🧔My Journey
Hey, it's Harry! 👋 I'm a TikTok LIVE expert, YouTuber and multistreamer.
My brother-in-law once asked me about my journey as a content creator. It took me about an hour to explain. 😂
So let's dive in! In each section, I'll share a key learning that you can use during your own content journey.
My story is about timing, unfair advantages and curiosity.
💻 The Story Begins
We begin in March 2020, just as the Covid pandemic was starting. I had always been a massive fan of Twitch streamers. I was a big Reverse2k and Ninja fan, often watching their streams daily.
I thought I had a good understanding of what it takes to be a content creator so I thought why not give it a go?
Of course, once you begin, you soon realise it's a lot harder than you think. 😂
But that's the main part: I began. If you're reading this, you've probably started your content journey already too and I want to say congratulations for that because most people are simply too scared to even start! 🎉
🎮 The First YouTube Channel
So off I went naively into the world of social media. 🎥
I began by creating both the WG Mojo YouTube channel and an associated TikTok page. The idea was to post a mix of Fortnite and Old School RuneScape content. The WG in my channel name comes from Wilderness Guardians, a RuneScape clan I used to lead. ⚔
I started off using a £600 PC I'd bought on Amazon a few years back. It did the job. I also straight away realised that the quality of the voice notes app on my iPhone was pretty good. So for quite a long time, my iPhone was my microphone for my videos! The lesson? You don't need top-tier equipment to get started.
My first YouTube video was this video explaining what I'd be posting on the channel.
There followed a pause of over 1 month before I posted any new content. I was too in my head about what type of videos I should post. A phrase I've since seen since is: done is better than perfect. I fully agree with this. When you start anything new you're obviously going to suck, so just get the reps in! 🎞️
🎵 My TikTok Beginning
I mentioned timing at the top of this page. This plays an important role at the start of my journey. ⏰
The pandemic had just begun and everyone was stuck at home. Of course, that meant that the internet and social media were booming.
I had heard Ninja talking on his stream about TikTok and I had enjoyed using it so it seemed obvious to me that I should also start a TikTok page alongside my YouTube channel.
So when I made my first proper YouTube video (a boring guide about getting the Fortnite Midas drum gun), I also decided I would turn every video into a TikTok. And to this day, I'm still doing that!
I can recall my boring Fortnite guide getting around a few hundred views on my TikTok page, along with a few followers and I was happy with that.
🤑 Rich YouTubers
I have always been curious about how much money YouTubers are making. So my second YouTube video was an estimate of how much money my favourite streamer Reverse2k was making. 💰
It went onto YouTube and got a handful of views and as with my previous video, I cut it down into a short TikTok. To my surprise, this TikTok reached a few thousand views and helped me hit 100 followers. I was over the moon!
I soon realised I had hit upon content creation gold dust: an infinitely repeatable video series. I would later name this series Rich YouTubers and even spin it off to its own TikTok page and YouTube Shorts channel.
So of course, I set about making more videos but this time about even more popular Fortnite streamers. My following video about Scoped got a few hundred YouTube views but ended up with 900K TikTok views and a few thousand new followers. The dopamine hit was amazing. I remember refreshing the page every few minutes and watching the views go up by thousands! 📈
Of course, back then, it was far easier to get views on TikTok. The bar for quality has massively raised since then and rightly so.
It shouldn't go unnoticed that during this time I also randomly made a tutorial video on my YouTube channel showing how to record OSRS with OBS. We will of course come back to the topic of tutorials later!
🔴 The Streaming Journey Begins
Now it's great to be getting thousands of views per TikTok but of course, back then you couldn't make any money from it. I had always wanted to follow in the footsteps of my idols Ninja and Reverse2k and become a superstar streamer.
At the same time, I had kept a keen eye on the streamer wars. Big platforms like Twitch, Mixer, Facebook and YouTube were signing streamers on huge contracts. As a big 100 Thieves fan, I watched CouRageJD and Valkyrae gain big success on YouTube as Among Us started exploding. I was convinced that YouTube streaming was the future. Was that the right decision? We'll discuss that later.
Anyway, after some failed experiments (including streaming my video editing to one person), my first major foray into streaming was the final of an OSRS Deadman Mode tournament. We peaked at over 140 viewers. This is because YouTube does better than any other platform when it comes to live events.
A few less successful streaming attempts followed until I decided it was time to start daily Fortnite streams where I would simply play Fortnite, sometimes with viewers.
At the same time, I'd been following TikTok grinder Allenownz and observing his streaming strategy. He would go live on TikTok from his phone with the green screen effect and in the background was a simple image saying something like "I'm live on X platform, link in bio!". So I simply copied this strategy and it's a strategy that I still preach to this day: model what works.
After starting daily streams in August 2020, I was soon averaging around 10 concurrent viewers and around 300 total views per stream. The grind to monetise my first YouTube channel had begun!
🔑 The TikTok Stream Key Appears
In September 2020 I noticed I had a new option when I pressed the + button in my TikTok app and scrolled to the "LIVE" section. It said "PC or console" alongside "Device Cameras". I had become one of the first ever people to get a TikTok stream key! 🗝
This was the start of my multistreaming journey. More viewers, more followers and more potential to earn money! Later on, I would take multistreaming even further.
More importantly, though, it was the start of my TikTok computer streaming journey. And that's almost certainly why you're on this website. To learn more about it!
The lesson from this part of my journey? If you get a new feature on an app then give it a go.
❓ How Are You Doing That Harry?
After my stream key appeared, I started using TikTok LIVE as a funnel for my YouTube streaming channel. This continues to be a great strategy to this day. 🔴
One of the questions I would get asked multiple times per day during my TikTok computer streams was: "How are you streaming from a PC?".
After answering the question many times I decided it was easier if I just made a video on my gaming YouTube explaining how it was done. Today, that video is my most viewed long-form video of all time. (We'll get to my most viewed short form).
I didn't know it at the time, but this was the start of my journey as an online educator!
📝 Copying MrBeast
We're now in October 2020. I'm streaming Fortnite on TikTok and YouTube. On the same TikTok channel, I'm still posting daily videos about how much money YouTubers are making. Crucially, I'm also studying other creators. 👀
Towards the end of this month, I was looking through MrBeast's different YouTube channels. I'm sure you've done that too. I noticed this strange channel he had called "MrBeast Shorts". He was posting 15-second vertical videos and getting tens of millions of views!
I thought to myself: "Wait a minute, I've got loads of vertical videos I could post". So I dumped three onto a new channel which I named "WG Mojo - TikTok". Yes... I named a YOUTUBE channel this. 😂
For a few days, I forgot about the channel. Then during my daily Fortnite stream a viewer came into my channel and said "Wow Mojo your second channel video has a few thousand views". I didn't believe them.
However, I went to check and to my surprise they were correct. So I used the great YouTube scheduling feature and scheduled one of my TikToks per day to go live on the channel through the whole of November.
October 2020: 0 monthly views.
December 2020: 8,700,000 monthly views.
This remains the most views I've ever gotten in a single month.
The YouTube Shorts revolution had begun. Most major creators only caught onto this in February of the next year. I had gained a head start. Once again, if a platform releases a new feature then give it a go!
🤑 Cashing In
By November 2020 I had reached the 4K watch hours to monetise my first YouTube channel. Almost exclusively through Fortnite streaming. My new channel was gaining a small amount of watch hours from the Shorts but I realised I had a ready-made strategy for monetising a channel so I just did 15 days in a row of Fortnite streams and easily hit the 4K watch hours. I now had two monetised YouTube channels! 💰💰
Back then, you could make a small amount of normal ad revenue from your Shorts because they'd often just be viewed on the normal video page instead of the Shorts feed.
Anyway, the vertical video war had begun and in January 2021 the Multi-Channel Networks (MCNs) noticed the rise of YouTube Shorts and there was an offer in my inbox. I hopped into a call with the MCN and they offered me a $4,000 sign-on bonus if my YouTube Shorts channel joined their network. In return, they take 20% of earnings.
I looked at the analytics on my channel. It had made $100 in a month. It was a no-brainer. I accepted the $4K offer. This remains the biggest single deal I've ever done.
An important note about MCNs: In general, they are predatory. They simply want to make money. They'll offer you "benefits" like a channel banner or access to a music library. They are usually not worth the ad revenue. In my case, I accepted because they were taking a gamble on Shorts and offered upfront money. It didn't pay off for them. In Feb 2022 when my contract was up for renewal, I contacted them to ask if they'll give me a renewal bonus. They declined, so I left the MCN. Feel free to contact me if you're in an MCN dilemma.
😴 Going Through The Motions
Around March 2021, I was getting bored of creating my own vertical videos. By this point, I'd also renamed the Shorts channel to a more sensible name: WG Mojo Shorts. Anyway, I'd created hundreds of the same type of video by this point so I decided to hire an editor. I believe I posted my job description on Reddit, the YouTube community tab and Discord. ✍
As a creator, I firmly believe you should listen to your inner thoughts. Feeling bored with something? Either STOP or DELEGATE it. This will help prevent burnout.
In the end, I hired an Indian editor named Hrishi. He helped me from 2021 all the way up to July 2023, when he got a big boy job and I also decided to wind down operations (more later). Hrishi was paid $5 per Short as a minimum and guaranteed 50% of Shorts Fund revenue, which later became ad revenue. The Shorts Fund started towards the end of 2021 and typically paid me about $100-$200 per month.
Note here: This payment rate is incredibly low for most videos. However, my Shorts could be created in 10 minutes. Hrishi was also based in a lower-income country. I was also guaranteeing him 50% of ad revenue. Always pay your editors fairly!
🛑 Holding Pattern
Throughout 2021 and early 2022 there are fewer things to write about. I was mostly in what I'd call a holding pattern.
I wasn't completely checked out but I was creating the same content throughout the year. That said, I still continued to experiment with my video editing styles for my Shorts. I took inspiration from Dan Lambert and started adding myself to the Shorts. The experimentation led to my most viewed Short-form content ever. I don't actually appear in this one but this Short is now on 12M views and continues to gain 500 views/day!
As part of my experiments, I realised at the end of 2021 that I probably shouldn't be streaming Fortnite and posting about YouTuber's ad revenue on the same TikTok page. So I created the Rich YouTubers TikTok page and also renamed the WG Mojo Shorts channel to the same thing.
You're probably also wondering about my living situation. I was living with my parents on pretty cheap rent and also self-employed as a bicycle courier. So in that sense, I had an unfair advantage and I'm fully aware of that. If you find yourself in this situation then try to make the most of it and realise how lucky you are!
Back over on the WG Mojo gaming YouTube, my top video was my "How To Stream On TikTok From A PC" video. So during 2021 and early 2022, I posted a few more of those and all of them easily beat my gaming videos. There are 6 videos on the gaming channel about TikTok streaming ranging from a low of 25K views to a high of 300K.
Also at the end of 2021, I had been listening to Devin Nash preaching about multistreaming. So I started multistreaming to 5 platforms (FB, Trovo, YT, TikTok, Twitch). For that, I used Streamlabs Ultra. (affiliate link).
I still use it today!
Earlier, I asked if I was right to choose YouTube as my first streaming platform. As a solo platform, I think I made the right call. However, if I'd known back then what I know now I would have multistreamed straight away.
I strongly suggest that you also multistream. My viewers have NEVER complained about it and you get more views, more followers and more ways to make money! 💪 🤑
🟡 TikTok LIVE With Harry
As we talk about mid-2022 I want to emphasise one thing I was doing throughout my journey: continuing to educate myself. I was learning from amazing channels like Colin and Samir, Devin Nash, Paddy Galloway, Justin Moore and more! 🎓
One of the key learnings I got from all of these people was niche down. Find something you're good at. And go all in!
So I looked at my content creation so far:
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Fortnite streaming? I was averaging 10 YouTube viewers and around 100 on TikTok. Meh.
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Vertical video? millions of views but I found it boring.
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TikTok LIVE tutorials? I was good at that AND I enjoyed it AND I knew more than 99% of people about it!
I had always planned to post a few TikTok tutorials per year on my gaming YouTube. Instead, I created a third YouTube channel called TikTok LIVE With Harry. My creator education business was born!
Of course, I also made an associated TikTok page. Do you recall at the start one of my first-ever strategies was to convert long-form videos into vertical short videos? I continued that here. 95% of my tutorial videos have a 45-second version posted to Shorts and my TikTok page.
The timing was perfect too, LIVE Studio was starting to get pushed, interactive alerts were just becoming a thing and LIVE subscriptions were arriving too. So I had ready-made topics to make videos about.
💰💰💰 Three Monetised Channels
I began to post roughly weekly videos to my TikTok tutorials channel and vertical video pages. By the end of September, I had the 4K watch hours and 1K subs required to monetise my third YouTube channel. I would never have dreamed of that when I first started my journey! 🤑
At the same time, I was continuing to post on the Rich YouTubers channels around 20 times per month while also aiming to do at least 3 Fortnite streams per week. It was quite a lot of work!
By the way, by this stage, I was also posting on Instagram Reels and Facebook Reels. Yes. FACEBOOK.
One month, my Facebook Reels did 1,000,000+ views. Do not neglect Facebook Reels! If you've got short form video content you may as well post it everywhere. Even MrBeast does that.
As part of my drive to diversify my income, I had also linked a Fiverr page and affiliate links like NordVPN in my YouTube descriptions and bios. This is why I am also a multistreaming fan. Don't rely on one income source.
👋 Present Day
And that basically brings us to the final section: 2023 and the present day. I'm writing this in September 2023. 👋
Remember my earlier advice about niching down? I was more and more conscious of this. By this stage, I had a second editor for the Rich YouTubers channel and I only spent a few hours per month on it. It still averaged around 2M views on Shorts (and had hit 100K followers on TikTok) but barely made me $100. This was even with the new Shorts ad revenue.
I persevered with the Rich YouTubers channel for the first part of 2023 because I considered it a good proof of concept. I could prove to people that I still knew how to get millions of views. However, when my second editor decided to leave I simply divided to half the output of the Rich YouTubers channel. When my main editor Hrishi got a big boy job it seemed like a natural time to pause production on Rich YouTubers. Don't be afraid to make big decisions. You can always reverse them.
At the same time, the Fortnite streaming grind was also getting repetitive and boring and to be honest I was clearly better at teaching than streaming. It can take a while to find your strengths as a content creator but I firmly think everybody can find a unique angle.
So here we are in the present day. I'm basically full sending the TikTok LIVE Tutorials. Alongside the YouTube and TikTok I've learned from others like Justin Moore that building an email list is a good idea so I started the Live Success newsletter.
I've tried to diversify the business as much as possible. 1-on-1 calls, affiliate links, ad revenue, Fiverr, Discord, newsletter and hopefully soon interactive games! I'm sure I've missed some. If revenue drops for one part, I always have the others.
Thank you for reading this! 🎉
I can't believe you've read the whole thing.
If you've got this far you might be interested in joining my Discord community or my newsletter. Both are free.
Harry
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