gesturing, beside a copper still, tree mark, campfire or animal; 4 of 10 carry a short bold caption in yellow, white or red ('STOP.', 'RUN.').

Their thumbnails, most viewed first

• 
  38K views (opens on YouTube in a new tab)
• 
  13K views (opens on YouTube in a new tab)
• 
  4.86K views (opens on YouTube in a new tab)

Why it works

• A '5 [X] ... NEVER' title from a retired Appalachian moonshiner: 8 of 19 uploads and the 3 most viewed (37,305, 12,980 and 4,818 views)
• The most viewed video has 37,305 of the channel's 69,575 total views, so one hit carries over half of all views
• Consistent persona: same face and outfit in all 10 thumbnails, same cabin set at the start of both newest videos, and a named first-person narrator
• High output: 19 videos in 17 days (about 4 a week), each 14-26 minutes, in one list-and-story format