Key Points
- The Blackman family has over 748,000 followers and has more than 15 million likes on TikTok.
- The family earns so much from their socials that Jeraldine quit her full-time job as a dental nurse.
- They've now ventured into merchandising and hope to continue producing digital content in the foreseeable future.
* SBS Filipino's Buhay Influencer is a series focused on the nuances of undertaking an influencer path, as well as the challenges and rewards of having a public persona.
Listen to the interview
Kita sa pagiging online influencer sapat na ba para maging fulltime na trabaho?
SBS Filipino
06/09/202207:39
"Being an influencer is not easy. People come up to my wife Jeraldine and they tell her that she's lucky to quit her dental nursing job to do TikTok full-time. One of her friends even said, 'That's all you do?'" Josh Blackman shares.
While others don't see doing TikTok as a job, family influencers Josh and Jeraldine Blackman are proof that when you love what you do, it can be profitable.
Online dating
Both with nursing backgrounds, the Blackmans were drawn to each other when they met through an online dating site.
"Jeraldine was a free subscriber so I looked her up on socials because I couldn't contact her on the site. I told her 'I hope you don't think I'm stalking you,'" Josh laughs.
Josh and Jeraldine Blackman Credit: Josh and Jeraldine Blackman
The connection proved successful as Jeraldine who initially wanted to go back home to the Philippines decided to stay in Australia.
"My grandparents raised me and I finished uni in the Philippines; but in 2011, my parents who were living in Australia wanted to bring me here.
"It was hard adjusting. I wasn't used to living with my parents and I missed my grandparents so much.
"I had been living a few years in Australia when I met Josh," Jeraldine shares.
Josh and Jeraldine met in 2014, got married in 2017 and now have two kids.
Josh and Jeraldine met in 2014, got married in 2017 and now have two kids. Credit: Josh and Jeraldine Blackman
How it started
Publicising their socials began when Jeraldine posted a YouTube video of Korean actor Ahn Jae Hyun when she ran into him in an airport.
Jeraldine's video of Ahn Jae Hyun at Bangkok airport Credit: Jeraldine Blackman
Although Jeraldine admits that YouTube didn't prove to be too profitable, it did jumpstart their influencer journey.
"We probably just earned $400 from YouTube; then two years ago, we decided to try TikTok," Jeraldine says.
Relatability, consistency and connection
Although their first dance video didn't garner a lot of views, Jeraldine's idea to feature relatable relationship content proved pivotal in their digital content endeavour.
Josh shares, "We did a dance that everyone was doing but that didn't get much views. Then Jeraldine had this idea of doing a video about what it's like to be married to a Filipino. It got millions of views and went viral."
"We had 30 million just for that one video. We didn't know why," Jeraldine laughs.
While the Blackmans didn't initially know why their video went viral, Dr. Earvin Cabalquinto, Lecturer in the School of Communication and Creative Arts at Deakin University, believes that it has a lot to do with relatability.
He says, "When you watch a movie, you feel a sense of connection to the actors onscreen. That connection is more apparent through social media. Influencers are normal, everyday people who feature daily activities in their lives. There are people who do mukbang or show the intimacies of a relationship.
"We connect to these strangers because of their relatable content. We see ourselves in them. Initially, the influencer is a stranger; then you feel a connection to them and feel close to them."
Hundreds of thousands and millions
When it comes to the Blackman family, millions are relating to their content. Currently, the family has almost 750,000 followers and more than 15 million views on TikTok alone.
The couple admits that gathering followers in the beginning was a lot of hard work.
Josh says, "It's not just luck. Gathering followers and creating content take a lot of work. Plus, it's about consistency.
"Jeraldine puts in so much work into making the videos well. For me, a video will be good enough, but she always wants to make it better."
Jeraldine agrees, adding they always have their community in mind when they're doing videos.
"We have a lot of general marriage comedy skits and, 98% of our followers on Facebook are in Australia. We can interact a lot more locally now. At least one person recognises us when we go out" Jeraldine says.
While the couple have a more local following now, the two credit Filipinos for giving them the boost they needed.
"We're grateful to our fans in the Philippines because they gave us our start," Josh says.
Digital currency
According to Cabalquinto, two motivations that lead people to working as influencers are the culture of celebrity and monetisation.
"We have a huge celebrity culture in the Philippines and, it is imbibed and internalised by Filipinos.
"Monetisation is also a reason. People earn from subscribers, likes, views and collaborative partnerships."
The couple admits that monetising their socials has led to Jeraldine quitting her full-time nursing job to focus on content creation.
Jeraldine shares, "TikTok in Australia isn't monetised. We earn from ads and sponsorship videos. In a week, we get around 10-15 ad opportunities.
"We also get 'gifts' from people who follow us on TikTok and 'stars' from Facebook reels. These are convertible to dollars.
"We also have subscribers who pay a monthly fee."
Aside from earning digital currency, the couple has now moved towards merchandising.
"Our followers have requested merchandise, so now we're making shirts with our logo as well," Josh shares.
Private to public
Followers have also requested to get to know more about the couple's private lives.
Jeraldine, who recently recovered from surgery for a heart aneurysm, says, "For the first few weeks, I was very depressed. Because of my video, hundreds of people reached out to me - even doctors - and they gave me hope."
While Jeraldine tends to be more open with their followers, Josh admits that he sometimes has to ask her to make some things private.
"Jeraldine loves her fan base so much that she wants to tell them everything, but it's usually me who tells her to wind it back and keep it in."
The Blackmans plan to continue creating digital content as long as they can.
Jeraldine says, "If my health permits, I will continue doing this. I really enjoy it. I'd do this forever if I could."
