Writing Wednesdays

Writing Wednesdays

I Got 50,000 Followers Writing Online. Here’s What I Wish I Knew Sooner

It took seven years for me to realize what actually moves the needle.

Matt Lillywhite 📚's avatar
Matt Lillywhite 📚
Sep 02, 2026
∙ Paid
Cheerful man in glasses using smartphone at a desk with laptop.
A man using a laptop with a notebook on his desk. Photo by Vitaly Gariev from Pexels.

The other day, I jumped on a Zoom call with another writer I’d known for a couple of years. A notebook sat open beside his keyboard, and every few minutes he’d glance down to write something before looking back at the screen. Then, about halfway through the conversation, he asked me a question I’d heard plenty of times before.

“If you could start over, what would you do to rebuild an audience and become successful?”

After building an audience of more than 50,000 total followers across various platforms, there were plenty of lessons I wish I’d learned before publishing my first article. So, I told him everything I wish someone had told me before I spent years chasing followers, publishing hundreds of articles, and learning lessons the hard way.

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