Keighly Found Success on TikTok Shop as Digital Marketer, Content Creator, and Online Course Creator

When I graduated college way back in 2014, I started working at a local news station. I then realized very quickly I didn’t like the corporate life, so I ended up quitting that job. I had a degree in television, broadcasting, and news journalism, so I thought that was the direction I was going in. I just realized I didn't like the structure, having to be there at certain times, upper management not respecting the employees, and things like that.🙅‍♀️ So I left that job in less than a year.

I immediately went to trying to make money online.💸 I was on Instagram at that time and there was no TikTok yet. I saw a post for a fitness MLM (multi-media marketing), that was the big thing back then, so I got in with that. I also realized that I wasn’t really aligned with the tactics at the time for what it took to make a significant amount of money as being part of MLM. So I got out of that. 

I just kept going with social media and one thing has led me to the next. Now, 8 to 9 years later, that’s when I discovered digital marketing and got into that space. At the same time, I started getting into TikTok Shop, and that’s where I’ve really excelled.✨

It was very hard. And it’s still something that I think about just because I racked up so much student loan debt, unfortunately, for a degree I really haven’t used. Although I try to look at it as every step I’ve taken has led me to the present, so, I can’t really regret it. But it has been hard to wrap your mind around going through 4 years of school and not doing anything with it.🎓

What I realized is that a lot of people go through the same thing. So it’s okay if you change your mind. Being an entrepreneur, not everybody is cut out for it, you have to be disciplined and because you’re working for yourself, you have to be consistent, there’s nobody to tell you to keep going.

You have to keep up with the mindset and keep yourself moving forward, maintain your vision and why you want to be an entrepreneur to keep going every single day.💪

My mom did start as a real estate agent turned real estate broker and she did start her own brokerage, where I also worked. I saw what that took starting something from the ground up. Other than that, it’s not really something that’s in my family, none of my friends in my real life understand at all what I’m doing. A lot of my friends went to school, and they’re nurses and they love their job.

Of course, my husband and my family are very supportive of me. But it’s been finding a community online that also completely understands what you’re doing and the whole process. So those are the people that I really lean on to besides my family.

I wish I could tell you it was structured and I do the same things every day, but I also have my son home with me full-time, and I homeschool him. Sometimes, if he’s still sleeping, I’ll work in bed and get any post done that I already got pre-made or do things that don’t require filming. When he wakes up, I homeschool him, eat breakfast, and then I start recording. I’m making over 10 TikToks a day at this point, so there’s a lot of recording, editing, and posting. So that’s basically what a day in my life is like.

I don’t have anyone to hold me accountable to post and create content. It’s just that I really really really wanted it, I wanted to make money from home, I didn't want to work for someone else, I wanted to spend the day with my son.

I just knew that every day was a little bit closer to that.💖

The best way to get started in digital marketing as a beginner is with a course that can teach you step-by-step what you need to do because there are a lot of moving parts.⚙️

You have to know how to figure out what you’re passionate about, what you want to sell, and who you’re going to sell it to. You have to know how to create a digital product. You have to know what platform you’re going to sell it on. You have to know how to use social media and how to market the product you want to sell. There’s a lot that goes into digital marketing.💻

The fastest way to start earning money with digital marketing, specifically, is to get on social media and start talking about your journey, who you are, what you’re trying to do, and take people along with you.🛣️

The thing that changed everything for me was investing in myself. I have invested many times in courses and training. I never stop learning. Ultimately, one of the courses I purchased taught me a new way of doing things and that is what finally clicked for me.

The fact that we have so many online courses available at our fingertips that could teach you what to do A to Z,where I can learn much quicker and make money much quicker, why would I sit around and waste time. I get that some people cannot afford it at some point, but taking an online course is the cheapest way to start a business. It’s a minimal amount to literally make so much.💸

For TikTokShop, it’s a minimal startup but there’s a learning curve if you don't know how to create content, the best practices, how to sell products. I think that having the ability to invest in ourselves now and take these courses is a game-changer.

For that, you have to sit back and follow people, watch them on live, and watch their content. Personally, I can tell who I vibe with and lean into for their paid courses or one-on-one calls. If i somebody I like and I pay for a small amount and I see that there’s a lot of value, they must have more value in the next course. So many creators have a freebie, so if you see there’s a lot of value in it, that’s how you build trust with that person.

When I first started with TikTok Shop, they allow you to get free samples of products. At that time, I was getting products that I like,  did not think about products being trending and viral already.

That’s one of the keys to being very successful in TikTok Shop, it’s either your content or the product you’re choosing. If I had only known that there’s a specific way to pick a product, that would have been a lot more helpful.🔑

Mostly what I do is you can look in TikTok Shop as a buyer right next to the For You page and who you’re following, and it will show you what the bestsellers are. Besides that, I just scroll through the For You page and when you start seeing things over and over, that’s usually something that’s trending.

One tip too, as far as social media in general, digital marketing, entrepreneurship, do not get paralyzed in wanting your content to be perfect or having the perfect plan. You have to be confident in what you want to do and just start.

You’re not gonna go anywhere by just waiting and planning. It could be messy and not be perfect, but at least you’re learning. That’s how I’ve learned all these years, what worked, what posts worked, what posts aren’t working, etc.

For TikTok Shop, it does take a lot of consistency at the beginning and posting multiple times a day every single day until you get it working for yourself where it is more passive. You could make a sale on the first day doing it.

What worked for me was when I was having multiple viral videos going out at the same time, so that you’re constantly having sales come in.🚀

I do have sales every single day. In the past weeks, my family has been taking turns getting sick and I haven’t been able to post or even record as much as I would’ve wanted, but I still have the same level of income coming in every day.💲

Something to know on TikTok, because a lot of people are saying, “it’s selling because they have a huge following”. To me, that can be true when you have may be over 50,000 followers just because you might get views more often.

But the people buying from the videos are from the For You page, which are people who are not following you. So the followers might help because the algorithm just knows to push your videos out but you’re actually getting consistent sales from people who are not following you.🤯

My page that I’m making the most money on started with zero followers. Now, I just hit a thousand followers, but I’ve been making insane sales even when I only had 300 or 400 followers.💯

I found friendship through TikTok shops, who I interact with and are doing the same things as I am. We talk about the things we’re struggling with and things like that. There’s also a couple of Discord groups that I’m in for mentorship. Any time you buy a course, they have a community you could be part of.

One of the Discords that I'm in that has a course, I learned the skills on how to start doing faceless content that I do, which is very big right now, both on Instagram and TikTok. And that’s the account that’s making me the most money. I actually don’t show my face at all, just moving the products on the screen, which is crazy.💥

I’d say, probably around $1000 between the TikTok shop and the course I offer. The main thing I learned is that making money online is easy; making large amounts of money online is easy and it’s doable. Yes, it takes work, it takes the steps to do it, but this isn’t hard work. it’s fun work.🙌

I am also personally mentoring a family member who is a beginner and they earned sales on their first day with TikTok Shop and over $200 their first week.🎉

Affiliate marketing is what changed my life through TikTok shop. However, because I found a skill that I am good at, I am now teaching others how to do the same. I joined forces with other creators and we made a TikTok Shop that teaches A-to-Z how to be successful with TikTok shop.

Selling that course passively is an additional stream of income which I believe everyone needs to have. And that is life-changing because I can be anywhere doing anything and still making money while knowing I am 100% changing other people’s lives.👏

The number one thing I changed is my mindset. In December going into 2024, I wanted 2024 to be the best year ever. I made that decision. The first step is deciding what you want. I then kept manifesting podcasts on 24/7 to keep me focused mentally.

I began to believe it was possible in a way I hadn’t before. Whenever doubt crept into my mind, I would say to myself something my mentor said, “I am happy and free, I’m on the other side, It’s already been done”.🧘‍♀️

To manifest your dream life, you have to know it’s possible, you have to feel what it would feel like to already be who you want to be. You have to have faith that it will come. You don’t have to know how, you just have to want what you want and know that is coming or something better.😌

My most valuable piece of advice is to never stop working on yourself and your mindset. It can be very easy to doubt, and get down on yourself. Without continuing to work on your mindset, it will be very easy to give up.

You would either gonna find the time to do it or you’re gonna find an excuse.⌚ All this time, I’ve been with my son at home, I have a work-from-home job, I’m a real estate agent, I do transaction coordinating, I do photography, I’m running all of these accounts, and still posting consistently. So if you really want it bad enough, you have to just do it and make it happen.🏃