100 Followers In 10 Easy Steps
A Quick Guide For Newbies
I’ve seen several articles on Medium and Facebook’s “Medium Writers And Genuine Readers” page about getting 100 followers. Some seem to have difficulty doing so; some seem to get there quickly. In about six weeks, it took me ten articles to reach the magic 100 and qualify for the Partner Program.
I’m sure I wasn’t the fastest to get there or the slowest. I started with no followers and didn’t know anyone on Medium before starting. It took a little work, a little belief, and the support of other Medium writers. That’s something you will come to find and appreciate, but you have to earn it.
I found some things along the way that will likely make your pursuit of 100 followers easier. Just follow these ten easy steps.
- Write well Medium requests quality content. Provide that. Utilize Grammarly. It will save you a ton of aggravation and improve your writing. It has limitations, but let it work for you, especially initially.0 "
- Read more to find good content and relevant publications. Medium is for readers. Find publications and articles that interest you; stories in and outside the niches you plan to write.
- Read advice from other writers on Medium I started reading and saving articles by Kristina God. You’ll find many more 0'out there, but Kristina’s advice will give you a decent start. Notice I said to read advice. Don’t follow all of it. Some of it is bullshit. Use discretion.
- Apply to be a writer for publications that accept all newbies. Yes, apply for the publications that accept new writers. Once you’ve been accepted as a writer and have something to submit for publication, review the publication’s guidelines before you publish, do that for every article, every time, for every publication until you get your shit straight. It will help the editors who are volunteering to help you get published. Also, be kind to the editors if they point out something that prevents your article from being published. They’re volunteering to help you.
- Be prolific. Publish 2 or 3 times a week at the minimum. Your stories don’t have to be long, but they should be good. Short-form and poetry will help get your stuff out there and build an audience, but they won’t make you money. You’re not eligible to get paid yet anyway, so what’s stopping you?
- Don’t stick to one genre when beginning. As stated above, you can do poetry today, and your next article could be an opinion, a how-to, a memoir, or fiction. If you have a chosen discipline, explore your writing anyway, and your niche may find you.
- Interact with writers whose content you enjoy. Comment often. Keep things positive, if possible. Engage. Let the writer know you appreciate what they have written. If you like something you’ve read, clap. My clap style is to do as many claps as I would for a spoken performance. Some do 50 or none; some only clap once. Hint: Clapping once is like leaving pennies with your restaurant tip. Don’t do that.
- Interact with those who comment on your articles. Show your appreciation for those who have clapped and taken the time and effort to comment. Do this for every comment, in the beginning, every comment. Again, stay positive.
- Follow people, but not everyone. The follow-for-follow thing is bush league. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t follow several writers. Follow writers in the same areas of interest as you. Follow writers whose bios you find interesting. Why would you follow a writer of horror and coding if those subjects don’t interest you?
- Don’t sit back and wait patiently. Do the work. It takes a little effort to do all of the above, but it’s not complicated. You’ll get there.
Bonus: Write almost every day, if not every day. After pouring all you have into a story or two, you might need a break. You’ll read some opinions that say you must write every day. That may be true if you’re already a professional, but you’re probably not if you’re starting here and have fewer than 100 followers.
Life happens. The lawn needs to cutting; you have to take the dog to the vet and attend the kid’s school concert. Don’t allow it to stop your momentum. Keep writing, even if for only a few minutes. Try not to skip more than one day of writing.
Oh, and don’t look for that colossal payday once you get your 100. 90% of us won’t reap the dough 90% of the articles say they do. Write to write, not for the money.
Check out a few (or all) of these writers too:
