Case Study: How This Guy is CRUSHING IT on TikTok (and making a killing!)

Have you ever had something happen to you where you had to stop immediately just to acknowledge to yourself:

No way this JUST happened!

I had that exact moment on Monday.

Here’s what happened:

I was lying in bed after a solid work day hoping to relax.

It was around 7PM so I obviously didn’t want to sleep and I was too tired to read or do something else productive that required brain power.

(I think you know where I’m going with this)

So I did what any of us do in this situation.

I picked up my phone and fired up a social media app.

(I know I know. I almost feel ashamed to even admit it haha)

So I fire up my new favorite social media app (TikTok) and start scrolling mindlessly.

I don’t even know what I’m watching.

I’m in zombie mode.

Passively consuming whatever garbage the almighty TikTok algorithm decides I need to be seeing right now.

And that’s when it happened.

In this mental zombified haze of a state that I’m in, I hear these words:

I IMMEDIATELY sprung back to life.

My entire consciousness came whirling back into my brain with all my senses on ultra high alert, sharper than they’ve ever been.

“What do you mean TikTok has no idea what I’m talking about?”

I thought to myself.

What is this weird, funny looking dude with a dark green hat talking about… and more importantly:

Is he right?

He then says:

I had no idea that TikTok’s algorithm categorizes videos.

And if I’m being perfectly honest, I had no f*cking clue that the top bar was even there on every single video.

I never paid attention to it.

Then this guy says:

So I did what literally anyone would do in this scenario.

I fired up my account.

Started from my latest video.

Scrolled 25 of my last videos.

Paid attention to the top bar.

And guess what I found?

Every single one of my videos had this in the top bar

Then I opened the For You page.

Scrolled to the first 10 videos I was shown.

Checked the top bar for every single video and...

...9/10 of them were categorized!

I couldn’t believe it.

The guy was absolutely right.

I go back to his TikTok video and he reveals that what he just showed me is how TikTok’s SEO works.

I didn’t know TikTok even had SEO.

Now I did.

I had just uncovered a major key in TikTok content marketing.

But there was only one problem:

I Didn’t Know What to do to Fix This Issue

So I went to the guy’s TikTok account.

I read in his bio that his name is Angel and the helps people grow their brands on TikTok.

Looking for a solution to my problem, I clicked on the link in his bio.

I saw multiple options for products.

My eyes saw “TikTok SEO Playbook” for $47.

I clicked it.

The checkout page opens up.

I putt out my credit card, start typing in my credit card numbers and then…

BAM!

It hits me.

I can’t believe what just happened.

This guy just successfully found me on TikTok and in ONE VIDEO got me from not knowing who the hell he is to being ready to pay him $47…

…all that while I was just lying in bed, tired, in a zombified state looking to turn my brain off and distract myself.

I couldn’t believe this happened to me.

And more importantly, I frantically wrote down everything that happened so I can replicate it!

This guy is brilliant.

And he’s clearly doing a great job and (presumably) making a killing online!

Here’s my notes from Monday:

And yes, I did buy his TikTok SEO Playbook.

And literally within the first 3 pages (out of 19) I learned why I’m struggling with my channel despite knowing the topics that my audience cares about.

Here’s why:

There are the topics that my audience cares about and then there are categories that TikTok cares about...

Where these two overlap is where my account should blow up.

And that’s exactly what I see in the comments section of Angel’s videos.

Now, out of respect for his IP, I’m not going to share what I learned from his paid TikTok SEO Playbook (you can get it here, not an affiliate link)…

…what I am going to do is implement what I learned from him and blow up my accounts.

I have found the research phase to be extremely eye opening.

For example: take a look at my research for the Strong Finisher channel:

Unless you know what’s happening here, this image won’t mean much to you.

What’s happening here is that I’m zeroing in on what works and I have learned why MOST of what I was doing was NOT working.

Literally more than 80-90% of the content I was making was not working.

And the BIGGEST reason for it is actually a really simple one:

I Didn’t Pick a Niche

At least for the Strong Finisher channel.

When I realized this, I couldn’t believe I made this mistake… again.

God damnit!

It’s frustrating to make this mistake again.

But not as frustrating as creating high production value content and watching most of it bomb week after week…

…and not knowing why some videos are working and some aren’t.

I think this process adds another layer to my data-driven content strategy.

This week, I’m finalizing my research and coming up with a gameplan moving forward.

Then next week will be about recording new videos with this updated strategy and seeing what happens.

Of course, I will share the results with you.

The Math Behind Angel’s TikTok Video

Take a look at this:

The original video that got me to buy the $47 playbook has 2.3 million views.

I would assume that I am not the only person who bought it.

Let’s do a quick bit of entrepreneur math for what he could’ve made from that one video alone.

(scroll left on the table on mobile to see estimated revenue numbers.)

In my estimation, he’s made at least $10K from that 1 video.

I’m sure that $10K is a huge underestimate.

Technically, making a million off that 1 video isn’t out of the question.

And from what I can tell from the testimonials, others are successfully using TikTok for business as well.

Also, his most expensive product is a 1-1 call for $3,497!

There’s a lot that can be done here.

And we’re going to make it happen together 💪🏾

I just wanted to share this thought process with you to take TikTok a bit more seriously for your social media, content marketing, and brand building efforts.

To Recap

Here’s what I learned from my experience with Angel and going from someone who doesn’t know him AT ALL to paying him $47 in the span of ONE TikTok video.

1. Be extremely specific about the problem your target market is experiencing.
2. Tell them WHAT the solution is but not HOW to fix it.
3. Give them a way to instantly verify what you’re saying is true.
4. Now you have their trust.
5. Sell the solution to their problem.

And they will buy.

That’s exactly what I did.

The Basics & The Lesson I Learned Here

From a marketing point-of-view, what I just said above are the principles.

The basics.

I am a firm believer in executing on the basics, well.

Regardless of medium, modality, device or platform.

Social Media apps will change.

Ad platforms will grow and evolve.

Heck, we won’t even be using laptops in the future.

But the basics — the fundamentals of human nature and psychology — and the fundamentals of marketing will remain the same.

As they have since Claude Hopkins penned them down in Scientific Advertising.

Technically, everything in marketing has always been a rehash of what he wrote down back in 1923.

The key is always to understand the principles and apply them to your own situation.

That’s what I’m trying to do with my channels.

Apply the fundamentals of marketing to social media.

Luckily for me, tons of people are already doing it successfully.

So I know it's possible.

I just gotta figure out the keys to making it all happen…

…and share with you exactly how I do it 😉

Thanks for tuning in.

Just curious, have you ever noticed your own buying journey? If yes, I’d be curious to know how it went.

Cheers,

Abhi