I’ve got followers, so where’s my money?

 Turning 100k into $100k isn't as easy as it seems for creators

When it comes to the internet: if it’s too good to be true, it probably is.

TikTok is often praised as the platform where ‘anyone can go viral’ is true.

And in the history of social media so far, going viral meant making money, but that’s no longer the case.

Dozens of creators are realizing this and weighing in.

It's frustrating for me to see hardworking content creators, particularly on TikTok, strive for large follower counts, only to find that they still can't make a basic living.

Here are 3 tips I give to clients to help them build a more sustainable creator career.

First, accept that the For You page is not a community

With TikTok's main feed being the For You page (FYP) rather than a home feed, building a community is the greatest challenge. We’ve all seen videos from creators that we recognize but can’t always remember their names.

There’s a reason for that, the FYP is designed to keep you entertained primarily through discovery — so it’s always showing you new people most of the time. It’s not there to help you connect and build community, which were some of the default principles when Facebook, Twitter and Instagram were growing rapidly. That’s why so many of us get to know our favourite creators more on Snapchat, or via their Instagram story.

Building around TikTok, in its current version, is a recipe for instant gratification (fast growth), which doesn’t guarantee a payback, especially if you’re a creator because you don’t have a product or service to sell as a brand would.

Second, start with the end in mind

Many creators produce content that performs well, but their audience doesn’t know where to go next. Are you trying to grow a YouTube audience? Get people to purchase a digital or physical product? Host an event? You need to start with the end in mind so you’re able to direct people to the relevant next step in your videos. Waiting exclusively on someone from a brand to discover you on a platform where everyone seems to have a viral moment is putting your earning potential exclusively in someone else’s hands.

So many creators are experts, and you could be making money on top of or outside of brand partnerships, you just need to plan for it.

 

Finally, DIVERSIFY.

Beware of doubling down on ‘what works’ — there are countless stories of creators going viral by sharing trauma and then being stuck in that content category because that’s what gets numbers, even though that’s not what they want to be talking about.

 

Even if your content is performing well, ask yourself if it's the type of content that can be monetized on a platform reliant on brand partnerships. Is your content beneficial for brands, particularly the most lucrative categories you're interested in (e.g. fitness, beauty, technology)? Is it easy for a brand to see how their product or service can be integrated into what you offer?

If not, it’s time to adapt and diversify your content.

Good luck!