The Internet was supposed to be the playing field that equalized everything.
It didn’t.
Back in 2004, when I was building my first website for writers, the promise was that if you got online it would open up countless opportunities for you.
Two decades later, the promise is basically the same; grind it out on social media and you will one day win.
You may have seen poets like Rupi Kaur and Tyler Knott, get thousands of followers on social media, and that fueled your ambition. “One day it will work out for me.”
Sadly, that day never comes for many. I’ve run enough social media accounts to know that for some people, posting often does not equal social media success.
It’s not you. It’s not your writing. It’s the algorithm.
Algorithms aren’t designed for poetry, nuance, or quiet depth. They’re designed for engagement, no matter how shallow it is. Clicks. Shares. Watch time.
So what do you do when your best work gets buried beneath memes and viral dances?
You take ownership of your visibility.
What the algorithm wants (and why writers struggle)
Social media platforms are shaped by algorithms that are driven by:
- Frequent posting
- High engagement in the first hour
- Strong visuals or motion (video > text)
- Topics that spark emotion or controversy
This is great if you’re doing comedy, controversy, quick-take storytelling, or if you’re writing to the social media crowd.
Not so great if you’re writing delicate essays, short stories, or introspective poems.
Not so great if you want to move at your own pace.
All the things we lose by chasing the algorithm
Algorithms reward volume and velocity. But writing often requires the opposite; stillness and reflection.
Many writers find themselves bending their voice to fit the feed and pushing out posts instead of letting ideas mature.
In trying to stay visible, we sometimes vanish from our own creative process.
We become so fixated on likes and shares that we forget the reason we started to write in the first place.
Unless your deep motivation for writing is ‘Internet stardom’ then it’s ok, you can slow down, take a breath. Reconnect with the reason you started to write.
Then ask, “What does this reason demand of me?”
For instance, I write poetry to find perspective and to share my story, but most importantly, I write simply because there is a force inside me that compels me to do so.”
So at the end of the day, I want to write and I want to share my work. The Internet plays a part in all that, but is not the be all and end all of the story.
Finding visibility beyond the algorithm
When I moved to Western MA seven years ago, I didn’t have any networks here.
I wanted to build websites for creatives and small businesses so I started to market online and eventually reached thousands of people.
But my first real work here? It came from unexpected places; for example, the Writing Room at Forbes Library. Some of the most enduring creative relationships I’ve formed began in that quiet room, not on a screen.
Relationships still matter. The kind that starts with common interests and exchanged drafts. Digital reach is powerful, but connection is what builds a career.
Instead of chasing platforms, build structures that belong to you and your community. Here are some examples:
1. Start or Join a Collaborative Mailing List
Email is still the most direct, reliable way to reach readers. But instead of running a mailing list alone, team up with a few other writers. Share the burden. Cross-pollinate audiences. Make it a group experiment. When one of you launches a book, everyone in the collaborative supports them.
2. Host Offline Events
Readings, salons, mini-workshops, they don’t have to be big. A gathering of ten people who show up and care is worth more than 10,000 impressions that lead to nothing more than ‘visibility’. In-person events let you build deep, lasting connections.
3. Treat Your Website Like Your Home
Your website doesn’t need to go viral. It just needs to matter to the right person.
In working with many artists, I’ve come to understand this deeply: the goal isn’t to get a million visitors. It’s to create a home for your work.
If, in the entire lifespan of your website, it only does one thing; convince an editor that your manuscript is worth their time, land you an interview that opens unexpected doors, or help you connect with one person who becomes a creative ally, that’s more than enough.
Everything else? That’s dessert.
One person who does this well is Michael Favala Goldman. His site is an archive of his literary journey. And it has opened up doors for him. He uses social media, but never stresses about likes or reach.
Social platforms are rented space. A website is your home base. Use it to archive work, list events, publish samples of your work, and guide people through your world.
4. Leverage other people’s audiences
The big lie you’ve been fed is that you need to build social media profiles with thousands of followers.
You don’t. All you need to do is know where your target audience hangs out. If someone else has the audience, ask what you can offer of value in exchange for access to their followers.
Look for literary podcasts and approach them to be a guest. Platforms like Matchmaker.fm and Podzay.com make it easy to get matched with the right podcast.
Venues like The LAVA Center, Bombyx and the Northampton Arts Center will co-promote events with artists. Your event. Your audience. Their audience.
Holyoke Media will record your literary event at no cost if you host it at their location- which is also free.
Local radio and TV programs like The Fabulous 413 and Mass Apeal are always looking for guests. Make your pitch and think through the eyes of the producers. If you want to come on and talk about your new book, there’s nothing special about that; there are hundreds of other new books.
But, if your book is a poetry collection inspired by Asparagus, then at about the time the Asparagus Festival happens in Hadley, you know you’ll get more attention to your pitch.
From platform to ecosystem
We don’t need to go viral. We need to lean more on the basics.
That means shifting from dependency on platforms to building an ecosystem:
- Your website + mailing list = the core of your ecosystem
- In-person + online events = visibility with intimacy
- Collaborations = growth with shared labor and leveraging other people’s audiences in exchange for your story or expertise.
Instead of trying to game the algorithm, design your own system, based on your network, knowledge, and location.
At the Mass Creative Summit on June 6, 2025, I attended a session by Danielle Amodeo of the Arts Equity Group. She spoke about the power of sitting down and taking inventory of all the people you know, all the places you have access to, all the skills you have and then thinking about how those can help you in your work.
That’s the foundation of your ecosystem.
Final thoughts
The algorithm was not built to serve you. Its ultimate goal is profit for the owners of the platform.
So don’t contort yourself to please it. Don’t lose your voice chasing metrics.
Your real visibility comes from resonance and relationships. Yes, sometimes, that happens on social media, but too many people are chasing likes and their own success, so we often end up in chambers full of empty comments and ‘likes’ seeking other ‘likes.’
Keep writing. Keep connecting. And when the algorithm eats your poem, share your work in spaces it cannot reach.
About the author
Fungai Tichawangana is a writer, web developer, and advocate for creative empowerment. He runs Artist Dynamix, a digital marketing agency based in Amherst MA. You can find him at artistdynamix.com or around Western Massachusetts with his notebook and too many browser tabs open.