Want to be an Airsoft influencer? Be famous? Share your exploits with the world? These days there are so many Airsoft “celebrities” out there it’s hard to stand out from the crowd. The thing is, being popular doesn’t mean you’ve made good content, and unfortunately good content doesn’t always become the most popular. So, where do you position yourself?

If you’re reading this there’s a very good chance that you’ve searched for something along those lines. How do you expand beyond just playing on a Sunday, or perhaps you’ve got some channels and you’re looking to grow and get your name out there. There are two types of Airsoft content out there;

• The popular stuff – This isn’t great content as much as it is content specifically created to ride YouTube or Instagram algorithms for example. As an example, quick 2 minute headshot videos, lots of buzzwords, big red arrows, catering to kids with short attention spans who likely don’t play Airsoft. Or, Instagram candy – photoshoots with lots of filters and smoke grenades with some dark, moody backgrounds and cut-and-paste “motivational” quotes that make you vomit in your mouth a little.
• The good stuff

Can I help with popular stuff? No, if you re-check the title of the article, this is about producing good airsoft content. Algorithm-satisfying but utter spaff that includes the word “cheater” or “drama” is awful to watch and generally just an ego trip for the producer who clearly thinks they’re something special. In most cases, they aren’t. But they’ll point to high numbers of (bought?) followers and likes so, yeah, go for it. Make a TikTok channel or something and go chase some numbers by any means necessary.

Good Airsoft content is the stuff that’s actually worth something. Intelligent, useful, influential. Like a good review. Nobody goes out to buy a Cybergun FAMAS F1 as a random example and types into the search bar “Pro Airsoft sniper absolutely destroys noob in safe zone with minigun”. Good content is the stuff you go looking for.

It’s not about celebrating yourself, or trying to take from the community. It’s about trying to give or to help others, sharing knowledge and experience. Now, if you’re just starting Airsoft you might think you haven’t got anything to share, but you will. Everyone has something to bring to the table, whether they realise it or not. How you get that information across though is the more difficult bit.

Here’s a pic of me getting my CQB game on at skirmish. My Instagram has game photos on mainly as storage for game pics to be honest. If you scroll across this though, what are you getting out of it? You might like the bandana. You might like me. You might give it a thumbs up. But it hasn’t helped you at all. It’s absolutely worthless. You might see some player in their underwear holding a gun and give that a like too. But it’s not useful to anyone.

So, what is worth doing?

• Reference photos – If you’re into historical reenactment, or just have particular loadout that you’re doing (for example, British SAS, Gulf War 1991), then sharing your progress or your kit will be very helpful to others who might look to do the same. Kit photos from lots of angles along with details of what the user is looking at, are extremely valuable.
• Gun photos – Everyone likes gun build inspiration. When I was building my M727 for a Black Hawk Down event, I spent weeks looking for good reference pics. The originals from the real thing are very poor quality and grainy, so Airsoft replica photos were extremely helpful.
• Reviews – Done properly, reviews are vital for new buyers. Good and bad points too. But for the love of God, don’t do an unboxing. Similarly, don’t review stuff that you’ve not had out in the field and tested. There was a prominent blogger once that just went into a shop, tried things on, then “reviewed” them. Get it used and let us know how it performs in game. Also, event and site reviews count too!
• Blogs – Can be anything you like really. A combination of the above, or just your thoughts and stories. Document your journey.
• Tech and custom work – Mods, builds, anything that saves some poor soul from ruining their own gun, or having to pay for a tech. Share what you know. People really appreciate it.
• Guides – Show people how you’ve done something, be it a paint job or adding extra pockets onto a shirt.
• Podcasts – Increasingly popular at the moment. A chat show about Airsoft. Just make sure there’s something to actually talk about and that it’s not just a weekly podcast just for the sake of people being able to hear your voice. Having a guest on? Why? What are they going to share? (usually selling products…).

There’s a lot to cover, and there’ll be a lot of other related stuff out there too. Now, you might be thinking “Well I don’t know anything yet”, but if you really want to dive into the world of good content, go and spend some time researching and learning stuff. Want to do a guide to US Marines in Vietnam? Go find out what kit they used, and how they used it. Master that knowledge, become the expert in a certain area. One of the best Airsoft websites I’ve come across is onmymk.com, a website dedicated to the Mk23 pistol – I know the guy who created it and he’s put the effort in to learn that platform inside and out, and pulled all the resources on the internet into it to create an encyclopedia of knowledge about one particular platform.

Gameplay

Sorry to have to say it, I know there’s a huge industry that has grown up around scopecams, headcams and accessories and there’s countless hours that go into editing, but gameplay vids do generally suck. Especially repeatedly watching a bb hit someone. Funny for small children, about as exciting as watching paint dry for a player who has fired an Airsoft gun before and knows what it’s like to see a bb hit someone. Airsoft is an amazing game to play but it translates so, so poorly into video. Yes, I know it’s great for quick vids and YouTube probably appreciates short content, but I wouldn’t waste ten seconds of my day watching someone else play Airsoft.

Sponsors

Are you trying to become internet famous to get some Airsoft sponsors? Is the goal of producing quality content simply because you think companies are going to throw freebies your way? Well, a couple of points on that. Firstly, there are millions of content creators out there. So why is any company going to make a loss on a product and give you something for free just because you do too? Brand relationships work two ways. If you do get noticed, then you can expect to have to throw adverts out in return. I know some that demand a couple of posts a week as a method of advertising. Some people enjoy being owned like that, some think it helps raise their profile, but that’s not good content. Additionally, you might find the return deal is 10% off in the form of a discount code. Now, let’s just throw some numbers in there. I sell bb’s for £20 a bag, and they cost me £15 to buy in from the BLS factory (I don’t know this, I’m just making it up). I “sponsor” you and give you 10% off your bb purchases. What I’ve done is gained a customer, who buys bags at £18 that still gives me a profit per bag that I wouldn’t have sold otherwise, and to boot you’re going to advertise for me. Win win situation, but not for you. If it’s a discount code, it’s a lot more useful and you can share that to your followers who get a bit of money off.

Don’t go chasing sponsorships. If you’re doing enough good, a better deal will come along. You might get to test products out which is always cool, but you need to demonstrate you’re worth it first. Create something of value in the community. Put in and keep putting in, I recall a group on facebook with a 51%/49% rule or something where you had to put in more than you were taking out. Bollocks – put 100% into giving the community something and if it’s good, the community will give you something back.

Remember that numbers in the wider scheme of things count for nothing, despite what social media says. Focus on your content, don’t sell yourself out for anyone or anything else. Network, connect with other players. And have fun – if it’s getting you down, stop.

If you do need a hand with anything, look at the Contact Me button in the menu and shoot me a message.

Good luck!