New (and even established) authors are always looking to expand their audience. What better way to reach new readers than by sharing your writing in a space that’s meant for that? That’s where the writing community on Threads comes in.
Writers prefer the written medium. Shocking, right? Words are where they thrive, and with so many other social media platforms prioritizing video content, it’s leaving authors wanting somewhere they can feel more at home. The opportunity to build a community of like-minded people while still promoting books, blog posts, and other services is high on Threads.
But how do you actually build a following and not feel like you’re posting into a void? We’ll go over that in this post, along with other details you’ll need to know.
What you’ll learn about the writing community on threads:
- What is Threads?
- Is there a writing community?
- Pros and Cons of Threads over X
- How to grow your following
What is Threads?
In short, Threads is an attempt from the company Meta to compete with a platform like Twitter (now X), featuring short-form written content where authors offer snippets of opinions, updates, jokes, and more.
You can use images and videos on this platform as well, but it’s specifically made for written content. It’s important to note that Threads is very much like Twitter—which has been rebranded to X after Elon Musk bought the platform, so we’ll continue referring to it as X.
There’s been a lot of speculation over why Meta, the company that owns both Facebook and Instagram (among other platforms) would want to launch this type of platform. The conclusion many have come to is simply to compete with X. They saw the challenges X was having after Elon Musk took ownership, and therefore saw a gap in the market—one they could step into.
Plus, they didn’t yet own a platform that was primarily text-based, certainly not one with the capabilities that Threads now has.
Among those capabilities is the community aspect of the app. Just like there is a prolific community of writers on X, there is now a writing community on Threads, one that many think is healthier than that of X (more on that in the pros and cons below).
What Threads looks like:
Threads has a straightforward interface that includes the poster’s image, name, what they wrote, and engagement options including liking, replying, reposting or quoting, and sharing.
There’s also a 1-click option to follow new people that end up on your feed, which is super helpful and a big perk for writers.
Is there a writing community on Threads?
Short answer: yes. Long answer: yes, but you will have to do some digging and curating in order to find it. That said, many authors happily took to the Threads app in order to share their writing, leaving Elon Musk’s takeover of X because of the influx of unregulated posts many writers found distasteful.
Many writers also recognized the opportunity Threads provided; a new app in which they could post frequently and capitalize on the lack of other content creators on the app.
Despite Threads hitting over 100 million sign ups in its first week, many didn’t stick around. While many people still post and interact on the app, it’s still not quite as popular as other apps for writers and authors. But that doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t use it.
There are a lot of great things about the writing community on Threads and things you can gain from it.
Pros and Cons of Using Threads Over X (Twitter)
If you want to get in on the writing community on Threads, there are a few things to know first. It’s not the same as X and that’s important to know for growing your audience there.
Pros of Using Threads
There are benefits to nearly any social platform when it comes to promotion for authors—or even just connecting with other writers online. If you want to gain the most from the writing community on threads, here’s what to make the most of.
1. Early attendance
Threads is still new, and not as active as it was the first week it launched. But that’s actually a good thing! Early adoption is a huge reason many people gain notoriety. Take Youtube, for example. Some of the most prolific Youtubers, like Phil Defranco, Jenna Marbles, Joe Santagato, and Bo Burnham, got popular in part due to being on the site early, and maintaining a presence.
If you’re consistent and present since the beginning, especially on a platform backed by the entity that is Meta, you’ll find that over time, your platform will continue to grow and grow (of course provided you post valuable content, but more on that in the section below).
2. Ability to lead the community on threads
Because of the community being on the smaller side, when compared to X, you have the ability to lead the writing community on Threads. This might look like posing questions, creating games or prompts for certain days of the week, and guiding the writing community to be more active in general.
The fewer people there are to compete with these ideas, the more you’ll stand out for being the creator of them.
3. Simple user interface
It’s a big pro for many people, but especially those who don’t love super complicated social media platforms. Because it’s still new and fresh, there aren’t a lot of features. Which means if you want to get into the writing community on Threads, you can basically just hop on, do a search, and write what you want. It’s not confusing. It’s straightforward and that’s a huge plus when the X interface can get messy with almost too many features.
4. Instagram & Facebook cohesion
Some users of Instagram and Facebook might hate this but…it’s a major pro for anyone looking to grow their audience by using the writing community on Threads. Mostly because Meta (again, they own Facebook and Instagram) wants to make Threads more popular so they can dominate even more of the social media marketshare. It’s business.
What this means is they’re promoting Threads and its users’ posts on Instagram and Facebook. This doesn’t happen almost anywhere else. They’re literally utilizing a huge network to expand your post’s potential visibility by showcasing it on a different app. Yes, it’s in the hopes users will spend more time on Threads, but this is huge for writers.
Here’s what this looks like on Instagram, specifically a post by a writer to my very own Instagram, as a writer:
Cons of Using Threads
As with any platform, there are drawbacks to trying to get in on the writing community on Threads. You’ll hit a few snags, which are important to keep in mind if you want to grow your audience here.
1. Lack of structure
It’s limited, and that can be a pro for ease of use, but it also lacks a bit of structure. As you’ll learn in the section below, finding the writing community on Threads isn’t as easy as it is on other apps due to the lack of searchable structure.
It’s still possible, but not as convenient and takes a bit more legwork.
2. Smaller community
This could be a pro or a con, really. It depends on your preferences. If you’re trying to get your audience as large as possible, it could prove challenging if there aren’t too many users on Threads vs X. Smaller communitites can make it harder to break in, especially if there is an established “culture” that you tend to go against. But that seems to be more of a challenge on X than with the writing community on Threads.
3. Lack of updates (so far)
I’m sure if Threads had continued its initial momentum after the first week, there’d be additional features by now. However, the drop-off may have steered those at Meta in a different direction, or at least they’ve deprioritized that app instead of others.
So there aren’t many new features coming to the Threads app yet. But take note that if there are new features, use them! The app created them for a reason, and the algorithm will push profiles and posts that use new features.
4. Risk of a too-niche community
More numbers often means a wider variety of users. Which means you’re more likely to find “your people” in larger spaced. But in the writing community on Threads, there’s a risk of the pool of writers to be a bit smaller, which means it’ll be harder to find the community that’s right for you.
The audience could lean too nonfiction or a specific type of fiction. On X, there seems to be enough genres where you can easily find your place, but that’s yet to be seen for the writing community on Threads.
How to Grow Your Following by using the Writing Community on Threads
The writing community on Threads can be a fickle one. You’ll want to wedge yourself in there, but do so in a way that allow you to also sell your books and build an audience of fans.
1. Optimize your profile
There’s not a lot of space available, so you want to choose your words wisely. This is not a place to tell your life story. It’s a place to showcase what you’ll post about on Threads. Give potential followers a reason to follow and continue seeing your posts.
A good “formula” to follow to get in on the writing community on Threads:
Detail related to writing + job or hobby information + personal life share that’ll showcase personality.
This doesn’t mean they all look the same. You can mix the details or even combine a few. Always lean into what you’re most often to post about, because that’ll inform whether or not someone might follow you.
Here are a few examples of what this would look like in the writing world:
2. Search for writers
You’ll have to go through the process of actually finding other writers to connect with if you want to be a part of the writing community on Threads. There are a few different ways to do this.
- Locate a writer you already know and peruse their “followers” lists
- Utilizing the “threads” feature, which is a form of a hashtag (#) and used similarly
- Use the search function and plug in writer-related terms to find posts by writers
Any method will get you what you need, and you’ll likely end up using all of them to build your following on Threads. There are certain search terms that might help this this, include:
- writing community
- writer
- author
- WIP
- writers
- life of a writer
- writer’s life
- [genre] writing
- writing a book
What’s important to note here is that you can’t just follow and follow without any engagement or care for who you’re following. You want to engage with people by replying and liking their posts, so you want to make sure you’re building your writing community on Threads so it’s full of the right people, who will turn out to be the right audience as well.
The more you get along online, the more likely they are to enjoy your book/s.
3. Post regularly
What you post matters to the writing community on Threads. People want to see very specific content when they sign up online and follow. You don’t only have to post about writing, but if your goal is to establish yourself as an author on this app, a lot of them should be about writing.
Take this author, Omer. Even his handle spells out why he’s on the app with, “Omer_The_Writer”.
You can see some of his posts here:
These work well because they’re relatable, about his life, and some of them also offer the opportunity for others to reply and engage. He’s not just writing his own thoughts, he’s inviting discussion by posing questions and even giving advice.
4. Engage with others
We’ve already talked about this quite a bit, but it’s definitely a must if you want to be a part of the writing community on Threads. The community aspect means you’re included, and that involves engaging with other people’s posts and even profiles as a whole.
Do a search in the writing community, or click on a segment like WriterThreads. Read some posts and see which ones you can reply to. It doesn’t have to be much. Even voicing your agreement or chiming in on a question is enough to get your profile out there.
What not to do: do not spam replies or the writing community on Threads with pictures and links to your book. It’s extremely poor taste, and you’re more likely to lose followers. Just put a link to your work on your Threads profile and your book will be available to buy, like this:
5. Share your posts elsewhere
Don’t just keep your posts on the Threads app. Some people may be users of Threads without knowing you have a profile. Maybe they already follow you on another app, like Instagram or Facebook or even LinkedIn. Give them access to your posts by either taking a screenshot of your post and uploading it as an image, or sharing directly from the app.
The process to do this is simple: find the post on your Threads account > hit the “send” symbol > choose where to share.
In the photo example of the steps below, it’s on Instagram.
6. Offer peeks at your work
It can be a bit vulnerable to share the writing from your book on a place like Threads, but keep in mind that vulnerability is rare these days, and always appreciated. Not only that, but you’re giving people a look at a product they’ll be able to buy one day.
Most often, people who feel like they’re a part of the process will be more likely to purchase the end result, meaning you have buyers all along the way.
These can be shared as direct text on the app, or you can take screenshots.
If you want to take it a step further, add a link to a sign-up form for those who want to become beta readers (who can also be added to your author email list).
7. Create your own games / activities
I’m going to preface this with the fact that you might not get any engagement from the writing community on Threads for your games for a little while. People want proof. They want to be a part of something, so the more people you can get to join, the better.
Start a First Line Friday game where people share the first line of their book or story. Get people to share a snippet on Saturdays and name it accordingly. Use the # function to get the writing community on Threads engaged as a whole.
8. Get people off the app
I know, it seems weird. You did all this work to get people to follow your Threads account…and now I’m telling you to get those people off the app. What? What I mean is to get people to your email list. Don’t rely on an app for your audience. Ever.
You don’t own the app. Meta could decide, tomorrow, that it doesn’t want to do Threads anymore and shut it down. Where would your follows go if they don’t follow you elsewhere? You could lose important traffic to your author pages and even your website’s blog posts when your audience is gone overnight.
Take ownership of your audience, and do it by getting them on your email list. Growing a personal writing community on Threads is great, but you want ownership of the contacts, and that’s where an email list is necessary.
Becoming a part of the writing community on Threads might take some time. Stay consistent and you’ll see your platform grow!
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