Summary

An individual shares their journey of growing a TikTok account to 60,000 followers in 6 months, detailing the benefits of the platform for both businesses and individuals, and outlining plans for further growth and monetization strategies.

Abstract

The author of the article, who has previously discussed their TikTok presence on Medium, describes the rapid growth of a new TikTok account to 60K followers within half a year. They explain the rationale behind starting on TikTok, citing personal experience with multiple accounts and the potential for organic traffic, brand deals, and other monetization opportunities. The article highlights the platform's ability to benefit businesses and individuals alike, providing examples of successful content creators and the significant income they've generated through brand deals and the TikTok Creator Fund, which contrasts with the relatively smaller payouts from the fund itself. The author also shares their investment in video production equipment, such as ring lights and LED strip lights, to enhance content quality and engagement. Looking ahead, they express enthusiasm for expanding their TikTok ventures in 2022 and invite readers to join their Substack newsletter for more in-depth discussions on TikTok strategies, side hustles, and content creation.

Opinions

The author believes TikTok is a powerful tool for driving traffic, increasing brand exposure, and creating income streams.
They suggest that the potential earnings from TikTok through brand deals and affiliate marketing far exceed the earnings from the TikTok Creator Fund.
The article conveys the opinion that quality content, particularly with good lighting, is crucial for success on TikTok.
The author is optimistic about the future of content creation on TikTok and encourages readers to explore the platform's potential for their own ventures.
They express a personal commitment to further growth and success on TikTok by investing in better equipment and diversifying content across multiple accounts.
The author values the TikTok community and the opportunities it presents for networking and learning from other creators.

I Grew to 60,000 Followers on Tik Tok in 6 Months

How I did it, how much I make and what comes next

I started a Tik Tok account on a whim some months back and since then, it’s grown to 60K followers in about 6 months. This is how I did it…

Why start on Tik Tok?

This wasn’t my first Tik Tok account.

My main account is my millennialnextdoor account which I’ve mentioned here on Medium before.

Today, I have around 6 Tik Tok accounts in total. Some I’m active on, some I’m not anymore.

My first Tik Tok account grew to 100K followers and I’ve been rewarded from having that social presence in the form of traffic to my blogs, enrollments in my courses, brand deals, and more.

https://bettermarketing.pub/the-email-pitch-that-earned-me-4-000-last-month-567793f65f34

I saw a need in the market in particular niche and I thought I’d create content around it.

So, I started a Tik Tok account.

My first video got over 120,000 views in a few days and I knew I was onto something so, I continued creating videos throughout the week and I’ve been doing that for the last 6 months, sitting at just over 60,000 followers today!

What’s the benefit of getting on Tik Tok?

If you have a business (or you don’t) Tik Tok can benefit you. For business owners, it’s an opportunity to bring tons of organic traffic and exposure to your brand.

I’ve seen so many brand new businesses explode on Tik Tok just from creating videos about their company, what they do, how they do it, their mission, what motivates them, etc.

If you’re not in business, Tik Tok can be a way to start a career or side hustle as a content creator.

$1,500/month as a Microinfluencer

How I monetized my five-month-old Tik Tok account

millennialnextdoor.medium.com

You can get paid by companies to create content about them.

Some examples…

A food creator can be sponsored by a gluten-free flour brand to make gluten-free desserts on Tik Tok
A clothing retailer can send free clothes and pay you to make videos modeling their clothes to your followers
A pet creator can get free pet food and pet supplies for their animal and get paid to showcase it on their Tik Tok channel

I’ve written about content creating, brand deals, and Tik Tok before.

https://bettermarketing.pub/how-much-tik-tok-paid-me-with-100k-followers-in-2021-a61d4d8d86bd

The success I have experienced I’m super happy with but the truth is, other creators have seen much higher rates of success than me, like Erika Kullberg who grew from 1,500 followers to over 3 million in just a few weeks.

Now she’s sitting at over 7 million followers!

She’s been featured on Yahoo, Insider and other publications.

And, other creators.

How much can you make on Tik Tok?

Tik Tok itself has the creator fund that they pay you with. It’s pennies compared to the other ways you can get paid:

Affiliate marketing
Brand deals
Selling products and services

I recently saw this video showing a 2021 recap of the income this creator made from his job plus Tik Tok:

The creator fund paid him $821 and his brand deals made him nearly $70,000!

That gives you some idea of how much of a wage gap there is with the Tik Tok Creator Fund compared to other networks but, at the end of the day, it’s passive income so I can’t complain about it too much.

My Tik Tok account has been making up to $3,000/month up until now with under 60K followers. This month I’m expected to make $5,000 to $7,000/month with it!

Plans for 2022?

What happens from here?

More Tik Tok accounts.

I recently came across a new creator with only one video published.

That video received over 80K views when I saw it and I looked at who she was following and she had 7 other Tik Tok accounts. You could tell they were all hers because they looked like this..

Stephanieafffiliate

Stephaniecreator

Stephanieaffiliatecreator

Stephaniemarketing

These are just examples but the names had the same format, the same bio pic and when you looked at the videos in each Tik Tok account, it was the same person making the videos.

Several of the accounts had 50K to 70K followers each!

And some are exactly the same, I mean, the same kind of content, targeting the same niche.

I want to get serious with Tik Tok this year and I’ve armed myself with supplies to make new kinds of videos and really kick it up a notch for 2022.

Here’s what I’ve invested in so far…

Ring light
LED strip lights

The main thing you need is good lighting.

You don’t necessarily need lights for that. If you have a good source of sunlight like from a big window in your home or outside, that’ll do.

I’ve just always wanted a ring light so I’m going to try it out.

LED strip lights give your background a blue, purple, green or other colors you’ve seen in the background of videos that creators are making. It’s a good source of backlight which make a difference in how your videos look.

You can also get a multicolor LED lightbulb (I have one of those too but I didn’t get it for Tik Tok).

Are you into this kind of stuff?

I created a Substack newsletter where I’ll be talking Tik Tok, side hustles, content creation and some of the other topics I share here on Medium but much more in depth and with videos and more.

If you’re interested in checking it out, click here.

Do you have a Tik Tok account? What are your thoughts on the future of your account and where would you like to take it?

I hope you enjoyed reading this. If you’d like to support me as a writer, consider signing up to become a Medium member. It’s just $5 a month and you get unlimited access to Medium.