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Scale Happens Sideways
When core channels stall, the real unlock is sideways scale.
Daniel Avshalom
September 20, 2025
🧠 Insight Block — Scale Happens Sideways
When your best channels plateau, more budget isn’t the answer — expansion is.
But not just upward.
Sideways.
That’s the moment when top UA teams shift their strategy:
From vertical scaling to surface-area scaling
From single-channel mastery to multi-environment fluency
From audience overlap to incrementality
The real unlock?
New channels = new signals = new growth.
But this only works when three things align:
You’re running creatives made for that specific platform (not resized leftovers)
You can measure incrementality to avoid buying the same users again
You give each partner enough budget to actually optimize (~$500–1K/day in Tier 1)
This isn’t diversification for the sake of it.
It’s designing a UA system that doesn’t collapse at the top — one that unlocks new terrain without overextending your team.
You don’t scale by squeezing harder.
You scale by adding surface area — with systems built to measure if it’s worth it.
🧰 Vibe Tool — Creative Performance ≠ Guesswork
As Vytis Bareika shared, even tiny details like gaze direction shifted conversion rates by 20%.
“If the character was looking left, the conversion rates would decrease by 20% compared to looking straight at the user.”
His team uncovered this using AI analysis across thousands of creatives — tracking:
IPM (installs per thousand impressions)
Hook rate (engagement in the first few seconds)
Hold rate (completion/view-through)
Vytis’ suggestion: Use AI to spot performance patterns your team would never notice manually.
My takeaway?
Don’t just analyze creatives by feel.
Track IPM, hook rate, and hold rate every cycle — then let AI surface the hidden levers.
🛰️ Field Notes — Diversified ≠ Randomized
Most teams confuse diversification with duplication.
They add channels but recycle the same logic.
That’s not diversification — that’s just paying more for the same users.
Each new surface has its own physics.
TikTok ≠ Meta ≠ Unity ≠ Taboola.
You can’t force-fit the same signal and expect scale.
Diversification only works when your creative logic, measurement systems, and team structure evolve with the channel mix.
If you’re adding fishing poles, make sure you’re not casting into the same stream.
This week reminded me of something deep in how I operate:
Some seasons are about inclusion.
You open tabs. Test tools. Explore every idea.
Other seasons — like now — are about exclusion.
You close loops. Say no. Go narrow.
The insight that hit me?
I don’t build in order.
I don’t go A → B → C → D.
I build A to Z — in the order that makes sense for me.
That’s not a flaw.
That’s my rhythm.
Whatever your sequence — own it.
That’s the only way to finish the alphabet.
Let’s keep going.
What’s sparking your curiosity this week? Reply — I’d love to hear what you’re testing.
—Daniel