Little Red Book Account Growth (Part 1): From 0 to 200K Followers – Traffic, Positioning, Growth, and Topic Selection

Hello, friends on X!

Today marks my first week joining X, and I’m truly grateful for all the attention and encouragement from so many of you ❤️

The most frequently asked question has been: “How do you actually grow an account on Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book)?”

So I wrote two long-form articles, using this chance to reflect on my journey in content creation, self-media, and personal branding over the years. I can’t guarantee every opinion is correct, but it will be sincere and heartfelt. I hope this provides some reference for anyone looking to run their own self-media or build a personal brand.

(This only represents my personal experience and may not apply to everyone.)

Let me briefly introduce myself.

I’m currently the head of AI product design at a Silicon Valley big tech company. In the past few years, I’ve worked in product design at Spotify, BCG (Boston Consulting Group), and Samsung, focusing mainly on enterprise products and innovative experience design. I graduated from the Harvard Graduate School of Design with a focus on Human-Computer Interaction, and I’m also a veteran stock investor with 10 years of experience.

Outside of work, I run my own design studio, have been involved in consulting and design projects for over 100 products, and have been continuously exploring indie development and entrepreneurship. I’m also a career coach, helping many professionals find jobs, grow, transition, and develop long-term.

Starting in 2021, I officially began running my self-media channels, mainly sharing content about personal growth, career, and AI. I now have over 500K followers across all platforms.

This is my Xiaohongshu account, ID: Dreamer妍妍

This is my Xiaohongshu account, ID: Dreamer妍妍

In addition, I’m a long-term digital nomad traveling the world. Over the past few years, I’ve worked, created, and explored this world simultaneously. I hope to continue maintaining this state in the future, constantly creating, growing, and living the life I truly love.

While working at Spotify, I had the chance to travel across Europe and began my digital nomad life.

While working at Spotify, I had the chance to travel across Europe and began my digital nomad life.

Alright, let’s get into the main topic.

This article covers:

Little Red Book Account Growth (Part 1): From 0 to 200K Followers – Traffic, Positioning, Growth, and Topic Selection

Next time I’ll share:

Little Red Book Operations (Part 2): Monetization, Personal IP, Long-Termism

Let me start with a somewhat counterintuitive point: If I had to restart from scratch on Xiaohongshu, I wouldn’t start by studying profile picture design, bio, or homepage layout, nor would I spend weeks researching viral topics.

Because these are not the core factors that determine whether an account can take off.

Over the past few years, I’ve seen too many people spend a month studying positioning, two weeks designing a persona, and bookmarking hundreds of viral posts, only to never publish their first piece of content.

My own account, in fact, grew through continuous trial and error.

Looking back, the most important things for account growth are only three:

• Riding the wave (Timing)

• Finding a direction you can consistently produce in (Positioning)

• Continuously validating what content truly resonates with users (Resonance)

And finally, I’ll share several growth misconceptions I’ve summarized after reaching 200K followers. Let’s go 🚀

1️⃣ On Timing: Riding the Wave

I started on Xiaohongshu in 2021. Back then, everyone was stuck at home. Working from home, reading, self-improvement – these types of content were incredibly popular. And coincidentally, these were areas I was good at and interested in. During those two years, I also organized my life experiences. Two things went viral: one was about failing my college entrance exam but later turning it around and getting into Harvard; the other was about achieving financial independence and funding my own study abroad. In that context, these stories were quickly amplified and gained me 120K followers in a short time.

During the pandemic period, self-improvement, reading, and knowledge systems were all trending.

During the pandemic period, self-improvement, reading, and knowledge systems were all trending.

But the following years weren’t as exciting. 2022-2024 were relatively flat. On one hand, there was no clear trend on the platform; on the other, I was busy with my main job and other side projects, so the account was basically in maintenance mode.

Then around the second half of 2025, the winds clearly shifted toward AI, and my numbers started picking up again. Since I work on AI products at a Silicon Valley big tech company, the work experience, thoughts, and case studies I had accumulated over the years suddenly had greater demand. So I pivoted to the AI track, sharing content that naturally overflowed from my daily work.

The biggest lesson from these years is that often, it’s not that you suddenly became better, but that you happen to be riding the wave. Of course, whether you can catch the wave when it comes also depends on your previous accumulation.

This has made me increasingly agree with one thing: Staying at the table is more important than anything else.

Many bloggers left during the middle years, including some big accounts with over 500K followers. The reasons were real: declining traffic, reduced exposure, fewer monetization opportunities. But I never treated Xiaohongshu as a pure traffic project; instead, I saw it as a place to record my growth. So even when the numbers were flat, I kept posting sporadically. Looking back now, what’s truly valuable isn’t a single viral post, but persisting on the field and weathering the cycle.

This year, I started posting AI content and finally picked up the pace again!

This year, I started posting AI content and finally picked up the pace again!

If you ask me whether this year is suitable for starting an account, I’d say it’s very suitable.

Because AI might be the clearest content dividend in recent years. The last time there was an opportunity like this was five years ago 😂 Seize it!

2️⃣ On Account Positioning: Two Ways to Play on Xiaohongshu

One is chasing trends and creating viral hits. The advantage is fast follower growth, good data, and quick account building.

The other is building a personal IP, treating your account as your long-term business card, consistently sharing your experiences, thoughts, and professional accumulation. The advantage is slower initial growth, but more stable follower increase, stronger trust, and longer content lifecycle.

The former is more like a sprint; the latter is more like a marathon. Neither is superior; there’s no standard answer. It all depends on what you want.

If you enjoy studying traffic, chasing trends, and quickly validating content, the first approach will give you more satisfaction. If you prefer to build a personal brand and hope that years from now people will think of you when they think of a certain field, then the second might be better.

I have always chosen the latter. Partly I believe in long-termism, and partly I genuinely don’t like chasing viral hits.

To be honest, I’m pretty laid-back about my self-media operations. In the first few years, I basically maintained 1-2 posts per week, without spending too much time – they were all real insights and growth accumulation from my life and work. This year, with the AI wave, I’ve increased my posting frequency to about 4-5 per week. I can clearly feel the follower growth has accelerated.

This also made me realize: many people think posting daily is extremely difficult, but when you truly find a topic you want to talk about long-term, content becomes more like a natural expression rather than a task.

So there’s no standard answer for running an account. Some are suited for sprinting; some for long-distance running. Rather than copying others’ pace, what’s more important is finding a rhythm you can sustain long-term.

3️⃣ On Account Growth: Xiaohongshu Values “Persona” Highly

“Persona” here doesn’t mean a fake persona, but the real and distinctive side of you.

Many people starting on Xiaohongshu always think about studying topics, traffic, and viral hits. But I increasingly feel: more than whether the audience likes a specific piece of content, what matters is whether they like you as a person. This might be different from other platforms.

That’s why people say Xiaohongshu followers are valuable – essentially, it’s not the platform that’s valuable, but trust.

When someone is willing to follow you long-term, save your content, watch your recommendations, and agree with your views, a weak bond has been established between you. In an era where attention is increasingly scarce, this trust itself is a scarce asset.

So instead of chasing 1 million casual followers, it’s better to have 10,000 people who truly recognize you.

This is also why many entrepreneurs are now starting Xiaohongshu accounts. What they really want to accumulate is never traffic, but trust.

If we compare Xiaohongshu to X: Xiaohongshu is more like a “magazine + reality show”; X is more like a “town square + forum”

So on Xiaohongshu, users care about:

Who is this person? What do they look like? What kind of life do they lead? Do I aspire to this state?

On X, users care more about:

Is this opinion interesting? Is this information valuable? What’s this person’s way of thinking?

So to excel on Xiaohongshu, the most important thing is never chasing viral hits, but how you present yourself as a person. Your expertise, your experiences, your aesthetic, your lifestyle, your sense of humor, and those moments that resonate with others.

Because in the end, people follow you not because of your content. But because of the person behind the content.

4️⃣ On Follower Growth: Don’t Just Stare at Follower Count

I know many big accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers that have mediocre monetization; I also know some small bloggers with only a few thousand followers who make hundreds of thousands annually. Follower count is a vanity metric; trust is the core asset. If 1,000 people truly believe in you and recognize you, that’s already very valuable.

Moreover, follower growth on Xiaohongshu is not linear. It’s basically determined by a few big viral posts that establish a foundation; other content is mainly about maintaining presence and continuous connection.

So how do you create viral content? Altruism + extreme emotional resonance

Essentially, it’s about whether you truly solve others’ problems and whether you make others “feel understood.” And on this basis, the most important thing is still two words: sincerity.

Compared to packaging a perfect persona, what moves people more is an authentic person. Say you’re lost when you’re lost, say you’re transitioning when you’re transitioning, admit you’re a beginner when learning AI.

Because most people don’t like “someone who has already succeeded”; they like “someone who is growing.” So follower growth, is essentially not about chasing data, but building trust. When trust accumulates to a certain level, follower growth is just a result, not the goal.

5️⃣ On the Algorithm: Early Stage – Niche Content; Middle Stage – Niche Persona

When starting on Xiaohongshu, indeed, you need “niche content.” You can’t post about career one day, travel the next, and emotions the day after. Otherwise, the algorithm can’t figure out who you are and won’t give you stable recommended traffic.

But in the middle stage, there’s a clear shift: From “niche content” gradually to “niche persona.”

For example, my positioning is career + growth. But once this persona is established, many types of content can be accommodated: books, travel, finance, emotions, family, life stories…

As long as they are within the context of “how this person grows,” they are essentially extensions of the same persona.

If you like many things and have difficulty compressing into one niche, I suggest creating a secondary account or a matrix.

For instance, I also have an identity as a digital nomad, often traveling globally, and I want to document these life snippets. So I opened a secondary account (ID: Another妍妍) . This account completely disregards monetization or traffic – it’s purely about recording things that make me happy. Ironically, because it’s more relaxed and authentic, it also attracts a group of followers who love this vibe.

Welcome to follow my secondary account haha, the me here is more fun and diverse 😉

Welcome to follow my secondary account haha, the me here is more fun and diverse 😉

So I increasingly feel: niche is not a restriction; it’s a way to help the algorithm “get to know you” in the beginning. But in the long run, what truly retains people is the extensibility of you as a person.

6️⃣ On Traffic: Xiaohongshu Traffic Fluctuates Wildly

As you know, Xiaohongshu is indeed prone to traffic throttling 😂 Holidays, platform events, industry changes all affect data (dramatically). For example, June is almost always a low period; during the 618 shopping festival, a lot of traffic shifts to live streaming.

Honestly, I also experience data anxiety, staring at the likes on the backend.

But later I realized: Traffic is a result, not a goal. The only thing you can control is consistent output.

And traffic can go out of style, but you won’t. Over the years, I’ve covered career, growth, books, travel, and now AI. Each phase has its own traffic cycle, its own ups and downs. If you only chase traffic, it’s exhausting and passive.

But if you continuously accumulate your abilities, knowledge, and works, no matter how the platform changes, there will always be people willing to follow you.

So the biggest lesson these years is: Don’t turn yourself into just an account.

The account is just a vehicle; what’s truly valuable is yourself.

7️⃣ On Topic Selection: The Real Pain Point is Execution, Not Lack of Ideas

For me, topic selection has never been a problem. My notes have hundreds of topics lined up waiting to be executed; the real bottleneck is execution speed.

So a more effective method is to categorize topics by theme first. For example, I roughly divide them into 5 categories: Career, Growth, AI, Design, Life & Travel.

This is my topic library 😂 hundreds of items, all available. As long as it’s a field you’re familiar with and good at, topics are not a problem.

This is my topic library 😂 hundreds of items, all available. As long as it’s a field you’re familiar with and good at, topics are not a problem.

This is my publishing tracker and topic planning.

This is my publishing tracker and topic planning.

The benefit of doing this is that you don’t fall into the anxiety of “what to write today”; instead, you directly output continuously within a clear framework.

But if we go deeper, it’s still the old saying:

What you like + what you’re good at + what gives you a unique advantage.

For example, I love traveling. In the early days, I also tried being a lifestyle and fashion blogger, but got stuck at 5K followers. The reason was simple: it wasn’t my unique advantage.

Later I switched to the career track, and the account took off quickly. Because I work in Silicon Valley, I had some accumulation in career development, and combined with my earlier experiences, I quickly gained my first wave of followers. Now everyone knows AI is a trend, and many newcomers are rising fast. But even within the AI track, content styles are completely different: some chase trends, some do tool reviews, some make tutorials, and some share building processes. For myself, I still prefer to start from “what I’m good at and love” – how to use AI for design and product creation. These are things others find hard to replicate.

So instead of studying viral hits, it’s more important to return to one question:

Who are you? What exactly is irreplaceable about you?

8️⃣ On Format: Image vs. Video

Image or video: To be honest, Xiaohongshu currently favors video content, but that doesn’t mean images have no chance – it’s just that video is more efficient in the account-building stage. I also started with images in the early days, and images still account for a significant portion of my content. Mainly because I enjoy writing and it’s fast – basically 20 minutes per post, can be done during my commute – very suitable for working people.

Show face or not? I strongly recommend showing your face, because Xiaohongshu values a “real human” feel. The more authentic, specific, and real you appear, the easier it is to build trust.

9️⃣ On Growth: Creating Content is Also a Process of Knowing Yourself

The biggest gain from doing content over the years is not followers, but the pace of growth.

Because when you continuously output, you force yourself to continuously input. Reading, learning, thinking, observing life – all become part of your work, not extra tasks.

Many opportunities come this way: speaking engagements, consulting, collaborations, job offers, and even new friends.

Many people think that running self-media is about managing an account. But after doing it for a while, you realize it’s more like managing yourself.

What you like, what you’re good at, what your values are, what kind of life you want to live.

These questions become clearer with continuous expression.

Sometimes the account grows slower than you do, but that’s okay.

Because the most precious gain is never the data itself.

1️⃣0️⃣ Last but Most Important: Don’t Treat Your Account Like an Exam

Many people start doubting themselves after a few posts with poor data.

But content creation is inherently a long-term game. One viral post might bring 100K followers; a month without virality might bring nothing.

What truly separates people is often not talent, but the willingness to keep updating even when there’s no traffic.

So the most important thing is whether you truly enjoy sharing.

👉 By the way, let me share several common misconceptions about account growth I’ve summarized after hitting 200K followers:

1. Bookmarking a ton but hesitating to take the first step. I didn’t know how to do talking-head videos at first either. But one day I suddenly got it, set up a tripod, and filmed my first video – then it took off. Many people think they’re learning, but they’re actually procrastinating. You’ll never know what users like until you publish your first post.

2. Giving up easily when early data is poor. Many accounts don’t die from lack of potential, but from not persisting until feedback appears. Content feedback has a delay; if you don’t hold on until that critical point, you’ll never see the possibility of growth.

3. Making monetization the primary goal leads to disappointment. If you stare at follower count and sponsored post rates every day, you’ll be miserable. Create value first, then consider monetization – you’ll go further. Monetization is a result, not a starting point.

4. Instead of studying positioning, just start outputting. People used to think: figure out positioning before starting. Later I found: many positions are not thought out, but made. From book sharing, study abroad experiences, note-taking systems, to career advancement, women’s growth, AI content, and even travel – none were pre-planned. They grew through continuous experimentation. Feedback from action always gets you closer to the answer than daydreaming.

5. Thinking you’re not professional enough. This is one of the most common misconceptions. Many people think they need to wait until they’re ready to share. But reality: you may lack some depth compared to experts, but you have more experience than many beginners. Sharing your growth process is itself valuable.

6. Over-studying viral hits and neglecting your own advantages. If you’re always imitating others, your account will struggle to develop its own identity. Accounts that can grow big long-term all have distinct personal characteristics. Others can copy your topics, but they can’t copy your life experiences.

7. Caring too much about what others think. Afraid of colleagues seeing, friends judging, family not understanding. But reality: 99% of people aren’t paying that much attention to you. And those who genuinely care about you will actually be helped by your sharing.

8. Thinking growth relies on tricks, but it actually relies on trust. Titles, covers, and topics all matter. But what determines whether an account can last 3 or 5 years is whether users are willing to keep following you as a person. Traffic is given by the platform. Trust is your own asset.

So back to the original question: If I had to restart from scratch on Xiaohongshu, I wouldn’t study positioning or viral hits. I would first publish my first piece of content, then the 10th, 50th, 100th. Because many answers lie after action.

The biggest feeling after a few years: treat sharing as sharing, treat growth as growth.

The biggest gain is not 500K followers, but having a group of people who are willing to listen to me and grow together with me ❤️

The rest, leave it to time.

Next article will discuss topics you care about more:

Your account is established, and you’ve finally gotten through the newbie phase. What’s next?

Three more critical things will happen:

**1. Monetization: Why can someone with 100K followers not get any sponsors, while someone with 1K followers has already started monetizing?

2. Personal IP: Is it actually “designed,” or does it grow bit by bit?

3. Long-termism: How do you keep moving forward on days without viral hits or feedback?**

These questions are closer to the real content world than “how to grow an account.”

Hope this helps! Remember to leave me comments – I want to hear your thoughts!

Let’s grow together 🙌