Abi Asija sits down with Jeremy Norrie, Founder of Sky Island Storytelling, a documentary journalist and filmmaker who creates fast, low-cost documentaries across topics like UFOs, strange phenomena, mindfulness, cannabis, van life, nutrition, and human stories. After years of producing documentaries and earning revenue through distributors, streaming platforms, and YouTube, Jeremy is facing a familiar creator-business challenge: how to turn unpredictable attention into more consistent growth.

Key Insight: Viral success is not the same as a scalable business. Jeremy’s documentaries can reach hundreds of thousands or even millions of viewers, but the revenue still depends heavily on algorithms, platform decisions, distribution rules, and whether a topic happens to connect with audiences at the right time.

The conversation explores the tension between creative passion and business strategy. Jeremy explains how some of his least polished projects have performed the best, while more carefully produced films have struggled to gain traction. Abi pushes him to look beyond simply producing more documentaries and consider whether the real opportunity is building a stronger personal brand around his work.

A major strategic shift discussed is making Jeremy more visible inside the content itself. Instead of giving all the authority to the guests and subjects of his films, Abi suggests adding more of Jeremy’s face, voice, narration, and perspective so viewers begin to recognize him as the trusted storyteller behind the documentaries.

They also explore possible growth paths, including narrowing into a stronger niche, creating podcast-style interviews, releasing reaction or commentary content, teaching documentary production, and positioning Jeremy’s speed and low-cost production process as a valuable service for other people who want documentaries made.

Viewers will walk away with a practical look at the challenges of building a documentary business in an algorithm-driven world, including how to think about personal branding, topic selection, distribution, and long-term authority. If you’re interested in Jeremy’s films, book, or documentary work, visit Sky Island Storytelling to explore more of his projects.