𝕂𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝕋𝕖𝕝𝕝 | AMPLIFY YOUR VOICE | FIND YOUR TRIBE
🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅾🅽 : IT’ᔕ ᖴᑌᑎ
📢ℂ𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕠𝕟𝕖… 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕒𝕝𝕝…
We write to be seen. We write to be heard. We write as a way to know ourselves better. We write on Medium to build community and to connect with peers who validate our feelings.
Finding followers on Medium isn’t hard. Converting them to fans… that’s another story. Case in point, when I started writing regularly, Spring 2022, inclusion in an R4R Club intially helped me gain traction. All was well until Indigo, who ran our club, went mute and vanished.
Her curation skills had been helpful. It pushed my follower count from the 600’s to well over 1,000. Problem was, few returned to read more than the one post she boosted monthly.
After Indigo disappearred, I prayed, then searched, for another option. God answered, with Hollie Petit, Ph.D. She’s a hybrid writer/reader advocate, who welcomed me into her tribe.
I introduced the “Name Game,” on her pub (last November) as an expression of gratitude. Within 30 days it worked its magic by paving a path to organic connection. I included links (at the end of this post) to writers who took the challenge.
How to play is detailed near the bottom. Try it? You’ve got nothing to lose and readers to gain! ❤️️Toni Greathouse→ 🆂🅾🆂 ←Source Of Support❤️️
Jan Sebastian 🖐👩🦰 is where the thought originated to “try out the novel idea” of sprinkling calligraphied graphics throughout this post.
🟢 Play the Name Game - AKA - Anatomy of an Acronym
A message might be tucked inside the letters of your name. Find out by following the instructions in the “Discover your Superpower” section. Curious? Try it to see what your name is telling you.
Mine says: 𝕋𝕠𝕟𝕚 = 🆃ry ⓞut 🅽ovel 🅸deas
🟡 Mission: 𝕎ℝ𝕚𝕋𝕖 with Intention
Deconstruct the letters in your first name or Medium moniker. The result gives readers a better understanding of who you are and why you write.
🟠 Lessons Learned About Follower Counts
Part of rewriting my reality and starting from scratch, entails sharing past insights. Hence the reason for this post. From my perspective, follower counts are largely a vanity metric. Research This: Locate writers who have in excess of 20K followers. Notice the engagement percentage on a recent post. It’s likely in the 1% to 3% range.
🔵 My Follower Experience
I’d formerly amassed 1,600 followers. The end of April (2023) I started from scratch with zero followers. I’m happy to report, 18.5% of folks who used to follow me returned. I’m tracking my metrics closely. Just a bit over 30 days in, average reader engagement (on 5 posts) hovers around 25%. Excited!!! In fact, I can tell you a bit about most of my 300 followers. By my estimation, it takes at least 180 days to convert a follower to a fan.
➡️ Organic Connection = Reader/Writer Relationship Building
Name recognition is key. It’s a mental trigger. This happened for me around the seventh read. Clicking through names I’m familiar with fills in blanks. Subsequent reads, yield an increased appreciation for that writers’ lived experience. Their choice of prose, deepens my understanding of their voice, views and most importantly… their unique perspective on society.
⚪ Valuable Takeaway… BUILD YOUR OWN TRIBE
Focus on developing relationships. First as a reader. Show up regularly. Engage with thoughtful comments. Only responsibly tag the people you’ve read a minimum of three (3) times. Low key: At this early juncture, tagging is the only way to let readers know I’m back. Also, I’m not writing regularly this time around. So, my name is the trigger. It alerts writers who have some level of interest in what I write to know, I am in fact writing again.
Be selective about who you follow. It takes time and concerted effort to find followers and then do the work to convert them to fans.
Getting To Know Each Other… Iᔕ ᖴᑌᑎ!
Amplify your authenticity with a tightly focused “Name Game” feature.
Help your tribe find you. Self-discovery is an added benefit of participating in this exercise. Dare to dive deep. Write from the depths of your heart. Help us get a handle on where your head is it.
In that vein, the names of writers who were brave enough to share the messy parts of their story, immediately popped into my head. Once a week, I visit their profiles to see if there’s anything new to read.
The short list of the usual subjects include the writers whose words have a magnetic pull include, Benighted, Leonard Tillerman, Natalie, Susan Wheelock, Michele Maize, Shanté Nixon, The Sturg, Jenny Lane, Annie Trevaskis, Toya Qualls-Barnette, and Annelise Lords.
For the Record: I don’t share the painful parts of my story. That’s reserved for therapy. One of these days, I’ll write about the series of dumb decisions made via supplying adult coloring books to a devious, deceitful, rat bastard buyer. When the name Walmart comes to mind, its synonymous with the words “Evil Empire.” What I know for sure is the company is overrun with a range of syncophants who’ve sold their souls to satan.
Regardless, the pain I’ve processed and worked through has propelled me forward. I draw on (pun always intended) hidden strengths that emerged in the darkest hours of my life to maintain a positive attitude.
I write from a place of ❤️️🅻🅾🆅🅴❤ and lead with cockeyed optimism. My tribe understands that. If that’s you. Please play the name game. It extends the opportunity to make your acquaintance. It opens the door to getting to know you better.
Real Talk: My priorities are God first. Then family and finally community. In that order. I chase the light. I move in the opposite direction of darkness. If my priorities or stance on life offends you. I’m NOT your type of writer. There’s nothing to read here. No reason to return.
Keep it moving. Bye… Bye!!!
➡️🆂🆃🅰🆁🆃➡️ 🅷🅴🆁🅴⬅️
STEP 1: Decode Your Acronym
Vertically, write a self-descriptive word for each letter of your name.
STEP 2: Q&A
1. Who does your acronym say you are? Apply the answers from Step 1.
2. What genre(s) do you write across or your stance on writing?
3. When did you start writing on Medium?
4. Where do you write from in the real world?
5. How do you write? Showcase your process.
6. Why did you choose to write on/and or continue to remain on Medium?
STEP 3: Promote Your Presence
✔️ Submit answers to your favorite publication.
🟢 For maximum exposure my recommendation is “Illumination.”
✔️ Tag me ➕ writers you want to know more about.
✔️ Organically grow your following with an invitation to play along.
Thirty One (31) 𝖜𝖗𝖎𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘 rose to the challenge. The lead link is from Surekha Chandrasekhar, one of the Editors at Illumination.
🅼🅴🅴🆃 🆂🆄🆁🅴🅺🅷🅰 — 🅻🅴🆃’🆂 🅿🅻🅰🆈 🆃🅷🅴 🅽🅰🅼🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴
Decoding The Acronym of My Name: Writer’s Challenge
medium.com
Thirty-Three (33) Early Adopters who wrote for the publication “Everything Fun” played the game too!
BGREAT is a world traveler 🧳 and American expat living in London. She’s my daughter. She’s beautiful inside and out!
Maribelle Az can use our help in reaching 100 followers. She’s a brilliant storyteller who’s trying to find her footing on Medium.
Hollie Petit, Ph.D. & Natalie are my besties on this platform. They are among the most supportive writer/readers on Medium.
Pitch Perfect Poets whose words soar off the screen include: Pseu Pending (Seu), Shereen Bingham and Carolyn Hastings.
Mary Chang Story Writer encourages visual communication. She is a fitness enthusiast & founder of, Six Word Photo Story Challenge.
Annie Trevaskis her authentic voice rises above the noise. It’s channeled through her A to Z series on bouncing back from failure.
Can’t box this crew in, on just one topic. They share a knack for wrangling words. They include: Michele Maize, Terry O, Toya Qualls-Barnette, Paul Gardner, Jenny Lane, Malky McEwan, Elizabeth Kaldeck Smith, Susan Wheelock, Deb Palmer, Annelise Lords, B.R. Shenoy and Maria Rattray.
Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles & The Sturg are hyper engaged with readers. Both are on the editorial team for Dr Mehmet Yildiz pub, “Illumination.”
Valante Maria met her in the real world at my local library.
Primarily personal narratives writers Desiree Haros, Janice Fung, Christopher Robin and KiKi Walter.
These purveyor’s of comedy have organically built a loyal fan base. Michael Burg, MD (Satire Sommelier), Raine Lore, Mark Suroviec, M.Ed., Ann James and Srini.
My Inquiring Mind Wants More Intel… Tag 🏷️ You’re It!
If: You play along. Then: Tag me! My Guarantee: Read + 50 Claps
