From 0 to 1000 — this is how I did it!
Yes. You read it correctly.
I have crossed yet another milestones in my writing journey:
1000 followers on Medium!
A big thank you to all who has been following me, giving their claps, leaving comments, and for reading my stories — appreciate your support.
Yes. In the grand scheme of things this might not be such a sizeable numbers.
But for me this is super important numbers!
It’s important for my self-belief, the hard work that I’ve put in, the prove of concept I’ve tried to implement, and above all, the impact of my writings that resonate to many readers in this platform.
- I began with 0 followers with nobody knew I existed
- I started despite many told me to quit it because my English was terrible
- I kept on writing despite no possibility of me monetizing my work due to country restriction
- I kept on writing despite Medium platform was not so friendly with screen reader user (yes, I’m a blind person writing using a screen reader)
- I kept on writing despite I did not feel like it, deadline on my 9–5, and the needs to put food on the table in the most polluted city in the world.
Yet, I kept on creating content and sharing my story to the people here.
Mostly I did it to myself.
Because I knew someone somewhere out there would find my story useful.
“if you don’t believe in yourself
No one would”
Therefore, I want you to believe in yourself too.
I know that many of my followers are not Tim Dennings of the world who got million of followings waiting patiently to read his content — most are just average guy like me.
Most are just in the beginning of their journey.
Starting to write because you want to create something on the internet, let your creation and your voice to be out there, and hoping you can build something big and meaningful with your own little hobby.
That is you!
That was me, and that is still me (no book deal yet).
Without doing Follow per Follow
First when I joined Medium for the first time, I knew that there were many ways that you could gain follower quicklly.
One well-known tricks is to follow every single accounts on Medium, and hoping they would also follow you back.
A.K.A follow per follow method.
Nothing wrong with this of course.
Obviously follow per follow method existed simply because it works.
If you are a new writer, with no prior of writing background, and audience, follow per follow approach will get you quickly to the 100 followers mark without breaking a sweat.
Obviously once you hit 100 followers mark, you then would join the Medium Partner Program because you do not want to only write, but also to make money out of your writing, Right?
Well, not for me.
Since joining partner program is already out of the window, I shifted my approach to only write for the sake of writing, and expressing myself.
In short: a recipe for disaster.
- I believed that organic growth would do me better than people following me just for the sake of returning the favor.
- I believe if I write useful story, help others to reach their goals or help go through their problems, my followers would also increase as a result of that
- I believed I need to build readership, audience, the trust of the readers. Screw the money now (at least for now), as long as I can create value to the people — that’s what matters.
So as you see.
No strategy here.
No plan. No set of concrete targets whatsoever.
Easier said than done, I know.
But
by focusing on my writing, sharing useful tips, and engaging with readers, I was able to gain that trust from readers eventually.
Without doing follow per follow method, my follower increases.
From 0 to 100!
100 to 500. And 500 to 1000!
And hopefully the list will keep going on.
Takeaway:
Writing and content writing is like a market.
if your value is good (i.e. story), the market will notice. Soon the market will notice.
Trust me. Just keep showing up!
Nothing happen, then Everything Happen
Of course, nothing is perfect.
There were moments that it was total stagnan.
No engagement.
No views, no reads.
Silence!
Moment which I thought to myself “screw this”
But that is exactly the time you double down on it.
The truth was, I wanted to give up on writing so many times.
Medium didn’t pay me shit to be honest. No money. None.
I even stop writing for a while, you can read my hiatus journey here.
Yet, there was also moment when that initial excitement, energy, and passion for writing and sharing my story to the world hitting me like a 800-pound gorilla.
Maybe I’m just being naïve.
But I knew it was more than just chasing the green.
It’s about building the audience, developing myself and the audience, and thriving together with the audience (and hopefully the money will follow suit).
“nothing happen, and everything happen” — alex Hormozi
Borrowing Alex Hormozi’s cool line “nothing happen, and everything happen”.
I kept on doubling down on my writing on Medium.
Creating, posting, reiterating, pivoting — I kept on developing and experimenting on my work.
And that is true!
Nothing happen,
And all of a sudden, I gained 500 followers in a month.
Reached 5000 views. Some stories reaching to 1k views, and receiving top writer category!
Build your Personal Brand and Document it
Why people would bother to follow me?
That question actually has been lingering in my mind for quite a while now (not that I’m complaining btw)
I think the answer lies in the fact that
“I’m just like you”
Yes. I’m just like you!
Another average guy who is trying to create a dream out of his writing hobby on the world we call Internet.
Apart from the fact that I’m also a blind person — pretty much we all are on the same journey here.
So what that got to do with anything Wikan?
Thank you for asking.
I pretty much documented my journey here on Medium, from starting at 0 followers, reaching to more followers, and recently crossing to 1000 followers.
My whole premise of my writings are basically about that — the journey.
Yes. My documented journey.
That accounts for something, right?
The fact that I’ve been on this journey for a while, from an average background (with a lot of shortcomings even), and the fact that I’ve achieved some level of success on this platform — do stand for something.
It’s nothing special.
It is relatable.
I.E. you can also do the same!
Takeaway:
You don’t need to be Elon Musk.
You don’t need to be Alex Hormozi, or Maria Sharapova with massive followings.
You just need to be You, document your journey,your problem, how you solve your problem, and teach that to the world.
“it is mind-boggling how many individuals are actually on the same journey like you”
Never Give Up my Friends
Yes. Duh! (rolling your eyes)
Never give up.
Sounds like another cassette tape from Andy Robbins seminar that your uncle Benny always play during the christmas holiday, right?
But that’s true though.
There will be situation when everything feels like shit.
Nothing happen.
You ain’t even want to open that damn dusty computer of yours to do anything productive, really.
Let alone writing.
Yes. Identify it. Embrace it.
And get over it.
But you got to keep reminding yourself what the future looks like. What is the destination. What is the end goal. That is how you will power through during tough times.
I’m always invision something big with my work here on Medium.
How I’m going to create trafic for my work.
How I’m going to use the platform to build my newsletter, create a book, and achieve something even bigger than just couple bucks from partner program.
There’s a bigger cause for sure.
The journey is still long my friends.
If you are not there yet, keep on putting those reps. And keep showing up. You will be there in no time!
