Meet the gig worker influencers: Instacart, DoorDash, and Uber drivers are sharing tips and offering camaraderie to isolated workers

• Gig workers for Instacart, DoorDash, and other apps tend to have their favorite YouTubers.
• With no colleagues or bosses, gig work can be lonely, creating an opportunity for YouTube creators.

In early 2022, a gig worker delivered an order to a customer who hadn't left him any tip through DoorDash.

"Hey, man, why ain't there no tip on this?" the driver asked as he walked up to the movie theater counter where the customer was working, according to a recording of the interaction.

"My bad," the customer responded.

The customer didn't seem moved by the driver's plea for a tip, but the interaction served another purpose: The driver, who goes by DashingTrader on YouTube, posted the clip to the video-sharing site. There, it elicited comments from other DoorDash drivers who were also frustrated with no-tip orders and the people who place them.

"Respect bro," one viewer wrote in the comments. "These cheap clowns need to hear it."

"I wouldn't say it necessarily worked, but the result of me recording that was it got a lot of attention on YouTube," DashingTrade told Insider. The driver declined to have his real name used for fear of getting deactivated by DoorDash.

"It was actually one of my first videos that I got a thousand views on," he told Insider.

Gig workers for Instacart, DoorDash, Walmart's Spark Driver app, or other delivery services often watch one of their favorite YouTubers or TikTokers for information about the industry. Without the colleagues and water-cooler talk of a regular job, the content also fills a void for gig workers who make a living on the apps.

One shopper in California told Insider that he watches videos made by other Instacart and DoorDash workers to figure out which no-tip orders are worth accepting.

"If the client isn't tipping, I really have to fall back on my formula," he said.

DashingTrader has amassed 10,500 subscribers as he's uploaded 872 videos since February. He told Insider that he thinks the isolation of gig work draws many viewers to his channel.

"Doing these gig apps can be kind of lonely," he told Insider. "We're in our cars for sometimes eight to 10 hours a day, and having someone that's there every day doing the same thing as you can be really relatable and a benefit to a lot of viewers."

YouTubers talk about news and offer tips to gig workers hungry for information

Mike Sabo, who posts videos as Your Driver Mike on YouTube, told Insider that many of his viewers watch his videos for tips on doing gig work.

One of Sabo's most-viewed videos explores the economics of renting a Tesla to drive for Uber. Another video breaks down the earning potential from startups that pay drivers to place advertising decals on their cars. (Sabo's verdict: "It does not pay very well.")

Other videos, he said, are meant to keep his viewers up-to-date with developments in the industry, such as Instacart's decision to cut base pay and DoorDash's expansion of its rewards program for drivers.

Sabo started making videos about gig work in 2017. Since then, he's posted about 1,300 videos and attracted 146,000 subscribers.

"I try to vet these apps, see how it is from a driver worker's perspective," Sabo told Insider. The key, he added, is "finding the nuances of these platforms, how to make the most money."

Like many gig workers, Sabo started doing gig work full-time in 2020 as demand for delivery shot up. At the same time, viewership on his YouTube channel went up as well, as people figured out how to start making money through gig work.

YouTube is Sabo's main job today, he told Insider. But it's not the only way he makes money: He offers coaching for others trying to grow their own YouTube channels. He also sells tools for new gig workers, such as a spreadsheet to help them calculate their earnings.

Gig work has become a source of income for many people, sometimes replacing full-time jobs. Sabo himself turned to gig work after being laid off at a startup in 2014, he said.

"Some people are using this stuff to pay off bills," Sabo said. "So, when I think about the content, I'm thinking about that."

Some gig workers are quitting the industry, citing falling earning potential on many of the apps and slowing demand for delivery. That's prompting DashingTrader to plan different types of videos for the future: He told Insider that his long-term goal is to make videos about day-trading stocks, an interest reflected in his channel name.

"I still want to move in that direction of financial freedom, teaching about stocks and different things that I've learned in my financial journey and helping others get out of the rat race," he said.

Do you work for Instacart, DoorDash, Spark, Shipt, or another gig working app and have a story idea to share? Reach out to this reporter at abitter@insider.com