10 Lessons From My Journey to 25K Instagram Followers

In 2023, the year I started my music marketing business, I set myself a big goal. I wanted to reach 10,000 Instagram followers by the end of the year.

I ended that year with just over 1,000 followers.

The thing is, 2023 was also the year I built my business from scratch after years of working inside an agency that wasn't mine. I was figuring out how to market myself instead of someone else, and that meant a lot of rebranding, experimenting and making mistakes I had to learn from.

Today I have over 25,000 followers on Instagram, and here are 10 lessons from the journey.

Lesson 1: things take longer than you expect

I thought I would reach 10,000 followers in a year. It took me two years. In those two years I learned lessons that completely changed the way I approach growth, content and marketing.

It's okay if things take longer than you expect. Do things at your own rhythm.

Lesson 2: conversion matters more than the follower count

If you can't get people to listen to your music when you have 100 followers, you won't magically get them to listen when you have 10,000. The follower count is pointless if nobody engages with what you post.

Focus on turning followers into listeners, and listeners into fans. Ask yourself:

• Are my followers streaming my music?
• Am I building any kind of relationship with them?
• Do my posts make them take action?

When you figure out how to turn a small audience into fans, scaling up gets a lot easier.

Lesson 3: 20% of your work brings 80% of your results

For me it was even more extreme. Around 5% of my posts brought me 95% of my followers (and clients). Most content you make won't go viral or get crazy engagement, and you have to be okay with that.

The goal is to find the small percentage of content that works and double down on it.

The same rule applies to your audience. 20% of your followers will bring you 80% of your streams, and a smaller group of those will share your music the most. Forget about pleasing everybody, and focus on the people who already engage with what you put out.

Lesson 4: the best results come when you least expect them

Some of my most polished, time-consuming content went nowhere. And then three reels that I made in under ten minutes each brought me most of my followers.

So stop overthinking it. A lot of your best content will come from quick, simple moments when you weren't trying too hard.

If you're hesitating to post something because it doesn't feel perfect, post it anyway. The lowest-effort thing you make this week could change the direction of your career.

Lesson 5: people consume content differently

Not everybody likes the same kind of content. Some people only watch reels, some only read carousels, some prefer static photos, and some only stick around for newsletters and articles like this one.

If you assume every follower will love everything you make, you'll be disappointed. So mix up what you put out and reach your audience in a few different ways. Your music deserves to be heard, so don't limit yourself to one type of content or one platform.

Lesson 6: people on social media crave strong emotions

Every time I post about how the music industry is rigged, it blows up. The reason is that it makes people feel something.

Social media runs on big emotions like rage, sadness, excitement and happiness. If your content doesn't make people feel anything, it won't stay in their head for long. So next time you make something, ask yourself what emotion it's supposed to make someone feel.

Lesson 7: aesthetics matter less than they used to

If you're a graphic designer, a perfect Instagram feed probably matters. But as a musician, your feed doesn't have to look polished. I used to stress about making my grid look good until I realized most people don't care.

People scroll for value, for entertainment and for something to connect to. Your perfectly designed grid is the last thing on their mind.

If obsessing over your feed stops you from posting, let it go. Pin three key posts to the top of your profile and focus on posting consistently.

Lesson 8: automate as much as you can

When I had 500 followers, I could reply to every DM and every comment myself. By 2,000 followers, I couldn't keep up anymore. That's when I discovered automation tools like ManyChat.

• If someone tags me in a story, they get an automatic thank-you message.
• If someone comments a keyword on a post, they get a reply or a DM with more info.
• If someone asks about my services, they get sent to the right place without me lifting a finger.

Without automation, I would have missed hundreds of messages and lost a lot of potential listeners and customers.

Lesson 9: you only learn by doing

I'm a marketing nerd. I listen to podcasts, read marketing books and watch strategy videos all the time. But 99% of what I know today came from making mistakes, far more than from any podcast or book.

Learning without doing is an illusion of progress. You can read every guide on content strategy, watch every video about Instagram growth and listen to every music marketing podcast, and still not grow if you don't start creating.

Your first hundred reels are going to be bad. The next hundred will be a little better. After that, you start to see it click.

Nobody can tell you exactly how to do it. You have to figure it out by doing it. If you want a push to start, The 100K Challenge gives you ten days of small, free tasks to get moving.

Lesson 10: this only works if you love what you do

My business is the longest relationship I've ever had. Even as a musician, I couldn't stick with one genre for more than a year before switching styles. So if I'm honest with you, the only reason I've stuck with this is that I love it.

If you don't love making music and sharing it with people, you'll burn out before any of this starts working. Growth takes a long time, and passion is what keeps you going through the slow months.

If you find yourself dreading content creation, ask yourself:

• Am I making content I enjoy?
• Am I talking to the audience I want to talk to?
• Am I focusing too much on numbers instead of impact? (More than streams, more than streams!)

At the end of the day, if you love what you do, it shows in the work, and people connect with that.

It took longer, and it was worth it

I didn't reach 10,000 followers in a year like I planned. It took much longer. But in the years it took to get there, and then to 25,000, I learned lessons that completely changed how I approach growth, content and the work itself.

If you apply even one of these lessons, you might start to see a shift in how your audience grows and how they engage with your music.

A content idea to try: a gig is a gig

This Reel starts like a normal music tip, and then cuts to everyday life and shows what a lot of working musicians go through today. In the example I saved, the artist is doing deliveries to fund the dream.

It works because it's funny, honest and very relatable, and the twist keeps people watching.

You can find this idea, with the example video, and hundreds more in The Content Vault.