A stage-by-stage playbook for growing on X from 0 to 10K+ followers as a founder or niche expert, based on 3 years of analytics and advising creators.
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Playbooks on AI and Web3 product marketing, GTM and distribution. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Written by Kevan Shah, Web3 and AI product marketing strategist and founder of Hangryfeed.
Head of BD at Zealy and growth operator with 8+ years experience helping AI and Web3 products raise $26M+, scale to $2.2B monthly DeFi volume, and reach 1.2M+ users.
I’ve advised several founders and KOLs on how to grow on X, and I’ve built a backlog of what works vs. what’s overrated (almost 3 years of analytics now – it has been a ride).
Sharing some of the best tactics:
This is the most challenging part. CR at this stage is the main dealbreaker – and I know this is system abuse, but I advise you to skip it.
Just buy the first 300–400 followers (giveaway, etc.). It’ll save you 3–4 months of grind and make networking much easier.
Here, you should focus on just two things:
Buy X Premium (ideally Premium+) and build a list of people you want to connect with.
Don’t choose people who have 10K+ followers – they will NOT follow you, and they will NOT support you.
You’re a small player in a very competitive niche, and the only playbook to survive is to build connections with other small (but smart) fish.
Here, you make friends – not just business relationships: you support each other, intro each other to other creators, and join private group chats to discuss news.
Even today, I’m still in great relationships with my first X circle. No matter their follower base, I’ll always be happy to chat and support them.
Here, you start experimenting with authority content that earns you trust – and attracts follows from bigger names.
Give credit to influential voices in your niche, QT their content, and find your unique voice.
My biggest growth spike was when I originated the infographic format on X (before AI made it mainstream and devalued the concept). That was my unique style – and the reason people followed me.
In this growth zone, you need to find yours.
Here, you scale what worked best – content formats, networking paths, and distribution strategies.
By this time, you’ve likely run so many experiments that you won’t even need a growth tip from me haha.