It took me 2 years to finally reach 1000 followers on X, so I'm going to write about what I did

The other day, I surpassed 1000 followers on X, which I started two years ago.

I remember doing many things to increase my followers. It wasn't straightforward. Among the many things I tried, the following were effective.

For people like me who don't want to sell anything and just want to tweet about their daily lives, I think this is a reproducible method.

I... don't think there is any secret trick in this world to increase followers on X. If there were, I would desperately want to know it. (Please tell me...) I couldn't find one in two years. The method I was able to find is very steady and slow.

However, as a result of somehow reaching 1000 followers, the rate of follower growth and the rate of receiving likes have increased significantly. Being able to get reactions has made me enjoy posting on X more. That is why I recommend increasing your followers.

So, if you are interested, please read on.

Popular people on X...

I feel that popular people on X are mainly classified into the following categories.

・Celebrities
・Geniusly funny speakers
・Hobby accounts
・X know-how teachers

I am not a celebrity, nor am I geniusly funny. I cannot become them. I don't have any particular hobbies either.

So, I would look at the posts of people who teach X know-how, trying to figure out how to increase followers and get more likes.

However, these people who teach X know-how don't clearly and distinctly tell you the essential "what to do".

・Do this
・Do this

I wish they would just write it in a bulleted list, but instead they go on and on about impressions, nam pla, and other incomprehensible words...

And to top it all off, when I go to check their follower count, they have the same number of followings, leading to a series of "You're just increasing followers through mutual follows!!! It's a bluff!!!!!!" situations.

In the end, I thought, none of them can say "if you do this, you will gain followers and become popular"!!

And the things that the followers of these "know-how teachers" tweet are all similar. They talk about know-how despite having no track record. And not only the content, but the writing style is uniformly the same.

If you think about it calmly, there's no way you can stand out by tweeting things like that, so what is everyone aiming for, what are they thinking, and what do they want to become?!

I want to tweet about things I like in my own words. And I want to get reactions from people to that.

But... I didn't know the methods, so I ended up going to look at posts by people who "teach X know-how"...

I spent two years living days like that.

What I did

The things I did that were effective are as follows.

Now, I will write about the details of each and what else I did to get there below.

⭕️Become friends with people who can get excited about common topics

When I was lost, wanting to quit my job as an engineer but not knowing what to do, I learned about and joined a service called the Self-Understanding Program, which helps you discover your "calling".

It's a program where you spend three months with a coach exploring what you "truly want to do." (I'm so glad I took it. It changed my life.)

When you start this program, you are told to create an X account and a note account right at the beginning.

It is recommended that you output what you learned in the program daily on X, and declare your determination for what you want to become through the program on note.

I used X in college, but after graduation, most people moved to Instagram and it became deserted, so I hadn't touched it for a while.

I had seen note before, but I had never even thought about creating an account.

For now, I created both accounts just as I was told.

At that time, I had never used note and didn't really understand what it was, so I left it alone after writing the article mentioned above.

On the other hand, I loved X and posted very actively when I was in college. I was a complete Twitter addict.

So, I was excited about my long-awaited X life, thinking I would interact a lot with other people doing the program and get witty comments if I tweeted something interesting♪

However...

Even when I tweeted with #SelfUnderstandingProgram, I didn't get any likes from anyone. No comments either.

Even when I gathered the courage to comment myself, I was completely ignored.

What is this exclusive group...?

However, since nothing would change if I stayed like this, I next searched for "Self Understanding Program" and tried following every account that came up.

Then, most people followed me back in return.

Until then, I hadn't followed anyone, and I was just thinking, 'I wish someone would like my posts,' or 'I went to the trouble of replying, so the least you could do is reply back.'

However, I understood that what is important in the 'X community' is first 'following each other'.

That is like registering as a member, so it was only natural that those who weren't registered were ignored.

From there, I started interacting within the community, actively giving likes and replies myself, and I started receiving likes and replies as well.

Also, in the Self Understanding Program, there were optional online events where we showed our faces and talked about self-understanding together, and real-life events where large groups gathered in Tokyo and Osaka, providing genuine places for interaction.

I'm an introvert, so I didn't want to, but when I participated timidly, I realized at that time that there is nothing better than 'real interaction' like meeting face-to-face or talking in person, rather than just interacting on X many times.there is nothing better than 'real interaction' like meeting face-to-face or talking in person, rather than just interacting on X many times.

Since you feel a sudden increase in affinity for someone whose face and voice you know, you can have more heartfelt interactions and long-term relationships on X after that.

Thanks to the Self Understanding Program and X, I made many new friends even though I'm over 30. I was happy.

I am job hunting in Malaysia, and it is very lonely that I can no longer meet them easily. I watch posts of everyone gathering from afar, thinking, 'I wish I were there...'

But I am grateful that they still interact with me on X just as before.

/／
🗣 What I can say from this experience is
\＼

If you started X but aren't getting any likes or replies from anyone, and you get ignored or treated coldly even when you try to reach out yourself,

for those who have been in that state for a long time, I recommend making friends with whom you can get excited about common topics.

For example...

Let's say you love Thai food.

You search for "Thai food" on X. Then, you follow everyone related to Thai food.

Some of them will follow you back.

After that, in your daily posts, make sure to reply with all your heart while thanking those who replied to you, and leave heartfelt replies on other people's posts.

Absolutely avoid short, lazy replies like just "Nice!" Replies that leave the other person struggling to respond are disliked. You won't become friends through that kind of interaction.

Talking about yourself without being asked, like "This is how I am!", or acting like a know-it-all is also bad. No one is asking for your opinion.

I think it's best to convey your sincere feelings.

Also, when you get a reaction, don't just say "Thank you!" and end it there. When people do that to me, I instantly "hate" them. I think, "They didn't put any effort into their response, so I'll stop checking their profile" 😑.

Since they went out of their way to move their fingers, put their thoughts into words, and share their impressions—something people don't usually do—I think you should also do your best to find something good about them and reply accordingly.

As you deepen your interactions, if there's an opportunity, try meeting them in person. It will greatly increase your sense of closeness.

(After that, unfollow the people you haven't interacted with or aren't interested in from the batch you followed. There is no benefit to having an unnecessarily high follow count.)

I used Thai food as an example, but it could be anything you like—tropical fish, walking, reading, MBTI, etc.

Friends who can get excited about common topics, care for each other, and support one another are a great asset.

No matter what you post, someone among your friends will surely see it... That sense of security becomes a boost and motivation for your posts.

❌ Hire an X consultant

Three months have passed, and I have completed the self-understanding program.

I've started getting consistent reactions from people in the self-understanding community, but I realized I need to interact with people outside of that circle from now on.

I shouldn't just talk to my kind self-understanding friends forever; I need to realize the calling I found through the self-understanding program within society. That's what I thought.

At that time, I had reached the conclusion that what I wanted to do was to be a "Rental Human".

Even after going through the program, I couldn't quite find what I wanted to do from the bottom of my heart, but I did realize that I am a person with a strong curiosity who wants to do everything.

I started the 'Rental Human' service thinking that if I rented myself out, I could be hired by people for various reasons and have experiences I would never have thought of on my own.

When I started, I decided to operate my X account as a business account to promote my Rental Human service.

However, since I had only ever posted about things I liked on X, I had no idea what or how to post when it came to business.

At that time, an acquaintance recommended a book called 'X Super Efficient Operation Manual,' so I read it.

It was difficult for me, as I am very bad at learning things from books.

However, it was written at the end that I could have a 'free consultation' with the author, and since I'm bad at learning from books but love consulting with people directly, I applied without hesitation.

I had a free consultation via video call and asked if they could consult for me since I had no idea how to operate X.

They told me, 'I don't do consulting anymore, but I can introduce you to an acquaintance instead.'

And the person they introduced to me was Kani-san.

A few days later, I spoke with Kani-san via video call. They were very kind and soft-spoken, and since I hate being spoken to harshly by anyone, I thought, 'I want to ask this person!'

I made a contract to have them look after me for 3 months for 100,000 yen.

Thinking back now, I think this was way too cheap.

Kani-san devoted an incredible amount of effort to me.

They sincerely answered all my questions regarding target research for the 'Rental Human' service I wanted to do, competitor research, account name, profile picture, header image, and everything else.

They also corrected my daily tweets.

They provided such thorough and varied support, but...

I couldn't post at all... and it ended without me achieving any results.

Towards the end, I had absolutely no motivation left, and I ended it by ignoring Kani-san's messages without even saying 'thank you'.

I am so sorry...

The reason I couldn't post was that I hated following the theories for becoming popular on X.

For example, I wanted to name my service something catchy like "Ketsumera" or "Renguso" instead of the easy-to-understand "Rental Human".

Hire a Rental Human to light a fire under your butt and get things done quickly!
A Rental Human will follow you around like a shadow and do the things you want to do with you!

That is the origin of the name.

However, Kani-san told me, "That has too much of a gap with your appearance, and people will be confused," so I stopped.

But I think, isn't that gap exactly what's good about it...?

But from a consultant's perspective, starting with such an edgy name is nonsense if you want to be recognized by more people.

I understand this logic very well, so I withdrew the Ketsumera and Renguso ideas, but I felt uneasy about it for a long time.

Also, I hated having to fit my posts into the harmless, conventional writing styles that many people prefer.

I wanted to ramble on as I pleased, but not being able to do that felt restrictive, and posting became a chore.

I also hated having to post several times a day at times when X users are active.

Having to think of post content in a style I didn't want to use, and having to post at strictly set times—that lack of freedom was suffocating, and I couldn't tweet at all.

/／
🗣What I can say from this experience is...
\＼

If you don't just like tweeting freely about whatever you want, but have a clear goal like "I want to sell this!" or "I want to specialize in this and share it!" and you accept that X is just a means to that end, then I think hiring a consultant is a very good idea.

For someone like me who has the desire to "share what I think as a person with the world in my own words," consulting might not be for you.

Consultants only teach you the safe route of "how to become popular."

If you don't care about your own words or the flavor of your writing, and you're fine as long as what you want to sell sells, or as long as your ideas themselves spread, then I think that's the type of person who should request such a service.

Also, I was able to learn the common sense of X from the consultant, and I think that is still useful today.

For example,
・Pin your profile or articles you want people to read to the top
・It's okay to retweet posts that got good reactions later, or repost the same content
・Properly set up your profile picture and header image
and so on.

Everyone on the internet says these basic things, but hearing them directly from someone else made them stick in my brain differently, so it was helpful.

❌ Helping a friend with their X business

Just when I had given up, thinking X was impossible for me, a friend asked me to help them because they had started a business on X.

They asked me to take over a certain account and reply to comments.

My role was to reply to the massive amount of comments from middle-aged men that came in every day.

This was truly tough.

It was painful having to reply cheerfully and cutely to creepy comments every single day.

The preachy middle-aged men, the sulky ones, and the ones who tried to show off their knowledge were especially annoying.

No matter what they said, having to appease them by saying things like, "Oh, is that so!! I didn't know that! I'm learning so much✨," really took a toll on my mental health.

If it were just for one day, it might have been fine, but this continued every single day for months, and my free time was consumed by replying to these men. My heart was worn down.

Women who can do this are truly amazing. Even just replying is impossible for me, so the thought of talking to them directly makes me feel sick. I became convinced that I could never work in the nightlife industry. I want to live in the daytime world forever.

I reached my limit and decided to ghost this job🪽✨

However,

/／
🗣There is something I gained from this experience
\＼

That is...

The confidence that "I might be good at writing heartfelt replies."

My friend had other people helping with this job besides me.

The replies from people other than me were cold, like "Thanks🫶," as if they hadn't even looked at what the men had written.

However, even if the other person was a creep, I would at least mention what they wrote and try my best to think of a reply. (That's exactly why I took it to heart every time and got exhausted.)

I found myself unable to just ignore them.

From this, I was able to discover my strength in being good at interacting with people through replies.

At the same time, I learned all too well that interacting with creepy guys eats away at your soul, so my sense for identifying people who shouldn't be taken seriously also improved.

Therefore, I am now able to enjoy interacting only with people I judge I can communicate with comfortably.

No experience is ever wasted, I suppose...

❌ Buying expensive products

The friend mentioned above was using X smoothly and making a profit.

When I asked how they managed to increase their followers and fans so much, they said, "I signed up for a 700,000 yen consulting service."

I didn't have the intention of paying 700,000 yen for consulting, so I asked, "Is there any method you'd recommend for me?"

Then, they recommended the following products by someone famous in the X community called Namaikikun.

[The. 𝕏] Namaikikun-style 𝕏 operation techniques that achieved a monthly income of 1 million yen with "multiple accounts & in as little as 1 month"

The.IMPACT ~100 results with 1 unit of effort~

They were 50,000 yen each, totaling 100,000 yen.

"What's written here applies to any theme on X, so you should just do it exactly like this," my friend told me, and since it was advice from someone actually making money, I believed them and bought them.

However...

What was written was too difficult, and I ended up not understanding it from the very beginning.

First, near the beginning, the phrase "narrow down your target", which people in this kind of community often say, appears.

I was doing 'Rental Human' after a fashion, but I didn't really want to narrow down my target... I mean, doesn't that mean I have to post things that resonate with that narrowed-down audience... The days of not being able to write freely are going to start again...

And above all, I hated the writing style of this person called "Namaiki-kun".

First of all, the name "Namaiki-kun" (Cocky Boy) is annoying right from the start. The profile picture is also irritating to look at.

And the introductions and explanations are way too long.

I wish they would just write what needs to be done quickly, but instead, they ramble on and on about nonsense...

I just couldn't keep reading, and I gave up right where it said something like "most people give up here." I ended up becoming one of those "most people" exactly as predicted. I hated giving up right when I was being provoked, but I just couldn't take it anymore...

I didn't even read the second product.

And just like that, 100,000 yen went down the drain.

I thought maybe if I read it calmly now, the content might sink in... so I looked at it again, but I still couldn't stand it. It seems Namaiki-kun and I just don't get along.

/／
🗣What I can say from this experience is...
\＼

Hmm.

Nothing. *Ding*.

Oh, wait. Don't buy two 50,000 yen products all of a sudden. That's one thing. I should have just bought one and judged it first. *Ding*, rest in peace.

After this, I went abroad to be a nomad, my desire to rent humans disappeared, and "moving abroad" became what I needed to do.

⭕️Slowly realizing that tweeting freely gets a better response

After finishing my nomad experience abroad and returning home, a while later, I heard that my favorite singer, BoA, had left the agency she had been with since her debut, so I posted my thoughts about BoA.

Then, to my surprise, I got 32 retweets and 199 likes.

I just put my thoughts into words and scribbled them down... wait, what...😭?

BoA has fans all over the world, so I thought, maybe... and tried translating it with AI and posting it in English too.

Then, this one got 29 retweets and 109 likes.

Whaaa...?

I had never received a reaction from so many people before.

Wait, no, I had.

I was so moved by how funny Vacuum Jessica was that I immediately scribbled down my thoughts on the train ride home, and it got 71 likes. (Then my sister, who went with me, said, 'Look! Someone is so moved by Vacuum Jessica!! Wait... is that... you...?' and my account was exposed, leading to an argument on the train.)

Also... I couldn't stop crying every day at how brave the little monkey Punch-kun was, and I felt like I would drown in my own tears if I didn't share these feelings, so I made the following post.

And then itwent super viral with 4,376 retweets and 25,000 likes, oh my...

Whaaa...

BoA, Vacuum Jessica, Punch.

I am borrowing the power of famous people (lol), but I just honestly wrote what I thought without worrying about anything, and it got read by this many people?...

Does that mean... I get more views when I write long posts freely without worrying about any theories of going viral...?

I started to vaguely realize that.

However, I wasn't sure if tweeting long posts was the right answer yet.

So I couldn't post consistently.

⭕️ Increase followers to 1000 on note, then try it on X

I created my X and note accounts at the same time; I wasn't using note actively at first, but halfway through, I discovered the joy of writing long-form content and started writing little by little.

But gradually, I started thinking, 'This is just like X, it's not being read by many people at all, so what's the point?'

But I love writing, so whenever I go somewhere or feel something, blog-style words immediately flow through my head 🎼

All that's left is to type it into note when I get home, but even if I write it, it doesn't get read. So I don't want to write. But I want to release the words in my brain to the world. Aaaah (howl)

To put an end to that situation, I explored real ways to increase followers by paying for various things just like I did on X, and believe it or not, I found them.

The answers I couldn't find on X were in the world of note. I was moved.

In just 12 days, my followers grew to 1000 just like that. (They are still increasing now and will be 4000 soon... tears of gratitude)

Here is the paid article that introduces that method. (Whispering: It's selling...)(I struggled while being misled by numerous pieces of crap information to reach the real method, so I have no intention of making it free in the future... just to vent my frustration...)

As for this method,it can also be utilized on other SNSso I decided to try it out, thinking, 'Should I try it on X, where nothing has worked so far?'

Then, although not at the same speed as note, my followers increased at a slow, turtle-like pace.

However, even though they increased, I still don't know what or how I should tweet on X...

An account with no motivation like that is never going to become popular.

Although I occasionally post my thoughts in long-form, other than that, I only used it to announce when I posted on note. (Even those announcements don't reach many people at all. Heh.)

So, I only executed the follower-increasing method when I was occasionally free, and I just tweeted a little bit when I felt like it, so I was struggling to know what to do with X.

⭕️Try tweeting freely and seriously

Contrary to X being mediocre, note has become stably seen by many people, but a problem emerged that if things continue like this, I will only be seen by people within note...

And I'm currently job hunting in Malaysia, but I can't find a job at all, and even if I do, it doesn't look like I'll be able to get a high salary.

If I don't use X and various other SNS more to attract people to note and earn enough to cover my living expenses on note, isn't it impossible to get married or raise children...? Is this a life-or-death issue...?!

That kind of future financial anxiety pushed me in the direction of 'let's try hard on X one more time'.

So I remembered Masa-san, whom I met on note, and consulted him.

Masa-san's X follower count is about 9000, which is the highest among my acquaintances.

And it's not a fake method like mutual following, it's the real deal where only the follower count is high☝️

When I asked, 'How can I get 1000 followers?', I got the following answer.

Whoa...?! I see...😭...?!.....

I tried consulting with one other person. It's Shichau-ojisan.

A while ago, a follower recommended Shichau-ojisan's articles to me, so I bought one. Since buying an article gives you unlimited questions, I asked, 'If you know how to increase followers on X, please tell me.'

I... I see... nuts🍩👄🍩...?!..

I interpreted the advice from the two of them like this.

Just write freely and interact happily with people you like, and that's all you need to do.😉✨

And so...

And it is a fact that in the past, the posts where I freely and openly wrote down my thoughts received a lot of reactions...

Alright, starting today, I'll try posting freely, just the way I like, without worrying about anything, even if it's just once a day. I won't worry about posting times, typos, or themes; I'll just put it out there. And I'll enjoy interacting with the people who respond.

From that day on, I started tweeting long-form thoughts about my daily life.

I posted thinking, 'I wonder if anyone will react...', but unexpectedly, I got over 10 likes, and I thought, 'I'm so happy, I can do this!'

And when I put into practice the method of increasing followers while tweeting every day, my pace, which had been at a turtle's crawl, changed to a brisk turtle's pace.

I thought, well of course, people who tweet consistently every day are more worth following.

And about a week later...

The moment I had been dreaming of, oh my god

I was able to reach 1000 followers😭✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

It's been a long road...

It took me two years to get here. After taking a major detour.

Or perhaps I was lucky to make it in two years?

I hope that what I've written will be a reproducible method for people like me who "don't have anything to sell, just want to write about their daily lives, and love to write..."

From now on

Moving forward, I will continue to post on note and X, and I will keep increasing my followers.

Also, I want people to come from Google searches, so I've started studying"SEO".

I think that if I can get my articles to appear at the top of Google search results, people all over Japan might be able to see them.

But I don't think writing with SEO in mind suits me. Because it's not fun if I can't write freely.

But even so ☝️

However, I think that gaining SEO knowledge will help me get a job in digital marketing in the future, so even if I can't use it well on note, it's a plus for me, so I'm enjoying learning it. Either way, if I think it'll make money, it's fun☆✌️

Once I figure out how to get to the top of search results, I plan to turn that into a paid article and sell it too, so please look forward to it (smirk......)

This was a very long article, but thank you for reading this far!!

I hope this has been helpful for those who are struggling to increase their followers on note and X.

(Thumbnail anecdote)

At first, I wanted to create an image of me saying "Welcome" in front of 1,000 people.

I wanted to dress up like a king, and when I thought about what a king looks like, I remembered Ma-chan from the former Morning Musume.

I recalled that the king-like costume she wore at a concert was very cool, and I thought, I'll try to composite that onto myself!

I gave ChatGPT an image of Ma-chan wearing that costume and a few photos of my face, and asked it to 'create a photo of me wearing Ma-chan's costume with my arms spread out in front of 1,000 people.' This is what it came up with.

Well, it doesn't look like me at all.

I changed my strategy to cut out the face part of this image and composite a selfie I took with another app.

While I was looking for a cute filter in a selfie app that would fit this costume and allow me to put a crown on my head, an avatar filter caught my eye, so I snapped a photo.

I've never seen Avatar, but... I think this might be good.

That's how I felt, so I made a thumbnail that looks like an avatar ruling over a crowd from space. I was conscious of a Star Wars vibe. (I've never seen Star Wars either.)

The reason why I want to write freely about what I like is here

The site map is here