0011: How Andy J Pizza earned 20 000 followers in one year

The algorithm has changed, but the principles remain.

1. Before I committed to working exclusively on children’s books, another market I identified for which I had the skill was live illustration, like the one below. I made this for an audition to work with Scriberia. Committing means excluding everything else, so I gave this up when I went exclusive with my Illustration Agency.

2. This helped me make friends on the internet and It gave me a framework for what being a useful citizen of the net was all about.

3. For the most part followers don’t matter as much these days but these human-centric principles will outperform the algorithm anytime.

On Making Friends on the Internet

Here’s a sketchnote I did from a ‘Creative Peptalk’ Podcast episode 251

I recommend you listen to the podcast it.

And while I don’t have 20,000 followers, I have earned a few.

I’m going to go through each point with some commentary from my experience implementing the strategies here.

1. Play your greatest Hits

I’m doing it right now, sharing a social media post I made 3 years ago with a new context. Sometimes a piece of content does really well, and I’ll use it again with some update. Sometimes I will break down a bigger project into parts. In both instances I find it has deepened the connection with the audience.

2. See it as a Marathon, not a Sprint

I run, sometimes. The ability to move your body over so much ground, it’s really mind-blowing. It’s the same feeling to put out drawing after drawing and looking back and going wow, I made that. But at the same time, there’s something nice about only focusing on one small chunk of work to do today. There is an inevitability about running, if I keep putting one step after another, one post after another, I will reach my destination, but it’s going to take a while, and I can only go at my own pace. Okay, let’s do it!

3. Connect

This has been a big one, the week I originally wrote this Tom Froese, Rebecca Green and They Draw and Cook and others have shared my work. Because I shared their work. I did not share their work with any expectation but I shared things I thought would be a benefit to you because it was a benefit to me. It’s really quite special to put the spotlight on people you admire and have them put a spotlight on you for a moment. These people shared the work I made for or about them. Andy recommends doing this at least monthly, and if possible weekly. Forget growing the following, just the interaction is a reward in itself and the extra following is like a bonus.

4. Make share-worthy content

Hint. Hint. (Share this)

5. Write on stage

This one resonates with me because I do view the creative process that involves social media, to resemble a comedian’s process of testing material and keeping what works. I’m so appreciative of the comments and DM’s I get about the things I share or the work I make. And I pay attention and incorporate more of that in future work.

6. It’s not about me (you are not the hero of your Social Media / Substack)

This is probably the best advice for the lot. Sometimes I will use myself as a character, but what I’m really trying to do is share something with you without preaching. Ultimately if there is anything in my journey that could be valuable to you I want you to have it. This attitude has a wonderful effect of causing me to seek out valuable insights and experiences daily so I can keep sharing them. Win-Win.

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