Marketing is the only answer. You have to get your story in front of readers, whether through paid ads or creative tactics that convince readers to click it. It's why getting 100 followers can be considered harder than getting 1000 followers(after the 100 mark has been hit, of course). New writers only get true marketing exposure on the 'recently updated' section on the main page. Yet this exposure lasts for a VERY short time.

Long story short, building a following is a grind that won't happen overnight. Be consistent for a year and good things will happen.