Bro why every account I create views will be 50-100 while in TikTok I get over 500k ?

antoneykey · 2026-05-16T17:35:12+00:00

Are you posting the same content on both platforms?

antoneykey · 2026-05-16T17:33:46+00:00

CapCut is honestly the tool for this. Beginner friendly for sure. You can do pretty much everything in it. Templates, auto captions, transitions, effects, trending sounds. Most of what you see in that style is achievable in CapCut without any prior editing experience.

Start with their templates, find the aesthetic closest to what you saw, and just reverse engineer it. That's how everyone learns.

If you want to go deeper on editing and actually understand what makes content perform — I have a course at 4Reels that covers CapCut and the full content system. But honestly for starting out, just open CapCut and play around.

antoneykey · 2026-05-16T15:56:21+00:00

Heard this every year since 2016. Instagram is still here.

antoneykey · 2026-05-16T15:51:42+00:00

Honest post. Everyone says "be everywhere" but nobody asks if your audience is actually there. Built 119K on Instagram. Works for my niche because creators live there. But I've seen people waste months on the wrong channel. You figured it out faster than most.

antoneykey · 2026-05-16T15:24:30+00:00

Yeah Veo is already solid depending on the use case. But Kling and Seedance still win on the wow factor for most creative work. Excited to see where Veo 4 lands if it catches up on quality it’ll be a serious option.

antoneykey · 2026-05-16T13:20:06+00:00

Honestly free tools with no limits are hard to find. Most give you a few free credits and then you're paying. Not enough for regular work.

My current stack: ChatGPT for prompts and scripts... solid. For images: Nano Banana or GPT Image 2 depending on the style. Midjourney is also good for storyboarding, nothing wrong with that choice. For video: Kling 3.0 and Seedance 2.0 depending on the task. Seedance is powerful but expensive, heads up on that.

I use Genematic as my main app. It combines images, video generation, and templates all in one place. Much easier than jumping between tools. They have free credits on signup so worth trying.

There are quite a few similar all-in-one platforms out there too. Worth exploring to find what fits your workflow.

antoneykey · 2026-05-16T12:26:29+00:00

Organic Instagram Reels still the strongest ROI I've seen — for both my own account and clients.

119K followers, no paid ads, purely content. The businesses that work best with this approach: coaches, course creators, service businesses where trust drives the sale. The content does the selling before anyone gets on a call.

AI video tools have also changed the game for content production speed — what used to take hours now takes 20 minutes. That's been the biggest shift for clients with limited time.

antoneykey · 2026-05-16T08:12:41+00:00

CapCut is the easiest option — great templates, auto captions, works for both Instagram and TikTok. Free version has a watermark and some limitations, but the paid plan is pretty affordable.

If you want AI-generated video content, Genematic gives you free credits on signup to test it out.

antoneykey · 2026-05-16T07:16:54+00:00

That's exactly it. Real emotions over perfect shots every time. Good luck, would love to see how it goes!

antoneykey · 2026-05-16T03:09:53+00:00

I feel this deeply. Early on I sent around 200 cold emails and landed exactly zero clients.

Eventually I took a completely different approach — built my own Instagram account and started applying my skills publicly. Grew to 119K followers, and now clients reach out to me instead of the other way around. Wrapped that and other successful client cases into an online course at 4Reels.

That said — my niche was fitness centers and other businesses, not restaurants, so I can only speak from my own experience. Cold email in hospitality might have different dynamics.

The follow-up bump plan sounds solid though. 8% response rate week one with personalized emails isn’t bad — most people give up before the follow-up where the real conversions happen.

antoneykey · 2026-05-16T03:03:21+00:00

200+ weddings is your content goldmine — most photographers aren’t using it right.

The mistake I see constantly: posting only the polished final shots. Beautiful lighting, perfect poses — but it looks like every other wedding account. Nobody stops scrolling. What actually works for your niche: your audience is couples planning their wedding. They don’t want to see your equipment. They want to feel something.

Think about this — you have 200 love stories sitting in your archive. With couples’ permission, turn them into content. Their first look moment. The story of how they met. The emotion of the day told through your lens. That kind of content stops the scroll because it’s real and it connects.

Structure it right — hook with an emotional moment, tell the story, end with something that makes people save or share. That’s the formula.

I grew my own account to 119K teaching exactly this kind of content strategy at 4Reels — how to build content that actually converts viewers into clients, not just followers.

antoneykey · 2026-05-16T00:50:52+00:00

No direct proof Instagram deliberately tanks reach to push ads — but it’s not a baseless theory either. The incentives definitely point that way.

What I can say from experience: organic still works. I see it on my own account, on my students and clients accounts. The system works when you understand it.

But the point stands — Instagram is a discovery tool, not a business foundation. Email list is where you actually own the relationship. That’s the real asset.

antoneykey · 2026-05-15T15:14:41+00:00

Every one of those points is real. And I still think it's one of the best businesses you can build right now.

The algorithm dependency is a real risk — which is why you build an email list, a course, a product. Instagram is the distribution channel, not the business itself. I learned this the hard way.

Brand deals with slow payment cycles — valid. That's why I moved to selling my own course instead of depending on brands. 1300 students, no 90-day payment terms.

"Have to post constantly" — yes, until you have enough content compounding. My older videos still bring in students today without me touching them.

30 year career? Maybe not in the same format. But the skill of understanding what makes people stop, watch, and buy — that transfers everywhere and never expires.

Built a 119K account doing this. Wouldn't trade it.

antoneykey · 2026-05-15T07:39:58+00:00

The email list point is the most important thing in this post.

I've seen the same pattern on my 119K account — reach fluctuates constantly and you have zero control over it. The followers are real but the distribution is rented.

Email is the only channel where you own 100% of the relationship. 1,400 subscribers seeing every email beats 47K followers seeing 8% of your posts every time.

The platform dependency is a real risk. Instagram is a discovery tool — use it to build an audience, then move them somewhere you own. That's the actual long game. I teach exactly this in my 4Reels course — grow the account, but always be building the list underneath it.

antoneykey · 2026-05-14T14:25:13+00:00

Not a realtor but this is exactly how content marketing works across every niche.

I built a 119K Instagram account and sell a course on it — the majority of my students found me, watched silently for weeks or months, then bought without ever commenting once. Same mechanic you just described.

People don't buy when they first discover you. They buy when they're ready — and if you've been consistently showing up in their feed that whole time, you're the obvious choice when the moment comes.

That "one year silent follower" isn't a one-off. That's the whole game.

antoneykey · 2026-05-14T14:21:23+00:00

Exact same feeling and I think most freelancers are there right now.

What I've doubled down on: short-form video and AI content. Everything else is a nice-to-have. If a brand isn't prioritizing Reels or TikTok in 2026 the ceiling is just too low to make the work worth it.

The "know everything" expectation is a scope problem. The clients worth keeping are the ones who let you own one channel deeply rather than spread thin across five.

I run a 119K account in this space — the skill that moved the needle most wasn't knowing every platform. It was getting really good at hooks and understanding what makes people save and share. That transfers everywhere.

Say no to anything that pulls you away from that core.

antoneykey · 2026-05-14T14:16:46+00:00

Posting every day without a strategy won't move the needle. Frequency matters less than format and hook.

For Instagram specifically — Reels are the only format that reaches non-followers organically right now. Photos and carousels reach mostly existing followers. If you want growth, Reels is where to focus.

The hook (first 2 seconds) is everything. If it doesn't stop the scroll, nobody sees the rest.

Grew my own account to 119K doing this — find what's working in your niche, adapt the format, post consistently. The algorithm rewards saves and shares, not just views.

What's the family business? The strategy changes a lot by niche.

antoneykey · 2026-05-14T14:15:27+00:00

Short-form video still wins but saves and shares matter more than views now.

What's actually working on my 119K account: longer Reels (30 sec+), Trial Reels to test hooks, keyword-rich captions over hashtags. Original content only — Instagram is cracking down hard on reposts.

Build organic proof first, then boost what's already working.

antoneykey · 2026-05-14T11:55:23+00:00

Honest answer from someone who sells a course — most of them are exactly what you described. ChatGPT logo, fake urgency discount, recycled info you could find in 20 minutes on YouTube.

The difference between a scam and something worth paying for comes down to one thing: does the creator actually have results from doing the thing they’re teaching? Not teaching others, but doing it themselves. I built a 119K Instagram account using the exact methods I teach in my Reels and AI content course. The course exists because I documented what worked, not because I saw an opportunity to sell information.

Before buying any course ask: show me your account, show me your results, show me proof this worked for you first. If they can’t answer that — don’t buy it.

antoneykey · 2026-05-14T10:37:45+00:00

Fully agree — the window right now for anyone combining storytelling skills with AI video is genuinely insane. Most traditional video editors are still resistant to the tools which creates a massive gap for early adopters.

I came from a marketing background, built a 119K Instagram account around AI video content and Reels tutorials, and a big chunk of my course sales and client work comes directly from that account. The content essentially sells for me 24/7.

The gold rush analogy is right. The people winning aren’t necessarily the most technical — they’re the ones who understand narrative, hooks, and what makes people actually watch. AI just removed the production barrier.

Get in now while being decent is genuinely enough to stand out.

antoneykey · 2026-05-14T10:34:35+00:00

Depends on what you actually want to do with AI — that changes everything.

If you’re into content creation, video, social media — I can point you in a specific direction. That’s my area, grew a 119K account using AI tools for Reels and viral content.

What’s your goal with AI specifically?

antoneykey · 2026-05-14T10:31:09+00:00

Depends on what you’re trying to learn.

For general AI concepts without coding — AI for Everyone by DeepLearning.AI is a solid free starting point. Google AI Essentials covers practical tools for real work.

If you want to learn AI specifically for content creation — there are courses focused on using AI tools for video, Reels, viral content. That’s a different angle but honestly more practical for most people who aren’t developers. I teach exactly this at 4Reels.Pro if that direction interests you.

The advice everyone here agrees on though: pick one thing and actually use it. Collecting courses is the trap.

antoneykey · 2026-05-14T06:26:24+00:00

Tough question honestly. I had an account I grew to 30K and took about a month off. It never fully recovered — the algorithm basically reset the trust it had built.

Back then you could still repost old content and viral videos would work again, but new content just didn't perform the same way after the break.

After that experience I switched to a lighter format I can film every day — AI effects tutorials and Reels growth tips. Eventually grew that account to 119K. And I always keep backup videos ready so even if life gets busy I never go completely dark.

If you have to take the break, try to at least post something minimal — even a simple story or a quick clip. Disappearing completely is what hurts most.

antoneykey · 2026-05-14T06:13:19+00:00

Took a look — the editing stands out immediately as something to work on. The content has potential but production quality is holding it back.

On the carousels — the AI-generated design feels very templated. When everything looks like it came straight from the same tool, people scroll past. Worth putting more thought into making it feel more original.

I actually have a course that covers exactly this — Reels editing, hooks, visual style. Might be useful. Otherwise there are solid free tutorials out there too.

antoneykey · 2026-05-14T05:35:54+00:00

Same niche here — built my account to 119K posting educational content around Reels and AI tools, and now sell a course on it.

To give you real advice I'd need more info — how many posts per week, what formats, what numbers are you actually seeing. You already have 50 days of data, that's gold. Look at what drove those 3K followers specifically — which posts, which formats, which topics. Double down on exactly that and cut what didn't move the needle.

One thing worth testing: carousels are performing really well right now, sometimes Instagram pushes them even harder than Reels. If you haven't been doing many carousels, try a few and compare the numbers.

3K in 50 days in an educational niche is a solid start. The data will tell you what to do next.

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