In this issue, you’ll find:

I should’ve done this sooner

Any self-respecting business owner is constantly looking to grow his business.

A big chunk of your growth is through channels you know that work. You optimize and you throw more money at it. And that’s how you grow.

A smaller piece of growth is through experimenting and trying new things.

Experiments should have the potential to grow big within 12 months, but don’t move the needle today.

Most big businesses fail because markets change, and they don’t change with it. They lose track of what’s hot and what’s not and think that what worked in 2024 will work in 2025.

Well, nobody could have predicted what 2025 would look like.

So you can bet that many incumbents will have trouble adapting to the new landscape.

That’s where smart experimenting comes into place.

Usually, when we experiment, we want to see early traction within a reasonable budget. We check our assumptions quickly and iterate quickly. However, because of that strategy, we also miss out on some opportunities that need more time to come to fruition.

That’s why you shouldn’t be the one who does all the experimenting. You should find partners who outperform you in channels where you lack performance.

Our partnership with Beehiiv is an excellent example of that.

I saw potential in Beehiiv and tried to get on their radar. We succeeded and did a few collabs with them.

This led to an invite to their Creator Summit to be one of their speakers. And where we normally get about 300 - 500 emails from a talk, we got over 1600 this time. It's the same time investment and the same evolvement but with a lot better ROI.

We should have done this sooner: played ball with the big guys, invested in relationships outside our usual circle, and looked for partners who do things better than us. This was a double win for us: We gained more early traction and now know how to get more out of this channel in the future.

Google Search Losing Its Edge

In a recent survey, 42% of respondents say that Google is becoming less useful, with 55% relying on their communities instead. Gen Z (61%) and Millennials (53%) turn to AI tools over traditional search. 

The shift is fueled by frustration with search quality, AI-driven answers, and the rise of social platforms like TikTok. Brands need to adapt as trust moves toward niche communities and alternative sources.

YouTube Expands ‘Hype’ Feature

YouTube is rolling out its Hype creator boost tool to more regions. Viewers can assign “Hype Points” to emerging videos, increasing their reach. Paid Hype is now being tested in Turkey, and creators in Brazil can manage Hype on Studio Mobile for Android. More expansions are coming soon.

AI: A Disruptor and a Boost

AI is reshaping content platforms. While sites like WebMD, G2, and Chegg lose traffic, others thrive by leveraging AI for discovery and engagement.

Elena Verna analyzes traffic trends from WebMD, Quora, Stack Overflow, Chegg, G2, CNET, Reddit, Wikipedia, and Substack. 

Practical Ways to Convert Leads Through Cold Outreach

Cold messages can work.

But most of the time, they don’t.

In the last issue of the newsletter, The Lead Magnet, I shared practical examples of how agencies can use cold outreach to gain new clients.

Take a look 👇

Last week’s poll: People seem crazy about Grok 3, what do you think? Is it better than ChatGPT?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🤔 Only for specific tasks (80.00%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 👍 Yes

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 👎 No

That’s it for now, everyone! We’ll meet again next week to discuss some more of this!

Don’t forget to sign up to Hypefury if you haven’t yet.

Feel free to reply to this email. It goes directly to me.

Cheers,

Yannick Veys
Co-founder and CMO of Hypefury