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When Engagement Is Low and You Keep Writing Anyway
Impact pays, likes on a post doesn't.
Kevin Szabo
December 29, 2025
In partnership with
Hey,
I want to talk to you about low engagement on X.
Not how to fix it.
Not how to boost it.
Not how to make the numbers move.
Just how to live with it without letting it mess with your head.
Because low engagement is part of writing publicly, whether anyone admits it or not.
Even for people who seem like they always have attention.
Low Engagement Is More Common Than It Looks
Most timelines make it feel like everyone else is doing better than you.
Posts with replies.
Posts with shares.
Posts that seem to land effortlessly.
What you do not see is how many quiet posts exist behind those moments.
Low engagement is not a personal failure.
It is the default state for most writing.
The mistake is assuming low response means low impact.
Those are not the same thing.
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Engagement Is a Signal, Not a Score
Likes and replies are signals.
They tell you something about timing, reach, and visibility.
They do not tell you the full story.
Someone can read your post, think about it, and never interact.
Someone can save it mentally and come back weeks later.
Someone can form an opinion about you without touching a button.
None of that shows up in the numbers.
That does not make it less real.
Quiet Posts Still Reach People
One of the hardest things to accept is that you will never know who is reading.
Some people do not like posts.
Some people do not reply.
Some people do not want to be seen engaging.
They still read.
They still notice patterns.
They still remember tone.
They still build context.
Writing works quietly.
It always has.
Low Engagement Does Not Mean Low Quality
It is easy to assume something is wrong with the writing when a post does not land.
Sometimes it is timing.
Sometimes it is reach.
Sometimes the audience is not ready for that thought yet.
Quality and engagement are not perfectly linked.
Some of the most meaningful posts are the quiet ones.
They are not built for reaction.
They are built for recognition later.
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Chasing Engagement Changes How You Write
The moment engagement becomes the goal, writing changes.
You simplify too much.
You exaggerate.
You write toward reaction instead of clarity.
That shift feels subtle at first.
Over time, it pulls you away from what you actually want to say.
Writing becomes performance.
And performance is exhausting to maintain.
Impact Is Slower Than Feedback
Impact does not show up immediately.
It shows up when:
Someone references something you wrote weeks ago
A conversation feels easier than expected
A message starts with I have been reading your posts for a while
Those moments come without warning.
They are the result of accumulated clarity, not individual wins.
If you only measure what you can see instantly, you miss this entirely.
Writing Is About Building Context
Every post adds a little context around how you think.
One post does not do much.
Twenty posts start to form a picture.
One hundred posts create familiarity.
Low engagement posts still contribute to that picture.
They are not wasted.
They are foundational.
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The Numbers Are the Loudest Part, Not the Most Important
Numbers are visible.
Impact is quiet.
It is easy to confuse visibility with importance.
Most meaningful things in writing happen without an audience reacting in real time.
Someone thinking differently.
Someone remembering your name.
Someone trusting your perspective.
Those outcomes do not announce themselves.
Detaching From Engagement Is a Skill
Not worrying about engagement does not mean ignoring it completely.
It means not letting it decide your mood or direction.
You can notice patterns without letting them define you.
You can learn without obsessing.
Detachment takes practice.
The first step is realizing that low engagement is not a verdict.
It is just data with limited context.
Write for the Person Who Needs It Later
Instead of writing for the crowd in front of you, write for the person who will find it later.
The one scrolling quietly.
The one saving thoughts mentally.
The one forming opinions slowly.
That person exists even if you cannot see them.
Writing with that mindset removes pressure.
It brings the focus back to usefulness.
Staying Consistent Matters More Than Being Noticed
Consistency is what allows impact to accumulate.
Not bursts of attention.
Not occasional spikes.
Just showing up.
Most people stop writing because the feedback feels too small.
The writers who continue understand that writing is not about today.
It is about staying long enough for the work to stack.
Low Engagement Is Part of the Process, Not a Problem
Every writer experiences this phase.
Some stay quiet and keep writing.
Some change everything chasing response.
Some stop entirely.
The outcome usually depends on that choice.
Low engagement is not something to escape.
It is something to move through.
Low engagement can feel discouraging if you let it define the work.
But writing is not about collecting reactions.
It is about creating understanding.
If you focus on impact instead of likes, writing becomes steadier.
Less emotional.
Less reactive.
More honest.
And over time, that honesty reaches the people it is meant to reach.
Even if they never tap a button.
Talk soon,
