I went from zero followers to three million as a solo creator. I also built my first AI company at 30 and sold it for over $10 million. That growth didn’t come from posting randomly. It came from a simple 30-day process: pick a topic, study winners, publish on repeat, and turn the attention into cash. If I were starting over from nothing tomorrow, I’d follow the exact same playbook.

Key Takeaways

• One niche, three circles, three days
• TikTok for faces, Substack for faceless
• Copy winning openers for your first 17
• Post daily to compress feedback
• Do stuff, then share what you learned
• Sell before you build the product

Step 1 Choose a Topic You Actually Enjoy for Days 1 to 3

Before you touch a camera, solve the topic problem. The wrong niche will make you quit. The right one gives you the energy to keep going when the views are low and the algorithm feels cold.

Find the overlap of enjoyment skill and money

Think of your niche as three overlapping circles.

• What you actually enjoy
• What you’re already good at
• Where people actually spend money

AI is a hot market right now, which is why everyone is talking about it. But you don’t have to force yourself into AI if you hate it. Maybe you enjoy using AI to create videos but feel sick at the idea of building AI automations for a business. That’s fine. Choose the part you enjoy, because the more those three circles overlap, the easier it is to stay consistent.

If only two out of three align, you’re going to burn out. Pick something you love but nobody pays for, and you might never make a living. Pick something hot and profitable but miserable, and you’ll stop after a month. The goal is overlap.

Use ChatGPT or Claude to brainstorm your niche

When I’m stuck, I let AI interview me. Open ChatGPT or Claude and give it a prompt like this:

Here are my skills: [list them]. Here are some things I enjoy: [list them]. Here are things people have paid me for or thanked me for: [list them]. Suggest three topics where people already spend money. For each topic, name three big creators.

This works because AI can connect dots you’ve been staring at for years. It might suggest a sub-niche inside your current skill set that you never considered.

Check that the suggested creators actually exist

Here’s the catch: AI hallucinates. Sometimes it will name creators who don’t exist or cite channels that are dead. Before you commit to anything, go to Instagram or TikTok and search the actual keywords. Look at what people are posting, what’s getting attention, and what’s genuinely active. If the creators are real, great. If not, scrap that suggestion and ask for more.

Stop choosing after three days

Indecision is expensive. I prescribe three days for this step because after that, you’re just overthinking. Get a working topic, then move on. You can pivot later. My early content included AI agents dating each other in a text-based reality show simulation. It was fun, but it wasn’t useful to anyone. I switched, and that’s when things took off.

By the end of day three, you should be able to finish this sentence: I teach [who] how to [what].

Step 2 Pick One Platform and Study the Winners for Days 4 to 7

Now that you have a topic, pick one platform. Just one. The platform should match whether you’re comfortable on camera or not.

Start on TikTok if you show your face

If you’re willing to show your face, start on TikTok. TikTok is the most generous platform for new creators. Once it decides you’re a real person and not a bot, it will give you chances that Instagram and YouTube won’t. It takes a few weeks to warm up the account, but the payoff comes fast. You’re more likely to get your first win inside 30 days there than anywhere else.

Choose Substack or LinkedIn for faceless content

If you don’t want to show your face, skip TikTok. Start on Substack or LinkedIn. I’d only recommend LinkedIn if you already have at least 5,000 to 10,000 connections. Below that, it’s brutal. Substack is better for organic growth right now, and it’s easy to cross-post: write once, paste it into both. But avoid splitting your energy across too many platforms at the start.

Find the top creators in your niche

Remember the creator list from Step 1? Now it’s time to use it. Find the top three creators in your niche and study them like your business depends on it, because it does. These people are your teachers. They’ve already figured out what the audience responds to.

Sort by their most popular content

On TikTok, open a creator’s profile and sort by their most liked videos. On LinkedIn and Substack, there’s no sort button, so just scroll. Look for posts that get 10 times more engagement than their usual post. Those are the outliers. Copy the URL, save the post, and study it.

Break down the visual audio and text hook of a winning opener

An opener is not one thing. It’s three things.

• Visual hook: what you see, motion, your face, or an unusual object
• Audio hook: what you hear, your words, your tone, music, or sound effects
• Text hook: the on-screen title that promises what the video delivers

Great creators make all three work together. Many of them spend most of their effort on the first 10 seconds. I’ve heard big creators say they spend 95% of their energy on the opener alone. If you can’t stop the scroll, nothing else matters.

Your job right now is simple: copy the proven opener. Millions of people already voted with their attention. Don’t reinvent it yet.

Step 3 Post 17 Videos With Proven Openers for Days 8 to 25

Days 8 to 25 are the grind. Post 17 videos, one per day, using the openers you found in Step 2. This is not about being original. It’s about building intuition.

Write a short script and make it sound natural to you

When you’re new, scripting your videos is fine. The process looks like this: take a proven opener, then say whatever you want after it. If the video is about the best AI tools, open with the viral hook, then give your own list. Read the script out loud and change any word that sounds unnatural. Don’t spend more than five minutes on this.

Record using the TikTok native app and the teleprompter effect

You don’t need a fancy camera. Use your phone’s front camera and the TikTok native app. Open the teleprompter effect inside the app, paste your script, and hit record. Read the script out loud in one take. This saves you from editing completely. If you can’t find the teleprompter effect button, search for a quick tutorial—it’s buried, but once you find it, it’s the easiest workflow you’ll use.

Add an on screen title captions and broad hashtags

After recording, add a bold on-screen title at the top. Then turn on auto captions. In the description, use three broad hashtags like #AI #ChatGPT #ChatGPTprompts. Don’t get cute with niche hashtags. Broad ones are enough. This whole process sounds like a lot, but after five videos it becomes automatic.

Reply to comments for the first two hours only

When your video goes live, set a timer for two hours. Reply to every comment in that window, and ask questions to bring people back. That signals to the algorithm that your content is engaging. After two hours, look at the video. If it’s still climbing, keep replying. If it’s flat, stop. Commenting on other people’s videos doesn’t help much on short-form platforms, so skip that.

Look for 10x outliers instead of obsessing over analytics

This will sound strange for someone who works in AI, but I hardly open analytics. Beginners obsess over small dips and spikes, then spiral. Instead, open your profile once a day and look for outliers. If your typical video gets 100 views and one video gets 1,000, that’s a 10x outlier. Make more videos like that one. If you’re consistently at 1,000, your next target is 10,000.

Post daily to compress your feedback loop

Do not batch content when you’re new. Batching feels efficient, but it ruins your ability to learn. When you post daily, every video teaches you something for the next one. If you can handle three posts a day, do it. You’ll get three data points in 24 hours instead of one. On LinkedIn, keep it to one post per day. On TikTok and Substack, more volume is fine.

Step 4 Find Your Original Voice by Doing and Sharing

Once the first 17 videos are out, it’s time to sound like yourself. This is where content creation gets fun.

Turn real experiments and builds into content

My entire content philosophy fits in a short loop: do stuff, then share it. When I follow a tutorial, test a new AI tool, or build something for my business, I write down what I learned, where I got stuck, and what surprised me. Then I make a video about it. That loop never runs out of ideas because you’re constantly doing new things.

If you only talk about things you actually do, you won’t have impostor syndrome. The moment you start teaching things you’ve never tried is the moment the insecurity creeps in.

Use AI prompts to generate small things you can try in under 30 minutes

If you need a project for the day, use this prompt:

My topic is [topic]. List 15 small things a beginner could try, test, or build in under 30 minutes where the result would surprise people. I’ll do one per day and share what I learned.

Then use AI to write your script. Ask for a 70-word video script with a scroll-stopping hook, a casual tone, a one-line caption, and three broad hashtags. It’s a fast way to turn a boring Tuesday into content.

Let your first 100 videos be your warm up

A mentor once told me your first 100 videos are a warm-up. I didn’t get my first real hit until around day 60. That’s normal. The first few months are about building the muscle, learning the mechanics, and getting past the psychological noise. Post anyway, even when you feel bloated or your lighting is bad. The reps matter more than the result.

Step 5 Turn Attention Into Money

Once you have attention, it’s time to get paid. This is the part most beginners skip. They build the product first, then wonder why nobody buys. Flip that order.

Start with one on one coaching or consulting

The fastest path to your first dollar is one-on-one work. Coaching, consulting, or doing the task for someone. When people trust your free content, they’ll happily pay you to help them personally. Reach out to people in your comments or DMs and offer to help. This works even with a small audience.

Sell a simple info product or template

Your second step is a simple info product. A course, a community, a playbook, or a template. People pay for shortcuts. Keep the price reasonable and set clear expectations about what they’ll get. I’m not a fan of most info products, but the good ones condense weeks of trial and error into a few focused lessons.

Build a product only after you have an audience

Building a SaaS product or app from your own pain point is powerful, but it’s slow. If you’re non-technical, it’s even slower. Start with coaching, then a simple product, and only build a bigger product once people are asking for it. Or partner with someone who already has an audience — and if you want the exact tool-by-tool playbook, here’s how to build a successful business with AI tools. Building in isolation feels safe, but it’s the most expensive mistake you can make.

Diagnose why beginners fail after 30 days

If you finish 30 days with no winner, run through this checklist.

First, are you truly copying the openers? Open your video and the winning video side by side, hit play at the same time, and compare the first 10 seconds. Most people tweak the hook because their ego gets in the way. Don’t. The algorithm is a voting machine, and millions of people already voted for that hook.

Second, are you copying million-view winners? If your inspiration videos have 100,000 views, upgrade. Copy videos with a million views or more.

Third, are you posting enough volume? If you’re serious, three posts a day on short-form platforms will get you data faster. Your first 100 videos are the warm-up. Get them out of the way as fast as you can.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I don’t want to show my face?
Start on Substack, or LinkedIn if you already have 5,000+ connections. Faceless content works. Just copy the openers and stick with text-first posts.

Do I need expensive gear?
No. A phone, the native TikTok app, and an internet connection are enough. I used terrible gear for almost two years and still grew.

Should I post daily or batch content?
Post daily when you’re new. Batching keeps you from learning. I only batch now because I know exactly what my audience responds to.

How fast will I get results?
The first 30 days are a warm-up. My first real hit didn’t come until around day 60. Plan for at least 100 videos before you judge yourself.

What should I sell first?
One-on-one coaching or consulting. It’s the fastest way to turn attention into cash with a small audience. Then add a simple info product or template.

Why isn’t my 30-day plan working?
You’re probably not copying the opener closely enough. Put your video and the winning video side by side and hit play at the same time. If the first 10 seconds aren’t nearly identical, tighten them up, pick better million-view examples, or add more volume.