HOW TO GAIN 1K INSTAGRAM

FOLLOWERS IN 3 MONTHS

HI, I'M TAYLOR!

I'm a freelance copywriter who took a chance on starting an Instagram
account for my biz four months ago, and now I'm out here writing guides on
how to grow your account in the same way.

Um, "SHE DOESN'T EVEN GO HERE."

I get it. Who the heck am I to teach you about an app that I've been on for less
than half a year? Well, that's kind of the point.

I'm not a guru. I'm not a social media expert. But I am a digital content creator
that used six simple steps to grow my account from 0 to 1000 in two months.

Completely organically. No bots. No follow/unfollow games.

In this guide, I'll break down how I put together my own account and found
success using the following steps:

STEP 1 - WHY THE F ARE YOU ON INSTAGRAM?

STEP 2 - CREATE YOUR VISUAL THEME
STEP 3 - WRITE CAPTIONS THAT SOUND LIKE YOU
STEP 4 - BECOME A NICHE HASHTAG QUEEN
STEP 5 - GET ON INSTA STORIES. LIKE, NOW.
STEP 6 - ENGAGE LIKE A REAL PERSON & DO IT EVERY DAY

This system will also teach you how to rock the sh*t outta your engagement!
Because while numbers might look cool, you'll come to understand that they
don't mean much unless they're attached to an engaged community.

Ready to get started?

Let's go!

x ,Tay

Taylor Marsden | @copywritertay

taylormarsden.com
HOW TO GAIN 1K INSTAGRAM
FOLLOWERS IN 3 MONTHS

STEP 1
WHY THE F ARE YOU ON INSTAGRAM?
Your starting point to this whole Insta journey is figuring out your “why”.

I know, I know, you’ve heard it all before but it really is the thing that
dictates every other move you make on the app.

That WHY is going to help you determine:

your username/profile name

your bio
your ideal client
the type of content to post
your feed’s branding
hashtag research
ALL OF THE STUFF

I started my channel to try and drum up new copywriting gigs and to use
the account as a future portfolio piece. With both of those goals in mind I
was able to get clear on how to word my bio, what username to go by, the
content needed to generate my ideal audience, the visuals that would help
me get that audience to follow along, and more.

Your "why" can always change and evolve over time, but you should
have one before you hit publish on anything.

Note: People get confused when you throw too much at them so keep it
simple. You might be great at 50 different things, but promoting all of them
right away is going to be TOUGH.

Remember, you’re introducing yourself to people for the first time and they
need to understand within seconds who you are and how they relate to
you.

Taylor Marsden | @copywritertay

HOW TO GAIN 1K INSTAGRAM
FOLLOWERS IN 3 MONTHS

STEP 2
CREATE YOUR VISUAL THEME
It’s not just about pretty images. Not totally.

Think of your Instagram account like it’s a brand. A brand offers total
consistency, right? The consistency is what helps to bring people back again and
again. It helps to build loyalty.

I’m never confused about why a brand like Nike posts a specific photo because that
photo always relates back to who they are as a company and in turn, back to why
I’m following in the first place.

An easy way to create consistency is to create a visual theme.

On @copywritertay you’ll see

three things right away:

1 Pink
2 A quote every Tuesday
3 Pop culture memes/references

I want to attract female biz owners

and other female creatives to my
account so I choose visuals that will
likely appeal to that audience.

Pop culture memes and the colour

pink felt like no brainers, but in order
to break up that monotony I throw up
a quote with a lot of whitespace every
few posts.

Taylor Marsden | @copywritertay

HOW TO GAIN 1K INSTAGRAM
FOLLOWERS IN 3 MONTHS

STEP 2
CREATE YOUR VISUAL THEME (CONT.)
Because I know my WHY (we’re getting full circle) I’m able to source images that
work on the account every single time. I never feel confused about what to post
because I know who I’m posting for. Get it?

Your photos are also the first thing someone finds when searching a hashtag.

You click on photos that grab your attention before knowing anything about the
account they’re attached to! If the image doesn’t resonate, you don’t even bother -
keep that in mind when you’re coming up with ideas.

Check out my first week of posts!

I wasn't totally convinced

on a colour scheme and I didn't have
a clear visual theme.

I struggled to find images that would

appeal to my audience AND also vibe
together in a grid format.

I researched other accounts that I

know my ideal client digs (Cosmo,
hellogiggles, Refinery29) and then
mapped mine out in a similar fashion.

Taylor Marsden | @copywritertay

HOW TO GAIN 1K INSTAGRAM
FOLLOWERS IN 3 MONTHS

STEP 3
WRITE CAPTIONS THAT SOUND LIKE YOU

A dry caption? I don’t know her.

If you are an entrepreneur or small business owner, YOU are your brand. Write your
captions to sound like you do when you speak to someone in conversation and
watch that engagement soar!

Be personable. Be funny. Be relatable.

Do you use slang in your everyday life? Drop it into the caption.
Do you love a curse word? Use one once in a while.
Are pop culture references your jam? Gimme that Real Housewives quote!

You come from a unique perspective - don’t be afraid to show it off.

We’re all covering the same topics out here, but that’s not a biggie. The info itself
doesn’t have to be super new but the presentation of it should feel like it is.

Quick Tip: Don't forget to include a CTA (call to action) at the end of each caption to
increase audience participation! You need those interactions to help boost your
engagement rate and stay on the Insta algorithm’s good side. That bi*ch is fickle.

Taylor Marsden | @copywritertay

HOW TO GAIN 1K INSTAGRAM
FOLLOWERS IN 3 MONTHS

STEP 4
BECOME A NICHE HASHTAG QUEEN

In case you haven’t heard, hashtags are everything! These little babies help get you
in front of your audience over and over again.

Want to grow that follower account from 0 to anyone besides your mom? You need
to master the hashtag game.

As a smaller account, you want to use hashtags associated with a smaller

amount of mentions.

The point is to get your post to trend so that it’s found by MANY people. The lower
you rank in a hashtag’s feed, the harder it will be for your audience to find you.

When I first started growing my account, I used all 30 hashtags (this is the max
number that Insta allows per post) and 20 of those linked to tags with 50k
posts or less. The other 10 were mixed with hashtags ranging from 50k to
500k!

Are you using major tags with 1 million+ mentions? Cut that out immediately. You’re
not being seen and that beautiful content you’re creating is being wasted.

Get your research hat on and find the niche hashtags* your audience is interacting
with on the daily.

*Don’t use the same group of tags on every post! Create a few groups of 30
different hashtags and switch them up between each of your posts.

You're audience might

be using this tag, but
you'll disappear in the
mix if you use
hashtags this big!

Taylor Marsden | @copywritertay

HOW TO GAIN 1K INSTAGRAM
FOLLOWERS IN 3 MONTHS

STEP 5
GET ON INSTA STORIES. LIKE, NOW.
If you want people to slide into your DMs (and YOU DO) it’s time to flip that camera
around and say a big ol’ hello to the folks at home.

I grew my account to around 600 followers before I ever jumped on Instagram

Stories, but once I started showing up on camera things took off in a big way.

Why? Because audiences connect best with accounts that feel human! A face, a
voice, a stutter, a real laugh - it all shows that there’s a person behind the words
and the photos and the hashtags.

You convey personality in your captions, but you become a real person in your
Stories.

Here are a few easy ways to get started:

share other people’s work (great way to connect and make friends)
show off a little behind the scenes action while you’re hard at work
offer up some free advice or training to potential clients
share an inspirational quote that speaks to something you believe in
shoot the sh*t with your audience and ask them questions through polls, quizzes, etc.

Taylor Marsden | @copywritertay

HOW TO GAIN 1K INSTAGRAM
FOLLOWERS IN 3 MONTHS

STEP 6
ENGAGE LIKE A REAL PERSON & DO IT EVERY DAY
Engagement sounds a little stiff, but the act of engaging on the ‘gram doesn’t have
to suck.

Make it fun for yourself and for the people you’re interacting with by talking
about stuff outside of business!

Remember, if you want quick growth, you'll need to chat with people every day in
the beginning of your Insta journey.

I recommend approaching the whole process like this:

DMs: Comments:
Never send a biz message in a “Cool post” is lazy and lame - you
first interaction. can do better.

You’re out here building Leave something valuable and

relationships, ya know?
Instead, introduce yourself. Say
hello. Ask for their actual name (in
case their username is different).
Comment on a Story they posted
or a photo that you loved on their
feed.
personal where and when you
can.
I’ll usually write something that
starts a conversation or adds to
the one that’s already in action!

Want to learn more from @copywritertay?

Visit me on Instagram!
I share content tips and freelance
advice on the daily.

Taylor Marsden | @copywritertay