your first 30 days on chilli: a week-by-week plan
Week 1 launch one action. Week 2 show what it did. Week 3 run two more and test new types. Week 4 check your insights and lock in a weekly rhythm.
Most creators treat their first action like a one-off stunt. Post it, get a spike, forget about it. The ones who build real movements treat it like week one of a habit.
Here's the 30-day plan we'd give a friend. It's built on one idea: rhythm beats urgency.
week 1: launch one action
Pick one moment, one fight, one clear ask. Resist the urge to launch your whole manifesto.
- Pick a moment that's live right now. A vote this week, a news story people are already angry about, your new video dropping. See pick the moment: when to ask your followers to act.
- Create your action with three ways to help, including at least one email to a named target. Tap + in the bottom bar on mobile, or create in the left sidebar on a computer. Your action page keeps you on track with get your action live, "3 steps to go live": a title, image and intro, a way to help, then publish. Walkthrough: how to create your first action on chilli, step by step.
- Follow "you're live!" For 15 days after you publish, your action page lists what makes an action take off: share it on your socials, add more ways to help ("aim for 3") and post an update. The first days count most, so start ticking right away.
- Open your dashboard. It appears as soon as your first action exists (the dashboard tab on mobile, dashboard in the sidebar on a computer). Work through getting started: set up the basics (photo, name, bio), then get your first 10 supporters. If the chilli team has prepared something for you, it waits under ready to publish: review what the chilli team prepared for you.
- Pin it on your profile and put your profile link in your bio.
- Post about it in at least two formats: a feed post or reel, plus a few stories with the link sticker.
- Set up comment-to-DM so people who comment a keyword get the link in their DMs. It converts far better than "link in bio". How-to: comment to DM automation: put your action link in every inbox.
[The outrage, in one line.]
[Two sentences on why now: the vote, the deadline, the new fact.]
I set up a way to fight back that takes 30 seconds. Comment ACTION and I'll send you the link, or tap the link in my bio.
week 2: show what it did
This is the week most people skip, and it's the week that matters most. People who act and never hear back quietly stop acting.
- Post an update on your action ("the fight so far") within a week. It goes to every supporter by email and push, and it ticks the last step of your you're live! list. Lead with a number: "2,140 emails landed in the Minister's inbox."
- Use "because of you" language. It's their win, not yours.
- Screenshot the counter and put it in your stories. Social proof pulls in the people who didn't act the first time.
- Tease what's next. "Round two drops Thursday."
More on this in close the loop: show your supporters their action mattered.
week 3: go again, and try something new
- Launch your second and third actions. Or add fresh ways to help to your first one if the fight is still live. Got a half-finished draft? Find it in actions on your dashboard: filter drafts, sort by last edited.
- Mix the types. If week 1 was all emails, try a phone call, a Google Maps review or a comment on the target's post. Different people prefer different ways to help. See ways to help, explained: every type of action on chilli.
- Use scheduling. Queue ways to help to go live over several days so your action has fresh news all week. They wait in the scheduled tab of your action page, and only you see them until they go live.
- Turn on donations if the chilli team has switched them on for your account. Write your "fund my work" story and mention it after people act, never before.
- Try a time-boxed push: 72 hours, one goal, a public counter. Deadlines make people move.
week 4: look back, then set your rhythm
Open your dashboard, go to community and ask:
- Which action got the most supporters and completions? What was the moment behind it?
- Which action had fewer completions per supporter? Read it on your phone and look for a vague or demanding first ask.
- Where are your supporters? Top countries and age ranges can change who you target next.
- Which post drove the most clicks: the reel, the story, the DM keyword? (Your Instagram or TikTok insights have this one.)
Then set your cadence for next month. Our recommendation: at least one new action a week, ideally two or three, each with its own post.
the 30-day scorecard
| by the end of… | you've done this |
|---|---|
| week 1 | one live action, pinned, shared in 2+ formats, the basics set up |
| week 2 | one update posted, counter shared in stories |
| week 3 | three actions total, 2+ types of ways to help tried |
| week 4 | insights reviewed, weekly rhythm set |
why rhythm wins
One post is easy to forget. A steady series of actions gives supporters a reason to come back, and your updates show them what their effort changed.
The Captain Paul Watson Foundation didn't win attention on Icelandic whaling with one big post. They ran wave after wave of actions, updated supporters as the fight moved, and hit 47K+ actions from 5K supporters.
real win · Captain Paul Watson FoundationPaul Watson put Iceland's whale hunt in the spotlight
your next move
You've got a plan. Now learn the engine underneath it: the creator action loop: how to turn followers into regulars.
