How I Added 30,000 Followers in 30 days

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:

• Niche: Who are you creating for?
• Pillars: What are key topics or themes you’re focused on?
• 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.