Everyone’s working hard and we want to be noticed and appreciated – we want to see our hard work pay off! We see success in rising stats and so the key question becomes: How do I get followers? How do I become popular?!
I wish there was a simple answer like follow steps 1-3 and BOOM! You’ll reach your wildest dreams! But in a world dictated by algorithms and with everyone being careful and thoughtful about what and who they follow or subscribe to, it’s a little tricker than 1, 2, 3.
I post my tips and lessons as I learn them – I don’t have mind blowing numbers to show off as reasons you should listen to me. What I have is a genuine experience that I’m sharing as it happens (Imagine, the original purpose of a blog!)
So here are my tips and strategies for finding followers and being loved by everyone. Maybe when I’m famous I’ll rewrite this post and let you know if it works 😉
You have to collaborate to be successful, but you do have to participate.
You see, creating great content is only part of the battle. You don’t have to collaborate and share credit but you do have to interact with others. How do you expect people to find and appreciate your content if you’re simply posting it and waiting for the big rush of applause and appreciation? When they say you have to put yourself out there it isn’t about putting your content out there – it’s actually putting you out there and making connections.
Go find, like, follow and comment others who might be interested in your work. Find your audience and invite them in to see what you’re doing. (And show a little love for them – you know how hard the grind is, after all!)
Pro tip: Do this on multiple platforms! Running a wordpress blog? Go like and comment on other blog posts. Working on upping your instagram game? You know what to do – double tap and show some love! Looking to be the next twitter superstar? Twitter is a giant conversation platform – don’t just talk to yourself 😉
How much do you love it when you connect to someone, or to a company because they make you feel like a person instead of a customer? When you are waiting for people to stumble across your content and appreciate it you’re thinking of them as customers or follower stats – not people. In a fast-moving society where we often feel kind of lost in the masses, we have come to value personal connections. So provide that! Provide what you crave!
Support doesn’t cost you anything!
All the practical reasons aside – going out and giving those likes, follows and comments doesn’t cost you anything! Okay, so actually finding people who belong to your target audience and connecting with meaningful comments does take time. But you can work that into your workflow. It’s actually an enjoyable part of my day so I use seeking and connecting with others who might like my work as a way to break up the heavier lifting. If I am stuck in my writing I can work my social media a bit. If I am dizzy from the research I can find some new people to follow. Work the different social media platforms you want to grow on into your daily workflow and watch how much making the first move helps you grow!
Just remember… Don’t be an asshole! Don’t start getting spammy and desperate leaving lazy comments that are just emoji’s or one word like “Great”. It doesn’t feel personal or thoughtful. You want to invite people to connect with you so it’s worth being a decent member of the online community in the process!
Open your mind – what’s the vision when you say working for yourself is the dream?
So here’s the thing – a lot of people say they want to work for themselves but everyone has a different vision of what that means. For me, it means the freedom to work from anywhere (usually from home), and to be fluid and ever changing in what I do. I can control the content I produce and in the vision where I create my own line of products they are my design and I can change up the style as I feel like it.
So as you go seeking an audience don’t forget to look inwards and keep a clear vision of what you want. It’s easy to get so caught up being someone who will attract followers and likes that you lose sight of who you are and what you want to be doing.
Carmen
ohmymermaidcom.wordpress.com 