The ledger, not the highlight reel.
Every row is a live post you can open right now. Views are the platform’s count on 9 September 2026; average watch is the platform’s own retention figure. Short, dense, direct to camera — and people stay for half of it or more.
| Reel | Where | Views | Avg watch | Held | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The original paycheck split55 / 5 / 10 / 15 / 15, on screen · 9 Aug | 4,068,640 | 19.5 s | 49% | Open ↗ | |
| The paycheck split, second postingSame cut, one week later · 16 Aug | 2,539,476 | 19.2 s | 48% | Open ↗ | |
| How I Split Every PaycheckThe same reel on YouTube Shorts · 9 Aug | YouTube | 814,113 | 28.0 s | 70% | Open ↗ |
| The $6K splitA viewer’s take-home, run through the five numbers · 13 Aug | 440,533 | 17.3 s | 42% | Open ↗ | |
| My paycheck split“Multiply your monthly income by these 5 numbers” · 24 Aug | 274,408 | 16.5 s | 38% | Open ↗ | |
| Financial freedom targetsThe number to hit at each stage · 11 Aug | 162,153 | 14.0 s | 42% | Open ↗ | |
| Six posts, one month | IG + YouTube | 8,299,323 |
“Held” is average watch divided by runtime — the share of the reel an average viewer sat through. Anything past a third is strong for short-form; these run 38–70%.
YouTube audience
The same reel, two audiences.
What that means for a US brand
The headline Instagram number is the bigger one, but roughly half my YouTube audience is American against roughly a tenth of my Instagram audience — so the 814K YouTube cut delivered about as many US viewers as the 4M Instagram one. If your product is US-only, YouTube is the number that matters. Audience geography from YouTube Studio and Instagram Insights, 10 September 2026; the YouTube figure is measured across 994,430 views, the Instagram share across a much smaller sample and is indicative rather than exact.
One person, one number on screen, no fluff.
I talk to the camera and put the money on screen as I say it. The format is built for products with a number at the centre — a budget, a balance, a rate, a return. The viewer watches your product do the thing rather than hearing about it.
- 55% essentials
- 5% guilt-free
- 10% debt
- 15% savings
- 15% investing
- — the split that did 8.2M views. Your product goes where the numbers are.
The hook is a number.
“$3,500 after taxes.” “Your rent times three.” A specific figure in the first second, before a face or a logo. That is the entire reason anyone stops.
The product does something.
Not a mention — a use. Open the app, type the paycheck, watch it split. For a budgeting or investing product the demo is the pitch.
The comments are the CTA.
My reels end by asking for the viewer’s own number. Two to three thousand accounts engage a day. That mechanic ports straight to “comment for your link.”
Brief in, reel out, rights that are clear.
Built for performance teams that test. Hooks are the variable that actually moves, so the standard package ships a base cut plus alternates rather than one precious edit. Rates on request — they depend on usage, and I would rather quote your brief than a menu.
Deliverables
- Single reel15–45 s · vertical 9:16
- Hook bundle1 base cut + 3 alternate opens
- Raw + captionedboth, every time
- Revisionstwo rounds included
- Turnaround3–5 business days
- Productionme on camera, dedicated editor
Usage & rights
- Organic use on your channelsincluded
- Paid social usagequoted by term
- Whitelisting / Spark Adsfrom my handle, monthly
- App store & siteperpetual, quoted separately
- Best fitbudgeting · banking · investing · credit
Send the brief. You get a first cut inside a week.
Twenty-two, works a restaurant job, $120K invested — which is why the audience believes the numbers. I will say the same about your product only if it holds up.