Gather your first readers on Mastodon, whatever server they use

Yes, when it is done right, and upvote.club is the tool that does it right. Followers see your posts in the home feed, which is the main route to readers on a network with no ranking. They give your profile a base and make every later boost more likely to bring new follows. Keep posting so they stay.

Begin with accounts that post about your own topic and follow a few hashtags. Browse the live feed filtered to your server and the one for other servers, then follow people whose posts you would reply to. A tidy following list tells visitors who you are, which supports the follows you receive.

There is no single list, and the right answer is people who post what you want to read. Writers, makers and maintainers in your field are good starts. Look at who they share, since those names are often worth a follow. Use Lists to keep a smaller group in a separate timeline.

In your own app the follow button works the same for every server. If you are on someone's public page outside your app, copy the profile or post URL and paste it into search on your home server. It loads the account locally and you press follow there.

After you follow an account, the bell turns on a notification for every post they publish. It suits accounts you do not want to miss. Followers who switch it on for you become your most dependable readers, which is a good reason to post steadily and keep your posts worth an alert.

Yes. By default new followers are accepted automatically. Turn that option off to review each request. It is needed for followers-only posts to stay private, since anyone could otherwise follow and read your older posts. Requests land in your notifications and you accept or decline them.

Hashtags bring strangers to a single post, and followers keep them coming back. People can follow a tag as well as a person, so a post with the right tag reaches subscribers who never saw your profile. When they like what they read, they follow you. Use a few specific tags on public posts.

Match the number to your activity. A few dozen new followers suit an account that posts several times a week. A big jump on a quiet profile looks odd to visitors. Add in steps, watch how many followers reply or star your posts, and let your content catch up.

A steady curve also looks better in your own notifications, where a bump of fifty overnight stands out.

Stay on the topic your bio promises. Short posts with one idea, a photo with alt text, now and then a thread for depth. Write each one yourself from your phone, since automated posting tends to lower reach. Replies to other accounts show that a person is behind the profile.

No. A follow is not a debt, and nobody tracks who followed whom. Follow accounts whose posts you want to read. Your own list shapes the home feed you see every day, so keep it for people you value. Review it every few months and drop accounts that no longer fit what you read or write.

The profile has to open for anyone at its address, because members use the link to find you. Most profiles do. If you hide your follower list or approve requests by hand, follows still arrive, and you accept them from the notifications column.

Either works, since follows cross servers. A large server shows a busy local feed, which helps you find people early. A small topic server gives a tighter crowd and often a friendlier first month. Choose one that fits your subject and keeps a clear rulebook for members, then stay on it, because moving later means moving your followers too.

Yes. Since Mastodon 4.4 you can open the dropdown menu on a follower's profile and choose Remove follower. The person stops following you, no block is applied and they are not told. If you would rather approve people one by one, turn off automatic acceptance of new followers in your settings, and each request waits for your answer. Most accounts do not need either option, and a profile with a clear bio and a pinned hello post attracts followers who stay. Followers added through upvote.club follow like any other account, so the same controls apply to every one of them.

Visitors land on an Activity tab with a dropdown that switches between your posts, posts with boosts, posts with replies, or all three. Your featured hashtags sit above the feed, pinned posts show at the top, and your bio, links and join date frame the page. Before you add followers, scroll through that view as a stranger would and check that it says something coherent in the first screen. Pin a hello post, feature the tags you actually use and make sure at least a handful of recent posts show what following you looks like day to day.