From 0 to 1.5k Twitter Followers in One Month

Back in January, I wrote a post about making a Twitter and understanding literally nothing about it. I felt like I was in a foreign country with no knowledge of the primary language. I just fiddled around, played with hashtags, and came up with one viral tweet that helped skyrocket my following in a short period of time.

I was super reluctant to make a Twitter account. Many years ago, when I finally deactivated it, it was a weight lifted from my shoulders. I became addicted to the platform. It served as nothing but another procrastinatory temptation. Back then, all I did was indulge in pop culture. I can't tell you how many brain cells I probably lost wasting time there.

But I kept hearing about writers who swore by Twitter. It was the place to be, laddee da. Once or twice, I could overlook the suggestion. I kept seeing writers talk about Twitter. I realized it would be foolish if I didn't at least try.

I promised myself that my Twitter account would be kept strictly professional. Writing content only, no current events, political opinions, or strong stances of any kind. I don't have time to debate people on hot-button topics. Plus, I have zero interest in doing that.

Is it going to help make me money? No? Then I'm not going to engage in it. Period.

The Writing Community There is Massive

I quickly came to realize that there are more writers on Twitter than I ever imagined. Most of the writers I have come across so far are authors of books and novels. I didn't care, though. We are all still writers!

I quickly came across the hashtag #writingcommunity and #writing.

So I went to my homepage, searched the hashtag, and started genuinely engaging with others. I wasn't cheap with who I followed. They just had to be some sort of writer.

It was different from any other social media platform. On Twitter, I literally know zero of the people I am engaging with. Nor do I plan to extend my following to people I know in real life. I had a clear "why" behind my profile's initial creation.

I did a little bit every day. Twenty minutes here, twenty minutes there.

Between February 24th and 28th, I went from less than 300 →1500+ followers.

How to Skyrocket Your Following Quickly

After you start engaging with relevant hashtags, you will find that people (other writers and such) start to randomly follow you too.

In the beginning, I commented on a bunch of #writerslifts. That is when everyone drops their latest #wip which stands for work in progress. You are encouraged to shamelessly self-promote and follow one another to lift each other up.

In the writing community there, people are actually, dare I say it…nice!

There's one caveat to writer's lifts though. Oftentimes, the original Tweeter will just "collect" or amass a large following from their writer's lift being widely shared. But they will conveniently not follow back the people who they are engaging the "lift" with. It's pretty scummy, audacious, and self-serving.

One of the tweets I made about it got quite some traction. It helped other people realize that I actually follow other writers back. That's what a lift is supposed to be. You both lift each other up. You don't just inflate and catapult one person into success.

After making this tweet, I realize the fastest way to grow my following was to add a bunch of (writing-related) people to my network and keep tweeting here and there.

Homepage →hashtag search → like + retweet + follow (if their ratio says they will likely follow me back) → leave thoughtful comment → go to their page to find more related folks to follow → repeat

Tweeting Interesting Things + Using Relevant Hashtags Will Increase Success

When I started tweeting, I didn't know what I was doing. I was just talking to myself out loud. Then I added a gif here or there I thought would make it stand out. I tweeted a few things in a row because I was on a roll. Honestly, there was nothing fantastic or special about anything.

The secret is that I wasn't trying to do anything. I didn't want to go viral. I was just experimenting. It was casual, and that's what worked!

This extremely un-exciting tweet went what I would call "viral." I don't know how and I don't know why.

All I know is that when I wasn't trying, that's when it happened!

Staying Humble

If I have said this once, I've said it one hundred times. Just because you start taking off doesn't mean you ignore people's replies, retweets, comments, and followers. It's just distasteful!

Every day, I grow my following more because I interact with other people, answer them, and I'm not scared to be the first one to follow.

Remain Organized

After I followed every single person back who followed me, I realized my home feed was looking a little bit funky. I was starting to see stuff about vaccines, politics, world events. That's what I promised myself I wouldn't get into.

So I did some spring cleaning and unfollowed every account that wasn't some sort of writer or creative.

Keep Out of Twitter Jail

I got a few hundred followers overnight (much thanks to the Twitter Gods.) I tried to follow everyone back, like, retweet, and interact as fast as I could.

Time is of the essence.

Before I knew it, Twitter deemed me a bot and suspended my account for three days straight. I was locked from following, unfollowing, tweeting, or retweeting.

I learned my lesson.

Twitter is Fun, Don't Be So Serious

The primary reason I gave in to making a Twitter is because of all the job applications requesting me to be Twitter-literate. Apparently, a large aspect of content writer roles is also writing copy for popular socials like Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and Twitter.

I've been having fun growing there and teaching myself how the platform works.

I'm not addicted to it because I have a strong "why" behind my actions there. I only have it on my desktop and will not be adding the app to my phone. It is strictly part of my "work," as strange as that sounds.

My Why:

• Build my Twitter following to enhance my internet presence. Plus, when I am ready to publicly launch a product or service, I will have a base audience to sell it to.

• Present myself as capable of tweeting for companies who ask that of me.

• Network with others and land new clients, gigs, and hopefully, a full-time one.

There are a lot of recruiters on Twitter who actually post about current job openings. This is new to me since my initial bubble was formed around authors and books, rather than freelance writers.

Each day, I stretch my bubble a little bit further. I'm excited to see where Twitter takes me. The possibility for growth there is exponential!

What's your Twitter handle? Here's mine - let's connect!

Best,

🆂🆄🆉🍊