Influencer explains exactly how long it takes to make a career from TikTok

Lauren Haughey & Elle May Rice
·3-min read
Young woman receiving notifications and commenting on social media posts with smart phone. People networking with technology.
-Credit: (Image: Getty)


A TikTok influencer has shared how he made a career out of sharing content online - and exactly how long it took. Content creation of social media is an increasingly popular career choice, from vlogging your travels around the world to sharing opinions from the comfort of your bedroom.

However, according to Goldman Sachs just 4% of creators earn more than $100,000 per year (£79,000), despite predictions the industry will reach a staggering $480billion value by 2027, reports the Mirror.

So, how can you possibly start to make a career from this? US-based influencer 'Bran Flakes', has opened up about transforming his content into a full-time job - and it took just over a year.

On his TikTok page @bran__flakezz he told his 652k followers: "I started posting on TikTok in January 2021. These videos are still up to this day, they have a thousand views now because they've been up for three-and-a-half years. But when I would post these I was stuck in 200 views jail.

"I think where I messed up in the beginning is I only really used trending sounds, I rarely talked to the camera. Once I started making videos where I talked to the camera, my s*** started to take off."

Six months after this, his videos were racking up between 100,000 and 300,000 views each. In June 2021, Bran had amassed 25,000 followers and bagged his first-ever brand deal, pocketing $100 (£79).

He added: "During this time I was also working a 9-to-5 job, so it was a stressful time trying to make content on top of already commuting to work, working all day and then coming home and making videos... I kept going.

"And then November 2021 came around so now we're 10 months past the first month that I ever started posting, which was in January. And I got a brand deal from Amazon that paid me over $1,000 - I was freaking out."

By the time April 2022 came around, these deals made more money than Bran's weekly paycheck - so he made the decision to make TikTok content full-time across the summer. He hasn't looked back since.

Bran said: "The one thing that worked in my favour was [that] I was consistent. I did not quit, I continuously posted every single day. The more you post, the more you have a chance of reaching a bigger audience."

Other than brand deals, there are a number of ways for content creators to make money - including the TikTok Creator Fund. To do so you must be aged 18 and above, live in the US, UK, France, Germany, Spain or Italy, and have at least 10,000 followers and 100,000 monthly video views.

While funds are calculated using a 'combination of factors', there is no limit to how much money you can earn through the fund. In 2021, TikTok even committed to £231million to this cause.

A TikTok spokesperson said: "We want to show our appreciation to our brilliant creator community by rewarding them for their incredible TikTok videos and creativity. We want all creators to have the opportunity to earn money doing what they love and turn their passion into a livelihood."

Bran added: "I'm not going to b******* you guys, I think it was significantly easier back then than it [is] now because it wasn't as saturated as it [is] today... If this is something you want to do, if you dream about making money by posting on social media, just rip the band aid off. Just start posting.''

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