We recently connected with ERICKA C and have shared our conversation below.
Hi ERICKA, thanks for joining us today. Everyone has crazy stuff happen to them, but often small business owners and creatives, artists and others who are doing something off the beaten path are often hit with things (positive or negative) that are so out there, so unpredictable and unexpected. Can you share a crazy story from your journey?
When I first started my TikTok journey, I was creating non-toxic content. I created a website for those looking for non-toxic products to replace their toxic ones in their home (shampoo, deodorant, dish soap, etc). One day, I went live on TikTok for the first time and anyone who’s ever been live knows that the first few times you go live (or before you build your community), it’s filled with trolls and… pervs (can I say that here?).
Well, one guy wouldn’t leave me alone about “OF”. He kept saying things like “I wish you were on OF”. “You should make an OF”. And I, the clueless live streamer I was, kept responding with “NO. I do not and never will have an Only Fans” (saying the entire word outloud. Well… turns out…. saying Only Fans on TikTok is the equivalent of Beetlejuice and after I had said it so many times, my live shut down. Within 30 seconds, my entire account was gone. Banned. Permanently deleted. Everything I had worked so hard for was completely gone.
I was banned for a total of 4 weeks. Every single day, I sent in an appeal to tiktok just BEGGING them to rewatch the live and see what I had actually said (that I DON’T have that kind of stuff and I DON’T want them to continue to ask me).
Prior to getting banned, I had started to realize I actually didn’t LIKE making content about non-toxic products and I was considering where to go from there. So when the ban hit, it kind of gave me an excuse to step back and re-evaluate.
During the 4 week ban, I started a new tiktok account and this new FYP completely and totally decided that I was a book girly. I hadn’t read a book for fun in over 10 years so I had no idea where it came from but I was INTRIGUED. After 2 weeks of watching the booktok FYP, I ordered my first book (Credence by Penelope Douglas…. iykyk) and I was done for. The remaining two weeks I ended up reading 8 books in total.
When I got my account back, I decided right then and there that I would be infiltrating BookTok and never making another non-toxic post again. The first video I made for BookTok was a rapid fire review of those 8 books that I had read in those 2 weeks and it got over half a million views and the rest is history.
That is how I started on BookTok, and looking back now… I want to thank that troll for asking me if I had an OF. I’ll never forget you sir. Thank you for your service.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Well shoot…. I just answered that one in the craziest story question. But I will share why I think I am different from others and 110% it is because of my unwaivering honesty. There is not a thing in this world that could make me lie about liking something. In my 32 years of life, I have come to realize that whether or not you are being yourself, there will ALWAYS be people who don’t like you. So you might as well just be YOU and let your people find you and the rest can see their way out.
I am proud of the way I keep my integrity in my reviews and in my stories. In fact, I prefer that authors stay AWAY from my pages because I don’t want to offend anyone but I will not lie. No matter who the audience.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
1. Be AUTHENTICALLY you. Be weird. Be silly. Say the dumb thing. ESPECIALLY on tiktok. Tiktok is for the REAL, the UNFILTERED, the RAW. If you cringe when you watch your video back, THAT is the gold right there.
2. Learn how to edit videos and what keeps people’s attention. Take a course if you need to, or watch a few youtube videos on it but I promise, LEARN THIS SKILL. You can be the most authentic person in the world with the coolest personality ever, but if you start every video off with “hey guys… so today, I was thinking we would…” you’ve already lost 97% of the viewers. People have the attention span of a goldfish these days. PLAY INTO IT.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The community. I have met some of my BEST FRIENDS through this journey. I have taken TRIPS with friends I’ve met online. I have hosted a retreat. I have explored New York City for the FIRST TIME with people from tiktok. I spend 3-4 nights a week reading on camera into the late night hours with my community I’ve built. The people that you find will make it all worth it. My friends make all the haters worth it. My community makes all the hateful comments worth it.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ericka_witha_ck/?hl=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQUU5RnRXSeMWgZt5ss1B_Q
- Other: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@erickawitha_ck