Popularity

First of all, being popular is like being a businesswoman, or a politician. It's being cunning. It's being quick, being up-to-date on the latest gossip.
Like a businessperson, you'll have to sell your "customers" (in the case, your soon-to-be adoring fans), their weaknesses, their insecurities. You have to make them believe that you're cool. You have to make them believe that they'll be better, by being friends with you. You should market yourself as a confidence-booster.
"So how do I start?"
You start, by deciding:

1. nice girl/mean girl?

If you picked nice girl:
NO. That's the wrong answer. People are greedy. They're selfish. They think of themselves, and they suffer from jealousy and envy. That's why there exists the Seven Deadly Sins. As quoted by Niccolo Machiavelli in "The Prince" (great book, btw), "Men..will not fail to turn on the prince[ss] who is loved. They will...hesitate to turn..on the ones that are feared..." You'll be picked up, and cast aside as fast as the short-lived high-waisted pants trend.

If you picked mean girl:
NO. Wrong answer. People will respect you to your face, but they'll gossip and talk trash about you behind your back. In the end, you won't have any real friends.

What is the right answer, then?
The right answer, is a combination of the two. You can be downright snarky to everyone behind their back, but it won't matter if you're nice to them to their face. You can be usually nice, but if anyone offends you, or disrespects you, remember: firstly, use politics. Be nice about it. And if that doesn't work, it doesn't hurt at all to take revenge. Vengeance is sweet.

When I or Ally feel like it, we'll post some more. Oh, and, we're teaching you the basics before jumping into How To Be Charismatic.

ciao!

-abby