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If I started on Instagram from 0, I’d do this… (10k Follower Plan)

May 28, 2025

Your step-by-step guide on how to get 10K Instagram followers quickly and organically. (No tricks, no gimmicks, just strategy!)

This post will walk you through a day-by-day tutorial to help you hit 10k followers on Instagram as quickly as possible.

DISCLAIMER: Links included in this post might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting me so I can continue to provide you with free content each week on my blog and on my YouTube channel!

If I were starting a new Instagram account completely from scratch – yep, with zero followers and zero posts – this is the exact strategy I’d follow to get 10k followers as quickly as possible. In this guide, I’m breaking it all down for you step-by-step, day by day, so you can confidently grow your Instagram account from the ground up this year. 

This guide isn’t just based on what worked for me when growing my own Instagram account, it’s also built on everything I’ve learned from working with hundreds of students. I audit their accounts every week, track what’s working, and help them tweak their strategy.

These are the exact changes I’ve seen make the biggest difference. If you’re serious about getting 10k followers on Instagram, these are the steps you need to commit to.

Grab a pen and paper because this is going to be good!  Let’s jump in. 

As always, if you’d prefer to watch instead of read, click the video below.

Day 1: Set up your account for a high follower conversion rate

What is a follow conversion rate, and how do you get people to hit that follow button?

Your follower conversion rate is the percentage of people who follow you after visiting your Instagram profile. So, if 100 people land on your page, how many of them decide to stick around and hit “follow”? If the answer is zero, that’s a clear sign that something on your profile likely needs fixing. 

To boost your followers and set up your account for success, just remember the formula: P.B.C.

  1. Positioning: Make it super clear who you are and what kind of content people can expect from you.
  2. Branding: This includes your profile photo, username, and nameplate. Make sure they’re consistent and memorable. 
  3. Clarity: Have a clear bio with a strong CTA and a relevant category tag.

Positioning:

What type of content will you be creating? Who is your content for? 

Step one is to answer these questions. If you can’t clearly answer those questions, then Instagram’s algorithm is going to have a really hard time connecting your content to the right people. Here’s what Instagram says you have to do to see success.

In a meta article titled “Powered by AI: Instagram’s Explore Recommender System” they say:

By building account embeddings, we’re able to more efficiently identify  which accounts are topically similar to each other.

What does this mean? Instagram’s algorithm first assigns a topic to your profile. If they cannot identify one topic, you will likely be posting for years, and see very, very slow traction, if any. However, once Instagram knows what topic your account falls under, what happens? 

By applying the same techniques from their embedding framework, we can predict accounts with which a person is likely to interact in a given session within the Instagram app.

In other words, they can start recommending your content to different people based on those people’s interests.

This is why everyone says to niche down on Instagram, because their algorithm is literally designed to favor accounts who have one clear niche. If you  don’t want to niche down, that’s fine — go to TikTok. But if you want to grow on Instagram, you have to niche down.

For the example in this post, let’s set up an account from 0. Let’s do my positioning:

  • What type of content will you be creating: Running
  • Who is your content for: Beginners

Now it’s your turn! Stop now and write down your answers to these two questions. If you can’t clearly answer these two questions, then the Instagram algorithm won’t be able to either. Next up to get 10k followers on Instagram, you need to optimize your branding!

Branding:

Your branding is how you are going to visually bring to life your positioning. This is how you instantly communicate your message the second someone lands on your profile. 

So, if your new Instagram account is about running for beginners, here’s how to reflect that in your branding: 

Profile Picture

Your profile photo is the very first impression – make it count!

I always recommend using a bright, clear photo of yourself, not a logo or quote graphic. For this niche, I’d pick a picture of myself in running gear, maybe mid-run or standing outdoors. This instantly signals what my content is about, without needing any words.

Username

Your username should be simple, easy to spell, and easy to remember.

In this case, I might go with something like @runningwithmillie.

Including your name helps build personal connection, and the “running” keyword makes your niche clear from the start.

Pro Tip: Avoid dots, underscores, or numbers if you can. Clean usernames are easier to remember and search.

Nameplate

This is the bold name line in your profile – and it’s searchable!

You want to make the most of it by including your main keyword here.

For example:

Millie | Running for Beginners

Now, if someone searches “running for beginners” in Instagram’s search bar, my profile is more likely to show up. It also makes my niche instantly obvious to any new visitors.

All three elements—your photo, username, and nameplate—should work together to send one clear message about who you are and what you do.

If you need help, ask yourself these questions: 

  1. How do I want people to find me?
  2. How do I want to be identified?
  3. What are some search terms I can use so I can be more discoverable?

Once you’ve got these done, we’ll move on to Clarity, which is the final P.B.C. to help you grow your Instagram account to 10k followers this year.

Clear Bio, Category and Call to Action

Let’s wrap up your profile setup by making sure your bio, category and call to action are clear. This is the part that most people get wrong, so let’s make sure you don’t.

Clear Bio

Here’s the biggest mistake I see with Instagram bios: people make them all about themselves.
Your bio isn’t for you, it’s for your ideal follower.

Instead of saying “Runner. Dog mom. Coffee lover,” focus on telling visitors exactly why they should follow you. What kind of content do you create? What value will they get by hitting “follow”?

Here’s an example: 

“Helping beginner runners build confidence and stay consistent — one mile at a time.”

Boom. That bio speaks directly to the audience and gives them a reason to stick around.

Category

You know that gray label under your nameplate? That’s your category tag, and it’s more important than most people think.

Instagram uses this to understand your niche—and to help others discover your account.

Don’t overthink it, just make sure it’s relevant to what you share.

CTA

Your CTA tells people what to do next, and yes, you should absolutely have one.

Do you want them to:

  • Visit your blog?
  • Download a freebie?
  • Shop your product?

If you’re just starting out and unsure, use your CTA to start growing your email list. This gives you a direct way to connect with your audience, no algorithm required.

For example:

“Free 5K Training Plan → [link]”

Make it easy. Make it clear. And make sure your CTA actually serves your audience.

Day 2: Create a money magnet

This step is totally optional, but if your goal with Instagram is to eventually make money as a content creator, I highly recommend doing it now.

Why? Because if you set up a monetization stream early, your income can grow with your audience. Instead of waiting until you hit 10k Instagram followers, you’re building momentum from day one.

Don’t overcomplicate this step. You just need to create one low-ticket offer your ideal follower would find valuable. Think about what kind of product or service would genuinely help them, and start there.

Let’s go back to our example: a beginner running account. Here are a few easy monetization ideas:

  • Offer 1:1 Coaching: Personalized running support for beginners.
  • Create a Digital Guide or Downloadable: Something like “0 to 5K Beginner Plan” or a “30-Day Running Challenge.”
  • Start a Membership: A virtual run club with weekly motivation and check-ins.
  • Running Essentials Guide: A simple PDF or Notion template filled with affiliate-linked gear recommendations.

Still not sure what to sell? You can look at how other creators in your niche are making money, or ask ChatGPT to help you brainstorm. It’s a powerful tool that can help you come up with monetization ideas tailored to your audience and content style.

And when you’re ready to actually sell something?

The easiest way to monetize as a content creator is with Stan Store. I talk about Stan all the time because it’s built specifically for creators, it’s like a mini digital storefront that lives right on your Instagram profile.

If you want to see exactly how to set one up, watch this tutorial and skip to the 10:30 mark.

Set it and forget it. Then as your audience grows, so does your earning potential. And make sure to add your product to your CTA. 

Now that your account is officially set up to convert followers and sales, it’s time to move onto day three. 

Day 3: Preload your content bank

This day might be your most important as a new content creator. It’s the day you’re going to create a never-ending list of video ideas for you to pull from when you are filming. And once you have that list, you’re going to choose the first nine videos to prepare before you post.

So, let’s create your content bank:

For the time being we will be focusing on Reels. If your goal is to grow on Instagram, you need to focus on Reels for the time being. Instagram has told us time and time again that Reels are the only piece of content that was created with the intention to reach new eyes.

Open Instagram Search and start searching for the type of content that you’re going to be creating. If I do this with my example of running, I’m going to see results like ‘running tips’, ‘running motivation’, and ‘running outfits’. When you find a topic that aligns with the content you want to create, start scrolling through the viral reels under that topic. 

You can save the viral, popular reels that you might want to recreate, to a folder on Instagram. 

Try to save reels that are more current, you probably don’t want to be jumping on a trend from 1+ years ago. I recommend starting with reels that are going viral in the last three months. That will give you a good indication of what’s performing well now.

You can think of this step as ‘batch saving’ mode.

Give yourself 30 minutes to spend on this task. Then you’re going to pick the first nine videos that you’re going to create. These nine videos do not have to be perfect, they are just your starting point. 

The goal is to find nine different videos to create. So, out of all the topics you’ve saved, try to pick nine videos that are different from each other. This will help you find the content style that works best for you. 

9 Different Video Ideas

  • Talking head
  • Voiceover 
  • Trending audio/b-roll
  • Lipsync
  • Educational
  • Inspirational
  • Entertainment
  • Relateable

The goal with this is to have a lot of variety in your first nine videos. This will challenge you as a creator and help you see what works for you, and what really helps you reach a new audience.

Day 4: Batch Film

Now you’re going to dedicate one day to filming as many videos as possible. Ideally, you’ll film those first nine videos so you have everything batched and ready to go. 

Day 5: Batch Edit

After you’ve spent a day filming, you’ll spend a day editing.

Break up these days! You don’t need to try to do everything in one day. You’ll probably find that batch filming is exhausting, so giving yourself a separate day to edit will help you stay motivated and creative. 

One thing to think about on these two days is what I call: Hook Layering. Hook layering is when you layer multiple hooks together in the first three seconds of your video. This can be a visual hook, a textual hook or an audio hook. 

This is one of those things that you will get better at as you go along, but it’s something that’s worth learning from the beginning. I recommend watching this tutorial that I’ve created about hook layering next.

Also, if you need more help with filming and editing your content, I have more tutorials that can help you. For example, I have this video teaching you how to film and edit aesthetic vlogs, and this tutorial which does a deep dive into editing with CapCut. 

Day 6: Prep the drafts

Now that you’ve filmed and edited your content, you need to prepare your drafts. At the end of this day, you are hopefully going to have all of your videos saved as drafts on Instagram. You’ll be adding the video captions, text overlay, cover photos  and everything else you need to hit post. 

Make sure to save a backup of all of your drafts! Even if you can’t save it with the audio, just make sure that you always have a backup of drafts. 

Think of your posts in terms of Searchability. What might people be searching for in order to find your post? Make sure that you are using those terms throughout your post caption. Think about how you can tell the algorithm EXACTLY what your post is about. 

Always try to be intentional with your keywords. 

If this sounds confusing and you’d like a better explanation, I have a blog post that can help. You can find that here. 

The question of hashtags… this is probably the number one question that I get asked as an Instagram coach. Here’s the thing… hashtags are not the secret sauce to viral growth. Hashtags are a tool, and they’re a tool that people spend way too much time and energy worrying about. 

If I was building an Instagram account from scratch, I wouldn’t worry about hashtags AT ALL. Yep, you read that right. I would ignore hashtags completely. I would spend a maximum of 10 seconds picking hashtags that truly explain what is happening in my post. For example: #runningtips #amazonrunninggear. 

Even Instagram has said that hashtags do not help with growth.

Finally, your cover images. Make sure that they explain what your post is about. So, if you have a post with ‘5 Running Tips’, that should be what your cover photo says. 

With our drafts prepared, and a backlog of ideas ready for you to film, how often should you post?  

Day 7: Start your posting schedule

When you are trying to grow on Instagram, the goal is to post as often as possible without getting burnt out. The more you post, the more likely you’ll hit Instagram 10k followers quickly.

 But longevity is much more important. 

The goal here should be to find a posting schedule that you could realistically keep up with for the next 2+ years. If you want to be an Instagram creator, you have to be able to keep going. You can’t just stop after two months. 

 Even Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, emphasized this. He doesn’t actually give a number because there is no magic number. Do what works for you.

For me, I post 3x a week. But my goals with that account are very different from your goals when you’re trying to hit 10k followers as fast as possible. For this new running account, let’s say I’m able to post every weekday, Monday-Friday. And weekends will be my days off. 

Now that you know your posting schedule, you can either go in and schedule these Reels to post, or just post them live, which typically helps increase engagement.  

Day 8-14: Master the hamster wheel

Now that you’re posting, you need to maintain the schedule that you’ve created. In other words, you have to master the content creator hamster wheel. This job never stops, it is quite literally a hamster wheel. Make sure that you find a system that works for you. 

During these days, continue to test and see how content creation fits into your life and your schedule.  

Day 15: Learn from the Data, Level Up Your Strategy

The best way to grow on Instagram to 10k followers is to analyze what’s working so you can keep doing those things. By day 15, you might not have enough analytics, but ideally you want to do this step after you’ve posted the first nine videos. 

There are three things you want to study here: 

  1. Likes
  2. Shares
  3. Watch Time

Watch time is the most valuable signal to creators (straight from the mouth of Adam Mosseri). 

This means, how much of your video did people watch? When you’re checking your videos, make sure to see which videos had the best watch time. 

You should also keep in mind which video got you the most shares and which videos got you the most followers. If a video gets you a lot of followers, that’s a great example of what you should recreate. 

When you’re looking through your analytics, you also need to see which posts didn’t perform well. This will help you know what kind of content you don’t need to create, which will save you a ton of time in the long run. It can also help you learn what went wrong with a post, so that you can do better next time. 

Understanding your analytics is the key to understanding the secret to your own growth. Dive into the data from an unbiased perspective. Look and learn from what the numbers are telling you. 

I recommend you do this at least every 30 days. But if you’re posting Monday-Friday, you could do this at the end of each week. 

Day 16: Keep Learning & Trying new things

If you’re a content creator who wants to get to 10k followers on Instagram this year, you need to keep learning. Keep educating yourself. But also, stay open to trying new things. Be open to new video types, new trends and new Instagram insights. 

Follow creators that teach Instagram tips:

And if you do connect with any of those creators, let them know I sent you! 

To keep growing on Instagram this year, read this post next. I’m sure you’ll love it! As always, thank you so much for being here. Follow your joy and I’ll see you in the next one. 

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