How to Grow on Twitter: Get Your First 1,000 Followers Quickly

Starting on Twitter (now X) with no followers can feel like staring at a blank page — you want to get everything right, but where to begin? It’s easy to feel stuck when so much advice out there is vague and unhelpful, especially for those starting from scratch.

At TodayMade, we design for social media every day, so we know what works on Twitter and what doesn’t. We decided to focus on clear, actionable steps tailored specifically for beginners. With insights from real Twitter users and practical tips, you’ll learn how to grow on Twitter authentically and build your first 1,000 followers effectively.

Why growing on Twitter feels so hard

Growing on Twitter (X) can feel uniquely challenging, especially for new users. Take this piece from a Reddit discussion: 

"I’m really frustrated right now. I see these accounts starting up 6 days ago and already have 18k followers." 

Sound familiar? If so, you’re not alone. Many beginners face similar struggles when trying to build their audience from scratch. 

Common struggles when gaining X followers include:

• Breaking past the 0–100 follower mark: Without an existing audience, gaining traction can feel like shouting into the void. It’s a numbers game, and smaller accounts often struggle to appear credible.
• Low engagement: Even thoughtful, value-packed tweets can go unnoticed in a crowded feed, where the algorithm favors posts that already have traction.
• Reluctance of people to follow accounts with few followers: As Reddit user lyneriii puts it:

“It’s like trying to get a job without the 3-year experience. People see you have less than 100 followers; they are not going to follow even if they like your content.”

What adds even more fuel to the fire is when you scroll through numerous growth guides offering vague advice like "just be consistent", leaving beginners without clear steps to follow. 

If any of this resonates, don’t worry, these challenges are solvable. Let’s tackle them head-on with strategies designed specifically for starting from scratch.

Build a foundation for Twitter growth

When starting on Twitter, it’s tempting to throw everything at the wall and hope something sticks. But a little strategy goes a long way. Here are some practical steps to help you get noticed and build a meaningful follower base from scratch:

1. Optimize your profile for a strong first impression

Let’s go a bit into the future. Imagine someone comes across your post on X. It resonates with them — maybe it made them laugh, taught them something new, or solved a problem they’ve been struggling with. What’s their next step? They’ll check out your profile to see who you are and if you’re worth following.

At this moment, making a great first impression isn’t about showcasing yourself, it’s about convincing the potential subscriber of the value you bring to them. Here’s how to ensure your profile works in your favor:

• Use your bio to clearly explain the value you offer to followers. 

From the Reddit discussion, user NoDebtNinja highlighted the importance of projecting authority, even when starting small:

“Let’s say I find your comment on the AI subject interesting and decide to look you up. In one scenario, I see in your bio that you are a manager or engineer at X company, and in another, I see that you are an "AI expert. Blah blah, Specialist.  I research and write about..". These two different biographies will shape different perceptions of your comment.”

This doesn’t mean you need a fancy job title to stand out, it’s about positioning yourself as someone who has insights to share and value to provide. Even if you’re just starting out, you can frame your expertise in a way that attracts others. In general, it’s better not to tell the reader who you are but how subscribing to you can be helpful.

• Use a professional profile picture and engaging banner.

Your profile picture and header are visual cues that establish trust and professionalism. Use a clear, high-quality photo of yourself or a recognizable brand logo. For your header, consider a simple image that aligns with your niche, whether it’s a clean design or a graphic showcasing your key message. If you have a marketing designer on your team, ask them for help.

• Pin your best tweet

This can be a thread, an introduction, or something that shows your expertise. It gives new visitors a reason to stay. It could be:

• A valuable thread that showcases your expertise.
• A personal introduction that tells your story.
• A highly engaging tweet that performed well and gives people a reason to follow.

To sum up our first tip on how to gain followers on Twitter, let’s take a look at a nice example of a well-crafted X account. 

Bio:

• What’s done well: The bio clearly communicates the value the account offers: "Proven systems to grow a profitable audience with organic content." It focuses on what followers will gain rather than just describing the user.
• Why it works: It’s specific, actionable, and immediately tells visitors why they should follow.

Profile Image:

• What’s done well: The profile picture is a clear, friendly headshot with a natural background. It’s approachable and professional, which builds trust.

Banner:

• What’s done well: The banner reinforces the bio with a tagline: “No fluff. No BS. Just real systems.” It’s visually clean and directs users to a signup link for additional value.
• Why it works: The design is simple but intentional, emphasizing the account’s core message and call-to-action.

Pinned Tweet:

• What’s done well: The pinned post offers a concrete result (“How I work 4 hours a day (and make $730,000 per month)”) and provides a strong hook for the audience.
• Why it works: It showcases expertise and gives visitors a clear reason to explore the content further.

2. Develop a content strategy

First impressions matter, but it’s your content that keeps people around. Deciding what to post can feel overwhelming. How do you stay consistent without making every post sound the same? The solution: create a content strategy.

By breaking your posts into a few key content pillars, you can stay focused, streamline your content creation process, and give your followers a clear sense of what to expect.

What are content pillars?
Content pillars are recurring themes or topics that guide your content. They align with your audience’s interests, address their pains, and reinforce your brand messaging. Think of them as the backbone of your content strategy, making it easier to brainstorm ideas and stay consistent.

How to define your pillars
Start by analyzing what resonates with your audience:

1. Look at high-performing content: What’s already working for you or similar creators in your niche?
2. Brainstorm themes: Write a list of at least 10 topics your audience cares about.
3. Expand your ideas: Write 40 potential post ideas based on those themes.
4. Categorize: Group your ideas into 3–5 pillars that align with your audience’s needs.

At TodayMade, we recommend doing it in a brainstorming format with your team.

For more information on this topic, you can check out the YouTube video by Amber Figlow:

Key content pillars

1. Educational

Teach your audience something new or solve a problem they’re facing. This positions you as an expert while providing real value.

Examples:

• “5 tools I use to simplify my daily workflow.”
• “Here’s how [your niche] professionals can save 3 hours every week.”

2. Entertaining

Make your audience laugh, smile, or nod in agreement. Relatable or humorous content grabs attention and encourages engagement.

Examples:

• “Here’s the biggest mistake I made in my career (yes, it’s embarrassing).”
• “Things every [your niche] professional secretly struggles with but won’t admit.”

3. Inspirational

Motivate your audience by sharing your wins, lessons, or the challenges you’ve overcome. People love stories that make them feel seen and inspired.

Examples:

• “I started with zero followers and grew to 1,000 in 6 months — here’s what worked.”
• “How I recovered from a failed project to land my dream role.”

4. Promotional

Highlight your offerings, services, or any other value you provide but do so wisely. The key is to make promotional content feel helpful rather than pushy.

Examples:

• “Check out my free guide on mastering [topic]—link in bio!”
• “We’re hosting a free webinar on [topic]—reserve your spot today.”

5. Engaging

Spark conversations or interactions with your audience to build relationships and increase visibility. This content invites followers to participate and share their thoughts.

Examples:

• “What’s the best advice you’ve ever received about [your niche]?”
• “Poll: Which of these tools do you use the most in your daily workflow?”

Breaking your content into pillars ensures variety without losing focus. This framework simplifies your planning process and helps you avoid writer’s block. Here’s a template with examples you can use:

“Make your content at a 5th-grade reading level. People are scrolling — your content needs to be quick and easy to consume,” one Reddit user shared. This advice is a great reminder to keep your ideas simple, regardless of the pillar.

Pro tip: Repurpose content for maximum impact

A single high-performing tweet can be transformed into a thread, a short-form video, or even a blog post. Repurposing saves time and ensures you get the most out of your ideas.

With the right content marketing, you’ll have the structure and predictability needed to consistently create posts that resonate. 

Use community engagement for visibility

The next important thing you need to understand on how to get Twitter followers is that growth isn’t just about what you post — it’s about how you interact. Building relationships with others in your niche is one of the fastest ways to grow your audience authentically.

Here’s how to engage meaningfully and make the most of the platform:

1. Reply with value

Interacting with others’ tweets is one of the fastest ways to get noticed, but not all replies are created equal. A thoughtful, value-packed comment can create interest, drive engagement, and get Twitter followers to your profile.

• Target influential accounts in your niche: Reply to creators with established audiences (10k+ followers). Their posts often attract high traffic, giving your comment visibility.
• Add to the conversation: Don’t just comment with generic praise like “Great post!” Instead, provide insights, share your perspective, or ask a question that invites discussion.

For example, how would you reply to the following Tweet: “5 AI tools that saved me 10 hours last week.”Low-effort reply: “Love this list!”
High-value reply: “I’ve used 3 of these tools, and [Tool X] has been a game-changer for streamlining email outreach. One tip: use it to auto-segment contacts for better targeting.”

As NoDebtNinja wisely pointed out on Reddit:

“Making meaningful comments? Absolutely! Your replies should become part of the conversation and not just a response to the original tweet. This is what will cause others to click on your name and see who that is. If they are impressed, you've got a follower.”

A great reply not only boosts your visibility but also establishes you as someone worth following.

2. Participate in Twitter communities and events

Twitter isn’t just a platform; it’s a collection of niche communities and conversations. Joining these spaces is a powerful way to build relationships and expand your reach.

• Join Twitter Spaces in your niche: Spaces are live audio events where you can engage directly with others in your field. Whether you’re speaking or just listening, they’re a great way to connect with like-minded individuals.

Pro tip: If you feel ready, host your own Space on a topic that resonates with your audience. This positions you as a thought leader and draws people to your profile.

• Use event hashtags strategically: Many niches have dedicated hashtags for events or themed days, like #PortfolioDay or #FanArtFriday. Posting during these events can help you reach a larger, more targeted audience. 

Here’s more useful information on hashtags from Reddit user:

Share your work or insights tied to a trending hashtag, and engage with others participating in the event. Engagement isn’t just a tactic — it’s the foundation of meaningful Twitter marketing strategy. Next, we’ll cover strategies for creating promotional content without being overly self-serving.

Use growth hacks to jumpstart engagement

So, it’s clear that to successfully win our game “How to get followers on Twitter” you need to post great content and connecting with others, but sometimes you need an extra push to get noticed. Growth hacks are simple tricks that can help your posts get more likes, replies, and attention especially when you’re just starting out.

Here are three strategies to help your tweets stand out and get more followers on X:

1. The golden hour strategy

The first hour after posting is the most critical for engagement. Twitter’s algorithm gives preference to tweets that gain traction quickly, so getting likes and replies within this window can significantly increase your post’s visibility.

• How it works: Focus on maximizing likes and replies during the first hour. Reach out to friends, community members, or engagement groups to interact with your post as soon as it goes live.
• Tip for beginners: Join or build a small network of people in your niche who support each other’s content. Even a handful of initial interactions can make a big difference.

2. The mother/child method

The mother/child method is a strategic way to use secondary accounts to amplify your main account’s reach. While it may sound complex, it’s surprisingly simple to implement:

How it works:

• Create one or two secondary Twitter accounts that align with your main account’s niche.
• Use these accounts to engage with your main account by liking, retweeting, or replying to its tweets.
• Occasionally post original content on these secondary accounts to make them appear active and authentic.

Example workflow:

• Main account: Post a thread on "Top 5 tools for productivity."
• Secondary account: Retweet the thread and add a comment like, “I’ve used #3 on this list, and it worked for me.”

This method helps build social proof and can give your content the initial push it needs to gain traction.

3. Leverage visual content

Visuals are a powerful way to stop the scroll and grab attention in a crowded feed. Including images, GIFs, or infographics in your tweets can double (or even triple) your engagement.

Why visuals work: Tweets with visuals stand out more and are easier to digest. They also convey complex information quickly, making them ideal for educational or promotional content.

There are many variants of type of visuals that you can benefit from:

• Infographics: Summarize key points from a thread.

• Visualized concepts: Make abstract things understandable by giving clear visualization

• Before-and-after images: Show results or transformations.‍
• GIFs or memes: Add a touch of humor or relatability to your tweets.

By the way, TodayMade team can help you quickly design all the needed visuals for social media so that your content plan won’t have any delays and your readers would stop scrolling and start engagign.

To sum up, growth hacks like these can give your content the boost it needs to reach more people and spark engagement. Up next, we’ll wrap things up with actionable takeaways to implement everything you’ve learned.

Tools and automation for beginners

Gaining social media followers from scratch can feel like a lot of work, but the right tools and automation can save you time and help you stay consistent. Let’s take a look at two key ways to streamline your efforts.

1. Scheduling tools

Consistency is crucial if you want to grow on X, but posting at the right time matters just as much. Scheduling tools make it easy to plan your posts in advance and ensure they go live when your audience is most active.

Recommended tools:

• TweetDeck: in general, this tool designed specifically for X users has wide functionality like adding and managing multiple Twitter accounts simultaneously without needing to log in and out, setting up columns to monitor various aspects of Twitter in real-time, and more. And what interests us most is its scheduling function. TweetDeck allows users to schedule tweets for future posting, making it easier to plan and automate social media campaigns. It used to be among free business tools; however, since August 2024, it has required payment. 
• Buffer: A beginner-friendly tool that allows you to schedule tweets and monitor engagement. It has a free version, and a paid one is quite available ($5/month).
• Hootsuite: Great for managing multiple accounts and posting to other platforms alongside Twitter. This one has great features, but the pricing starts at $99/month.

Pro tip: Research when your audience is most active (e.g., mornings, evenings) and schedule posts accordingly. If your followers are in different time zones, stagger your posts to maximize reach.

2. Analytics and feedback

Tracking what’s working and adjusting your strategy is just as important as creating content. Analytics tools help you figure out which tweets resonate with your audience and why.

As already mentioned NoDebtNinja from Reddit said:

“Also pay attention to the stats of your replies. For example, if the number of views high, that means that people find it intriguing. And if you are not getting new followers , then you fail somewhere in your profile. As I mentioned earlier, you will need a bit of a PR work. "Sell" yourself :)”

Recommended tools:

• X (Twitter) Analytics: Built into the platform, this tool shows your top tweets, audience demographics, and engagement rates. It requires X premium to use.
• Sparktoro: Use this tool to understand your audience’s interests and discover which content aligns with their behavior. A free version is available but with limited functionality. Paid plans start at $38/month.

What to look for in the data:

• Engagement metrics (likes, retweets, replies): Which posts get people to interact?
• Impressions vs. follows: Are people seeing your tweets but not following you? That could point to a problem with your profile.

Analytics aren’t just numbers — they’re insights into what your audience cares about and how you can improve.

Avoid common pitfalls

Even with the best strategies, it’s easy to make mistakes that can hurt how you get followers on X. To keep your progress on track, here are three common pitfalls to avoid and how to overcome them.

1. Overusing hashtags

Hashtags can help your tweets get discovered, but too many can make your posts look cluttered and spammy.

• Keep it simple: Limit your hashtags to 1–3 per tweet, and make sure they’re directly relevant to the content.
• Focus on value: Hashtags are useful for connecting with communities or events (e.g., #PortfolioDay or #FanArtFriday), but they shouldn’t overshadow the actual message of your tweet.

2. Avoid buying followers

Buying followers might seem like a quick way to grow, but it comes with serious downsides:

• Lack of engagement: Most purchased followers are bots or inactive accounts, so your tweets will still get little to no interaction.
• Harm to reputation: Savvy users can spot fake follower counts, and it can damage your credibility.

Don’t chase big numbers — chase meaningful engagement. Real followers might take longer to grow, but they’re the ones who actually care about what you have to say.

3. Being inconsistent

If you post sporadically or disappear for weeks, your audience will forget about you and Twitter’s algorithm won’t help you get discovered.

• Why consistency matters: Regular posting keeps your audience engaged and signals to the algorithm that you’re active.
• Solution: Start with a realistic posting schedule. Aim for 1–2 tweets per day, focusing on quality over quantity. Use scheduling tools (like Buffer or TweetDeck) to stay consistent, even on busy days.

Final tip: Focus on progress, not perfection
It’s easy to get caught up in follower counts or engagement numbers, but what matters most is steady improvement. Avoid shortcuts and focus on providing value to your audience — that’s what leads to sustainable growth.

With a solid Twitter strategy in place, why stop there? Explore how Medium can help you share long-form content and establish your authority in the tech space. Read our next article: Is Medium a Good Platform for Marketing Tech Companies?