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My Social Media Struggle: Why I Desperately Needed This Course

God, I was SO done with teaching. After 8 years of grading endless papers at my kitchen table till midnight, dealing with parents who thought their precious snowflakes deserved A’s just for showing up, and drowning in pointless administrative paperwork… I was DONE. Completely burned out.

Don’t get me wrong — I still freaking loved the actual teaching part. Watching kids’ eyes light up when they finally “got it”? That magic never faded. But everything else about the education system? Pure soul-crushing garbage.

January 2023. Freezing cold. Middle of the school year. I was having a particularly crappy day after a parent-teacher conference where I got blamed for a kid who hadn’t turned in homework all semester.

So I did what any rational 30-something would do: downloaded TikTok and started ranting.

OK, not exactly ranting. But I started posting little classroom management tricks. Like how I used a special bell system to transition between activities without losing 10 minutes to chaos. Or my weird but effective method for getting students to actually read the feedback on their essays.

To my complete shock, other teachers started watching. And commenting. And following me.

Three months of randomly posting videos from my couch (usually in the same ratty University of Michigan sweatshirt, if we’re being honest), and I somehow had 2,400 followers and dozens of DMs from grateful educators.

That’s when the lightbulb flickered on in my exhausted teacher brain: Wait a sec… could I actually make MONEY from this?

Here’s where I admit how clueless I was. My “business strategy” (LOL) consisted of:

• Joining TikTok’s Creator Fund — which earned me a whopping $7.32 my first month. Couldn’t even buy a decent lunch with that.
• Desperately cold-emailing education companies asking for sponsorships. Most ghosted me completely. The few who responded offered me “exposure” or — I kid you not — free pencils and stickers. STICKERS. As if I was still 7 years old.
• Throwing together a basic digital planner one weekend and trying to sell it to my followers for $12. Sold exactly 3 copies. One was to my mom.

Then one night, while I was mindlessly scrolling YouTube instead of grading vocab quizzes (teacher guilt is real, y’all), the algorithm recommended a video titled “How I Built a 6-Figure Business Through Social Media with Zero Paid Ads” by some guy named John Vi.

Normally, I roll my eyes at that get-rich-quick clickbait crap. But I was procrastinating hard, so I clicked. And… something felt different about this dude. He wasn’t promising overnight millions or flexing in front of rented Lamborghinis. Instead, he methodically broke down exactly how he’d built his audience and — most importantly — how he actually monetized it.

After a weekend binge-watching his free content (and neglecting those vocab quizzes entirely, whoops), I took the plunge and bought his Social Media Business course.

The price tag nearly gave me a heart attack. On a teacher’s salary, it was basically my entire “fun money” budget for two months. But I had this gut feeling — you know the one? When something just clicks and you think “this might actually work”?

What happened next didn’t just change my social media strategy—it completely transformed my life and career. But before I get into my results, let me break down what the course actually includes.

What is John Vi’s Social Media Business?

Social Media Business is a comprehensive 6-module course that provides a step-by-step system for building, growing, and monetizing a personal brand on social media platforms. Unlike most social media courses that focus primarily on growing followers, John’s program is explicitly designed to turn those followers into actual income.

The course is built around John’s own journey from zero to making over $15,000 per month through social media, growing his following to over 100,000 across platforms, and building a community exceeding 38,000 members.

What makes this course stand out is its platform-agnostic approach. Rather than focusing exclusively on one platform (like Instagram or TikTok), John teaches principles and strategies that work across various platforms, allowing you to adapt to changing algorithms and new platforms as they emerge.

Each module includes video lessons, actionable worksheets, templates, and swipe files you can immediately implement. There’s also a private community where John and his team provide support and feedback on your content and strategy.

What’s Actually Inside The Course (The Stuff That Changed Everything)

MODULE 1: CONTENT STRATEGY BLUEPRINT

• Finding Your Profitable Niche: This completely transformed my random posting habit. His “passion-profit matrix” (sounds fancy but it’s actually super practical) helped me narrow my focus from “here are some random teaching tips” to specifically “helping trapped teachers build online businesses.” This shift alone was HUGE.
• Content Pillars Framework: How to develop 3-5 core content themes that form the foundation of your social media presence. Before this, I was just throwing spaghetti at the wall. Now I had actual pillars to build around.
• Hook Writing Masterclass: The “PSP Method” (Problem-Solution-Proof) for creating hooks literally doubled my video completion rates in like 48 hours. I couldn’t believe how fast this worked.
• Content Planning System: John’s batching system saved me at least 5 hours per week and probably saved my sanity too.

MODULE 2: AUDIENCE GROWTH STUFF THAT ACTUALLY WORKS

• Algorithm Triggers: I nearly skipped the “first 60 minutes” engagement strategy because it sounded like too much work — basically, you have to actively respond and engage for a full hour after posting new content. But holy crap, it WORKED. My reach shot up 215% on TikTok almost immediately.
• Viral Content Formula: Following this formula led to my first video hitting 1.2M views. I literally screamed when I saw the notification and scared my cat off the couch.
• Collaboration Strategy: John’s outreach templates helped me secure 5 collaborations in my first month. Before this, I was too intimidated to reach out to anyone.
• Cross-Platform Growth: His “platform synergy” approach helped me grow on Instagram using my TikTok momentum. I went from zero to 8.5K Instagram followers in just two months!

MODULE 3: BUILDING AN ACTUAL COMMUNITY (NOT JUST FOLLOWERS)

• The Engagement Ecosystem: This is where things got really interesting. I followed John’s framework to create “Teacher’s Digital Transition” — basically a free community for educators who wanted out of the traditional system.
• Community Building Blocks: His 7-day activation sequence (a series of specific prompts and engagement activities for new members) took my retention rate from a pathetic 23% to 78%. That’s more than triple!
• Relationship Automation: The personalized response templates saved me hours each day while still making followers feel valued. Before this, I was trying to craft unique responses to every comment and burning out fast.
• Content-Community Loop: Using community insights to fuel better content created a self-reinforcing growth cycle that basically put everything on autopilot.

MODULE 4: HOW TO ACTUALLY MAKE MONEY (THE PART I WAS WAITING FOR)

• 7 Monetization Models: This helped me choose the right monetization mix for my specific situation instead of trying to do everything at once (which was my initial terrible plan).
• Digital Product Creation: John’s “Minimal Viable Solution” approach helped me create my first profitable digital product in just one weekend. I remember having a full-on meltdown halfway through, convinced nobody would buy it. (They did.)
• Service Offering Framework: Using this framework, I developed a group coaching program that sold out in 72 hours. I was literally in the grocery store when the last spot filled, and I did a little happy dance right there in the produce section.
• Passive Income Pathways: The affiliate strategy alone now generates $1,700/month in nearly passive income. That’s more than I made in two weeks of teaching!

MODULE 5: SYSTEMS TO SCALE WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND

• Team Building Blueprint: By this point, I was spending every waking non-teaching hour on my social media business. Following John’s team-building blueprint, I scrounged together enough cash to hire a part-time content editor and community manager. Terrifying financial decision at the time, but it freed me up to focus on the bigger picture instead of getting lost in editing videos for hours.
• Content Scaling Strategy: His content scaling system let me pump out way more content (from 5 posts weekly to 12-15 across platforms) without working additional hours.
• Business Operations: The project management templates keep everything organized despite juggling multiple revenue streams. I’ve never been naturally organized, so these templates were a lifesaver.
• Automation & Tools: Implementing these tools reduced my administrative work by approximately 70%. That’s not an exaggeration – it literally gave me my evenings back.

MODULE 6: BUILDING SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY LASTS

• From Person to Brand: This module helped me think beyond just “Mike the content creator” to building a lasting brand that could eventually run without me being in every single video.
• Diversification Strategy: John’s “Platform Independence Protocol” scared the crap out of me when I realized how dependent I was on TikTok’s algorithm. What if they banned me tomorrow? I’d be screwed. So I started diverting 30% of my content strategy to driving followers to channels I actually owned (email list, community, website).
• Partnership & Sponsorship: Using John’s outreach templates, I landed my first $5,000 sponsored content deal. I had to read the email three times to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating the number of zeros.
• Future-Proofing Framework: How to stay ahead of trends and position yourself for long-term success in a rapidly changing digital landscape. As someone with financial insecurity from years of teaching, this part gave me peace of mind I hadn’t had in ages.

My 90-Days of Sweat and Occasional Tears

Days 1-30: The Grinding Foundation Phase

Not gonna lie, this month was ROUGH. While working full-time teaching, I stayed up till 1am most nights implementing Modules 1 and 2. I completely overhauled my content strategy, narrowing my niche from “general teaching tips” to specifically “helping educators create online income streams.” This alone was transformative—my content immediately became more focused and resonant with a specific audience segment.

I developed three content pillars: mindset shifts for transitioning out of teaching, practical steps for starting an online business, and income strategies specifically suited for educators. Using John’s hook writing framework, I revised all my video openings, which led to a dramatic improvement in watch time.

The hardest part was that damn “first hour engagement strategy.” Imagine posting content at 8pm, then frantically responding to every single comment until 9pm, even the weird ones. Exhausting. But the numbers don’t lie — my average views jumped from around 2,000 to over 15,000 per video. Worth the bleary eyes, I guess.

Days 31-60: Community & Finally Making Money

This month was weirdly energizing despite the work. Building my community felt like creating the supportive teacher environment I’d always wished for in my actual school. Following John’s community-building framework, I launched “Teacher’s Digital Transition”—a free community for educators exploring online business options. The 7-day activation sequence he provided helped convert new members from passive to active participants.

The monetization stuff was scarier. I remember having a full-on meltdown one Saturday while creating my first digital product. Six cups of coffee, a pint of ice cream, and lots of self-doubt later, I finally finished it. Then was convinced nobody would buy it. (They did.)

For monetization, I developed a value ladder consisting of:

• A $27 “Teacher’s Side Hustle Starter Kit” (digital product that took one weekend to create)
• A $197 “Classroom to Creator” course (teaching content creation basics – took about 2 weeks)
• A $997 “Education Entrepreneur Accelerator” (8-week group coaching program that terrified me to launch)

This monetization strategy generated $3,800 in my first launch, which was mind-blowing considering I had made less than $100 from my previous attempts. I literally danced around my apartment and then immediately panicked about whether I could actually deliver what I promised. Imposter syndrome hit HARD.

Days 61-90: Scaling & Not Completely Losing My Mind

By month three, I was starting to feel the burnout again, but in a different way. Hiring help was absolutely terrifying. I remember thinking “Who am I to have STAFF??” But it freed me up to focus on the bigger picture instead of getting lost in editing videos for hours.

I implemented the content scaling system, which allowed me to increase my posting frequency from 5 times weekly to 12-15 pieces of content across platforms, without working additional hours. The automated workflows reduced administrative tasks dramatically – stuff that used to take me hours now happened automatically.

Building presence on other platforms felt overwhelming initially. Instagram’s algorithm is a whole different beast than TikTok’s. But John’s cross-promotion framework made it manageable, if not always fun.

Most importantly, I followed the diversification strategy by establishing presences on Instagram and YouTube, starting a weekly newsletter, and focusing on building my community. By day 90, I had significantly reduced my dependency on any single platform.

My Growth By the Numbers

While these numbers don’t match John’s results (he’s been doing this much longer and started earlier), they represent a complete transformation of my social media presence and, more importantly, my financial situation. I’m now earning more than I did as a teacher, with significantly more freedom and impact.

My Results: Before and After

Beyond the metrics, the most significant change has been in lifestyle and impact. I’ve left my teaching job (giving notice was simultaneously terrifying and the most liberating moment of my life) and now work exclusively on my social media business. I have the freedom to create my own schedule and work from anywhere. Most importantly, I’m still teaching and helping others—just in a way that reaches far more people and provides me with greater personal freedom.

The Good, Bad & Ugly Truth

Should YOU Buy This Course?

Look, this isn’t for everyone. I’m not gonna be that annoying person who insists everyone should be an online entrepreneur.

You’ll probably love this if:

• You’ve got expertise in something that people actually care about
• You’re struggling to convert followers into actual income that pays bills
• You can commit to consistent work for at least 2-3 months (no overnight miracles here)
• You want a real system, not just random growth hacks
• You’re open to multiple ways of making money
• You want to build something lasting, not just chase viral fame

Don’t waste your money if:

• You’re looking for an overnight success story (seriously, it’s work)
• You just want to be famous on social media without building a business
• You need advanced help with paid advertising campaigns
• You’re solely focused on physical product sales
• You absolutely hate being on camera or showing your face
• You expect success without putting in the work (nobody gets a free pass)

Frequently Asked Questions