As if working on Hollywood hits like Thor, Antman, and Captain Marvel as a visual effects artist wasn’t impressive enough, Tyler Tometich has also built a six-figure creator business in just six months.
After spending the past decade in Los Angeles building his career in the entertainment industry, Tyler started creating content on social media when he began working from home during the COVID pandemic. He began building an engaged online community of visual effects artists and fellow creators creating viral videos that eventually helped him grow his following to nearly 500K across channels.
When the writer’s strike happened and Tyler was furloughed, it ended up being the push he needed to become a full-time creator and launch Viral VFX, a program that helps other creators learn how to create a viral brand and grow on social media. Here’s a snapshot of his success:
- Earned over six-figures in revenue in six months
- Grew his audience to nearly 500K across social channels
- Taught over 1,200 students through his online course
The Challenge: Becoming a Full-Time Creator
When Tyler first began to dip his toes into content creation, he set a goal for himself. “If I could just create one video per month, it would be so fun,” he recalls. “And then over time, it just ramped up and became part of my lifestyle.”
Fast forward to 2023, Tyler decided to move his family from Los Angeles to North Carolina to focus solely on being a full-time content creator and coach. When he went all in, he decided to hire a mentor to give him some direction. “I had created a lot of content, but I didn't really know what I was doing,” he says. “I didn't know why I was creating content, I just knew that I liked it.”One of the biggest realizations he had with his mentor is that he wasn’t targeting the right audience. Tyler initially created content for his peers, which were other VFX artists who were on a similar level as him. But his mentor made him realize he needed to create content for people who are just getting started with VFX and want to learn from him.
It was around this time that Tyler also started finding formats that worked well with his audience and began posting on social media every day for 90 days straight — that’s when he experienced rapid growth and caught the attention of major brands. Tyler was able to secure brand deals with companies like Adobe, and even joined Kajabi’s Creator Incubator program.
The Solution: Sharing His Expertise Beyond Social Media
While Tyler already offered coaching, having his own course had been a longtime goal of his. “I always thought it'd be so cool to have my own course, but I had no idea how to do it,” he recalls. “It was just an overwhelming thought.”
With the support of Kajabi, Tyler launched his first online course in November 2023. The course teaches students how to create scroll-stopping viral videos using expert visual effects and video techniques. In addition to value-packed video tutorials, the program also includes a private community where students can collaborate, ask questions, and learn even more useful tips.
“For someone who's never built a course before and who didn't know anything about marketing a year ago, having an all-in-one platform like Kajabi was super awesome,” says Tyler. “Just being able to send emails and have a community inside the platform has been a game changer and has sped up my process a lot.”
Results: Accelerating to a 6-Figure Business
In six months after he decided to focus on being a creator full-time, Tyler grew his Instagram audience from 27,000 to 250,000, and his TikTok audience blew up to over 200,000.He also saw rapid success with the online course he launched on Kajabi. In just six months since launching, Tyler has generated over $100K in revenue
Looking Ahead: Expanding His Team
What’s next for someone who’s achieved rapid success in record speed? Tyler is ready to delegate and expand.
“I'm trying to build a team so I can delegate some things because I want to grow and not work 24/7,” he says. “I'm enjoying the process, but I see a lot of potential. I’m focused on expanding and continuing to grow the courses, and then I'll be opening up the coaching again too.”
Tyler’s Playbook for How to Stand Out on Social Media
With over 270K followers on Instagram and over 200K followers on TikTok, Tyler has grown an impressive social following thanks to his engaging short-form videos. If you’re a creator trying to grow your audience on social media, follow Tyler’s playbook for creating content that stands out.
- Have a strategy: While you need to start somewhere, it’s best to have some sort of strategy in mind first. “I would say one of the most common mistakes creators make when growing their audience is just diving in and creating stuff without any strategy in place,” says Tyler. “Especially with the way social media is now, it's so saturated — you really have to have some type of strategy.”
- Know who your audience is: As you’re creating your strategy, get clear on who your target audience is. “You have to at least know why you're doing it and who you're doing it for,” he says.
- Research what works: For new creators who are building an account from scratch, find out what other people are posting about. “If you're not familiar with what type of content to post to grow, don't be afraid to copy what's already working,” he says. “And that doesn't mean necessarily copy it word for word. But there's a process of doing research, finding viral hooks, finding viral content on TikTok and YouTube, and looking for things that people are already resonating with.”
- Use AI to generate content ideas: If you want to ramp up your content production but are feeling stuck on what to create, Tyler suggests using AI tools. “One of the big things that will speed up the process is using AI and using Chat GPT to help get the creative juices flowing.”
- Prioritize quality over quantity: Although Tyler posted every day when he experienced rapid growth, he doesn’t necessarily recommend every creator do the same. “If you're posting stuff that people aren't resonating with, it doesn't matter how much you post,” he says. “You have to know your target audience, and understand their pain points and desires. Once you find that rhythm and you see what’s resonating with people, that's when you should ramp up how many times you're posting a week.”
Ready to scale your online business? See how an all-in-one tool like Kajabi can help you take your creator business to the next level with online courses, coaching, community, and more.
