A 200k-view TikTok sold nothing. A 50k-view one spiked downloads
- 50,000
- Views, with spike
- 200,000
- Views, no spike
- $0
- Budget
- Not disclosed
- Duration
A year after his short-form playbook, Jack Friks tested a new format for his app Lovelee: a 200k-view video produced no download spike, while a different format showed a very noticeable spike after just 50k views.
01The problem
High view counts weren't turning into app downloads.
02The hypothesis
Formats should be judged by download spikes, not views.
03The experiment
He re-ran his own 2024 playbook: scroll TikTok to find videos performing in his niche, remake 1–3 a day, and post the same video to TikTok and Instagram.
The week before, one format hit 200k views with no download spike. This week a new format — about to reach 100k views on TikTok and 50k on Instagram — produced a very noticeable download spike after 50k views.
04Results
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Views, with spikenew format on Instagram; “VERY noticeable download spike after 50k views” | 50,000 |
| Views, no spikelast week's format — “no download spike” | 200,000 |
| TikTok views, new format“about to hit 100k” at time of post | Not disclosed |
| Downloads | Not disclosed |
| Spend | $0 |
“Not disclosed” means the source doesn't say. We never estimate or fill in missing numbers.
05What worked — and what didn't
What worked
- Judging each format by the download spike, not the view count
- Posting the same video on TikTok and Instagram
- Finding in-niche formats by scrolling and remaking 1–3 a day
What didn't work
- A format that hit 200k views but produced no download spike
06Lessons
He says the playbook still works a year later and can get a new mobile app its first 10k downloads. Next step: reinvesting the app's earnings into hiring help to scale content.
“the juicy part is not the views”
07Source & evidence
- View original
Originally shared on X · Nov 27, 2025
Still following the guide I wrote 1 year ago
Public source. Extracted from publicly available content by the founder.
Want to try this?
Copy this experiment
A checklist built from what Jack Friks actually did. Their numbers are a reference, not a promise.
- 1
Pick the channel and tactic
Short-form video — Testing formats by download spike, not views.
- 2
Set a budget cap
Jack Friks spent $0. Decide your own cap before you start.
- 3
Set an end date
Jack Friks didn't say how long it ran. Pick a review date before you start.
- 4
Copy what worked
From Jack Friks's experience:
- ☐Judging each format by the download spike, not the view count
- ☐Posting the same video on TikTok and Instagram
- ☐Finding in-niche formats by scrolling and remaking 1–3 a day
- 5
Avoid what didn't
Where it went wrong:
- ☐A format that hit 200k views but produced no download spike
- 6
Track the same numbers
So you can compare like for like:
- ☐Views, with spike
- ☐Views, no spike
- ☐TikTok views, new format
- ☐Downloads
- 7
Compare, then share what happened
Jack Friks's headline result: 50,000 views, with spike. Yours will differ — that's the point. Win or flop, the result is worth sharing.
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Jack Friks hasn't published a step-by-step playbook. If enough readers ask, we'll ask Jack Friks for one.
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