How This TikToker Sold Soccer Balls for $275K

Welcome to Created, the newsletter that's more vital than an espresso shot as VidCon kicks off this week. Here’s what we got for you today:

• How a TikToker sold $275K worth of designer soccer balls
• Outlier video of the week...and what you can learn from it
• Creator Case Study: Chenell Basilio
• Weekly roundup of top YouTube thumbnails

How This TikToker Sold His Products Is Genius... Here's Why

TikToker JonPaulsBalls (700K followers) has serious balls.

No, not like that. We're talking about his designer soccer balls that went viral... and got him a partnership with Burberry .

Here's how he's re-inventing how to sell products on social: Backstory:

• Jon stitched custom soccer balls as a side hustle during Covid.
• His designs took inspiration from watermelons, Tetris, and more:

Why It's Different:

• Most creators launch products in a vacuum. Jon did the opposite.
• His TikTok page is a "public research & development lab" where he teases design ideas.
• If a design resonates, it "graduates" and enters production to be sold online.

Results:

• Jon's first soccer balls sold for $275 each. He sold all 1,000 of them.
• Burberry, FIFA and Apple TV asked him to make branded balls.
• Jon launched his shop, 12 Pentagons , and already working on his next designs.

Takeaway: it comes down to product-audience fit.

Jon's fans demand a product before he sells to them. Plus, they get to be part of the creation process.

It's tougher to find product audience fit after the fact. Think Charli D'Amelio and her popcorn brand . But Jon was intentional about it from day one.

?? Video Outlier Of The Week

This video by Tokyo Lens got 1.8M views. That's 11.2X the channel’s average, according to Viewstats.

Here's why it took off so you can apply to your next video:

1. Questions your assumptions: To anyone from Europe or US, a living room with no couch, TV, or decor seems absurd. The video answers the question: how and why does he do it?

2. Instant delivery: in 5 seconds, we see the entire apartment. By 30 seconds, we learn he owns under 250 items. By 1 minute, we go through his possessions. No fluff.

3. Beyond the hook: Throughout the 15 minute tour we also learn the why — it stops him from "over keeping" and allows him to move every year.

?? Weekly Roundup: Thumbnails

Here's why we love these YT thumbnails. Hopefully they inspire your next one.

1. Masterful lighting showcases video concept: a soccer cleat with power of a gun (I did a thing )

2. Ludwig's expression plus littered basketballs builds intrigue (Ludwig )

3. Stunning shot with powerful text creates an emotional pull (Andrew )

4. Meme style text with crude photoshop conveys concept while making you laugh (Michael Reeves )

?? Creator Case Study: Chenell Basilio

In this section, we spotlight a creator to breakdown the tactics behind their growth.

Backstory: Chenell has a rapidly-growing newsletter called Growth In Reverse . In each issue, she deep dives on how creators grow from 0 - 50k+ subscribers. Yes, we realize this spotlight is kinda meta ; )

How She's Grown:

• New Stats: Chennell calculates new stats to include in her posts that aren't already available online, like calculating a creator's average tweets per day which makes her posts more unique.
• Re-sharable Graphics: email isn't the most sharable platform but her newsletter is full of screenshots, user comments, video freeze frames, and more to make it easy to re-share on social and drive traffic back.
• Clear Focus: Chennell not only breaks down a creator's journey, but she provides actionable insights by primarily focusing on their early days.

Check out Chenell's newsletter and socials here.

Got an creator we should spotlight next? Reply and let us know.

?? See You Inside

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After all, nothing great is created alone. Talk soon,

Jon