Making a living as a creator shouldn’t be some elusive thing. And what’s the best way to learn how creators are making it work? To go behind-the-scenes. These bi-weekly interview issues are like having coffee with your favorite creators.
If we haven’t met before, I’m Amanda Smith. I write about solopreneurship and the creator economy.
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🌀 What’s new in the creator world?
Trump and TikTok
Last week, Trump signed an executive order facilitating the TikTok deal, which could transfer majority ownership of the app to American investors.
Facebook launches Vibes
The social media giant has a new feed for AI videos in the Meta AI app. Users can now create and share short-from AI-gen videos.
Creators and users are shifting to IRL
People are sick of their screens. 41% of U.S. social media users attended at least one in-person influencer event in the past year. Think live events, tours, and community activations.
How this influencer amassed millions of followers while she was in high school
Jordynne Hahn joined TikTok as a young teen, like many of her peers did. But in 2023, when she was just 15 years old, her page started to blow up. Her earlier videos included a lot of lip-sync dancing and drama. It was her viral series, “he’s/she’s a 10 but…” game, that her audience (and the algorithm) seemed to like the most. Hahn would ask her best friend or boyfriend to rate it. Her version of a boyfriend/best friend challenge.
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“I didn’t know how much it was going to take off. I did one video at first, then fell in love with it. There was never a time when I was like, I’m going to be an influencer. It just came out of nowhere,” Hahn said.
If anything, she thought that maybe she’d be a beauty or “get ready with me” influencer, but that didn’t really resonate. “I started doing these dramatic videos where I was just saying the most insane stuff, and that went well. I stuck with it because it was fun.”
Hahn describes her content as fun and a little over the top, in a good way.
When Hahn started doing well with social media, she switched to home schooling, so she could balance both. She said a lot of influencers complete their high school studies online. As of today, the 17-year-old has 723,000 TikTok followers, 138,000 on Instagram and YouTube, and 117,000 on Snapchat.
Treating her brand like a business
In terms of hiring help, Hahn believes it’s less about the followers you have and more about the engagement. “If you’re getting a lot of views, it’s important to hire a team to help you manage that.”
Hahn has a publicist, an accountant, a social media management company (Strega Entertainment Group), and her parents helping out. Hahn was discovered by the team after she was posting online and gaining traction. She signed with Strega after seeing the success that some of her friends were having with them.
Her revenue streams include monetization of her YouTube Shorts content which plays ads in-between videos, as well as brand deals across her social media platforms. Past partnerships include Temu, Glow Hydration, Shein, Liquid IV, Azazie, Popsockets, Sherri Hill, and Pumiey.
She’s yet to monetize directly through the TikTok app, which requires creators to be 18 years or older. Most of her revenue comes from brand deals on her TikTok page. The rates depend on if it’s republished on her other platforms and if it’s a temporary or permanent post. Hahn also creates UGC content occasionally, which is content that does not live on her page. Between her in-bound requests and her team handling outbound pitching, she maintains a flow of weekly brand deals.
Hahn believes views are the most important thing for brands, not followers. She challenges the common perception that creators can’t monetize much from short-form content.
“Long form has never really been my thing, although I would eventually love to start doing more of it. It’s a lot easier to create a one or two-minute video than a 10-minute video that requires a lot of editing. I’m also very picky and have tried to hire editors in the past, which is how I decided long form isn’t going to work for me right now.”
Cadence & her signature style
Drama series with people in her life is her thing. “Genuine content with real friends is where it’s at right now.”
The videos with her friends that nobody knows do better than the ones with the biggest influencers. “The audience can pick up on that energy and how comfortable you are with somebody on camera. When it’s a genuine friendship, people enjoy watching it more.”
As with all creators, it’s easy to get too boxed into a style of content. Hahn admits she wants to do other stuff than the little drama series and has started posting lifestyle mini vlogs, but they don’t do nearly as well. “I’m consistently posting them so hopefully my audience gets used to it.”
In terms of her posting rhythms, she has some guidelines she sticks to.
“This rule is specific to TikTok but can be applied to every platform. Post two to three times a day, if you can. At least once a day,” Hahn said. “Consistency is the most important thing that anybody that’s looking to be a creator needs to know.”
She’s aware that TikTok, her primary platform, can go away at any moment, so she’s religious about posting across YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat.
Living the high life at a young age
When Hahn first started on social media, she never thought that influencing would enable her to travel and give her access to so many people. “Travel is the biggest benefit that I didn’t expect. I also get a lot of little random opportunities, where my team will ask me if I want to go to some huge concert for free or even get paid to do so – just because I have a following.”
One of these recent events was being invited on-stage at the Nelly concert to promote the show. She’s also in Los Angeles at least once a month, doing meetups and collabs with other influencers.
Influencers are today’s celebrities.
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