Background

Raya Okoye (@liftwithraya on TikTok) had built a 120k audience of women lifters between January and November 2025. TikTok Creator Fund paid her $380/month on 2 million monthly views — an effective CPM of $0.19.

She tried brand deals. The best offer she got was $600 for a dedicated post from a protein brand. She turned it down after reading the contract clause that required approval of her other posts for 30 days.

The format she settled on

Raya runs a **rolling 4-week challenge** ("The Lift With Raya Challenge"), continuously open for enrollment, with new cohorts starting every Monday. Participants stake $20/week and have to complete 3 verified gym sessions weekly.

• **Cohort size**: 45–60 women per month
• **Stake per participant**: $80 over the 4 weeks
• **Forfeit rate**: ~28%
• **Monthly host payout**: $4,800 (low month) to $6,100 (high month)

Promotion

She pinned one TikTok with the signup link to the challenge. She mentions the challenge organically in ~2 of every 10 videos. That's it. No email list, no Discord, no ads.

The numbers per $1 of ad-equivalent audience reach

If we assume TikTok ad CPM at $6 as the opportunity cost of her views:

• **TikTok Creator Fund**: $0.19 per 1000 views
• **OutGrind challenge revenue**: $3.00 per 1000 views (16× the CPM)

And unlike brand deals, she owns the customer relationship — every cohort graduate is a warm lead for her future challenges.

Key insight

"Brand deals are a tax on your audience. Paid challenges are an investment in them." — Raya, in her Q1 2026 recap post.