Followers
About “Follower To Follower”
What it is, how to be in one (or not), and the ‘master plan’
This article is probably long overdue.
The amount of info I have to add to each and every article is becoming a bit… messy. That’s a lot of words to stay the same (385 words, to be precise), and it’s no doubt causing some people to skip over it — even though it’s definitely changed from day 1.
So it seems a good idea to write something static to convey that same information — that way I can minimize the clutter of those articles.
It’s important info, to be sure — but once you’ve read it, the repetition gets unnerving and annoying fast. Here’s all that pertinent info in one place, for your convenience!
What It Is
Follower To Follower is a series I began to introduce people I’ve followed to each other. It’s a meeting grounds, in a way, to connect writers that otherwise wouldn’t cross paths. In doing this, those that have stuck around have become woven into a sort of F2F community!
Originally, they were just lists of 25 tags. Now, the list includes the article I first interacted with, too — a taste of what they have to offer!*
Historically, the series ran every other day, but this will be changing in the near future to Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays each and every week!
(Edit: Very soon, the articles will become M-F, and switch to 15 tags instead of 25. This should help fix the notification problem. Also, each week will have its own interviewee — so we can learn from a wider variety of writing peers!)
The main theme is to help lift each other up while still accepting that we are all individuals with finite time, attention, and energy. Follows are free and easy; but everyone has their own system for engagement on Medium, and F2F is designed to respect those systems — as varied as they may be — as they are all valid for the people that use them.
As a bonus, once your name has appeared on the F2F lists, you are then officially part of the Monster Family — which is our growing community designed to support each other as we grow on Medium!
What It Isn’t
F2F is not f4f (or follow-up). It’s not r4r, either. There’s no obligation to follow or read anyone; the lists are there to provide opportunities, not to convince anyone to do something.
Some people will follow in the hopes that they’ll get a follow back. Some will read and engage hoping they’ll get a read and engagement back. But there is an understanding that it is not required to reciprocate; though it is generally appreciated!
How To Be In One
A lot of the time, I actively pursue people looking for followers. So, I’ll scour through “100 follower” articles to find people. However, I do pass people over.
Plus, I’m not everywhere. If you want to be in a future F2F, all you have to do is comment that you want to — or, really, comment on any of my articles. If I haven’t followed you yet, then you’re eligible to be on a future list.
(Note: You can only be on one F2F. See more in My “Master Plan.”)
About The Article Used With The Listing
If you’re asking to be in one, feel free to leave a link to the article you’d prefer that I read and interact with. If you have no preference, I’ll pick what I’m drawn to.
If you have no articles, or the articles you write aren’t of particular interest to me (I’m a human with preferences, too), I’ll leave a brief explanation about this next to your tag. For instance, I’m just not into crypto or programming. So if that’s all you’ve got for stories, then I’ll leave something like “your tag (writes about crypto).”
If you’d like a certain article to be featured there, I’ll add it with a * to signify I didn’t actually read it. Sorry, I wouldn’t know what I was reading with those articles! Rather than go cross-eyed, I’ll take your word for what article is best to feature!
(Edit: I’d rather not change the article once it’s already published, since it’s also a list of articles I have actually read.)
Other Disclaimers
These are the disclaimers that used to be in each article. As they took up too much space after awhile of accumulation, I’m relegating them here for future reference:
To Be Featured (In Reading And Sharing)
Check out Eric Monk’s offer to Read Your Story.
Benefits:
- Valuable feedback to improve your article!
- Promotion through the feedback article!
- Your story may be featured in this section of a future F2F post!
Check out other stories and their feedback on Let Me Read Your Story.
The publication not only helps share your work, but also walks us through how to be better writers along the way. Reading the feedback on others’ articles may improve your own writing as well!
No one is required to follow anyone else, ever. Read this article for more info about F2F expectations.
Everyone featured in these Follower To Follower articles is part of our growing “Monster Family!” It is my sincere hope that every one of you finds success in your endeavors, and that this can be a meeting place to help you recharge, be inspired, or simply connect along the way!
I may respond to comments with claps to let you know I’ve read and your thoughts and encouragements. Each and every one is appreciated more than I can express! Thank you so much!
My “Master Plan”
You may have noticed all my recent Follower To Follower articles are free. This means I don’t get any compensation for the traffic drawn to those pages; it’s a lot of views, to be sure, but many of those are writers struggling to get into MPP. It doesn’t feel right to profit off that need.
However, I have a plan. Something that will continue to benefit people even after they’ve joined MPP, and will also give people the chance to help support what I’m doing here.
And that, my friends, is —
The Evergreen Directory
There’s a Medium article version and a stand alone website version, so people can choose which format works best for them.
F2F’s need to keep cycling through fresh, new names and accounts every edition. If I added people more than once, the articles would start filling up with those people and the space for new people would be taken up eventually.
That’s why I created the directory; so long as you are active, you can stay on the list!
Of course, I’ll need to verify your activity to make sure you’re still “evergreen.” And there’s two ways to do that:
- Submit a request every 25–30 days (off-site form here), or
- Sign up for one of three Patreon tiers (not the $1 option); the monthly charge verifies you automatically.
If you’d like to learn more about The Evergreen Directory, you can read more here, sign up to my newsletter, or check out the directory’s blog here.
Why I Do This
First off, I believe in growing through connecting with others consistently. Even if I wasn’t writing this series, I would still be looking for new people to follow, reading and commenting on their articles. It’s what I suggest everyone does to build their “tribe” on Medium.
Adding those people to an article, though, is really just a way to repurpose the effort I’m already putting in to give back to those same people.
It’s very likely, even without F2F, that 80% of the people I follow will follow me back. I’ve tested this on other accounts; my method is ridiculously effective. (Here’s that link again, in case you aren’t familiar with the method.)
I do this because it makes sense to do. A little voice in my head told me to, as awkward and crazy as that sounds. Not doing it wouldn’t make me a bad person, but in making this series, I’ve found an amazing community filled with acceptance, encouragement, and connection.
It’s literally changing my brain for the better, too.
Until next time, follow each other, follow the dopamine, and follow yourself, always!
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