Today's guest post was written by Amanda Lovelace, the poet behind the inspiring break your glass slippers (you are your own fairy tale), available March 17, 2020.

Look to Your Faves for Inspiration

There’s a reason why you follow who you follow on your respective social media accounts.

There are millions—and in some cases, over a billion—people using platforms like Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, and yet most of us only follow a few hundred users, a few thousand at the most.

Take 10 or 15 minutes to comb through your following. Make a brief list of your most beloved accounts, and next to each account name, briefly explain why you continue to follow them. If their poetry inspires you, and you’re an aspiring poet yourself, don’t just say, “their writing inspires me.” What specifically keeps you pressing the little ❤️button over and over again that you can’t get anywhere else?

Think About What Makes You Unique

Now that you have your list of inspirational accounts, it’s time for you to do a little soul-searching.

From this exercise, you’ve probably realized that the most influential voices on social media are popular because they’re all doing their own unique thing—not because they’re copying exactly what everyone else is doing! Sure, two accounts may have amazing plus size modeling photos, but their unique “voice” always shines through, attracting two completely different audiences.

What is it that sets you apart from everyone else in this wide, wide world?

If you’re having trouble coming up with a list, grab a loved one and confront them with the classic Twitter meme: Which five items would they put in a pentagram in order to summon you?

When I asked my friends and family the same question, they all had strikingly similar answers. A pen. A book. A coffee cup. A cat. A crystal (amusingly, usually amethyst). This put a smile on my face because it’s exactly who I portray to the world through my social media platforms, too. Depending on the day, you can find me posting a new poem I’ve written, a book recommendation, a steaming coffee mug somewhere, a photo of one of my fur babies or a crystal-adorned Tarot reading!

And somehow, it all flows naturally—because it’s all me.

Speaking of... Break Up the Monotony

Chances are that you aren’t following the people you’re following because they post the same old thing day after day. You would get bored, and fast, and likely end up unfollowing them in the long run. It’s very hard to build any type of community if you go and pigeon-hole yourself.

While people may follow you for one thing, they end up staying for all the things!

Along with your specific areas of interest, whatever that may be, make sure you’re also filling up your feed with everything that makes you you on a fairly consistent basis. To attract and keep your dream community, said community needs to be invested in all aspects of your life, and that means doing something potentially uncomfortable for some of you: getting up close and personal.

The truth is that any community worth having wants your selfies, your couple photos, your book recs, your rants, your mic drops, your concert videos, your paranormal stories, your favorite quotes or lyrics, your personal life updates—all of it!

At the end of the day, you need to remember that you are not just a brand. You are a multifaced, magical unicorn of a human being.

Don’t be afraid to make sure the world is aware of that.

Cherish Your Community

You won’t attract a community if you’re unwilling to interact with a community. And if you’re not willing to interact with your community, then you need to stop and ask yourself why it is that you want one in the first place.

What you may actually be looking for instead are fans, and while it’s a perfectly valid thing to want fans who enjoy what you’re doing, there is ultimately a huge difference between having fans and having a community.

Fans simply happen, but a community takes work from all sides.

No, that doesn’t mean you have to reply to every single comment or DM and follow every single person back. You’re allowed to exercise your own personal boundaries. But try to return the love whenever you’re able, and in whichever way you feel most comfortable. This will only make your community that much stronger—you’re the one who’s tying them all together, after all!

Armor Yourself Against Hate

By putting yourself out there, you’re inevitably going to attract trolls and haters, and that’s okay. There is always going to be that one person—and likely more than just one, especially in the case of social media, where people find bravery behind screens—who doesn’t vibe with you, what you have to say or the amazing things you have to offer.

This is where you need to start getting liberal with who you block, mute or restrict from your respective platforms.

Try looking at it like this: you can’t make people like you, so why bother?

It’s called self-love, baby.

When you weed out the negativity, you know what you’re left with? Your true, authentic audience—the only audience that should matter to you at the end of the day. Along with yourself, of course, they are the ones you’re doing this all for. Give your energy to those who are committed to raising you up, not those who are hell-bent on pushing you down.