What Happened When Grampa's TikTok Shop Blew Up
And how yours could too!
Does anyone else’s dog absolutely demolish their stuffed toys making the house look like a weird graveyard of shrapnel? If yes, watch this.
💥 What’s Trending - Latest Trends on TikTok & IG
I Think of You All the Time
Be careful if you scroll through TikToks with this audio because man oh man are people making some heart-wrenching videos about losing family members and missing their dogs. Use it to reminisce or tug at viewers heart strings.
Link to the soundGorilla - Lil Simz
Love to see that this song is trending on Instagram because it’s been on my gym playlist for weeks. It’s so fun and funky. Use it to show off a project, demo a cool product, make a behind the scenes video, or do whatever you want with it.
Just use this sound!I Love It
This groovy song makes the perfect soundtrack for a fast-paced edit/montage. Check out this reel from a popular Miami restaurant showcasing their food + drinks or this one from a hairstylist giving a 360 view of their work. It’s upbeat, feel good, and perfect for pretty much any niche/industry.
Link to the sound
🛠 Handy Dandy Tools
Project Mgmt: A simpler, prettier version of Notion? Use AI to manage your projects. Try Skippet free here.
AI-Powered Demos/content: This looks SO great for creating product demos, instructions, or even content. Use Supademo free here.
Beautiful Lists: OMG. So clean and simple. I love this tool. Use for personal, teams, or projects. Use Superlist free here.
Social selling: Promote and sell on Instagram via automated DM campaigns. Check out Stampede Social here.
🏆 Curated Picks
How to Use the 3 Minute Rule to Craft Content that Sticks
If you've ever wondered why some TikToks, Reels, or Shorts go viral while others don’t, the secret might just be the 3-minute rule.
There’s a course on LinkedIn that's like a cheat code for nailing your message, no matter where you're sharing it.
Brant Pinvidic spills the beans on how to boil down what you've got to say to its purest form— if you're tossing ideas around in a boardroom or posting to whatever social platform you want.
It's all about getting straight to the heart of your message and making it stick.
The course gets into the art of concise communication, teaching you to strip down your message to its bare essentials.
You'll learn tricks on how to keep your audience locked in, from the opening line to the final word. Plus, it's packed with practical exercises that put theory into action, letting you practice trimming the fat off your communication until it's lean, mean, and impossible to ignore.
Whether you're pitching an idea, selling a product, or just trying to make a point in a meeting, this course has got your back. It's all about saying more with less, and by the end of it, you'll be a wizard at weaving words that work wonders in capturing attention.
Plus there’s a free 30-day trial so you can check it out with no real commitment.
7 Secrets to Crafting Viral Content That Captures Eyeballs
Speaking about going viral… I feel like at the heart of “how to go viral” content we’re really talking about why people share a piece of content because the social sharing is a huge part in making a piece of content go viral.
Going viral is the dream for anyone dabbling in content creation because, let's face it, who wouldn't want their work to explode across the internet, bringing in loads of traffic with minimal spend?
However, hitting that sweet spot of virality is a bit like catching lightning in a bottle—part skill, part luck.
But don't fret; this article's got you covered with seven savvy strategies to boost your chances of going viral.
From the power of a good laugh to the unexpected joy of surprise, there's a method to the madness.
If you’re looking to make your content more “viral-worthy” (and get more people engaging + sharing) click here to read the article.
🤖 AI For Creators
Saw this AI voice memo app recommended on The Verge. It’ll turn your voice memos into nicely formatted notes that are also sharable. Looks pretty cool!
Candy Crushers - the app is using AI to make playing the game less frustrating.
OpenAI recently announced a new feature: Voice Engine. The tool allows users to create a copy of someone’s voice from just a 15 second clip. Here are one writer’s thoughts about the pros and cons of new AI voice tools like this.
🥨 Snack Time!
🔍 Try this: Content Tips & Suggestions from Other Creators
This creator offers some tips for getting viewers to comment on your TikToks/Reels. Really solid and easy-to-do suggestions. Check it out.
How one creator got 23k saves and 2500 new followers by reverse-engineering her content strategy.
Tips for creating carousels on Instagram that will actually reach the explore page.
Here are 15 phrases that will make your writing better. Click here to see them.
🌟 Creator Spotlight
The 100 Year Old Tool that Went Viral on TikTok
TikTok has changed the game when it comes to selling products on social media. There are so many stories of a video going viral and then the lives of the creators are totally changed. Business starts booming and sometimes they can’t even keep up with orders.
That’s what happened to Grampa’s Gardenware last year. Most of their videos were getting a few thousand views then one day, they post a very simple TikTok showing off their weed pulling tool.
The video isn’t fancy. It looks like it was just filmed horizontally on an iPhone. The first clip is some dude showing Grampa’s Weed Puller, then in the second clip he shows exactly how to use it. The video has over 2 million views.
Then the next week they post a response video to someone’s comment asking them to show the weeder being used on crabgrass. This video is maybe 15 seconds long. Just one clip of someone pulling up crabgrass with an upbeat song in the background. This video gets over 1 million views.
A few days later they post the TikTok that ended up on my for you page (6 months after it was posted). In this one they share how many orders they’ve received in the previous handful of days because of the support on TikTok. And this one has over 4.6 million views!
What I love about this whole content strategy is the simplicity because it really can be that simple.
It’s easy to get caught up with fancy equipment, fancy editing, and making sure a video has the right hook/call to action/etc. but the success Grampa’s Weeder proves that when you have a great product, the content strategy doesn’t have to be so complicated.
This is a small, family owned company based in Oregon. Turns out the weeder has been around since 1913. “This ingeniously designed tool was invented in 1913 in Seattle, Washington and people living in the Great Northwest quickly made it the MUST-HAVE garden tool for getting rid of weeds quickly and easily.
Production of the tool stopped in 1941 so that all available metal could be put towards the war effort and unfortunately, once the war ended, manufacturing of this wonderful tool never resumed.”
Then in 1999, Cathy’s husband found her mother’s strange-looking tool in the garage, figured out how to use it, and they decided to get it back into production.
With over 50k sales on TikTok and thousands of 5 stars reviews, it's clear that Grampa's Gardenware struck a chord with folks all over. And honestly, their whole adventure through TikTok offers some nuggets of wisdom for creators and small businesses trying to make their mark.
First off, I love how genuine they are on social media. Their videos aren’t high-budget or high concept. Just real people showing a genuinely great product.
This slice of life approach it captivating. It tells your audience, "Hey, we’re just like you," and in today's polished-to-perfection online world, that’s refreshing.
And then there’s the whole deal about serving up value. Each video they dropped wasn’t just for giggles. It showed their tool in action, solving a problem.
It's like saying, “We see that crabgrass, and we raise you a Grampa’s Weed Puller.” Creating content that helps or enlightens. That’s the ticket.
Oh, and can we talk about talking back? Not in a sassy way, but engaging with folks who drop a comment or a question.
That response video to a simple query; it doubled down on their visibility and proved they were listening. Engagement is the secret sauce to building a community around your brand.
Speed’s another biggie. The internet waits for no one, and Grampa’s Gardenware knew it. They kept the momentum from their viral hit going by quickly following up with more content. It’s like, strike while the iron (or in this case, the weeder) is hot!
At the heart of it all? A stellar product.
This tool wasn’t some overnight invention; it’s got history, reliability, and by the sounds of it, a pretty loyal following.
It proves that if your product or service genuinely rocks, half the battle is already won.
And lastly, never underestimate a good story.
From its 1913 roots to being a war-time casualty, and then getting rediscovered and brought back to life?
That’s not just a product backstory; that’s a saga. Stories captivate, and weaving yours into your brand can make people feel connected on a whole other level.
Remember to keep it real, focus on what you bring to the table, chat up your audience, don’t sleep on viral moments, make sure your product is the bomb, and tell your story.
Grampa’s Gardenware’s journey from a humble family biz to TikTok fame is proof positive that sometimes, simplicity and sincerity are your best strategies.
Check out their website. Find them on TikTok or Instagram.
Have a Creator Spotlight idea or request?
♥️ Do Some Good
Call for a Cease Fire
“With every passing day, hour, and minute, the Israeli military is making good on its promise to ‘open the gates of hell’ on the 2 million Palestinians trapped under Israeli siege in Gaza.
The loss of life over the last month has been staggering — almost too big to hold. But we must act now, because the Israeli government is plowing forward toward a fully genocidal attack on Palestinians in Gaza. We must demand a ceasefire now.”
Call your member of Congress now and ask them to join these strong anti-war voices calling for a ceasefire.
Click the button below for more info from Jewish Voices for Peace.
Calling will only take a few moments and it can make a difference.
💭 Final thoughts
It’s been chilly in LA this past week so I’ve gotten back into drinking dirty chais and I can’t recommend it highly enough! For those that don’t know: a dirty chai = a shot of espresso in a chai latte.
So yummy. Not too sweet and it’ll wake ya up.
Let me know if you have a must-try cold weather drink!
See ya next week,
Brittany