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The “Wrong” Way to Get 100 Followers
Seven days ago, many of us set off on the race to 100 followers. Previously, I’d used Medium to hone my own writing skills, and to build community with my fellow writers.
I admit that my incredibly meager earnings were something of a prize to me. Being a paid writer, no matter how little the pay, encourages me to strive for more. Those of us who are holding on to those coins are holding on to more than pay. We are holding on to the idea of validity, that our writing is worth a read, and our community here.
Reaching deep and emptying out my tiny thimbleful of pride I had left, I took to social media on a follow-for-follow campaign.
I saw several shaming posts to the movement to reach the 100 followers by trading — — oh the audacity, let me clutch my pearls and take a breath… the click of a button — -
“Is this really the way you want to get to 100? Do you think they’ll ever read your writing? Why are you degrading yourselves? Tired of seeing everyone’s follow-for-follow posts.”
There is no one path for anything, including self-promotion. You can choose to see self-promotion as degrading, if you’d like. I see it as good practice for self-advocacy and a dry run for getting readers for future book publications. The naysayers sit atop their own self-assuredness, berating others with…
