The Small But Mighty Following
A thousand engaged buyers beat a hundred thousand who don't care — nurture depth, not size.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 87%
Solomon dismantles the myth that a bigger following means more money, citing that Instagram itself has said follower size does not equal monetization and that brands now prefer engaged nano and micro influencers. She says many of her students make thousands of dollars a month with a few hundred to a thousand followers. The lever is engagement and relationship: she would rather have a thousand followers who devour and buy everything than a hundred thousand who don't care. The practical ritual is a ten-minute daily habit of personally messaging engaged followers to ask why they're there and what they want, building a foundation of faithful followers who become ride-or-die when the numbers eventually grow.
Origin
Solomon observed this across her Pitch It Perfect students, where the majority landing paid brand deals daily and weekly have fewer than 3,000 followers and out-earn those chasing a magical 100K number.
Core principles
- 01A large following does not equal more money.
- 02Brands increasingly prefer nano and micro influencers for their engaged, trusting audiences.
- 03One thousand buyers who show up are more sustainable than a hundred thousand who don't engage.
- 04Where your intention goes, energy and money flow.
- 05A people-first mindset builds a foundation of faithful, ride-or-die followers.
How to run it
- 1
Drop the follower-count myth
Internalize that a large following does not equal more money and that brands now want engaged nano and micro creators.
Pro tip The majority of Solomon's students landing consistent paid brand deals have under 3,000 followers.
- 2
Find your engaged core
Identify the people actually interacting with you, such as the fraction of followers who watch every story.
- 3
Run the ten-minute DM ritual
Spend ten minutes a day individually messaging engaged followers to thank them and ask why they follow and what content helps them most.
Pro tip With 200 story viewers you can personally message all of them in a short daily window.
- 4
Build the faithful foundation
Treat this relationship-building as the baseline that produces ride-or-die followers who stay loyal when your numbers grow.
Pro tip Where your intention goes, the energy and the money will flow.
In the wild
In Solomon's Pitch It Perfect program, the majority of people landing paid brand deals consistently — daily and weekly — have fewer than 3,000 followers, and they out-earn those who spent all their time chasing 100K.
→ Proof that a small, engaged following can out-monetize a large disengaged one.
Common mistakes
Waiting for a magical follower number
Telling yourself nothing will happen until you hit 10K or 100K ignores that engaged small audiences already convert and land brand deals.
Neglecting the engaged audience you have
Chasing reach while ignoring the people who watch every story wastes the relationship that actually drives sales.
Is it for you?
Best for
Entrepreneurs and creators with a small, niche, or early-stage following.
Not ideal for
Pure reach-and-virality plays that monetize on impressions alone.
From the transcript
“A large following does not equal more money. It just doesn't.”
“the majority of people that are landing paid brand deals consistently, daily, weekly have less than 3,000 followers.”
“take 10 minutes every day and go and individually message those 200 people... That builds the foundation... of faithful followers”
From the episode
Julie Solomon: How to Grow Your Personal Brand
Julie Solomon