Social Studies Teacher Gains 1.5 Million TikTok Followers

Notes from Chris

Episode 1641

Rebecca Rogers is a social studies teacher who witnessed first hand the mental health impacts the COVID lockdown had on students. When schools closed in March 2020 she saw a slow deterioration of their wellbeing.

As the months went by she became desperate to find ways to better connect with them, but it wasn’t until late October that she decided to do something about it. By meeting them where they were already hanging out—that’s right, it was time to sign up for TikTok!

Rebecca created an account on the wildly popular social platform with a plan to “make a fool of herself for her students enjoyment.” Her logic was simple: if they could see her acting ridiculously, they might get a little extra cheer for a day in what was becoming an increasingly tough year. She felt she could do that with a few silly videos every week.

Within days of posting, Rebecca had passed the test and earned a thousand followers. She knew a lot of that was driven by her own students, as well as family and friends. The kids at her school thought she was famous. But neither they, nor Rebecca, had any idea what was to come.

As an added benefit, the ten thousand follower mark also lets users sign up to the “Creator Fund”—TikTok’s way of sharing revenue with successful users. It was around this time that the wider TikTok teacher community also opened up to her. One teacher in particular, known as Mrs Bench, was incredibly helpful in giving Rebecca advice on how to grow her following and maybe, just maybe turn the traction she’d already had into a real revenue generating project. It was time to get an education!

These tips from a successful TikTok teacher worked wonders and Rebecca went to the head of the class. By posting everyday, targeting popular trends and releasing videos in a series the TikTok algorithm rewarded her and viewership skyrocketed, along with subscribers. Since, Rebecca was reaching hundreds of thousands of people with every post, sometimes millions.

With that success, she was able to make some real money from her videos via the Creator Fund. While the payment is usually only a few cents per hundred views, it can add up when you have some viral videos and in some cases Rebecca made hundreds of dollars per video. She’s now consistently bringing in at least $2,000/month.

 

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MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Check out and follow Rebecca’s educational videos at her, TikTok account, @rrogersworld.

SEE ALSO:

• Q&A: I’m obsessed with Tik-Tok! How can I make money from it?: Today’s caller is wondering about monetizing their skills through Tik Tok, cashing in on headbanging dogs and gummy bear Adele concerts. Is there a path for them?
• Instagram Calligraphy Project Earns $9,000 in Year One: A corporate employee in Texas enters the online world of calligraphy and hand-lettering, then changes along the way to suit her strengths.
• Art Classes by Zoom Produce Pandemic Profits: An art teacher uses her tech savvy to offer online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching hundreds of viewers (and getting paid) through Facebook Live.

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,