554After the black swan event,mental health issueshave gradually become a social topic that cannot be ignored worldwide.
Gallup's latest emotional report shows that 4 out of every 10 adults are in a state of high stress for a long time.
Data from the US CDC also shows that in 2021, nearly 15% of children received psychological treatment, and 25% of young people showed symptoms of depression.
On TikTok,#mentalhealthhas been viewed more than19.71 billion times!
Image source: TikTok
Against this backdrop, a psychology journal priced at only $16.99,The Shadow Work Journal, quietly became popular and repeatedly topped the Amazon bestseller list. Behind it is an unknown small American shop—zenfulnote.
Image source: zenfulnote
From Depression Patient to Million-Selling Author
In 2019, zenfulnote founderKeila Shaheenwas just an anxious girl wandering in a community bookstore in Texas. After accidentally coming into contact with "shadow work therapy," she began to record self-dialogues in a notebook, with her handwriting gradually changing from "Why am I never good enough" to "Today I want to negotiate with my anxiety."
These private notes were later compiled by her into 500 hand-bound copies ofThe Shadow Work Journal, which were consigned at local bookstores, but only 17 copies were sold in three months.
Founder Keila Shaheen Image source: Internet
The turning point came the day she filmed her yellowed notebook into a TikTok short video. In the video, she read out the line, "Dear anxiety, today I want to negotiate with you." When 500,000 views and more than 4,000 "purchase requests" comments flooded in, this ordinary girl realized that so many people, like her, were struggling with anxiety and emotional issues.
The real explosion came in 2023. When the#shadowworktopic hit5 billion viewsand users began to spontaneously create related content, The Shadow Work Journal became a sensation during Christmas that year! It sold 20,000 copies in a single day and topped the Amazon psychology book list four times!
As of February 2025, the global sales of the book have exceeded1 million copies, and the Spanish version sold out in Mexico within three days of its launch, prompting an emergency reprint.
Image source: Amazon
Overseas Social Media as the "Traffic Code"
Unlike the scattergun approach, Keila focuses 90% of her resources on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, the three major overseas social media platforms, and operates precisely around users' psychological needs.
TikTok
The brand's official TikTok account@zenfulnote,has now accumulated324,100 followersand more than9 million likes. The update frequency is five times a week, and this stable rhythm is very helpful for maintaining user stickiness. The content is mainly "visual healing," directly stimulating users' senses through writing actions, paper flipping sounds, and other dynamic scenes, often quickly capturing viewers' attention and promoting sharing.
Image source: TikTok
Their most viewed video is one showing the inner pages of The Shadow Work Journal, with the theme "Identifying the traumas you suffered in childhood," which has been viewed69.8 million times, with excellent dissemination results.
Image source: TikTok
In addition to carefully operating its own account, the brand also adopts a unique strategy for influencer cooperation, namely the "precise targeting" model, focusing on selecting small influencers with 50,000-100,000 followers to further expand brand influence.
For example, TikTok influencer@jstsoleewith 62,400 followers, filmed a video to showcase The Shadow Work Journal and captioned: "I am not depressed, I am healing myself." In just nine seconds, the video receivedover 73.1 million viewsand537,500 likes, resonating with many users.
Image source: TikTok
Another TikTok influencer with 24,200 followers,@randomstuff.4uu, also promoted the book, creating a cognitive contrast with the graphic content "This is just a book" and the caption "Not just a book." This contrast more effectively attracts users' attention and stimulates their curiosity. The video has reached 7.8 million views, becoming another viral case for brand promotion.
Image source: TikTok
Data shows that through video sales, zenfulnote's shop in the US TikTok region has achieved sales of more than$9.44 million,demonstrating strong money-making ability.
Image source: Echotik
YouTube
Unlike other platforms that focus on short and fast content, zenfulnote focuses on creating deep healing scenarios on YouTube.
Its official channel @zenfulnote currently has4,270subscribers, with flexible video formats covering 1-5 minute methodology tutorials and interviews over 1 hour, forming a content matrix combining short and long formats.
Image source: YouTube
Recently, a 51-minute interview video between founder Keila and an American writer on this channel has attracted a lot of attention.
The entire video does not add background music or special effects editing, presenting a real discussion through native dialogue and even retaining silent moments when guests' emotions fluctuate.
This "de-packaging" content strategy precisely meets the urgent need of target users for deep content.
Image source: YouTube
As an extension of TikTok content distribution, its Instagram account @zenfulnote has also accumulated48,000followers and is doing equally well.
Image source: Instagram
70% of the content on this account is synchronized TikTok videos, and 30% is visual content customized for the platform's characteristics, enhancing authenticity through close-ups of paper texture and user handwritten notes, and designing "page-flipping GIFs" to dynamically demonstrate inner page layout details, making product functions visualized.
Each post is consistently paired with vertical topic tags such as #ShadowWorkJourney and #MentalHealthTools, which can better reach the target audience and promote orders.
Image source: Instagram
Independent Website: User Insights Behind Minimalist Design
In addition to deploying overseas social media platforms, zenfulnote's independent website design also demonstrates the brand's deep insight into user psychology.
The homepage design of the website is mainly minimalist, the product display area adopts a layered strategy, and the bottom is equipped with a NAMI psychological assistance entrance, synchronously displaying real user reviews from TikTok and Instagram. This not only reflects the brand's sense of social responsibility but also enhances trust through community content, making it a design model worth referencing for overseas merchants.
Image source: zenfulnote independent website
Final Words
While domestic merchants are still using "9.9 free shipping" to impact overseas markets, zenfulnote has provided a new path to overseas wealth creation:find a product entry point with high emotional value, establish a deep emotional connection with users through social media, and then achieve long-term user retention through refined operations, thus standing out in a fiercely competitive market.
At present, going overseas has entered the "deep water zone." Only brands that truly understand the emotional needs of overseas users and provide solutions have a better chance of opening up new channels in the red ocean!
