TikTok Is In Easy Mode: How To Get More Views, Engagement And Money With TikTok

In the last 60 days, Alston ran one repeatable process on TikTok and walked out with 832,000 post views, 76,000 likes, 18,000 profile views, 5,000 comments, and thousands of dollars in income. His account sat at just 22,000 followers. He was not running ads. He was not paying for a boost service. Three videos in that window alone pulled 455,000 views, 299,000 views, and 172,000 views. Those numbers came from the same eight-step method, applied consistently, to a normal creator account.

Most people who say TikTok is hard to grow are missing one thing: the platform is still actively rewarding creators who signal to the algorithm that their content is worth distributing. This post walks through exactly how Alston does that, step by step, in the order he actually runs the process. If you commit to this for 60 days the way he did, the results in this video are a realistic target for what you can expect.

What You’ll Walk Out With

How to train the TikTok algorithm to show your niche in about 20 minutes
The exact engagement threshold for spotting a video worth borrowing (5,000 likes minimum)
A free tool for downloading TikTok videos without a watermark so your repost is not flagged as duplicate content
The double hook formula Alston opens every video with, and why negative hooks outperform positive ones in the first 7 seconds
How to use a checklist green screen to hold viewer attention for a full minute while you talk
The comment CTA that floods your comment section with engagement and can get you ranked for a high-traffic keyword
Why engaging with every comment in the first 12 hours matters more than the video itself
Not sure which online income model fits your situation? Find out in two minutes at finder.platformproof.com

Why Most People Think TikTok Is Hard to Grow

The complaint you hear constantly is that TikTok growth is random, that the algorithm is unpredictable, and that only accounts with huge followings get consistent views. Alston heard the same thing. Then he looked at his own data: 832,000 post views in 60 days from an account with 22,000 followers. The difference between his results and the common experience is not luck. It is that he is actively configuring the algorithm to work in his favor instead of waiting for it to discover him.

TikTok’s algorithm is looking for signals. When you like, comment, and favorite videos in a specific niche, you are sending the algorithm a strong signal about what category of content to push to your profile and what category of audience to assign to your videos. When viewers comment on your content with a keyword phrase, TikTok picks that up as an engagement signal and starts associating your account with that keyword. Every step in this method is designed to give the algorithm exactly the signals it needs to push your content further.

Step 1: Configure Your Algorithm in 20 Minutes

The first thing Alston does before recording anything is configure the algorithm. This is a setup step that only takes about 20 minutes and it determines what the app will start showing you and, more importantly, what audience TikTok will assign to your content going forward.

Open TikTok and go to the home screen. Tap the search bar and type in your niche keyword. If you want to be known for makeup tutorials, type “makeup tutorial.” If your niche is basket weaving, personal finance, fitness, or anything else, type that. You are training the app on what category you operate in.

After you hit search, tap the three dots at the top of the screen. Go into Filters. Sort by Like Count and set the time window to the past 3 months. Hit Apply. What you will see now is the most viewed, most viral content in your niche from the last 90 days. This is your research material and your algorithm training ground at the same time.

Now spend 20 minutes engaging with those videos. Like them, comment on them, and favorite them. You are not just killing time here. Every one of those actions is a signal you are sending to TikTok that says “this is my category, this is my audience, this is where I belong.” Once you have done that for 20 minutes, close the app completely. Then reopen it. When you scroll through your feed, you should now be seeing substantially more content from your niche. That means the training worked.

Step 2: Find a Viral Video Worth Borrowing

Now that your feed is populated with niche content, you are going to look for a viral video to use as the foundation of your own. Swipe through your feed and look for any video that has at least 5,000 likes. That number is Alston’s floor. Anything below 5,000 has not proven itself. Ideally you want more, but 5,000 is the minimum that tells you the hook in that video actually worked on a real audience.

When you find a video that clears the threshold, tap the arrow at the bottom right and select “Copy Link.” You are going to take that link to a separate tool. Do not use the native TikTok save feature for this step, because that will save the video with the watermark attached, and the watermark creates problems in the next step.

Step 3: Download Without the Watermark Using SnapTick

Go to Chrome (or any browser) and open snaptick.app. Paste the TikTok link into the input box and hit Go. SnapTick will process the link and give you a download option for the video without the TikTok watermark attached.

Removing the watermark matters for two reasons. First, it makes the video transformative rather than a straight repost. Second, TikTok’s system flags videos that carry another account’s watermark as reused content, which tanks distribution before your video even gets a chance. Downloading through SnapTick strips that flag before it can become a problem.

The exact download flow on iPhone: tap Download, tap Download again when prompted, close the ad, tap Save, tap Save again, then tap Open In, tap Open In Downloads, find the video, tap the box on the left, and tap Save Video. It is now in your Photos app and ready to use inside TikTok.

Step 4: The Double Hook Method

This is the core of the method and the piece most creators are not doing. Alston calls it the double hook. The first hook is borrowed from the viral video. The second hook is yours.

Open TikTok and tap the plus sign to create a new video. Switch to 10 minutes (or leave it at 3 minutes if that is what you can manage). Tap Effects and find the Video Green Screen effect. Select the viral video you just downloaded from your photo library. Now you will see the original video playing as your background while you appear in the foreground.

Let that original video play for the first 5 to 7 seconds. You are not stealing content and passing it off as your own. You are borrowing a proven hook. That video earned 5,000 or more likes because its opening seconds stopped people from scrolling. You are using those same opening seconds to stop your audience from scrolling. The hook has already been validated. You are just putting it to work again.

After 5 to 7 seconds, turn off the Video Green Screen effect. Now it is just you on screen. This is where your second hook comes in, and Alston’s data says negative hooks are the ones that perform best. A negative hook is any phrase that uses contrast, skepticism, or urgency to pull the viewer in. Examples from the video: “Here is a stupid simple way to get more views today.” “The method he shared sounds great but it is just too slow.” “This method will not work for most people.” Any phrase with a negative connotation works. The contrast between the original content and your skeptical response creates a natural reason for viewers to keep watching.

Step 5: Talk for One Minute With a Checklist Green Screen

After your negative hook, you need to deliver about one minute of content. This is where you provide value specific to your niche. If you are in makeup tutorials, walk through your actual process. If you are in personal finance, cover the steps someone should take. If you are in fitness, go through the approach that works.

While you are talking, Alston adds a second green screen effect over his video. This time he uses the regular green screen (not the video green screen) and places a screenshot of his notes or a checklist behind him. The checklist format does several things at once. It keeps him on track while recording. It gives viewers something visual to follow along with. And it signals structure, which tells the viewer that what they are watching is organized information rather than a rambling talk. Cover up every item on the checklist except the one you are currently talking about. Move through the list one point at a time.

The visual of a checklist also positions your content as actionable. Viewers associate checklists with getting things done. That association translates into saves and shares, which are two of the engagement signals TikTok uses to decide whether to push your video to a wider audience.

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Take two minutes at finder.platformproof.com and get a straight answer about where to start.

Step 6: Add the Comment CTA

Toward the end of your one-minute section, Alston adds a specific call to action that drives comment engagement. He says something like: “Comment monetize down below and I will make a video just for you.” The keyword he uses is “monetize” because that is the keyword he wants to rank for in his niche. You should swap in whatever keyword is most relevant for yours.

If you are in makeup, you might say “comment tutorial if you want a step-by-step breakdown for oily skin.” If you are in fitness, “comment plan if you want a workout schedule you can actually stick to.” The specific word matters less than the mechanic. When a viewer comments your keyword, two things happen. First, TikTok sees comment activity and interprets it as a signal that your content is generating conversation. Second, if enough people comment the same word, TikTok can start associating your account with that keyword, which can translate into organic ranking.

Alston noted in the video that he frequently gets dozens of comments that say “monetize” in a row. That comment volume alone is one of the reasons his videos keep getting pushed by the algorithm after the initial post. The comment CTA is not a throwaway line. It is an engineered engagement trigger built directly into the content.

Step 7: Add a Red Text Overlay and Write a Keyword Caption

Before you post, add one more element to the video: a text overlay in red that appears during the original borrowed video portion. Alston uses phrases like “This won’t work” in red text over the first 5 to 7 seconds when the original creator’s video is playing. Set the duration of that text so it disappears when your own talking begins.

The red text reinforces the double hook mechanic. A viewer scrolling through their feed sees the original video playing, reads “This won’t work” in red across the top of it, and the natural response is to keep watching to find out why. That visual tension is what stops the scroll before a word has been spoken.

For the caption, connect your video to a keyword. Alston types something like “how to get more views on TikTok” because that is the search term he wants to appear for. In your niche, this might be “makeup tutorials for beginners,” “fitness plan for busy moms,” or “how to make money online 2025.” If you have a list of keywords relevant to your niche, this is the moment to use one. The caption keyword feeds both TikTok search and the external SEO that shows up when someone Googles a related phrase.

Step 8: Engage With Every Comment for 12 Hours After Posting

After the video goes live, the work is not done. Alston replies to every single comment he receives over the next 12 hours. The replies do not need to be long. “Thanks for watching,” “Glad this helped,” and “Thanks for commenting” are all valid. The point is not the content of the reply. The point is that every reply is an engagement event that TikTok registers.

When TikTok sees a post generating consistent comment activity over hours, not just minutes, it interprets that as a signal that the content is holding attention and driving conversation. That signal triggers wider distribution. A video that generates 200 comments and 200 replies from the creator is a different object in TikTok’s system than a video that generates 200 comments and no replies. The algorithm reads the reply activity as proof that the creator is active and the audience is engaged.

Alston is explicit about this in the video: the engagement over 12 hours is what keeps the algorithm pushing the video out. It is not a one-time boost. It is a sustained signal that tells TikTok to keep finding new audiences for the content.

The Real Numbers From 60 Days of Running This Method

Alston started this method approximately 60 days before recording the video. Here is what the scoreboard looked like at the time of filming:

832,000 post views across his videos in that 60-day window
18,000 profile views, meaning people who saw a video and wanted to know more about the creator behind it
76,000 likes across the posts from that period
5,000 comments, most of them driven by the keyword CTA built into his videos
22,000 followers total on the account, with the majority gained during those 60 days
Top individual video: 455,000 views
Second-best video: 299,000 views
Third-best video: 172,000 views
Thousands of dollars in income generated over the same 60-day stretch

These are not inflated projections. They are the actual numbers from an active account that implemented the exact method described in this post. Alston notes in the video that he is not sharing outdated information. Every number reflects what is working right now, not 18 months ago on a different version of the algorithm.

Honest Drawbacks to Know Before You Start

This method works, and the numbers in the video back that up. But there are a few things to go in with open eyes about.

You are borrowing, not creating from scratch. The first 5 to 7 seconds of every video in this method comes from someone else’s content. Alston says this is transformative use because you are reframing, critiquing, or adding to the original. That is a reasonable claim. But if you are building a brand around original ideas, you will eventually want to develop your own hooks rather than consistently borrowing from others. The method is an accelerator, not a long-term creative identity.

The 12-hour engagement window is a real time commitment. Replying to every comment for 12 hours after posting is not a passive activity. On a video that generates hundreds of comments, that is a meaningful chunk of your day. If you are running this method at volume, posting multiple times per week, the comment engagement time adds up fast. Budget for it before you start, or the engagement loop breaks.

The method assumes TikTok stays available. Alston addressed this directly in the video. At the time he filmed it, there were active conversations about TikTok potentially being banned in the US in January. His response was honest: he does not know whether the same mechanics translate to Instagram because he is not active there. If TikTok’s availability changes, you would need to test this on another platform. The core principles around hooks, engagement signals, and keyword CTAs are platform-neutral. The specific steps using SnapTick and TikTok’s green screen effects are not.

The algorithm configuration step only works if you do it consistently. Spending 20 minutes engaging with niche content once is not a permanent fix. If you start watching content outside your niche regularly, the algorithm will adjust. Treat the search-and-engage routine as something you do when you open the app, not a one-time configuration.

The Full Process in Order

Open TikTok, search your niche keyword, filter by Like Count in the past 3 months
Like, comment, and favorite videos in your niche for 20 minutes, then close and reopen the app
Swipe your refreshed feed for a video with at least 5,000 likes, copy the link
Go to snaptick.app, paste the link, download the video without the watermark, save to your Photos
Open TikTok’s camera, select 10 minutes, tap Effects, choose Video Green Screen, select the downloaded video
Let the original video play for 5 to 7 seconds (borrowed hook), then turn off the green screen effect
Deliver your negative hook (“This is too slow,” “This won’t work for most people”) and talk for one minute
Add the regular green screen effect with a screenshot of your checklist or notes, cover all but the current point
End with a comment CTA using your target keyword (“comment monetize if you want a step-by-step guide”)
Add red text overlay (“This won’t work”) set to display only during the original video portion
Write a caption that includes your target keyword (e.g., “how to get more views on TikTok 2025”)
Post, then reply to every comment for the next 12 hours

Find Your X

TikTok growth is the distribution side. But knowing what to distribute matters just as much. If you are going to build an audience on TikTok, you need to be clear on what you are selling, what service you are offering, or what outcome you are helping people reach. The fastest way to figure that out based on what you already know and already do is to use the Finder at finder.platformproof.com. Two minutes, a few questions, and you get a straight answer about which online income model actually fits your situation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a large following for this method to work?

No. Alston’s account had 22,000 followers during the 60-day window where he generated 832,000 post views. Most of those followers were gained during the same period, not before it. The method is designed to work without an existing audience because it borrows momentum from already-viral content and uses engagement signals to earn algorithmic distribution.

Is downloading someone else’s TikTok video allowed?

Alston addresses this in the video. He frames the approach as transformative use: you are using 5 to 7 seconds of someone else’s content as a foundation for your own response, reframe, or critique. That is different from copying and reposting. Removing the watermark via SnapTick also avoids the platform’s automatic “reused content” flag. That said, check TikTok’s current terms of service and use common sense about the content you borrow. Do not take someone’s tutorial and repost it verbatim as your own.

What should my negative hook actually say?

Any phrase with contrast, skepticism, or urgency works. Alston’s examples from the video: “Here is a stupid simple way to get more views today,” “The method he shares sounds great but it is just too slow,” and “This method won’t work for most people.” The pattern is either pointing out a flaw in the original video’s approach or positioning your version as faster, simpler, or more reliable. You are not attacking the original creator. You are creating a reason for the viewer to keep watching to hear your take.

Does the keyword in the comment CTA have to be one word?

It works best as one word or a short phrase that is easy to type in a comment. Alston uses “monetize” because it is specific, keyword-rich, and signals clear intent from the commenter. “Tutorial,” “guide,” “plan,” and “start” are all good options depending on your niche. The more friction you add to the CTA, the fewer people will complete it. One word is better than a sentence.

Why 10 minutes instead of a shorter format?

Alston selects the 10-minute video format when recording, even if his actual content runs closer to one minute. He does not explain the technical reason in this video, but setting up in the longer format may give TikTok more flexibility in how it categorizes and distributes the content. He also notes that 3 minutes works if that is what you can manage. Do not let the format choice stop you from posting. A 3-minute video published consistently beats a 10-minute video you never finish.

How many videos per week should I post using this method?

Alston does not give a specific posting frequency in this video, but his 60-day results across multiple videos suggest he was posting regularly. The method involves 20 minutes of algorithm training, recording time, and 12 hours of comment engagement per post. Start with a pace you can sustain those three activities for. Two to three posts per week is a realistic starting point for most people who are also managing other responsibilities.

Will this same method work on Instagram Reels?

Alston said directly in the video that he does not know because he is not active on Instagram. The underlying principles, training your algorithm, borrowing proven hooks, engineering comment engagement, and using keyword-rich captions, are sound across short-form video platforms. The specific tools like SnapTick and TikTok’s Video Green Screen effect are TikTok-specific. You would need to find the equivalent workflow for Instagram Reels and test it independently.

How do I know which niche to build around on TikTok?

The method works in any niche, but your results compound faster when your niche is connected to something you are selling or offering. If you are just collecting views with no product, service, or community to point people toward, the traffic you generate does not convert into income. Before you commit to a niche, spend two minutes at finder.platformproof.com to identify which online income model fits your current skills and situation. That answer should inform which niche you build around on TikTok.

Sources

Alston Godbolt, “TikTok Is In Easy Mode: How To Get More Views, Engagement And Money With TikTok” (YouTube, alstongodbolt.com)
SnapTick watermark-free download tool: snaptick.app
TikTok Video Green Screen effect (native TikTok camera, Effects menu)
TikTok algorithm engagement signals referenced from Alston’s 60-day account data shared in the video