5 Profile Fixes (Give Me 6 Min) to Explode Your X Followers
4 Common Questions About X Profile Optimization
1. What should you use for your X profile picture?
Don't use a logo or random selfie. Use a clean headshot ideally from the chest up with a neutral background and confident expression. It should make people think "this person looks credible." Examples include professional headshots that are clean and high quality, like those used by successful founders who've optimized their profiles for authority building.
2. What are the two banner strategies that work on X?
Professional banners like Ben Fitterman's that are clean, explain what the business does, and provide social proof. Personal banners that provide background about you - for example, showing your past as a Division 1 ice hockey player gives profile visitors context about your background and personality.
3. What's the best bio formula for X profiles?
Use this formula: who you are + what you do + who you do it for . Example: "Two time founder, Dartmouth alum helping 30+ founders build personal brands and drive new clients from X and LinkedIn with a done for you service." This clearly follows the formula and adds social proof about helping 30+ founders.
4. How should you optimize your link in bio and location field?
Your link should drive people exactly where you want them to go next - ideally a lead magnet, newsletter, or specific business offer. Don't use the location for your actual location - change that text to a CTA like "build your online identity" or "leads on autopilot" that drives people to your link.
Your X profile is your personal landing page and if it's not optimized, people leave before they even read your first post.
Today I'm gonna show you exactly how to optimize your X profile so it attracts followers, drives leads, and makes you money.
If you don't know me, my name is Collin Rutherford, owner of FounderBrands .
We help founders grow personal brands that actually drive business results.
We've optimized dozens of X profiles across every niche.
Now let's dive into it.
Author: Collin Rutherford
Company: FounderBrands
Most people hit 5,000 X followers and get stuck because the next stage of growth is about systems, not hustle. You've hit 5,000 followers, that means you've already proven your message works. But getting to 10,000, that's not about posting more. It's about building leverage.
In this guide, I'll walk you through the exact process to grow from 5,000 to 10,000 followers on X. The same process I use to scale my content without doubling my workload.
Step 1: How to Post 3 Times Daily Using 4 Content Pillars
Step number one is to increase your posting to three times per day. From 0 to 1,000, we're posting once per day. From 1,000 to 5,000, we're posting twice. And from 5,000 to 10,000, we're posting three times per day.
The key is understanding the four content pillars that drive consistent engagement:
Pillar Number One: Value-Add Content
You want to build authority in your niche. The downside here is you will not get a lot of views, but the view quality will be high.
Pillar Number Two: Personality Content
You want to share opinions and stories. Connect as a human. You will get a medium amount of views on this, but the view quality will also be high. So that's good.
Pillar Number Three: Engagement Content
You want to ask questions. A subset of this engagement posts are also called shit posts. So basically posting things just so they get engagement from people. You'll get a lot of views on this, but the view quality will be low.
Pillar Number Four: Client Success Stories
We want to show social proof content and convince people that you actually know what you're doing and you've gotten client results in the past. You'll get medium views on this, but the view quality will be high.
It's very important to rotate between these four content pillars when creating content.
Step 2: What Commenting Strategy Works at 5K+ Followers
Step number two, we want to reduce commenting to only 10 times per day. Because we're increasing post volume to three, we want to reduce commenting from 30 times per day to 10 times per day.
And again, thoughtful comments. You want to aim for quality, not quantity. And you need to add value in every single comment. Saying great post is not going to do it. No one's going to follow you because you complimented somebody's post.
Step 3: How to Repurpose Content for Maximum Reach
Step number three, we need to start repurposing content. So you have a lot of content that you've already published getting from zero to 5,000 followers. Now we can start repurposing some of that content that outperformed in the past.
So every month I want you to find posts from about four months ago. You can either repost that same exact post or you can repurpose it by expanding it, shortening it, or posting it through a different lens.
You need to think of X as a moving parade. Someone that saw your content four months ago, that same audience is not going to be the same audience that reads it four months later. So, it's okay to repurpose posts. It saves time and it's a great way to grow.
Step 4: How to Build a Content Team That Scales
Step number four, this is what I did. I built a content team in this stage. I realized how time-consuming this ended up being for me and I actually hired a part-time copywriter to assist me with my own content creation, ideation, drafting, editing, scheduling, and analyzing that.
Those are all tasks I delegated to my part-time copywriter, and it freed up so much time for me to actually run my business, but also continue growing on X.
What Monthly Content Recording Sessions Look Like
Here's a quick tip here. Conduct content recordings with your copywriter for source content. So sit down with your copywriter one time per month for one hour. Have them ask you questions that pull content out of you.
So instead of sitting in front of your laptop thinking about what should I post today, you're just speaking it to them live and then they take that transcript and turn it into a bunch of social media posts and schedule it for you.
This saves so much time. It only takes an hour per month. Again, you might have to do some approvals before they post, but it's a great system and the one that I use to grow my personal X account .
For scheduling and automation, I recommend using HypeFury to streamline your posting process and maintain consistency across your content strategy.
How This System Became a Business
What's next? That system I just shared with you that I created for myself, we actually turned into a business. We currently help dozens of founders grow on social media, grow their business through their personal brand.
Next Steps for Systematic Growth
That's the roadmap to grow from 5,000 to 10,000 followers on X: post structure, repurpose what works, and build a team to buy back your time. Because once you hit 5,000, growth becomes a systems game. And if you set it up right, your content keeps working even when you're not.
And if you want help building that system, we can do it for you. This system that I just shared with you is the system I built when building my personal brand, and I still use it today. We actually launched it as a business for clients, and we helped dozens of founders build their business through their personal brand.
If you want help building that system, we can do it for you. Schedule a free content audit
to learn how we help founders grow their business through their personal brand without spending hours a day writing content.
How long does it take to see results from engagement?
You should start seeing follower growth within the first week of consistent daily engagement. The key is commenting on posts from accounts with engaged audiences who match your target market. Focus on quality comments that add value rather than generic responses.
What type of content performs best when starting out?
Personal stories, industry insights, and educational content perform well when you're building from zero. Share your authentic experiences and lessons learned rather than trying to sound like an expert immediately.
Should I engage with competitors or complementary businesses?
Engage with both, but focus more on complementary businesses where collaboration is possible. Comment thoughtfully on competitor content, but prioritize building relationships with accounts that could become referral partners or collaborators.
How do I know if my engagement strategy is working?
Track your follower growth weekly and monitor profile visits in your analytics. If you're getting 5-10 new followers per week through consistent engagement, you're on the right track.
What's the biggest mistake people make with the pinned post strategy?
They pin the same type of content repeatedly instead of testing different post formats. Experiment with educational posts, personal stories, and promotional content to see what generates the highest engagement when pinned.
