Sizzle AI · B2C · AI learning app
Open with a silent shocked face, demo the app, end on a goofy twist
79K likes; this ending beat the creator's other endings
What they did
What happened
- Stage
- growth
In their words
Yev Marusenko - How I Grow Viral Apps to 1M+ Downloads (just copy me)
Yev Marusenko… a bunch of organic that we did, and out of the best ones, we're amplifying with paid. And then this is a paid where we can actually track attribution as well, what purchases it's leading to, the cost per purchase in this piece of content that turned into an ad versus other ones where the cost per purchase isn't as good. And then there's the parts of it, like the actual hook, why this video converts better than others or why it's more scalable.
Yev MarusenkoSo, the first part was just a hook which it's done in the industry. It's just something shocking, and it's not even like talking. Some people want to like start talking right away, but it's just more about the expression and kind of like seeing what's working and just like copying like the headlines. So, that's where just like testing a whole bunch. Some are done by a lot of other viral pages, and it's just like, "All right, it just happened to convert." So, I think that's more of an emulating strategy of what's working for others and then putting it in the context of yours.
Yev MarusenkoSo then, the middle is more like product demo showing. This is like calls out the audience. It's more knowing that later on it's actually might convert because it's for the relevant audience. Yeah, and essentially some sort of conclusion, not even a call to action. This is where the paid ads do that part where it adds the link, you have purchase attribution, so there's less focus on like calling out what the app is, and then in the comments, you can see there's like questions like, "What is the app?" Or "What is the app?" But it's like, "Oh, I can just use ChatGPT for this. Oh, this is like Quizlet," or or kind of whatever, like kind of other apps and study apps, so then like the comment section is for that.
Yev MarusenkoAnd something that's goofy or whatever, kind of just the creator thought of that himself, it's just like how to how to end it, and that just did better than other types of videos that he shot, different endings. I'd say it's like a strong hook, and we should dig into the hook more because that's like where I have a lot of virality experience on like on YouTube, TikTok, what's different, and kind of can even show different examples. So, it's like that hook that cat- attention, something in the middle that is more about relating to the audience, that way it's more likely to convert later. So, I feel like there's like less best practices, it's more about showing something about the product or how it's used. That way, it's not totally irrelevant, like it has to be some relevance there.
Yev MarusenkoAnd then some sort of conclusion that's different than the rest of the video, but there's continuity, and it's more like a pattern interrupter, but after the middle, so they actually stay on. That's kind of more about the video, but I think it's now relevant to talk about like organic versus paid and why certain things work or not. So, this is essentially where testing many different creators and pieces of content and seeing like organically …
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More from this episode
- Find the funnel step losing over half your users and have everyone fix it2-3x more users reaching the next step, vs ~10% gains from new features
- Put $1-$20 of ads behind every organic video; back the one getting clicksOne winner per 20-30 videos; the winner drove hundreds of purchases
- Hire creators via JoinBrands, SideShift, Whop and Discord to post on their own accountsA JoinBrands creator's TikTok hit 79K likes and became the top ad
- Buy test traffic with your best ad and run 3-4-way paywall tests in daysCost per purchase fell from ~$500 to ~$300 within days
- Scale a winning video by testing 10 headlines, then new countries and devicesWinner scaled into hundreds of ads; one-word headline changes made a difference
- Switch ads off and on to measure real sales lift; compare every attribution sourceReal purchases usually about double what the ad platform reports
- Add columns showing each ad's step-by-step drop-off from install to paywallSurfaces ads and journeys with 10x higher purchase conversion
- Test clean, warm and social-proof sign-up screens; break ties with assisted conversionsSocial proof: more purchases in some groups, neutral overall on assisted conversions
- Run 10+ faceless Shorts channels with fake texts, cartoon clips and satisfying videos26M views in 28 days on one channel; over a billion total, but low revenue
- Use viral formats from unrelated niches in study-app videos
- Get first users from the founder's launch post and personal networkHelped get the first users; no numbers
Tags: tiktok, creative, hooks, facial-expression, no-cta, pattern-interrupt