 Welcome back to why in the morning, and as usual, if it's Tuesday, it's end of finish of Tuesday. My name is Michelle Ashira. You can follow us across all our social media handles at Y254 channel at Michelle Ashira. In this particular session, we look into a conversation that focuses on ways you can monetize on TikTok. We all know that in a very short time, TikTok has become a social network that is used by millions of people worldwide. We've gone from being a simple social entertainment network to a platform where you can earn money thanks to content and community. That is you and me. The studio is joined with Leon Ondieke. He's a Kenyan-American TikTok influencer and a content creator based in Atlanta. He has over one million followers on TikTok. Welcome to Y254. How are you doing? I'm doing good. Thank you for having me. How long have you been in the country? Let's start from there. We came into Kenya Friday, so we've been here for a couple of days. So far, what are you enjoying here? I love the weather. In Atlanta, which is where we're from, it's been really cold. It's been around 33 degrees Fahrenheit, so 1 degree Celsius over here. So it's been super cold, so I love the weather here. What about the food? The food has been great. Which is your delicacy right now? So the Kenyan sausages are good for breakfast. Let's see. We've had some donuts over here. I love phanta black currant. We don't have that in the U.S., so I was looking forward to getting that over here. So Leon, Karibusana? Thank you. So when did your journey, when it comes to being a content creator specifically in TikTok, when did it all start? It started late 2019, around like September, October. So I created my first video, we were in class, and one of my classmates was like, hey Leon, we should create a TikTok. We had just finished class, we had like 20, 30 minutes left, and we had nothing to do, so I was like okay. So I downloaded the app, we created a video, and I posted it. I didn't think much of it until like a week or two later, when I was in boy training. And we had finished class early there too. So I decided to record another TikTok. I made a little like gym skit, posted it, didn't think much about it, and then like a week later I woke up to like my phone like blowing up. Like there's so many notifications coming through, and I checked it, I was like what's going on, looked and saw I gained 50,000 followers on TikTok overnight. And throughout that weekend I gained an additional 100,000, so by that Sunday evening at 150,000 followers on TikTok. Alright, so what kind of content do you create? So I create content that involves a lot of social interaction. I'm a college student right now, so I film a lot of my videos while I'm in school. What are you pursuing before you even get to that? Oh yeah, my major is computer science. Alright, okay. So yes, going back to my question, the kind of content that you create. Yes, so I create content that involves me interacting with my peers at school. Like one of my series right now is a sign video. It was inspired by these other two people in the U.S. who do like a similar type video, like I hold a sign and it has like a challenge. It's like do this for this. So it's like it could be like pour water on your head for a TV. Which you actually did, I saw that. And people are actually doing it? Yeah, people are doing it for sure. And another one of my popular series right now is Your Hair Tangled. So I just have a lot of combs. And it's a quick-paced series where I walk up to someone and I'm asking them, is your hair tangled? They say yes or no. And then we see if they're right or wrong. And then at the end of the video they get to keep the comb because it's COVID season. So everyone gets to keep the comb. You could see the video whereby I think you're holding a placard saying that you're offering. It was $50 when they get you a professor or something. Yeah, so that's one of the sign videos. So each one has like a different type of dare on it. It could be anywhere from like pouring the water in your head to get the TV or like bringing a professor, getting $50. Or like even like bringing me a sprite for like $10 or $20. It's just a bunch of different types of dares for a reward. And the creator which I got that idea from like I saw and inspired me, they called Are You Kidding Me TV. That idea was brilliant and like I had to like take it up. It's great. All right. I learned as we keep this conversation going you could give out guys to show me the handle. So you can follow me and also check your order on TikTok as well. Oh yeah. All right. So before we even continue, maybe you can check out one of your videos. And some people can really get to relate with what we're talking about. Then we'll come back for more conversation in there soon. Yes. Rachel, is your hair tangled? I'm going to say no. No? Let's see. It's not. You get to keep the cone. Thank you. Sierra, is your hair tangled? Probably. Probably. Let's see. Oh. It's not. Yay. Thank you. Rachel, is your hair tangled? I'm going to say no. No? Let's see. It's not. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. You get to keep the cone. Thank you. Sierra, is your hair tangled? Probably. Probably. Let's see. Yeah. It's stuck. You get to keep the cone. Thank you. JP, is your hair tangled? Of course not, man. I got that nice grader here, man. You already know. It's stuck in there. You get to keep the cone. So how many views does this one get? This one got around 400,000 views. No. Okay. I remind people where they can find your antique rocks so that they can actually check out more of your videos. Okay. So my handle is leonleon.ond on TikTok. Oh, why? Oh, why? So you create so many videos on your page, of course. I would like to find out the level of consistency and how many videos you do in a day and how important is it for a content creator to be consistent. So recently I've become a lot more consistent over the past three weeks. I've been uploading once a day. So that means I'm going out to record three or four times a week, roughly, just to get enough content to post them. And consistency is so important. Early in the year, I was in two consistent. I was posting once every two weeks, and I was really stagnant. I was not growing. And then over the past three weeks, when I've been posting consistently, I went from 840,000 followers to 1.1 million followers during the past three weeks just by posting consistency. Consistently, yeah. Yeah. So consistency is super important. All right. And of course, when you get to see your videos, there are good quality as well. How long does it take to just edit? Because TikTok videos are quite very short, they're in seconds. So how long does it take to probably edit a video? So the hair tangled series that just played, those ones take not too much time to record and edit. I record those ones on my phone, and I could edit them within five to ten minutes. But the sign videos, those take a lot longer to record and edit. We're actually using a professional camera for that, where we have a cameraman hidden somewhere. There's a whole team. There's a whole team after those. So recording those takes anywhere from 20 minutes per video. And then editing each one of those can take upwards of an hour and a half. Just because we were condensing an eight to ten minute clip into a minute. So that does take quite a bit of time. And then after that, after I'm done editing, my younger brother is my other editor. So he goes back and he puts the words on the screen just to make it a lot easier for the viewer to know what's being said. And also relate and understand as well. I believe so. Okay. Let's look at the side of just monetization as well. Before we get there, I would like to find out how do you keep up with the trends? Because I feel like there's so many creatives out there, the different content being released each and every day. So how do you keep up with the trends and make sure that you can't unleash for yourself as well for your target audience that is? So that's the unique thing about my content. I don't have to keep up with trends. Okay. Because my content is completely detached from trends. So I could post the same type of content, the same three types of content, and they'll do well despite whatever trends are going on, just because it's content that appeals to everyone at all times. It's like me giving stuff for quick pace videos, which people could watch at any time of the year, despite the trends that are going on at the time. For someone who is watching this conversation and they want to, or maybe they are creatives number one or number two, they are looking forward to getting in the same space. It could be on YouTube or any other social handle. What would be your advice to them in terms of just to be able to stand out in the market space? So my advice would be to post consistently. That's the most important part. But also focus on developing a niche. And then once you find that niche, give it all your effort. The better the content you're producing, the more people are likely to view it. Because you have to think of it through the eyes of the consumer of your content. If you're watching content, do you want to watch mediocre content or do you want to watch the best quality content you could watch? So the higher the quality of your content, the more likely people are going to watch it. I think that just takes it at home. Considering that you put yourself on the other side of your audience and you have to think, are they going to enjoy whatever I'm going to give out to them? So let's look at how you monetize from TikTok. What are a couple of ways that people can monetize from TikTok or how do you monetize from TikTok? So there's two ways which I monetize. I am part of the creator fund, which pays based off of the views which you get and how the viewers engage with the videos. So the creator fund doesn't pay an absurd amount of money. It's nice money to come in. It's like passive income from your posting. But the main source of revenue from TikTok or social media in general is through ads. So working with companies, once you've gotten views up and you're doing well, then you can work with a company and they will pay you to post an ad for their product or service on your account. Like collaborating with brands. You mentioned something about the creator fund. So is it by the number of views that you get? TikTok hasn't really published the exact formula they use. Sometimes it makes no sense to me. I'd have a 15 million view day and make less than a 14 or 13 million view day. So I don't know the exact formula they use, but I do know it's a combination of your engagement with each video posted or I guess that went out that day and then the views which you get. So it's a combination of views and engagement. I don't know necessarily how it works, how it breaks down, but those are the two primary factors. And when it comes to gifts and everything when you go on a live stream, how does that work? So lives is another way to make money on TikTok. So how it works is you go live and then if the viewers on your live love your content or they want to show appreciation, then they could send you tokens or gifts during the live which are saved as TikTok tokens which could be converted into money later. All right. Let's look at another thing which I feel it's very important for someone who's watching this conversation and they want to get into the creative space as well. The couple of challenges that you face, has there been a space whereby these creative blockages because I've had that from YouTubers and everything, is it the same case and how do you deal with that? So one of the biggest problems I've had is managing time because as a full-time student and influencer you have to find a way to make it work. So sometimes I just be so stressed with everything that I have to do that I run out of ideas to pose. So that creative blockage does come up and I found that the best solution for that, at least for me, is to just take some time off. Even if it's taking two weeks off, just focusing on myself during those two weeks so that whenever I do come back, I'm fresh if that makes any sense. I'm able to focus on what I'm doing then because I relieve myself from this stress for two weeks. So if Leon is not creating content on TikTok, what is he doing? And if he's not at school, so what is Leon doing? I love going to the gym. I spend a lot of time there. That's where I hang out with most of my friends. Most of my friends love going to the gym too. So I'm going to either be at the gym or just hanging out with some friends. So that's it? Yeah. That's just what I do. Between school, TikTok and the gym. Fitness. So how can guys reach out to you on social media if they want to keep the conversation going? And when are you going back or are you still here to stay? We're going back to America early January, but if anyone wants to reach out to me if you have any questions about social media or anything, my Instagram handle is all my TikTok profile, but if you're searching it through Instagram, it's leonleon underscore o underscore underscore. Alright. Thank you very much, Leon, for creating the time to be with us. Looking on ways we can monetize from TikTok. I think now I'm encouraged. I can officially join TikTok. Thank you for having me. You're welcome, Leo. So that is Leon Nendeke. He's a Kenyan-American TikTok influencer and content creator based in Atlanta. We're looking on ways we can monetize from social media, which is TikTok. So guys, back at home, I hope you've learned a couple of one or two, three things and make sure you keep the conversation going. At michela shirezo you can find me across all my social. At Y254 channel is where you can find as across all our social media handles. We'll be right back with so much right here on Y in the morning.