A Step-by-Step Plan to Achieve 100 Followers and Grow Your Audience
Reach the finish line with just three simple steps.
“You can waste your lives drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them.” — Shonda Rhimes
If you are reading this story, I suspect you are a new writer and want to achieve 100 followers to be eligible for Medium’s Partner Program (MPP). It is a worthy endeavor and a goal for many new writers.
I recently crossed the MPP finish line and I want to share what worked well for me step-by-step. But first, I need to share my story.
My Journey
I joined Medium in late January 2023 but did not write my first story until February 1st. Of course, I did what most new writers do. I wrote a story and hoped for followers. Can you hear the crickets?
Then, I decided to do a little research about growing an audience on Medium. If you believe the hype, it can be very discouraging.
You’ll hear comments such as, “I had 1,000 followers on social media, and gained 1,000 on Medium in two days. Or I created one story, and it gained 500 followers in 6 hours.”
I started this journey with zero followers and the odds seem stacked against me.
So, I did what I always do, I set a goal.
“I want to achieve 100 followers by the end of February.”
The next day, Sampath Medarametla became my first follower. Thank you! Someone has to be first, right? Then a few more followed suit and they slowly trickled in over the next few days. I was incredibly grateful for the support and encouragement I received.
But why did I pick such a short month? Why ask why.
With only 10 days left, I realized I wasn't going to make my goal. I needed a new strategy. So, I started researching again and created a step-by-step plan to get 100 followers.
3 Steps to Reach 100 Followers
Here are the three simple steps I used:
- Write a story introducing yourself and pin it to the top of your feed. It seems counterintuitive since everything you read on Medium says you should focus on others — not yourself. But if you introduce yourself and tell people you need 100 followers, it is amazing how fast they will come in. Below is the introduction I wrote and pinned to the top of my feed. I am happy to report that my introduction is the most viewed article on my feed (though I am almost out of the photo!)
2. Announce that you need followers and ask for help. I am a professional fundraiser, so asking for help is easy for me. But do not be afraid to do it. If you are starting from zero as I did, you need help building an audience. There is no other way around it. Thankfully, there are a lot of wonderful people on Medium who have a genuine interest in new writers. Kind people from all over Medium will begin to follow you when you ask for help. We are all very interested in each other as writers, so this method is not disingenuous. You can also use the Medium search bar with the following prompts to find other articles like this one: 100 followers challenge, 100 followers, follow for follow, need 100 followers, medium partner program. The is also a great publication called: How to Increase Your Followers Number to review.
4. Clap and write thoughtful comments on other people’s stories. You may not know if you are new, but we get notified when someone claps, comments, or saves our stories. Clapping and writing thoughtful comments on other people’s stories worked the best for me (other than my intro). I personally love spreading positivity and I am convinced this tactic comes back tenfold. I started commenting on 15–20 stories a day and clapping for many, many more. Once I started, the followers quickly began rolling in. The good news is it took very little time to write heartfelt comments and clap for the stories I enjoy. I tend to do 25 claps for stories I like and 50 for the ones that wow me. It is not surprising that you get more followers when you show a genuine interest in others. People like people who like them. Plus, the goal is to build a community on Medium and you need to be active to be successful.
While I am sure there are plenty of other steps you can do, these steps worked well for me and I hope they will for you too.
The Rest of My Journey
So, did I reach my goal of 100 followers on February 28, 2023? NO, but wait for it…
Remember, my goal was “I want to achieve 100 followers by the end of February.” I realized after I set that goal I should have been more specific and said, “I want to achieve 100 followers on February 28, 2023, EST.”
Because I reached 100 followers a few hours later on March 1, 2023!
True to my intention, I reached it at the end of February. So, choose your goals and words carefully!
In just a few days, I achieved what I had hoped to do all month by following a few simple steps. I simply stopped wishing it would happen and took steps to make it happen.
“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Best of luck to you in your writing endeavors and I hope to see you at the finish line!
P.S. If you enjoy reading my content, consider following me. Also, if you are not a Medium member yet and you would like to gain unlimited access to the platform, consider using my referral link to sign up. It’s $5 a month and you get unlimited access to my articles and many others. Thank you!