Spring has sprung, the algos are ripping, and another session of Cut30 starts next Tuesday. Yesterday we officially opened up registration for Session 21 - are you joining us?
Let's get into some bangers.
A realtor hit 6M views wrapping his niche in a stereotype with a dead simple video you can see coming a mile away, a fresh Cut30 grad covers headlines in his niche for a banger from a brand new IG account, and @barrettplasticsurgery turned his own staff into content gold with a barrage of questions that serve up insider insights.
🚨 Hook alert here:
What's one [topic area] habit you started after working for a [insider profession]?
Product Demo
Some of the best product demos don't explain features — they expose a mistake the viewer is already making. Both of these videos win because they lead with a behavior to stop, not a product to buy.
Product Showcase
Transform the mundane act of "here's what we sell" into a world you want to enter — whether that's a 40-foot container from Afghanistan or packing a stranger's order with parasocial humor. The product isn't the hook; the context around it is.
Breakdown
Breakdowns work because they hand the viewer a free education disguised as entertainment — you're not teaching, you're *revealing*, and that distinction is everything. The best ones in this batch weaponize the gap between what something looks like and what it actually is, turning that moment of "wait, really?" into the engine that pulls people all the way through. Both of these are from Cut30 grads this week (shocker).
Hot Take
Hot takes work because they force the viewer to pick a side — and the second someone disagrees in the comments, the algorithm gets fed. Both of these videos win because they don't just state an opinion, they frame it as "everyone else is wrong and here's why," which is the exact structure that turns passive watchers into active reactors.
Explainer
Explainers win when they weaponize the information gap — you think you know something, and the video immediately proves you wrong, which makes stopping impossible. Both of these work because they open with a familiar premise and then detonate it, turning a simple explanation into something that feels like a secret you weren't supposed to know.
Behind The Scenes
Jasminka makes the BTS the hook itself, proving the "how it's made" angle is often more compelling than the finished thing.
10 Shots
The 10 Shot format works because it gives your brain just enough to feel satisfied without overstaying its welcome — 10 visuals is the sweet spot between "too fast to process" and "long enough to lose attention." What makes it lethal is that the hook sets an emotional contract in the first frame and the final shot closes the loop, so every clip in between is just tension building toward a payoff the viewer already agreed to feel.
Yaps
The Yap works because a real human talking directly to camera, with zero production, activates the one thing polished content kills: trust. When the hook is a confession or a hot take delivered like they're telling a friend, the algorithm rewards it because the audience can't look away from what feels like leaked information.
Carousels
Carousels work because they're the only format where the algorithm rewards curiosity — every swipe is a signal, and more signals means more reach. These two nailed it for opposite reasons: one used emotional legacy (70 years of daily painting) to make swiping feel like unwrapping something earned, and the other used hyper-specific absurdist text to make stopping feel like getting an inside joke.
