I haven't ventured into the pen name thing yet, partially because what you're talking about. I've worked hard to get the Facebook followers and mailing list signups.
What I would do, since you're essentially looking for "social proof," is sign up for one of those Facebook things where they promote your page. The good news with that is you can get signups quickly, so your Facebook page doesn't look so sad (I know what you mean by sad Facebook page, btw. I felt the same way when I had just a few followers). The bad news is that I heard somewhere that these Facebook page promos are pretty much bots from different countries. In other words, you won't get engagement from these "followers." And then, when you run an ad to the "followers," you'll be paying good money to send the ad to bots.
That's the downside to doing that. But, then again, it might just be rumors that these new followers are bots and not real. Who really knows the actual story?
The other thing you can do is targeted advertising on Facebook, to try to (more slowly) get actual followers for your page. You can choose the demographic and the interests of the Facebook population you're targeting.
Good luck - I know it's scary trying something new, but it might be really rewarding, too. And lots of writers on this board have numerous pen names, so it can work.
What I would do, since you're essentially looking for "social proof," is sign up for one of those Facebook things where they promote your page. The good news with that is you can get signups quickly, so your Facebook page doesn't look so sad (I know what you mean by sad Facebook page, btw. I felt the same way when I had just a few followers). The bad news is that I heard somewhere that these Facebook page promos are pretty much bots from different countries. In other words, you won't get engagement from these "followers." And then, when you run an ad to the "followers," you'll be paying good money to send the ad to bots.
That's the downside to doing that. But, then again, it might just be rumors that these new followers are bots and not real. Who really knows the actual story?
The other thing you can do is targeted advertising on Facebook, to try to (more slowly) get actual followers for your page. You can choose the demographic and the interests of the Facebook population you're targeting.
Good luck - I know it's scary trying something new, but it might be really rewarding, too. And lots of writers on this board have numerous pen names, so it can work.
