Read Time: 1 min 50 secs

Hey - Ryan To here,

In today's edition:

• Why 90% of creators fall off after their first viral moment

• How to fix your follower-to-view ratio (without chasing virality)

• Real-life examples

I vetted 1,000+ influencers for an 8-figure startup, and 90% of those influencers ‘fell off’

And if I’m being brutally honest, most of them should either quit or start over

We’ve all heard the stat:

The average lifespan of a creator is < 3 years

Here’s why:

The follower-to-view ratio is completely off

10k followers → 1,000 views

100k followers → 3,000 views

So how do the top 1% of creators stay relevant despite algorithm changes?

Hint: It’s not luck, it comes down to creator strategy

So if you’re:

• A creator with over 3k followers

• A brand that doesn’t understand influencers or organic content

• Or just want to learn a thing or two about social media

Here’s the worst mistakes you can make and how to avoid it

And if you’re like Urska and stay ‘til the end you could finally solve your problem:

Mistake #1: Building on Sand

Most creators chase viral moments instead of building a foundation

POV: You get your first viral video with over 1M views, finally your ‘big break’

But you have zero clue how to follow that video up

And you never…grow…again…yikes I know

The top 1% rule?

If you can’t repeat it, don’t do it in the first place

Look at @roomiesroomiesroomies, 94k followers in 4 months

roomiesroomiesroomies

93K followers

View more on Instagram

Create content formats, not ‘mega-viral’ one-off viral videos

That’s what ‘building a foundation’ means

Mistake #2: Optimizing the Wrong Metrics

We’re no longer living in the attention economy, it’s about trust and connection

But you’ve probably heard this already so let me explain why:

The top 1% rule:

Track retention, not just reach. Most creators obsess over discovery content—how do I get NEW people to see this?

But the algorithm rewards creators who keep people coming back

Look at how @drinksult does this with their 3-part series “The Good, The Bad, and The Average”

Part 1:

drinksult

29K followers

View more on Instagram

Part 2: The Bad

Part 3: The Average

It’s a retention strategy.

People who watch Part 1 actively seek out Parts 2 and 3. They're training their audience to:

• Check back for more

• Engage multiple times (saves, shares, repeat views)

• Build anticipation (higher engagement from followers with new content)

P.S. We’ve gone from 0 → 20k subscribers in 1 year 🎉

I’ve been pouring my heart into this to provide the most tactical value in the Content Marketing space ❤️

2 AM nights…constantly researching new strategies….ungatekeeping everything I’ve learned in the industry that most put behind a paywall

Shoutout to all of you readers getting real tangible results!

We’re about to completely change the creator economy and I’m grateful you’re all here for the journey ✶