K atie c ouric

CHAPTER 1
HOW I GAINED ONE MILLION
FOLLOWERS
lthough it may sound like a ludicrous undertaking, building a massive social
following in thirty days or less is possible. But first I should point out that
the real value of this chapter—and book—is not simply about how I
generated a million followers. To be completely transparent, the way I
generated a million followers involves using a growth hack, which I will
explain in this chapter. But I don’t want to promote the idea of relying too
heavily on growth hacks. Of course they can help you, but without the other
strategies, mind-sets, and processes shared in this book, you won’t become
a rock star at content creation. You may succeed at playing the numbers
game, but you won’t build a lasting presence. Ask anyone who has had
digital success and they’ll tell you without a doubt that 
content
is the critical
factor in growing and engaging large audiences. So keep that in mind as I
explain how I gained a million followers.
The key to quickly scaling your following is an agile approach of
producing, testing, and measuring how people respond to your content in
real time. It’s a great strategy for those who don’t have three or four years to
invest in building their platform because it gives you immediate validation
and credibility to stand out right now. Building the audience is actually
pretty easy. It’s maintaining and engaging that audience that requires hard
work over time.
You need to accept this fact before going in. You can get a lot of fans
fast, but to have a thriving and lasting social media presence you need to

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understand the testing, messaging, and content strategies provided in the
following chapters. They’re filled with advice from the top minds around
the world to scale large audiences and keep them engaged.