How Adrian went from 0 to 22,000 followers

In September 2024, Adrian reached out to me on X, having 100 followers.

He asked if I could help him become a ghostwriter. At the time, I was deep into ghostwriting myself. So I agreed.

But right away I told him:

“I think ghostwriting’s cool, but if you want to grow an audience, Threads is where you want to be. Twitter’s reach is down, and Threads’ reach is booming. Especially for someone like you.”

Adrian is a doctor.

With 20 years of experience in the field, he knows his stuff. I told him, “If you go to Threads, with your background, you’re gonna explode. I have no doubt about that.”

At first, he didn’t want to go on a new platform. But he trusted me, so he agreed.

He joined Threads with zero followers and started from scratch.

I didn’t take a screenshot from day one, but here’s one from September 17 (he had 1,500+ followers already)

While we were working together, he gained 3,500 followers in 37 days:

We worked for a few months, then he went off on his own to be now at 22,000 followers: https://www.threads.com/@dradrianlaurence 

And here’s the point:

He grew because he followed the playbook I use with everybody.

Once I taught him everything I knew, he knew exactly how to go forward, growing his following without me.

And here’s what I taught him:

1. Write for Humans, Not Academia

Adrian came from medicine. 20 years as a doctor. He was used to writing for other doctors.

I told him to leave academic language behind and start writing for the everyday person.

Drop the jargon, use simple words, and break it down like you're talking to a 5th grader.

That shift alone changed everything.

2. Share Practical, Actionable Tips

No shallow fluff or motivational nonsense.

Every post Adrian wrote had real tips people could use that day.

→ Backed by research
→ Based on experience
→ Easy to apply

Value, value, value. That’s what people follow.

3. Use Your Credibility

I told him to start using the fact that he’s a doctor.

Most people bury their credibility. Don’t - lead with it instead (and everybody has credibility, you just need to find it)

Say it, own it, and use it.

People trust you faster when they know who you are and what you’ve done.

4. Cut 20% of Every Draft

This rule changes everybody’s writing overnight.

Use this rule, and your writing gets sharper, clearer, and simpler. to read.

Here’s what I taught him to remove:

• Filler words: really, just, that, very, actually

• Adverbs: consistently, quickly, easily

• Passive voice: “This was done by…” → “I did this”

• "-ing" endings: “I was working…” → “I worked”

Shorter is stronger.

5. Always Ask: “What’s In It for the Reader?”

The golden rule.

Every time Adrian wrote a post, I asked him:

“What’s in it for the reader?”
“Why would someone stop scrolling to read this?”
“What will they take away from this?”

Once he started thinking that way, everything shifted. His engagement doubled, and his following exploded.

6. Follow the 14 Readability Rules

This is the exact checklist I gave him:

• Use short paragraphs (1–2 sentences max)
  

• Vary sentence length to keep attention
  

• Use dashes and bullets to create flow
  

• Cut your writing by 20%
  

• Avoid filler and weak words
  

• Write at a 5th-grade reading level
  

• Use “you” to talk directly to the reader
  

• Use active voice
  

• Replace vague words (like “thing”) with specifics
  

• Use numbers and stats to grab attention
  

• Limit "-ing" words
  

• Add images when helpful
  

• Use pattern interruptions (line breaks, emojis, bold text)
  

• Simplify complex words (facilitate → help)

Adrian went from a doctor who knew nothing about social media to someone people listen to. And more importantly, he found that people actually want to hear what he has to say because he’s helping them.

That’s the power of clear, simple, practical writing (and the right platform). So if you're reading this and thinking, “Damn, maybe I could do that too…”

Yeah, you can. I’ve seen this again and again. When people start writing from their own life and apply the playbook, people listen.

And that’s what we’re doing inside our writers’ community Full Circle⭕ . Honestly, it’s hard to put into words how much it’s helping people grow. But the results speak for themselves.

Writers who were stuck are building momentum. People who never thought they had something to say are building an audience around their voice.

And I genuinely believe - if you care about helping others and are willing to show up - you can do it too.

That’s what we’re here to teach.

Have a look at Glenn’s win, for example:

Messages like this are the norm inside.

And the best thing?

You can join for a risk-free trial. You can try it for 7 days and get our 7-day Threads Growth course completely for free. 

And if you don’t like it, you can just cancel again. 🙂 Cancel if it’s not the most valuable free trial you've ever had.

(FYI: Spots are limited. The price increases every 10 members. Plus, there's a strict cap at 365 members—once we're full, we're full): https://www.skool.com/fullcircle/about

But either way—remember this:

You don’t need to be an expert in social media. Show up, tell your truth, keep it simple for the reader, and focus on helping people.

That’s what Adrian did. And now he’s got 22,000 people listening. So could you.

With love,

Heythem

P.S.: Any specific questions regarding writing and Threads’ growth? Reply to this email and I'll get back to you 🙏🙏