She made a decision of a lifetime just nine years ago.
That is when Amy Jackson, at the age of 24, put down the needle, got clean, went back to work, and now makes a living by creating sponsored ads on the TikTok social media platform. According to its website, TikTok is a video-focused social networking service that is owned and operated by the Chinese company ByteDance Ltd. The platform hosts mostly short-form videos created by members that involve stunts, tricks, practical jokes, dance, and entertainment.
A vast majority of the videos last between 15 seconds and three minutes
“There are all kinds of different demographics of people who are on it,” Jackson explained. “I see it as a platform where a lot of people have a lot of fun in a lot of different ways. Some people like to post their dance videos, but some people do some serious things, too. It’s a little bit of everything really.
“I have amassed a pretty large following on TikTok mostly because I’m just a normal mom who supports other normal moms,” she said. “Plus, I’m really adamant about mental health, too, so we talk about how it is normal for moms to be overwhelmed these days with so much going on all of the time. It’s OK if your home gets a little messy because your kids are constantly playing. My message is that it’s OK, and a lot of people resonate with that fact.”
To Jackson, it’s a battle against those who insist on unreasonable expectations.
“There is this stigma that demands mothers to be perfect all of the time, but the reality is that some moms suffer from depression and anxiety at times, but they are doing the best that we can,” Jackson said. “So, I made a video of me talking about that and that we all need to support each other, and that video went big-time viral. So, I have based my platform on those kinds of topics, and I’ve gained a lot of followers because of that make-sense approach.
“I do talk about me and my life. Of course, I am the mother to three daughters, so I cover a lot of topics involving the challenges I encounter on a daily basis, but I also cover addiction because, as a recovering addict, it may mean something to someone that I was able to climb out of that hole and make a new life for myself,” she continued. “There’s too much pressure on mothers to be this perfect mom, and that’s just not reality. That’s why I believe a lot of people can relate to me. Most of us are not the so-called perfect mom.”
Power of Advertising
Jackson was involved in an automobile accident in 2009 that left her back injured and in need of pain relief. After a few doctor appointments, she was prescribed opiates to dull her extreme discomfort.
More than a year later, though, the physician pulled the prescription, leaving her addicted to the medication and searching for more pills from the black market. Each pill, Jackson recalled, was priced at $40 apiece, so her path led her to the much more affordable option.
Heroin.
“It was bad. I was doing anything and everything I could to get the money for the next hit because I was scared of feeling dope sick. That’s the reason why so many addicts stay addicts, too,” Jackson explained. “The choice you have as an addict is whether you go through feeling like you’re going to die for about a week or getting the money so you can fix it in a matter of minutes.
“I went to rehab once but only lasted a week. And on the way home from that facility I bought drugs and got right back into it because I wasn’t ready to quit. That’s the key – you have to be ready yourself. No one else can make that decision for you,” she said. “That’s why sometimes I make my videos for TikTok about addiction so I might be able to help someone struggling with it right now.”
Just this week, in fact, Jackson was sent a trophy from TikTok for her work with her “Mommy Power” video series and her creative advertising.
“There is this selected group of members, and I was one of the 800 they picked to create the ads. It is now the way I support myself and my family,” Jackson said. “What I do is create sponsored ads for TikTok that show up every once in a while on the platform, and most of the ads I make involve a lot of the games that we play on our phones. I play the game and make an ad based on it, or I’ll make a video of me playing the game so I can show off the features that are included.
“I make the ads at home usually after the kids go to bed, and then I submit them to TikTok for approval,” she said. “Once it’s approved, it, goes out on TikTok, and I am compensated based on the success of the ad. I usually make about 10 ads be per week and they are distributed by the app.”
Now, the social media platform currently has a global audience with more than 1 billion members, so how was Jackson able to attract enough attention to become one of only 800 ad creators?
“I think a part of why I was offered this opportunity was the large following that I have collected, but also a little bit of luck went into it, too,” Jackson admitted. “Some people have become very successful at it while others are still learning the ropes. I’ve been able to find my niche in life because I’m pretty good at it, and it’s a lot of fun to do the ads. It allows me to be as creative as I want to be.
“I am very grateful for the opportunity because it’s become my way to support my family and to pay people back from the years when I was an addict,” she said. “The best part about it is that I make the ‘mommy’ videos based on my life, and the ads are easy for me because I do like playing the games on my phone.”
Real Is Real
A few local media outlets have covered Jackson’s fight for sobriety, and she has embraced each and every opportunity because she believes her message is an important one.
“One thing I always tell people about addiction is that once you make the decision to get clean and you’re in recovery is that there always are a lot of people to apologize to, and you probably won’t remember all of the people you either took advantage of or stole from while you were using,” Jackson admitted. “An addict can be a horrible person to the people who love them the most, so all you can do is say you’re sorry.”
So, now her ad creations pay the bills, but it is her messages to mothers across the world that matter the most to Jackson.
“It all really started after I saw this one video on TikTok about breastfeeding, and this mother was insisting that if a mother doesn’t breastfeed, they are nothing by a lazy mom. I didn’t like that one bit, so I made a video about it,” she recalled. “I pretty much said that a mother can make any choice they want when it comes to that decision because I just thought that mother was being very unfair to the others out there.
“Whatever a mother is able to do, it’s enough, and they are still good mothers no matter what other opinions are out there,” Jackson added. “That was a very popular video because it’s about reality and not about this pedestal some mothers want to put themselves on. Most mothers do everything they can for their children, and they do not need a guilt trip along the way. It’s difficult enough, and that’s always my message.”
