The journey from ZERO to 100 followers on Twitter

I recently passed the line of 100 followers on Twitter. I hadn’t any web presence and expirience in building an audience before. I want to show what it looks like growing a following in eys of a beginner. Here’s the ride, all the way from ZERO followers to 100 and beyond.

Why I decided to build an audience

First of all, I considered building an audience as a great way to differentiate myself from the competition. I am a Freelance Software Engineer, and I often had struggled to find clients. I thought this is going to help me with it.

I noticed that guys how built engaged audiences generally doing better off than the ones who don’t. They have more leverage. By the way, it looks like it was a lot of fun. So I thought about why I can’t do the same?

It is an excellent opportunity for growing a freelance business. Also, I just wanted to see how it is from inside out.

Jumping into Twitter

I haven’t been registered on Twitter before. But the short form of content appealed to me. It looked like there easier to create content than on other platforms.

So I created an account here. First, I started with filling my account info and setting an attractive profile image. I assume that a better-looking profile will usually convert more people into subscribers.

Joining a party

Often to Twitter referred as a cocktail party of the internet. Like at a party, you can jump into interesting conversations with strangers. Also, people usually groups by interest. You can join any group and become a part of a conversation.

I needed to find group strangers who were discussing what I was interested in.

I started to follow influencers in my niche. After about 20 of them, some random people started to follow me.

When I followed influencers in my niched, my Twitter feed filled up with relevant content. The content about the topic where I had my opinions and experiences.

Adding my 2 cents

After I got more comfortable about Twitter, I started to add my 2 cents to the conversation. It is when things began to move.

Engaging with other people tweets, commenting, and opening a discussion drove followers to my account.

It is was fun to have discussions with people and build relationships with them.

At first, engaging with tweets took a lot of time. I often found myself just scrolling through the feed and not taking part in the conversation. I thought I have nothing to add. But the truth is that fear of being judged held me back.

To deal with that, I set a goal to comment on every tweet I consume. Tweet in, Tweet out. With time and practice, I got better in commenting, and now it comes more naturally.

Also, when you engage with the content you are interested in, it is way easier to continue a discussion. So take some time to explore new people to follow.

It is what started to grow my audience.

Add meaningful 2 cents into the conversation. Not reading the tweet and just commenting “Awesome!”, “Good!” usually won’t make anything. Take time to read the tweet, actually understand what the person meant. Share opinion on the topic or tell about your past expirience — this what establishes a conversation and builds relationships.

Tweeting

I am posting regularly one tweet per day. My tweets usually don’t perform as well as engaging with others. They have a smaller reach because of my small audience.

Even though my tweets don’t perform well, I regularly post them. Creating good tweets takes time and practice. I need to find what people love to hear from me. So by the time, my audience will grow bigger, my Tweets will drive more engagement and results.

At the begging, you need to accept that your tweets are going to be shitty. You won’t be able to create a good tweet until you learn how. And the best way to get it is by doing. You need to keep practicing.

“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.”

― Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers: The Story of Success

Growth booster

The most important for growing your audience on Twitter is consistency. I stalled my progress since, in the beginning, I was creating content on twitter inconsistently.

If I were consistent, I would reach the goal of 100 followers twice as faster.

Consistency in creating tweets and engaging will make you better at doing this. Even though it sounds like a trivial task, you can get better with practice. Your replays and tweets become more engaging, spark a conversation, and get more attention as you develop your skill. All you need is a regular practice.

Showing up regularly on Twitter will help you to build relations with other folks. When you often interact with the same group of people, you’ll start noticing specific individuals, and this creates a feeling of friendship.

In addition to this, Twitter’s algorithms will reward you for being consistent. It will show your tweets and replies to a broader audience.

Takeaways

Building an audience is an excellent way to differentiate yourself from the competition. And twitter is a nice place for doing this.

All I did for growing my twitter from Zero to 100 followers:

1. Created Twitter account and fill out all information
2. Joined a party — followed influencers in my niche
3. Engage with the content of the influencers and other folks. Comment, like, repost.
4. Practicing in creating my Tweets

So you can also follow these steps and expect similar results. Would you like to reach your goal fast? Don’t repeat my mistakes and stay CONSISTENT with your actions.

It is not rocket science. Just be social on twitter and talk to others. Engaging with other people’s content is a sure way to build relations and grow your audience.

Take time to practice in content creation to get better. Accept that your tweets gonna be shitty at the beginning. It is a skill and requires training. Put into reps.