Connor Franta Forges Ahead in Solo Career

A little over two months after leaving YouTube supergroup O2L, vlogger Connor Franta seems to have found solid footing is his solo career. Tomorrow, he'll be co-headlining Fullscreen's Intour in Pasadena, Calif., a festival of online influencers produced by the creators of Warped Tour. The event will bring together Web stars with their adoring, millennial-aged fans—whom sponsors Taco Bell, Universal Pictures, Mattel, VitaCoco are also hoping to reach. "It's very interesting to see the dynamic of interacting (with fans) in real life," Franta explained about going on tour. "It really brings a reality to what you are doing. Each one of these views is a person who loves me and loves my videos." The YouTube star also announced on Friday, which also happened to be his 22nd birthday, that he'll be working with The Thirst Project to raise money on Prizeo to build wells in Swaziland. Franta will complete four weeks of livestreamed fundraising efforts, with a goal of reaching $120,000 in donations. If he reaches the cash total, he'll fly to the African country to actually help build one of the wells and create some videos along the way. In addition, Franta will also release music compilations with Opus Label. The first one, a back-to-school playlist, will be released in October. In a July video that announced his departure, Franta explained he wanted to leave the group in order to address personal issues. At the time of his departure, the YouTuber had 3 million subscribers on his personal channel—the most out of the group. "People are going to realize that you're not having fun with it. You have to enjoy your content. One hundred percent that's why I felt I needed a change. I felt like I was burning out in a sense," he explained. Franta said he wanted to take more time to focus on his personal brand, including building up his YouTube channel with more creative content. He also wanted to work on offline projects, including a nonfiction book revolving around his social media account postings and possibly designing a clothing line. The vlogger said that whatever he creates, he wants to make sure it's consistent and that he's passionate about it. "You should (become a YouTube vlogger) because you want to do it," he said. "Whatever content you create, let it revolve around your interests. You shouldn't create things just because you think other people want to watch it."

Performance Marketing

Connor Franta Forges Ahead in Solo Career

Former O2L member talks about life after supergroup

Michelle Castillo

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Michelle Castillo