Just starting on TikTok? Well, everyone has to start somewhere, and you starting here is already a sign of excellent taste in blogs, high intelligence, and raw animal magnetism. And because you’re so smart and attractive, we know you’re not here for a step-by-step on setting up your two-factor verification and flipping your camera from front-facing to back. You’re here for the advanced setup options, the deep stuff.
And we’ve got you covered. Everything we’ll detail here is essential for moving things at the pace that gets you paid more and faster, even if you’re not off the start line as fast as you might expect.
For now, aside from reading along to some motivational tunes in the background, don’t pick up your phone or start a new tab. What we’re about to go through is not best done in real time, and you may have to stop, ideate, and go back to the previous step. Grab some pen and paper (or whatever note-taking method you prefer) to draft what you’re doing beforehand.
Let’s start with the most critical factor in the castle of your burgeoning empire — digging the moat.
Get Yourself Secured
‘What does that have to do with TikTok,’ you may ask yourself. A lot — stay with us here — and this isn’t just about TikTok. Security is a best practice for setting up anything online connected to your livelihood, face, and hot takes.
No matter which one you get, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) will go a long way to keeping randos and more casual creeps the whole hell away from you.
Starting here lets you adjust your budget to include your updated security costs. While you won’t be safe from the feds if you say, try and shift your niche to international spy stuff (hello Jason Bourne), you’ll block most of the more harmful haters with an ounce of prevention.
Speaking of, you also need to ensure you have a secure password. Yes, really, and not just in the way you think. Password security isn’t just making it easy to remember; it should also be difficult to guess.
You also have to brush up on not getting manipulated into just giving it away.
“I’m from TikTok security; your account is under suspicion. Please give me your password to confirm you’re who you say” is a phone script that doesn’t just work on the senior citizen TikTokers running their ‘Remember the 2000’s’ channels. That self-burn was intentional, but literal cybersecurity experts have gotten fooled into giving away their bank details while under pressure — it can happen to anyone. Do yourself the favor of a refresher, and remember that whoever contacts you regarding monetization, contracts, your account, and more can easily be vetted if they’re legit.
And locking down your cyberspace isn’t the only way you’re going to keep yourself safe. Geolocation champ @josemonkey validated protective parents everywhere by using his powers of geekdom for good and tracking a requestor’s location down almost to the square foot of ground where she was standing.
Now, if you’re a travel blogger, making on-the-street content, or entering the niche of sidewalk reviewing, you will be outside and reveal where you shoot. Just be prepared to be intelligent about not bringing your audience home with you — getting swatted, doxxed, or egged isn’t as fun as it looks.
Good and scared? Great! Let’s move on to the fun stuff.
Picking Your Channel Name
This one can go from fun to frustrating quickly. You’re picking a name you want to be comfortable using for years, on every other platform, that fits your tastes AND your creative niche, and above all…belongs to no one else.
You have your choice of types of names, of course:
Your legal name, or part of it, can be most helpful if you’re in the performing arts, music, or comedy. If you use an alias for your stage presence, you’ll want it to be the same or as close as possible to your TikTok handle. Making people work to find you isn’t always a bad idea; there are a lot of timewasters out there. But there’s also a lot of opportunity, and the checkwriters of the world aren’t typically the sort to dig for a newbie.
You could also choose a descriptive name that just flat-out says what you’re doing.
Because anyone can be anything online, a random name isn’t impossible to leverage. Just weigh how easy it will be to remember in the information age — if you’re harder to find, you’re just putting a hurdle in your way.
Have you gotten the absolute perfect moniker, but someone somewhere had the absolute gall to claim it before you did? Our first suggestion is a time machine and pistols at dawn, but if that’s cost-prohibitive, you can still work your way around it without resorting to sci-fi solutions.
Numbers and punctuation are common fixes: YourName100%, for example, but they can be a little trickier to tell people to follow and don’t usually look as good if we’re honest. Consider adding verbs related to what you do, like “YourNameSlays,” or descriptors your audience values, such as “MegaHotYourName.”
Once you’ve got that down, it’s time to nameclaim…everywhere.
This is why you don’t want to follow this article in real time: even if no one on TikTok has the same @, someone on Instagram or YouTube might. If you can’t put your stamp on it everywhere — or at least everywhere you plan to publish — it might be better to consider a change, especially when it comes to big platforms like Instagram and your professional creator’s email address.
Other Set-up Best Practices for TikTok
Here’s what else you should do to make it easier for your audience to find you on TikTok and for your content to thrive.
Set a consistent profile picture
This might be the shortest segment yet, but your PFP is still one of your first impressions. Make sure it’s the same on all your channels, and when you update it, it’s across all channels simultaneously.
You want to be instantly recognizable to your audience no matter where they’re trying to interact with you.
Pick your analytics tools
Experimenting is nothing without numbers backing it up. Even though you’re just starting, it’s never too early to record, record, record. Money loves data, so if you love being in the black, get access to a good number cruncher.
And while you’re at it…
Set up a desktop
People say all you need is a phone and a gimmick, but those are the people with bad ideas and worse lighting. You might be tempted to wait if you’re not doing hardcore editing or rendering, but you can’t go without a dedicated office space. Big business needs a big screen and a dedicated keyboard. Your eyes and your back will thank you, and being nice and supple makes monetization even easier.
Trust us on this.
Following other creators is a fast, passive way to start networking; just follow with your money brain, not your monkey brain.
You’re monetizing your presence here; this is part of your job. Don’t follow like you would for simple entertainment. Keep an eye on inspo and potential collabs, then click, watch, and learn.
Content Creation and Engagement
Once you’re all set up, it’s time to capture and hold your audience’s attention.
Post
You’re still finding out what, when, and with which filters you should keep creating, so this will also be shortish. Make your grand intro, then follow it up with the sexiest startup tool ever — your editorial calendar.
Your editorial calendar is your best tool against distractions, emergencies, and creative burnout. If you can plan your core content at least a month in advance, you can catch yourself when you’re all hot with ideas and, better yet, plan your travel and expenses if needed. Work/life balance demands you prepare as much of the work part as possible, so don’t rely solely on spur-of-the-moment ideas.
Speaking of running things smoothly…
Set up your automation tools.
Whether it’s auto-posting or automated replies (hi), the more you can automate, the more time you can save. If it’s not your content or your subtitles, let our robot overl…helpers do what they do so you can free up some time.
What’s Holding You Back
Does a lot of this sound expensive?
Yes, there’s a cost of entry, but upfront investments will keep your quality high and consistent. And that smooth, buttery consistency is what’s going to get you paid. Far be it from us to suggest that you let perfect be the bane of not being too bad, but consider that starting well is better than starting soon. You won’t be the first to XYZ anything on the app.
Why not start off doing it better?
