How I Added 30,000 Followers in 30 days

All Case Studies 🔍 Learn About Sponsorships

In April, I challenged myself to add 10,000 new followers on IG. The result was 30k in 30 days. And Imma show you exactly what I did, in today’s newsletter.

Btw if you want to learn firsthand how to grow an audience with short-form video then join our next Cut30 bootcamp here.

And as always, thank you to our partners Northbeam and Superside.

Get your brand in front of 200,000+ marketers & founders.

In partnership with Northbeam

Media Mix Modeling is All The Rage - And For Good Reason

But many MMMs are outdated at best, confusing at worst.

Now there's another option: introducing Northbeam MMM+.

Northbeam's disciplined, robust machine learning models are bespoke for modern commerce.

An interactive dashboard, not static outputs. Pick your ideal channel mix and see how it will affect your business. Easily design your budget while seeing how every choice will affect results.

Easily interpretable outputs with decisive actions. No more incomprehensible decks or spreadsheets. Our brand-new chart dashboard was built by and for modern marketing leaders.

Extreme transparency. Northbeam built the ability for you to check your model's accuracy at any time. No more black boxes.

It's a revolution in media mix modeling. Request your demo today.

I’ve been obsessed with short-form video for the last year.

And the learnings paid off like crazy in the last 30 days.

I added 30k followers because of one change.

The pitch process.

Before I create a video, I make sure it has a solid pitch.

My pitch process includes:

• Key lesson or insight: What I want my audience to take away, so they feel satisfied and come back for more.

• Emotional reaction or impact: What emotion or action I want to inspire.

• Visual Hook: Using attention-grabbing visuals.

• Title Hook: Using words to pique curiosity and stop scrolling.

• Key Visuals: Any key images that come to mind.

The first video I created after implementing this pitch process got ~900k views.

But I noticed one metric that drove the needle: average watch time.

So here’s how to increase it.

Know Who You Are Creating For

I use a simple framework to establish who I'm creating for:

1. Niche: Who are you creating for?

2. Pillars: What are key topics or themes you’re focused on?

3. Content Types: Pick a few formats or styles that resonate.

Pace, Delivery, and Structure

To keep viewers engaged and prevent them from swiping away, I use a specific formula that goes beyond just focusing on the initial hook:

• Hook…

• Value…

• Hook…

• Value…

• Stab…

Better Than The Alternative

I found it more effective than the traditional Hook, Value, and Ending structure.

Here's an example:

"Hey, today I'm going to talk about how this brand did this, and it was crazy because this is the result."

Now you're already 10 seconds in.

Then, I talk for 50 seconds and end with something like, "So, what do you think? If you have any questions, drop them below. I'm curious to hear your thoughts."

But you killed your average watch rate.

Let's say you put out a 50-second video.

• Watch time:

  • 12 seconds

  • 24%

But let’s reduce your hook from 10 to 3 seconds.

And cut out the last 10 seconds of asking for feedback.

Now, your video is at 30% watch time.

Removing fluff is essential to optimize your video performance because…

Algo Market Fit

The algos show your content to your followers first.

Once it hits a certain threshold, it gets pushed further.

Which is why I obsess over getting to 50% of watch time.

Putting It All Together

• Understand your target audience.

• Plan your video through “pitches”.

• Structure your videos: Hook… Value… Hook… Value… Stab.

• Optimize for average watch time.

But if you want me, Oren John, and Colin Landforce to teach you how to build a brand with short-form content, then join our next Cut30 boot camp here.

In partnership with Superside

How We’re Scaling Marketing Examined

Marketing Examined started as a newsletter.

Now, we’ve got our eyes on a much bigger vision.

As we're scaling, we’ve brought on some killer new team members.

But when it comes to creative assets, Superside is our secret weapon.

Before Superside, we waited weeks for creative assets.

But now, we get high-quality creative assets in just 48 hours, with zero compromise on quality.

• 50% reduction in average cost per asset.

• 20x faster than hiring creatives in-house.

• 4.9/5 Average customer satisfaction score.

So let Superside eliminate weeks of waiting for creative assets, and let your team focus on what they do best: building your brand.

• Marketing Tools: Learn how to create engaging content that actually converts to customers in 2024. (LINK)

• Adjacency Matrix: How to expand after product market fit. (LINK)

• Pepsi’s Playbook: Liquid Death is taking a page from Pepsi's playbook, but this time, "no legal battles for jets required.” (LINK)

• Short Form: Want more short-form video gems? Jenny Hoyos Short-Form Video Playbook. (LINK)

• In-Flight Merch: Delta's exclusive in-flight merch takes the drop model to new heights—imagine booking a flight just to score a limited-edition product. (LINK)

• DTC: E-comm funnels for more sales: Your DTC marketing guide to stages, tactics + examples. (LINK)