Subscribers are like Free Kittens

Subscribers are like free kittens: it sounds fun, but the reality is that not everyone needs them, is a good fit to collect them, or is ready in case one of them turns out unruly. You don't need subscribers to have fun on Minds. Minds is not steemit and there are no special rewards for having more followers than other people.

That said, subscribers can be fun and useful in their own right. Subscribers let you know how you are doing with their reactions. They can toss you ideas and have fun with you in your comments sections. All that activity from you and your subscribers translates to more tokens (more on that here). If you are especially lucky a few kind souls may toss you a token or two. Don't expect donations and tons of tokens rolling in, though. If you aren't doing Minds out of love, your heart is in the wrong place IMHO and you risk hitting the downsides quickly and HARD.

And the Downsides? For a start, having subscribers also can lead to more pressure. When others are watching it isn't always easy to relax and have fun! There is the feeling that you have an audience you need to try to make happy which can lead to guilt if real life gets in the way for awhile or if you made something they didn't like. And then there are the subscribers themselves. Accusations can fly, trolls can pop up, and you can get doxed with hate mail and creepy people coming to your homes! The nasty folks are a lot less common than the nice ones, but they still happen and can be a major blow to those who aren't ready for them.

Still want subscribers? Here's how to get subscribers for free:

1) Talk honestly about things you enjoy in groups.

Posting in groups is good fun and free exposure. Choose active groups (at least one post a week) with topics you can reliably talk about on a regular basis. Visit these groups and post at least once a week if you can. Stay on-topic and make useful posts and eventually others will get curious about you and visit your profile. So be sure to...

2) Make your profile posts fun, interesting, and/or informative.

Post good content that is one or more of these things. For example, Talking about history, games, cars, or whatever your passion can spark discussion. Themes are fully optional. Unless you are running a page specifically for a topic it's more fun to just be you! People generally like personality, anyway, so there's no harm in being yourself.

Posting things you have made is also very popular and a good way to show off your passions. I personally like to pop by random artists and comment on their stuff. I even have subscribed to a few I found to be interesting! Speaking of comments...

3) When people comment on your stuff always try to reply.

If your post is being deluged with comments it may be impossible to reply to everyone. In this case, reply to those you can reply to and thumbs up the rest. This shows appreciation for their posts, even if not as in-depth as a response would have been.

That's it! If you keep these three things up others will come by and subscribe. It may take time. It may not be a million people. But, really, who cares? The point is love, making friends, and having a great time. Just one subscriber who becomes a friend is worth a thousand faceless likes.

Anything to avoid?

I'll keep it short: Don't beg. Don't be a sellout. Don't be an asshole.

Begging just annoys people. Don't beg for anything. Subscribers, donations, tokens, you name it. Just don't. It never helps.

There are people trying to game Minds like Steemit using subscribers and floods of mainstream content as a stepping stone to get more tokens. This makes getting tokens harder on the rest of us (more info in here!). Gaming the system like this also degrades Minds as a platform. If we wanted to see marketer friendly demographic tested mainstream junk we could go on Facebook or Steemit and should go on Facebook or Steemit. Help keep Minds special: don't be a sellout.

Lastly, assholes are trendy right now. They give themselves cute names, pick a "cause", often pick on others as part of this "cause", and get tons of attention with fast growth, but it always eventually backfires. These are the people most likely to get doxed or harassed in the real world. It's a fast path to a burnout and personal heartache. Don't do it. The world has enough assholes. Make something better. Rise above.

Now, stop worrying and go make something wonderful! You can do it!

If you have any questions feel free to post them here.

I don't bite (hard). If this post has been helpful you are welcome to repost, remind, or even toss me some tokens. Every scrap helps.

Have fun!