#211: How TikTok Exploded Her Blog Traffic

Today, I’ve got Jessica Cha from Basic Sunday on the podcast, and she share how TikTok exploded her blog traffic.

Jessica shares how after some trial and error, she found her niche, simple Korean cooking, and how TikTok put her on the map after one video she created went viral.

I believe there is a real opportunity to grow your blog using TikTok, especially if you are in a popular niche on the app.

In this episode, Jessica shares:

• How she stumbled upon her niche
• How her blog helps her with her mental health
• How she researches her TikTok videos
• How she drives traffic to her blog from TikTok
• Ways she can grow her email list from TikTok
• Why she’s so motivated to work on her business

I really think there is a big opportunity right now to drive enormous traffic to your blog from TikTok, so hopefully this episode inspires you to explore the platform.

Show Notes:

• EMAIL CHALLENGE: Set Up a Paid Workshop in 5 Days!
• 5 Secrets Successful Bloggers Already Know Cheatsheet
• MiloTree Easy Payments
• MiloTree Pop-Up App
• Basic Sunday
• Whisk
• SnapTik
• Basic Sunday Cooking TikTok
• Become a Blogger Genius Facebook Group
• All Blogger Genius Podcast Episodes

Subscribe to the Blogger Genius Podcast:

• iTunes
• Stitcher
• YouTube
• Spotify
• Amazon Music

Intro 0:04
Welcome to the Blogger Genius Podcast brought to you by MiloTree. Here’s your host, Jillian Leslie.

Jillian Leslie 0:11
Hello, my friends welcome back to the show. I’m your host, Jillian Leslie. And I am so happy that you are here. I’m also very excited about today’s episode because it is all about TikTok.

Now I’m sure you have heard that TikTok is a big deal. Well it is and hopefully this episode will inspire you to get on the platform if you haven’t yet explored it.

Try Our New MiloTree TikTok Pop-Up To Grow Your TikTok Followers – Part of Your Regular MiloTree Subscription

And speaking of TikTok, we just rolled out our newest pop-up for MiloTree and it is to grow, ready for it your TikTok followers. Yes, this is incredibly exciting. If you are trying to grow your TikTok followers, which I recommend you do.

You can now use our MiloTree TikTok pop-up to do it. So, remember MiloTree is the app David and I built and it will grow your followers now on TikTok also, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube.

It’ll grow your email list and you can figure which pop-ups you want to show on your site. So, head to milotree.com and sign up and it works and you get your first 30 days free.

Okay, for today’s episode, it is all about TikTok and I am interviewing my friend Jessica Cha, who has a blog called Basic Sunday.

And this is such a good story because she was out there testing new stuff, trying new ideas switching up her niche until it clicked for her. And now it has and it involves TikTok, and it involves Korean food. And I think you’re going to really like this.

So without further delay, here is my interview with Jessica Cha.

How TikTok Exploded Her Blog Traffic

Jessica, welcome to the show. It’s great to have you.

Jessica Cha 2:03
Thank you so much. This is really awesome. Really excited to be on your show. I love your episodes. Definitely a fan.

Oh, and you were part of our coaching group. And I’ve been watching your progress. But the funniest part was you just posted in our group’s Facebook page, and you’re like, “Hey, I’ve grown my TikTok.”

Jillian Leslie 2:27
And you have totally pivoted from where you were then and where you are now. So before we launch into that, please share if you would your entrepreneurial journey as a blogger and where you are now.

Jessica Cha 2:41
So, my journey has been a lot of ups and downs since last year. I started Basic Sunday, actually February of last year. So almost a year ago, I literally launched it the day after I had quit my job in the digital media advertising world in New York.

I did that for 10 years, and I just needed a refresh. And so I wanted a space where I can set my own rules set my own standards.

And what I wanted to create was a space for people to be accessible to easy to follow information, simple information, because I feel like our lives most of our lives already hectic. So I want to help people in some way.

And so I want to also create a space where it promoted positive mental health because I deal with mental health issues myself.

Jillian Leslie 3:41
What kind of mental health issues if you don’t mind?

How Blogging Helped with Her Mental Health

Jessica Cha 3:44
No, I don’t mind. Since I was 10, I dealt with depression. And I have general anxiety disorder and PTSD. And a lot of that actually heightened when, towards like the end of my corporate career.

And so, I had to do a lot of cognitive behavioral therapy and things like that. And so, I think Basic Sunday gave me an outlet to, in a way kind of heal myself by creating standards and rules.

Where I don’t have to write emails at 10pm or launch a campaign at 11pm out of nowhere. So I want to create a safe space for me in terms of what I do next in my career.

Jillian Leslie 4:30
Okay, so you initially said I’m going to start something on my own. I’m going to start a blog. I’m going to be in a specific niche and or I’m going to be doing easy things to make people feel good. How did you pick your initial niche?

Jessica Cha 4:44
I didn’t actually pick one. I didn’t know you needed one when I was first starting out. So, I started out with lifestyle so that included food and recipe skincare and talking about mental health. But then I learned you need any niche.

So, I chose skincare because I had some communications with some brands like offering free products. And so I was like alright, let’s do this because I have sensitive skin. And it was hard for me to figure out what to do with my skin.

So, I want to share with people how I manage it now. And so, I did that I did skincare for about a good year. I had a really slow momentum to be honest, very slow growth on Instagram everywhere.

The problem that I had encountered or challenge with skincare is that Google rolled out EAT. I think it stands for expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness. And so I think in a nutshell, basically from an SEO perspective.

And I might be butchering this, they prioritize for health and wellness, those who are medically certified or dermatologists. And so which makes total sense, I get it. And I’m none of those.

So, I really had to resort to writing product reviews and skincare routines, but I can only buy so many skincare products.

Jillian Leslie 6:17
And also, you have like certain issues. Maybe you couldn’t speak to other kinds of skin issues.

Jessica Cha 6:25
Yes. Or I had to look up, I use Google scholars a lot to do a lot of sources, but I felt like I was writing college essays and writing is not my forte. But I still did it and it wasn’t enjoyable. I spent four hours on a single blog post and I wasn’t happy.

Jillian Leslie 6:43
Let me just stop you for one second, though. You were a Korean skincare person predominantly.

Jessica Cha 6:50
I didn’t share like Korean skincare products. I just shared the techniques that I just learned by myself.

Jillian Leslie 7:00
Okay. Because it’s like, everything in South Korea.

Jessica Cha 7:03
Mm hmm. Skincare is everything and makeup too.

Jillian Leslie 7:09
So, you started in skincare, you felt like you were by the end writing college essays. And this is when we were working together, and I’m watching your growth and seeing how you’re dealing with all this stuff. And then tell me what happened.

Jessica Cha 7:25
And then, I was really just thinking about Basic Sunday of the future. And I thought, I can’t keep doing this, I’m not happy. And what I really did enjoy was making Instagram reels, because I was just able to make video content, and I really enjoyed it.

And so, I moved to Atlanta with my husband, I need to figure out something to do here in a new city or not new city, but city I came back to. And my husband was working from home at that time, and I was just making lunch.

And we were both like, alright, I have a ring light. I have good lighting. I have a nice kitchen. Why don’t we film something? So, I started off really slowly. I think I made like a soy fermented stew and it didn’t actually kick off well, it was very slow momentum.

And I was like, oh, no one cares about my video like whatever. And then I did a grocery haul that didn’t do so well. And then I did the four recipe egg rice dish bowl and that went “viral”. I think I have close to 4 million views now.

Jillian Leslie 8:39
And you made it and you posted it on Instagram.

Jessica Cha 8:42
On TikTok.

Jillian Leslie 8:44
Oh, wait.

Jessica Cha 8:45
Okay, sorry. Yeah.

Jillian Leslie 8:46
Back up back up. So you said I wanted to be doing reels.

Jessica Cha 8:51
Yes. So I did reels for Basic Sunday skincare.

Jillian Leslie 8:55
Okay.

Jessica Cha 8:55
And that’s it. Okay. It never went viral. I think I have to look back on my Instagram but maybe I got like 70 likes to me that felt viral during that time.

Jillian Leslie 9:05
I totally get it.

Jessica Cha 9:08
But it wasn’t going anywhere. And so, I think moving to Atlanta, it gave me an opportunity to reset and to carve a new path for me, myself and Basic Sunday and so I decided to try out TikTok I felt very very into this.

Jillian Leslie 9:26
What month is this? What month?

Jessica Cha 9:30
I started off with skincare in September so I’m still in New York. September that didn’t really kick off very well and then I officially 100% moved to Atlanta and in end of November.

Getting Her First Viral Korean Food TikTok Video in November 2021

Jillian Leslie 9:44
So you’ve been actively on TikTok since end of November. We are recording this like mid-January. So that’s just December, two months, less than two months.

Jessica Cha 9:58
Kind of. Yeah. Actually I recorded my first video, my first food video I recorded it actually in mid-December I created skincare videos before I did food on TikTok. Sorry, the timeline is a little wonky.

Jillian Leslie 10:16
Got it. So, you do this video? Again, I told you before we pressed record that, I saw the video, and it was this Korean rice dish with like four ingredients, and I was hungry. And I thought to myself, oh my god, I must make this. And this is the video that went viral?

Jessica Cha 10:36
It did go viral. Because I was at like, 23 followers since September, and just doing skincare stuff. And then once that video hit, I want to say mid-December, I went from 23. I woke up with like, 500 followers, and I was like, “What is this?”

The thing with TikTok, there’s a good and a bad to everything that you do. So people loved it because it was a simple recipe. Simple dish, to most people common recipes.

The negative side was I said four ingredients. But it’s a learning curve here. I used an oil to fry an egg. So, people considered that a fifth ingredient. And then I add the optional butter so that people considered it sixth ingredient.

And I got so much negative comments about that. So much. And then what I didn’t realize because this is a dish that I grew up eating, prepared by my parents who are Korean immigrants.

And so, I know that there are similar dishes in Japan and other countries I called it a Korean comfort dish. And so some people were angry that I labeled it as a Korean dish. And so there’s something like in Brazil too.

Jillian Leslie 11:56
You got schooled.

Jessica Cha 11:57
And so, I got a lot of negative comments. Oh, I got schooled. And I learned so much from this one video. And so I’m very careful about labeling something Korean unless it is absolutely a Korean dish.

Yeah, I consider water as an ingredient now. And so I have to, I have to.

Jillian Leslie 12:18
How funny.

Jessica Cha 12:18
It went viral, so the comments it was like too much for me. I had to shut it off the comments. And then, I had another video that is almost at 2 million. And so, I learned a lot from this one video.

Jillian Leslie 12:34
What did you learn? Aside from the fact that you cannot call it Korean, if it’s other cultures and that you can’t cheat with oil and butter. Those are real ingredients. So, what did you learn?

So, let’s say you’re talking to somebody in my audience who is hearing this and going, “Yeah, Jessica just got lucky.” Like, okay, she is like lightning in a bottle.

What could somebody do to potentially make this happen for them? And maybe it’s nothing. Maybe it is lightning in a bottle.

Jessica Cha 13:04
I would say first don’t give up. Most of the times people don’t go viral with their first video. If you do, so happy for you. Because that is amazing.

But don’t give up. Even if you don’t get a lot of views. I find going from skincare to food on TikTok is crazy, too.

Jillian Leslie 13:31
How many followers do you have right now?

Jessica Cha 13:32
Now, I want to say I have 26,000.

Jillian Leslie 13:40
Wow.

Jessica Cha 13:41
So my followers grow.

Jillian Leslie 13:44
In a month?

Growing Her TikTok Following to 26k in a Month

Jessica Cha 13:45
Yeah, about a month. Yeah. But I don’t know what that means in the TikTok world. If that was Instagram world, I’d be like, pat on the shoulder.

Jillian Leslie 13:57
Okay, still, I will say that is very impressive. You could never do that on Instagram in a month.

Jessica Cha 14:03
It’s so hard.

Jillian Leslie 14:06
Okay, so back to the question I was asking. What would you say? So, don’t give up is your first piece of advice.

But what else would you say in terms of being able to, there’s no guarantee but to make it accessible for TikTok for the algorithm for the audience to set yourself up for success?

Jessica Cha 14:27
Definitely, I would say it’s such a generic answer. Be yourself. And because if anything, I feel like people on TikTok can really pick up people if they’re trying to be something that they’re not.

Viral TikTok Advice: Provide Info Your Viewers Find Helpful

Yeah, be yourself. And I would say, just thinking back, provide information that you as a viewer will find helpful or entertained. So for example, I posted a video about Korean grocery haul, but I realized no one really cared.

And I was watching it as a viewer. And I was like, Yeah, I kind of lost interest in the first 10 seconds. So it’s always putting yourself in the viewers’ position and saying, is this informative for me? What do I get out of it? Is it entertainment? Is it laughter?

Is it ooh, I can do that. Or oh, that’s so pretty. What will people get out of your video?

Jillian Leslie 15:27
It’s like, what’s in it for you? What’s in it for the audience?

Jessica Cha 15:31
Yeah. And then just make sure your video itself, the quality is good. You don’t need a professional lighting, but make sure it’s clear and the images or the video isn’t grainy.

It doesn’t have to be a great setup like a Barefoot Contessa setup.

Jillian Leslie 15:47
Okay.

Jessica Cha 15:48
I would say yeah, clear.

Jillian Leslie 15:49
And then now, so put yourself in your audience’s shoes to say why would I care about this? Like, I don’t know you, Jessica. You live in Atlanta. I’m in Texas, what do we have in common? Like, how can you provide value for me?

Jessica Cha 16:04
Yeah, exactly. And I think it depends on your brand. Like mine is Basic Sunday. So I’m all about providing simple ingredients. There are some cooks that I follow, where they’re like a professional chef.

What is a Successful TikTok Hashtag Strategy?

And they only teach the techniques of how to cook a vegetable the proper way, like how to hold your knife. I think you have to hone your subject and go with it. And I would also say, with the hashtags, I always use #FYP.

Jillian Leslie 16:37
For You Page.

Jessica Cha 16:39
For You Page. Yeah, I was like, for you or for your.

Jillian Leslie 16:43
I think it is “For You” which is the page that is the one that if you get on to the app that’s just kind of showing you videos,

Jessica Cha 16:50
Yes. And then when you hit I think it’s the Discover button, on the lower left center of your screen. I just look at what are the trending hashtags. So sometimes they have promoted hashtags. I definitely use those.

But then I also try to see what are some trending hashtags that can be relevant to my content. I would definitely utilize those hashtags. And I actually looked at other TikTok creators, like their videos.

And I watched like, okay, what hashtags are they using, that I can use? So I saw like another Korean chef, and I just looked at his hashtags. And I was like, oh, okay, so he has, I don’t know, #Kpop. #Korean.

So I actually tried those hashtags. And it actually helped increase my engagement and views.

Jillian Leslie 17:45
Interesting how many hashtags? So let’s go to now that you had this success. How many TikToks are you creating a day and post them?

Jessica Cha 17:59
I post one a day. It really depends on your subject again, I know like some people who do like ASMR food, just eating food, they do like three times a day. I do it once a day.

And I did compare that with other people who make recipes like myself, because it’s a lot of work. But I tried to do batch posting. So I literally posted or recorded three videos right before our time. And I just do that but definitely at least once a day.

Jillian Leslie 18:37
And how long are your videos?

Jessica Cha 18:40
My videos, I’m testing that out. So I try to keep my videos at least at most a minute. But if you opt into the analytical option on TikTok.

Jillian Leslie 18:52
Which is a business account.

Jessica Cha 18:54
It’s a professional account.

Jillian Leslie 18:56
Professional account.

Jessica Cha 18:58
Professional account well first like I guess, private account. I think there’s a professional, and then there’s a business account. Business is like I don’t know, like Frito-Lay is a business.

Jillian Leslie 19:07
Okay. And it’s funny, so I’ve just started leaning into TikTok. And again, everybody, please follow me @milotreeapp, but I’m just like, barely getting my feet wet. But I will tell you, here’s my secret.

I like it so much more than creating reels and I’m not exactly sure why. But TikTok feels freer to me. It feels perfect. It feels I don’t know. Like, you’re ready for it. I’m going to use the word. It feels more fun.

Jessica Cha 19:45
Yes, yes. And that’s what it’s all about. I think TikTok has an array of emotions.

Jillian Leslie 19:52
There are lots of sites to TikTok. There are lots of sites, there are bad sites. They’re bad places you don’t want to be, but chances are if I’m in Korean food TikTok that’s like a happy place.

If I’m in brand tips and monetizing your blog, where I am, that’s like a happy place to be. So, I don’t go into the darker sides.

Differences Between TikTok and Instagram

Jessica Cha 20:14
And I think for Instagram reels, I felt I needed to create, pretty lifestyle, look at this beautiful sunset type of videos. And so, that wasn’t my thing. And so yeah, I totally agree, TikTok just feels more free in terms of what you can create.

Jillian Leslie 20:35
More free, easier to make videos and kind of like, I’ll post it. See what happens.

Jessica Cha 20:40
Yeah, exactly.

Jillian Leslie 20:41
Like, nothing. I don’t feel that level of pressure.

Use MiloTree Easy Payments to Set Up a Paid Mini Workshop

Advertisement 20:47
I’m taking a short break to give you an update on MiloTree Easy Payments, which is the other app that we have built. I have been working closely with a bunch of you to set up your paid workshops.

And it is so satisfying to see your progress and how many people are signing up for your workshops, and how seamlessly this is working for you and how excited you are.

If you want to set up a paid workshop, you want to work with me directly to help you. Please reach out to me at jillian@milotree.com. If you want to see how to set one up yourself join my email challenge by going to milotree.com/challenge.

And I will send you emails to just show you how easy this is. Think about it. What is something that you know, that you could teach to your audience and get paid for it?

What could be better, it’s really not hard. So reach out to me or head to milotree.com/challenge and I will send you five days worth of emails.

And now back to the show.

Jessica Cha 21:55
I know I have friends too who have really awesome like cool hobbies and I say you should put it on TikTok. Like one of my friends. She does pottery and I said just do an ASMR of you making a jar.

I don’t do pottery. But yeah, have you like working with it clay and people love that and put like a soothing music behind it because that fits the vibe like it’s calming. So yeah, I think the music has to flow with your content.

Jillian Leslie 22:24
No, but you can. Do you put music anyway, soundtrack anyway, and just turn it all the way down?

Jessica Cha 22:31
No. I haven’t tried that.

Jillian Leslie 22:32
Oh, really? Because what I always do is just take a trending sound and turn it all the way down and turn your volume all the way up.

Jessica Cha 22:43
I’m going to try that.

Jillian Leslie 22:45
Yeah, exactly. Because a lot of times when you see video that only has words, you’ll notice if there’s music playing, and it’s because somebody has turned the volume all the way down.

Jessica Cha 22:56
Oh, I’m going to totally look for that now after this. Yeah, thank you.

How to Send TikTok Traffic to Your Blog

Jillian Leslie 23:02
Here is my big question for you. Now that you have this big, I’m going to call it a big platform. What are you doing to monetize? This is something that I talk about a lot, which is great. Yay. The end goal is not a big TikTok following. The goal is to make money.

Those are different things. So, what are you doing to take this TikTok audience and move them somewhere so that they will buy from you and end up on your list so you can sell to them? How are you thinking about it?

Jessica Cha 23:41
So, immediately I kind of redesigned my site in terms of the information because it used to just be 100% skincare. And so, I noticed alright, everyone is asking for recipes and TikTok, you can add a link to your website.

And so, I started making recipe links and putting them on TikTok, people go there. And so the way that I monetize it is obviously driving people to my site and store them to get recipes, but that’s where I have the Display Network and I have the affiliate link.

So a lot of people ask like, “Oh, where do you get this ingredient? Where do you get that pan that you use?” And so definitely capitalizing on that and in terms of making money essentially.

So that’s how I’m able to still connect with people who view my TikTok videos driving them to my site. And then I need to make free resources type of thing like free handbook put your email in there.

Jillian Leslie 24:43
Like start a pantry. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. You can use our MiloTree pop-up app to do that.

Jessica Cha 24:47
Yes. Yes.

Jillian Leslie 24:49
So therefore, are you seeing traffic? Has your traffic to your blog gone up since your TikTok following has gone up?

Jessica Cha 24:58
Yes so, my Traffic went up more than double because I started to put the links to my recipes on my videos.

What do you mean on your videos? Because in TikTok you only get one like bio link.

So, when you edit your video. When you’re about to post it. It says Add link. So press on Add link and go all the way down. And there’s a link called Whisk, W-H-I-S-K.

Jillian Leslie 25:47
Yeah.

Jessica Cha 25:47
And you can literally grab the URL from your blog, whatever recipe your URL that you want to share, click on “Add Link” from the web and you enter in your recipe link. And then you press Continue.

And then it will somehow extract all the ingredients that you have on your recipe page. And then you just make sure all the recipes listed are correct. They tend to duplicate the recipes, but you can just delete them.

Jillian Leslie 26:15
Does it only work for recipe posts or does this work for other posts?

Jessica Cha 26:20
I’ve only tried it with recipes. But I know that you can also add links from like BuzzFeed Quizzes. I don’t know if people use that. There aren’t a lot. I think a lot of these links are for recipes, but you can definitely try with other.

Jillian Leslie 26:39
I will be trying that. I will be trying that. Interesting. Okay, so you are seeing people clicking over from TikTok to your blog.

Jessica Cha 26:50
Yes.

Jillian Leslie 26:50
So now every time you make a TikTok, are you quickly then creating a blog post?

Creating Blog Posts from TikTok Videos

Jessica Cha 26:55
Yes. So, I create the blog post. But even when I create the post, I write the post, it might go a little bit against the standard practice of writing a blog. But I write in a way that I want to see it as a reader.

So for me, I don’t like to read a lot. I just want to get right to the recipe by I do provide snippets of information that I feel people will have common questions about. Like, today, I did roasted Korean sweet potatoes.

And people might wonder, what’s the difference between Korean sweet potatoes and a regular potato, so I’ll probably write about that. So, I do write my blog post, but very concisely, because usually I find that people just jump to the recipe.

So that’s where I focus a little bit more time on. So definitely people have gone on to those recipes and tried it themselves. And my top two traffic drivers now are TikTok and organic search.

Jillian Leslie 27:50
Good job. You’re doing seven TikToks a week. Does that mean you are doing seven blog posts a week?

Jessica Cha 27:58
Yes. But if there are recipes, where it’s kind of self-explanatory, like, I don’t think I’m going to write a recipe for Korean sweet potatoes, because you just plop it in the oven. There’s no measurement.

I probably won’t put a recipe for that, because I still want to treat it as authentically as possible. I could probably do a recipe but it’s not a priority over other recipes that I have to write.

And then, I need to do other things like Pinterest. So I’m really prioritizing, what is the most important based on the amount of time that I have to spend on it.

Jillian Leslie 28:34
Do you feel like TikTok now has like upped your game? And like made you now have to really dig in and do the work?

Jessica Cha 28:43
Yes.

Jillian Leslie 28:43
Or like, has it kind of lit a fire under you? Has it made you scared or stressed or any of those emotions or excited, happy?

How Blogging and TikTok Have Given Jessica Purpose

Jessica Cha 28:52
Yes, it’s definitely giving me a purpose. So when I move, I was really depressed. I didn’t know what to do in this city. And so, once I started doing this TikTok, it gave me a purpose.

I don’t mean to sound so cliche, but a purpose to wake up every morning and be like, “Alright, I’m going to make content.” And I think it really helps. It drives me when I know that I’m not doing this just for myself.

I’m doing this to help other people even if it’s like simple recipes. I got a comment from a girl who said her father recently passed away and he was Korean. And she was half Korean. And I forget like half white or something she was mixed.

And she never got to really learn the Korean dishes from him. And she said by watching my videos she felt more connected to him. And I was like, “Wow, that’s so cool.”

Jillian Leslie 29:43
That’s so nice.

Jessica Cha 29:44
It’s always like what is your why of why you’re always doing these videos. And I came to conclusion yeah, I would love to make some money out of this, but it’s always about how I can serve other people through content.

Jillian Leslie 29:59
Now how has this change, your strategy, your Instagram strategy? Are you using what is it called like SnapTik or whatever and sharing your videos on reels? And has it helped your Instagram grow? Have you pulled back from Instagram? What is your strategy?

Jessica Cha 30:19
Yes, so for Instagram I started, I’m still focusing on TikTok right now to keep growing it. But I did create a new Instagram account, Basic Sunday Cooking and I use those SnapTik.

How to Turn TikTok Videos Into Instagram Reels

Jillian Leslie 30:35
Let’s say what SnapTik is. It’s like awesome. So initially a lot of people were pushing their TikToks directly to Instagram and then to reels. And then Instagram is going like, whoa, we don’t want our content to have TikToks all over it with the TikTok logo.

So then we used to have to do this weird day where you’re like stretching your video and trying to like edit out that TikTok logo. But there is this app called SnapTik. And you just put the URL of your TikTok in there and it will automatically remove the watermark.

Jessica Cha 31:13
Yes. It’s beautiful.

Jillian Leslie 31:14
It’s great. I know. I found that. Tell me then. You are taking your TikToks and adding them as reels, as stories. What are you?

Jessica Cha 31:25
Yes. So I add the TikTok videos as reels. So I do those. I think I’m still growing my Instagram strategy. But what I’ve learned about Instagram reels, and I don’t know if other people have experienced the same thing as myself.

I noticed when I post Instagram reels every day, my engagement goes down, and the amount of views goes down. But when I post every three or four days, it goes up.

Jillian Leslie 31:57
So just one?

Jessica Cha 31:59
Yes. So, I don’t know if that’s tricking the system. I have no idea. But I did learn that. And then even like, when I posted Instagram reels, definitely the amount of plays, it differs based on the time that I post it.

So, I’ve learned when I post it at 11pm at night. I’m already tired, but I still do it. My engagement is higher. My views are higher than if I was to post at 3pm.

Jillian Leslie 32:30
Interesting.

Jessica Cha 32:32
And those aren’t the information that I got from the analytics on Instagram. Those are things I just tried myself. I was like, alright, how about I post it late at night? How about I post it in early morning. The beauty of this is constantly just testing and testing it.

And what I’ve learned is that just because one thing doesn’t work doesn’t mean it was a failure or a mistake. But it’s just teaching you what didn’t work. So try another way.

How to Do TikTok Video Research

Jillian Leslie 32:57
How much time do you spend on TikTok researching before you’re making videos?

Jessica Cha 33:05
I research probably constantly, most people don’t need to do this. I’m just a little wild about it. I don’t think my brain ever shuts down. But I watch a lot of TikTok videos of their creators.

I watch a lot of YouTube of chefs actually in Korea to see what they’re doing over there and in LA. LA has an amazing Korean food scene.

Jillian Leslie 33:30
Oh my gosh.

Jessica Cha 33:32
So I watch a lot of YouTube. I follow a lot of Korean chefs on Instagram, or just chefs in general just to get inspired. Because sometimes I come up with my own recipes.

So yeah, my ideas come from everywhere. But in terms of what I choose to do it, I always go back to my top three viral videos, like what made those viral? It was because it was four ingredients, it was really simple.

So, I don’t want to share complex recipes. Because I don’t think my viewers are going to really resonate with that. So, I always think back like alright, these are all cool recipes, but let’s refine it and let’s tune it down to the ones that are really simple to make.

Jillian Leslie 34:22
Interesting.

Jessica Cha 34:23
So, I do research constantly for that.

Jillian Leslie 34:24
And are you doing things like exploring, doing meme TikToks and funny TikToks and those kinds of TikToks as well like do you have different pillars of types of content?

Jessica Cha 34:40
I don’t know. I do more of because my aesthetic is something that’s calming, and something that is informative, so I try to stick with that. When I don’t feel like cooking, I do today’s a leftover day so that becomes an ASMR type of video.

It’s really simple like me removing the top of a Tupperware container and is scooping up the soup, and people love to hear those sounds. So that’s something different that I do time to time.

I do grocery hauls, which is like an ASMR kind of thing. So I do a mix of myself speaking and teaching, but I also do a mix of ASMR just to kind of mix it up a little bit.

I think for me, like dancing or doing jokes or me, it’s just not my personality, and I don’t think that will come out authentically. So, it always goes back to just be who you are and showcase it.

How to Grow Your Email List from TikTok

Jillian Leslie 35:33
Got it. Okay, can I be your business coach for one minute? I recommend you quickly put together a very B- level work pdf of how to stock your pantry with Korean staples. And you offer that on every single blog post.

And you take these people off of TikTok, not just to your blog, but the end goal is to get them also on your email list. Because I see your Korean cookbook. I see you teaching workshops. I see this enormous thing blossoming.

But those people if you can get them on your list. I don’t want to say own them but they’re yours.

Jessica Cha 36:23
Right. Thank you so much.

Jillian Leslie 36:26
Build that. Go to Canva, make it crappy. I don’t mean crappy crappy B- crappy. Don’t obsess about it. But for me, I was telling you this. I love Korean food. I would not know where to start.

I know I need some kimchi and probably some soy sauce. And that’s as far as I would go. But you could hook me up with the top 10 ingredients I need in my everyday cooking to just give it some Korean flair.

Jessica Cha 36:57
Thank you so much for the idea. Definitely. That’s a really good idea. Yes.

Jillian Leslie 37:02
And then you just add it to like the flair, or throughout whatever. Just put it in every blog post because it’s relevant.

Jessica Cha 37:09
It is. Yeah. Grocery shopping list.

Jillian Leslie 37:12
Grocery shopping list. So anyway, I’m watching you have this success.

Jessica Cha 37:16
I love it.

Jillian Leslie 37:16
And I’m like, go take those people. And own that community.

Jessica Cha 37:22
And I think one thing, there’re so many things that are possible. And because you already have people’s attention. But I think what I’m trying to figure out now is alright, this kind of just blew up randomly, and now I’m trying to catch up.

And so yeah, it’s like I know what to do. But it’s like, oh man, I’ve done this.

Jillian Leslie 37:43
I want to push you on this one, because this one will pay off over and over again.

Jessica Cha 37:48
Oh, yeah. Thank you so much.

Jillian Leslie 37:51
Definitely.

Monetization: Getting Brand Partnerships from TikTok

Jessica Cha 37:52
And then, I’ve been getting more like, brand partnerships. I didn’t get a single brand partnership last year, but now I get, like three requests a week. It’s crazy.

Jillian Leslie 38:02
Wow. I love that.

Jessica Cha 38:02
It’s crazy.

Jillian Leslie 38:05
Jessica, it is so great to hear this and to talk to you and to see your growth. And I love that you randomly put a video up on TikTok, where you’re doing Korean food. And boom, who knew? I feel like a proud mom. I really do.

So Jessica, people want to reach out to you see what you’re doing. What is your TikTok? What is your blog? What great Korean food are you making? Where should they go?

Jessica Cha 38:39
So, my TikTok is called basicsundaycooking. And my website is basicsunday.com. Someone took basicsunday on TikTok, that’s why I put cooking. So, you can definitely find me on those.

And Instagram is basicsunday_cooking. And I’m very active with my followers. So, if you have any questions, leave it in the comment. I will definitely answer any questions that you have.

Jillian Leslie 39:04
And what is the one thing that you are leaning into besides TikTok for 2022?

Jessica Cha 39:12
One thing I’m basically leaning is, I want to do a lot more brand partnerships because, first I would like to make some money. But second, I would love to support any businesses that I think are great and relevant for my users.

And help my users know what’s out there and anything new that they haven’t seen before. So brand partnership is definitely one that I am very fixated for this year.

Jillian Leslie 39:40
Oh, that’s terrific. Well, Jessica, I have to say thank you so much for coming on the show.

Jessica Cha 39:46
Thank you. This was wonderful.

Jillian Leslie 39:49
I really enjoyed my conversation with Jessica. What I was so impressed with is that she tried a bunch of stuff. I talked about this all the time. You got to be out there testing, trying seeing where you can get traction and she found it.

And I do think there is an opportunity right now on TikTok. So if you haven’t explored the platform yet, I want to offer you a challenge, please make a TikTok and send it to me.

I would love to see what you do and maybe this will give you the push to start creating on a whole new platform. Who knows what it could do for you.

Okay to wrap up first, please follow me on TikTok. I am @milotreeapp. I’m just getting started.

And two if you want to grow your followers on TikTok, because you’re already there, check out our milotreeapp and install it on your blog.

And three, if you’re ready to start creating products, I think the easiest thing to start with is a paid workshop.

And you can learn more about that going to milotree.com/challenge. You’ll get five days of emails from me and have a paid workshop set up.

I just want to close by saying thank you for being part of this awesome community. And I will see you here again next week.

Imagine a world where growing your social media followers and email list was easy…

If you are looking for ways to grow your community whether that be email whether that be social media, right now head to Milotree.com install the MiloTree app on your blog and it will do the work for you. Let it do the heavy lifting for you.

Let it pop up in front of your visitors and ask them to follow you on Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube, Facebook, join your list, check out the exit intent but really get your community growing. And we’d love to help you with MiloTree. And I will see you here again next week.

Sign up for MiloTree now and get your first 30 DAYS FREE!