04-01-2025, 06:44 PM
This is a guide based on how I reached 1k followers in less than a month. This is not intended to be a foolproof guide, just some of the tips that I picked up along the way.
Step 1
Stockpile words. The Rising Stars algorithm needs you to have at least 20k words to get on it, which means that you need to release that number of words within the first few days of publication. You need to space the uploads too. I did 4 1.5k chapters per day for the first few days. Place about 3 hours between them. Once you get 20k words, if you do everything else right, you should be on Rising Stars.
Step 2
Early Promotion
For the first few days, soft promotion is everything. You need to get as many hits as you can for free within that time. Things like Reddit posts on the Royal Road and LitRPG subreddits can help here. If you have other books, this is the time to beg your followers to check out your new book. You won't get that much crossover, but it helps out. One of the main things under this part of the marketing process are shoutouts. Try to get as many of these within the first few days, and later, as you can. They will help a lot in the beginning, but their usefulness will decrease with time. If you do all of this, you should be looking at around 100 followers by the fifth day, and a place on Rising Stars.
Step 3
Rising Stars and Paid Promotion
Rising Stars is one of the most integral parts of this strategy. You need to pick your categories carefully for this. I would recommend three popular categories (Fantasy, Action, Adventure, etc) and one less popular one. For example, my fourth one was Horror. If you can get high up on the less popular one, you can use it as a springboard for further growth. As soon as you get on Rising Stars, you should run a paid promotion. Unless you have a lot of money, which I did not, I would recommend a single 50 dollar ad. It will get you some extra views, and will get you to the main list by the end of the week if you did it right. Once you're there, keep promoting your work as much as you can. Every follower counts.
Step 4
Top 10 Rising Stars
This should be your ultimate goal. Reaching top ten within about two weeks from inception will guarantee at least 700 followers, if not more. Unless you are an advertising whale, and have hundreds of dollars to spend, or are lucky, this is not a realistic goal. If you don't reach it, you can still succeed however. It will be slower, but you can still make it as long as you run more ads, and space them effectively. Two ads should get you through the first month.
Step 5
The Future of your book
If you made it, great. If you didn't, then you should reassess your goals. find out what you didn't do right. and use your analytics to help with this. Honestly, anything over 250 within the first month is great, and far more than most people ever get. However, if you still want that juicy 1k followers, then keep at it. Keep advertising, and eke out every last minute you have on Rising Stars. 1k is still in sight, but it might take a few months.
If you've gotten this far, I hope this guide helped. Luck also pays a big part of this, if you are an average writer(e.g without previous success or tons of money), and it all depends on chance. In any case, good luck on your writing journey.
Step 1
Stockpile words. The Rising Stars algorithm needs you to have at least 20k words to get on it, which means that you need to release that number of words within the first few days of publication. You need to space the uploads too. I did 4 1.5k chapters per day for the first few days. Place about 3 hours between them. Once you get 20k words, if you do everything else right, you should be on Rising Stars.
Step 2
Early Promotion
For the first few days, soft promotion is everything. You need to get as many hits as you can for free within that time. Things like Reddit posts on the Royal Road and LitRPG subreddits can help here. If you have other books, this is the time to beg your followers to check out your new book. You won't get that much crossover, but it helps out. One of the main things under this part of the marketing process are shoutouts. Try to get as many of these within the first few days, and later, as you can. They will help a lot in the beginning, but their usefulness will decrease with time. If you do all of this, you should be looking at around 100 followers by the fifth day, and a place on Rising Stars.
Step 3
Rising Stars and Paid Promotion
Rising Stars is one of the most integral parts of this strategy. You need to pick your categories carefully for this. I would recommend three popular categories (Fantasy, Action, Adventure, etc) and one less popular one. For example, my fourth one was Horror. If you can get high up on the less popular one, you can use it as a springboard for further growth. As soon as you get on Rising Stars, you should run a paid promotion. Unless you have a lot of money, which I did not, I would recommend a single 50 dollar ad. It will get you some extra views, and will get you to the main list by the end of the week if you did it right. Once you're there, keep promoting your work as much as you can. Every follower counts.
Step 4
Top 10 Rising Stars
This should be your ultimate goal. Reaching top ten within about two weeks from inception will guarantee at least 700 followers, if not more. Unless you are an advertising whale, and have hundreds of dollars to spend, or are lucky, this is not a realistic goal. If you don't reach it, you can still succeed however. It will be slower, but you can still make it as long as you run more ads, and space them effectively. Two ads should get you through the first month.
Step 5
The Future of your book
If you made it, great. If you didn't, then you should reassess your goals. find out what you didn't do right. and use your analytics to help with this. Honestly, anything over 250 within the first month is great, and far more than most people ever get. However, if you still want that juicy 1k followers, then keep at it. Keep advertising, and eke out every last minute you have on Rising Stars. 1k is still in sight, but it might take a few months.
If you've gotten this far, I hope this guide helped. Luck also pays a big part of this, if you are an average writer(e.g without previous success or tons of money), and it all depends on chance. In any case, good luck on your writing journey.
