How I Build a Personal Brand With 10,000 Followers on X

After Elon Musk bought Twitter, I decided to reactivate my old account and build it up to discuss the AI-driven future of media. Although I've worked in marketing for years, I didn't take any shortcuts or use external resources to help with my growth on X. I simply sat down and started writing.

Every Beginning Is Hard

I've built a personal brand before in the German online marketing scene, but Alex Utopia was intended to reach an international audience. When I reactivated my Twitter account after not using it for years, I had only a couple hundred German followers left - half hadn't used the platform in months, and the other half weren't interested in English content.

I'm fairly certain I've lost them all by now, and I probably would have been better off starting a brand-new account. Instead, I changed the name and started posting, receiving literally zero engagement for quite a while. But I kept posting anyway, when someone checks out my profile, I need to give them a reason to follow me.

Setting Yourself Up for Success

To gain a following, you need to represent yourself well. What this means depends on the type of audience you want to reach. Define your personal niche, follow thought leaders in those circles, and create a profile that visually matches the style of your chosen environment. A meme account will look different from a business profile or that of a fitness coach.

Personal brands usually perform best with a face as their profile picture - even if it's a drawing or an AI-generated avatar like mine. We naturally connect with faces, especially on X, which excels at networking.

Reach Out

Twitter was never built to grow an audience the same way you can on other platforms. Either you're already somebody, and your Twitter following reflects that, or you're not. Although X now aspires to become something more, it still lacks effective mechanisms for promoting your content to new audiences. So, you have to take growth into your own hands - this is where most people struggle.

When you have no followers, nobody sees your content, so you must proactively reach out. Follow the influential people you've identified within your niche. Add thoughtful comments to their posts, but more importantly, engage with the smaller accounts commenting on the leaders' posts, and follow those accounts if you genuinely enjoy their content.

Over time, your face will become known in these circles. You'll slowly make friends and occasionally reach out via DMs, which works best with people around your own size who share similar struggles. Having a network like this makes all the difference on X.

Don't bother others by pushing your content on them; don't ask for likes, and avoid spamming your content under other people's posts. Simply add value, be helpful, and entertain when you engage. Let people come to you naturally.

How to Structure Your Content

If you post too often, you'll spread your limited reach too thin. I suggest posting once or twice per day as a new account. What your content should look like will largely depend on your topic, but certain content structures tend to perform well universally.

There's an important distinction between content designed for your existing audience and posts intended to go viral - being aware of this difference is key.

Roughly half of your content should aim to grow your account. These posts should appeal to potential new followers, be easily shareable, provide clear value, or tap into popular sentiments that reflect your niche. Avoid adding information that only makes sense to those who already follow you; keep this type of content accessible.

The other half should be divided equally between building authority and connecting with your audience on a personal level.

You must demonstrate that you truly are who you claim to be and that you understand your subject matter deeply. These authority-building posts don't necessarily need to go viral, but they're essential for credibility.

To build a powerful personal brand, around 25% of your posts should focus on creating personal connections. Share insights from your life, highlight milestones and struggles, ask questions, and engage genuinely with your audience in the comments. People follow people on X.

The Spaces Shortcut

Audio Spaces on X are the best way to reach new people, build trust, and accelerate your growth. Check out one of my Spaces Guides for more details, but the core principles remain the same: Identify Spaces in your niche, listen, and start engaging with the people there. Don't promote yourself, but add to the conversation.

The people I trust most on X are the ones I met this way. I've made some incredible connections because Spaces allow you to cut through the noise and connect directly with industry leaders, regardless of their account size. Nothing accelerates your growth faster than attending and hosting large Audio Spaces on the platform.

Things to Avoid on X

Since Twitter was sold and renamed to X, the platform has been under constant development. Features change, things break, new tools are introduced, and algorithms are continually tweaked. While this chaos can be frustrating, it also creates opportunities.

However, there are a few things that can hinder your growth, so you need to keep an eye out for them:

1. Any external or internal link will reduce the reach of your post, including links to Spaces, livestreams, and X articles. The best practice is to avoid links in your post altogether. If a link is necessary, place it in the first comment instead.
2. Using # hashtags and @ mentions will also reduce the reach of your post, so try to avoid them whenever possible.
3. According to X’s open-source code, long-form posts, images, and videos are supposed to provide a slight boost. However, in reality, if a long-form lacks a strong hook or if the image or video isn’t engaging enough, it can have the opposite effect. People still respond best to short-form text, just as they did in the early days of Twitter.
4. Don't try to game the system. X is strict about detecting engagement rings and groups that attempt to manipulate the algorithm. Even if it works for a while, they may eventually crack down on your account.
5. Don't save the $8/month on the Premium membership. If you're serious about growing your profile on X, this is not the place to cut costs. Most larger accounts have the blue checkmark and have naturally started to mistrust unverified users. Having it will make it easier for you to connect and engage.