YouTube creator Dom Esposito has been around long enough to see the best and worst of YouTube tech reviews. He started posting to the Google-owned video unit in 2011, reviewing gadgets and making how-to videos. He now has 443,000 subscribers on YouTube, where he posts reviews of products ranging from phones, laptops and virtual reality headsets to electric cars. This tenure has given him a front-row seat on both the good and bad of influencer reviews. 

Esposito, 36, says the pressure creators face to keep sponsors happy has decreased in the past years as creators form longer relationships with advertisers, which allow them to build mutual trust. 

“We all know and have seen cases in the industry, where you say something bad and you’re banned from working with a company, or something like that,” Esposito said. “That’s not the case anymore. They really encourage honest reviews.”