Colin Pomeroy’s path to becoming a top creator with nearly 700,000 followers was an accidental one. The former personal development YouTuber struggled for years until discovering a passion for creating mind-bending visual effects videos on TikTok. What sets Pomeroy apart is his willingness to pull back the curtain and teach his audience the tricks of the trade.

“I share how people can do visual effects with their phone, with free apps,” he says, having built a niche as an accessible mentor. Pomeroy is now focused on diversifying revenue streams beyond brand deals by launching educational offerings like online courses. One affordable program walks students through mastering core VFX skills.

The influencer’s journey began a decade ago when he started posting personal development videos and challenges on YouTube. “I did a rejection challenge where I got rejected five times a day for 30 days,” he recalls. “And then I did a biphasic sleep challenge where I would only sleep for 4.5 hours, and then take a 90-minute nap during the day.”

However, Pomeroy struggled to gain traction and frequently burned out from the constant video production grind. That’s when he discovered TikTok. “I started posting on TikTok and started getting [a response]. It was a lot easier,” he says. “I started getting more responses and then kind of just been doing it ever since.”

In the beginning, Pomeroy’s TikTok content was scattershot as he tried to figure out his niche. “I was making whatever I could because I didn’t know what to make,” he admits. “I would scroll on TikTok, find [trends], and copy. Essentially, I would just be like, okay, I’m gonna try that.”

It wasn’t until the TikToker challenged himself to post every day for 30 days that he started to find his groove with visual effects and illusion videos. “I saw other people doing these sort of illusions, and I was like, I know how to do that,” Pomeroy explains. “Those videos would get more views than the rest of them.”

From those humble beginnings of emulating popular trends, Pomeroy has carved out a lucrative career creating mind-bending video illusions for his millions of followers. 

What truly sets Pomeroy apart is his ability to teach his audience the tricks of the trade. “I share how people can do visual effects, how they can do it with their phone, with free apps and stuff,” he says. “The visual effects are something that not everyone can do, obviously.”

While other creators focus solely on illusions, Pomeroy infuses his personality and aspirational message. “I’m creating content for my younger self…[people] who want to be content creators, who want to learn visual effects, who want to do this full time,” he explains.

How Colin Pomeroy Tailored His Content Strategy 

When developing his content strategy, Pomeroy tries to avoid getting bogged down in chasing the latest algorithm trends. “I do my best to pay as little attention to that as possible,” he says. Instead, he focuses on creating videos he genuinely enjoys while keeping a pulse on what’s resonating with his audience.

“I follow other people in my industry, in my genre,” the TikToker explains. “And then I just make the best content I possibly can. And then I also experiment with other things.”

This experimental mindset allows him to consistently release fresh videos without being overly attached to their performance. “Most of the times that I think [a] video is going to do well, it doesn’t do nearly as good as I think,” he admits. And when I think [videos] are not going to do that well, they sometimes go way better than I thought.”

The visual virtuoso’s true north is simply creating videos he’s proud of and letting the audience’s reaction, good or bad, guide his evolution as a creator. “I just would set a schedule…and lower your lift, meaning lower the amount of work you have to do to post. You can actually sometimes reduce your production level, make things a little bit easier for you, and streamline things so you can get stuff out more consistently,” he says.

Consistency is key for any creator looking to build an engaged audience, but that doesn’t mean sacrificing quality, according to Pomeroy. For those just starting out, he advises closely studying your idols. 

“Go through your feed to find videos that you think are super cool and save them; make a folder,” Pomeroy suggests. “Look through and see which ones seem the easiest. And start with those and potentially look up tutorials on YouTube.”

He mentions that resources like the Eye Candy website can help identify visual effects and find tutorials to recreate trending looks. “I would say just start with simple effects and practice and make stuff that you’re interested in,” Pomeroy advises. “I would say start with easy stuff, but also the ones that you are interested in.”

What Inspired Pomeroy to Share the Secrets of His Elusive Craft

Pomeroy’s decision to start teaching visual effects tutorials was directly inspired by his audience’s appetite for that content. “I just noticed that when I would post tutorials, more people were engaging, and it actually helped my regular content,” he explains. “So it helped my content of just making visual effects if I was also teaching people.”

The influencer mixes up the difficulty level of the tutorials he creates to cater to both beginners and more advanced learners. “I just find effects that are easier and I’ll find effects that are more difficult and do both,” he says. While he hasn’t yet delved into long-form YouTube tutorials, Pomeroy adjusts the complexity of his bite-sized clips to be accessible to creators at all skill levels.

When it comes to the essential skills for aspiring VFX artists, he emphasizes mastering core concepts like splitting/cutting footage, masking, removing backgrounds, using keyframes, and implementing green screens. “Once you understand those five things you can do, I mean almost anything outside of like the crazy 3D software or After Effects type stuff.”

Knowing His Ropes In the Creator Economy Landscape 

When it comes to navigating the creator economy, Pomeroy has learned not to rely too heavily on brand deals after one partnership abruptly ended. “I don’t want to depend on that for my full-time income,” he says. “I want to look at brand deals as kind of like a bonus.”

Instead, Pomeroy is building out educational offerings like coaching programs and online courses that allow him to control his revenue. “I’m still navigating how that works and figuring out offers [that work[ with my audience,” he explains. “Figuring out a way to give so much value that somebody is willing to give me their hard-earned money.”

One such course Pomeroy has launched is a 30-day curriculum teaching visual effects shortcuts. “I make you go through the easiest effects to the more challenging ones, building it up throughout,” he says of the under-$100 program.

For the diligent TikTok creator, the most rewarding part of being a creator has been realizing his lifelong dream of making content for a living and being his own boss. “It’s just been something I’ve been excited about ever since I first thought of it,” he says. However, that independence also presents the biggest challenge – having to create his own structure and being solely responsible for his income stream.

Pomeroy credits getting a coach early on as “a big game changer” that helped accelerate his growth. Looking ahead, he wants to expand his personal life and passions beyond visual effects tutorials. “The future of content is personal brand…being your unique person,” he believes. “I’m more than just the visual effects teacher.”

While making that pivot makes him a bit uncomfortable, Pomeroy understands the importance of evolving his content. “Figuring out a way that I can bring in my own personal life and just be more me. So people have more of a chance to connect.”