Attracting followers

[Lalalaraaa]

Hi, everyone,

I need advice on how to attract more followers. I feel that I'm a very proficient writer, yet the two stories I've posted have only garnered seven followers. Whereas writers have posted one story and gleaned hundreds of followers from that story alone.

Any advice or tips? Or should I just suck it up? I'm also dismayed that only one of my stories has earned the Hot designation, while the other lagged. I'm wondering if this has impacted my follower count.

 

[LilKitKat]

I havent posted any writing, but have gained followers from my looks and personality.
However, I would suggest a few ideas:

1. Perhaps write a story or two from the male perspective? The audience here is probably like 100:1 male to female in terms of ratio etc so that may be an idea.
2. Some men are pretty damn visual. Perhaps include pics or links to pics...even if its tame or AI or something.
3. Maybe focus on certain fetishes some men have? Like being dominating and/or anal sex, or use some common tropes like the woman has huge breasts, and is submissive...

just some guesses

also...maybe be active in other forums...amateur pics, politics, whatever...get ppl to know you/your name etc

 

[NotWise]

Hi, everyone,

I need advice on how to attract more followers. I feel that I'm a very proficient writer, yet the two stories I've posted have only garnered seven followers. Whereas writers have posted one story and gleaned hundreds of followers from that story alone.

Any advice or tips? Or should I just suck it up? I'm also dismayed that only one of my stories has earned the Hot designation, while the other lagged. I'm wondering if this has impacted my follower count.

Your two stories have combined less than 6K views since last October. Views are a measure of traffic. With no more traffic than that, it will be hard to get a lot of followers.

I don't know if this is true for everyone, but for me getting followers seems to be the result of a body of work, not so much a single story. The following I have built up slowly at first, but the more I published the more new followers I got from each story.

So...

Publish more. You have three stories with the last one going up more than four months ago.

Publish in a more widely-read category. Publishing in Novels and Novellas doesn't get a lot of eyes on your stories.

 

[Winter_Fare]

Hi, everyone,

I need advice on how to attract more followers. I feel that I'm a very proficient writer, yet the two stories I've posted have only garnered seven followers. Whereas writers have posted one story and gleaned hundreds of followers from that story alone.

Any advice or tips? Or should I just suck it up? I'm also dismayed that only one of my stories has earned the Hot designation, while the other lagged. I'm wondering if this has impacted my follower count.

Hi Lalalaraa,

You'll get a lot of advice on here I'm sure from more popular authors than me, but I'll tell you two things that immediately stand out.

First, the category. You publish in novels and novellas which doesn't have a massive readership. If you can possibly fit in to one of the more popular categories such as non con, you might get lower ratings on average but many more eyes on your pages. That might help you.

Second, that it's normal for sequels and subsequent chapters to get a drop off in readership. It happens to every series, it doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong, however.... If you're building up a readership, posting with shorter gaps and preferably regularly is the best way to avoid losing readers between installments.

Hope you continue building a following x

 

[WittyUserName]

Hi, everyone,

I need advice on how to attract more followers. I feel that I'm a very proficient writer, yet the two stories I've posted have only garnered seven followers. Whereas writers have posted one story and gleaned hundreds of followers from that story alone.

Any advice or tips? Or should I just suck it up? I'm also dismayed that only one of my stories has earned the Hot designation, while the other lagged. I'm wondering if this has impacted my follower count.

Enter one of Literotica's special contests. I have over 1,300 followers and 74 stories posted. I got nearly 300 followers from entering Literotica's Summer Lovin' contest. A LOT of people read the stories entered.

 

[VallesMarineris]

Hi, everyone,

I need advice on how to attract more followers. I feel that I'm a very proficient writer, yet the two stories I've posted have only garnered seven followers. Whereas writers have posted one story and gleaned hundreds of followers from that story alone.

Any advice or tips? Or should I just suck it up? I'm also dismayed that only one of my stories has earned the Hot designation, while the other lagged. I'm wondering if this has impacted my follower count.

Here are some tips based on my experience:

-- You're publishing in a category, N&N, that doesn't get many readers. And you've put it all out in a big lump. I see 19 Lit pages for your first story, a whole novella-sized chunk of words. That presentation makes your story seem like a big commitment, and a bit intimidating. I've made the same mistake.

Let me suggest: 1) divide up the novella into chapter-sized chunks (Lit pages run ~3k words; I like to make my chapters 3-9K) and publish the chapters one at a time. Try to end each one on a cliffhanger. Lit puts the 'New' flag on a story for a week, so if you publish weekly you'll always have something new. Readers look for that. 2) Move the story to Romance. It's much more popular and you'll get a lot more views, plus readers there are specifically looking for what you're writing.

You could even just start over, since you're quite new. Withdraw the two pieces you published and republish in Romance as a series of chapters. Explain to your followers what you're doing.

-- Regarding your writing: you should write what you want to write, to the best of your abilities. Your followers will find you. I write sci-fi, also not the most popular category, but my followers have found me and seem to like what I'm doing, so I keep doing it. I think you'll have the same experience. I get new followers at the rate of 2 or 3 per week.

You're getting a lot of advice, I see. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Voboy]

Publish high quality material, very swiftly (or at least consistently), in categories that get a good deal of traffic.

Or? Publish in LW.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Entering the contests will help. It's one of the surest ways to generate views, and views turn into followers.

 

[Rob_Royale]

Publish high quality material, very swiftly (or at least consistently), in categories that get a good deal of traffic.

Or? Publish in LW.

This about sums it up.

 

[SimonDoom]

1. To get followers, you need to get attention. The more eyeballs on your stories, the more followers.
2. Add a link to your submissions page to your signature, so every time you post here people will see the link to your stories and can easily go to them.
3. You need to write more stories. If you specialize in writing novels, it is unlikely you will gain many followers, because not that many people will actually read your stories all the way through.
4. Get involved in this forum, read it often, learn the rules, do your homework, search for and read how to articles about categories and things like that. Post in this forum and be a positive contributor.
5. Write standalone stories of 5000 to 20,000 words in popular categories. This is the number one thing you can do to get a lot of eyeballs on your stories and thereby get followers.
6. Publish more stories more often.
7. You might consider analyzing your novels story, figuring out whether it could be published in a popular category, and then publish it either in a popular category as one long story or break it into chapters so it gets more attention overtime.
8. Use all of your tags. On one of your stories you used only 4 tags. Use all of them, and choose them wisely. Use titillating tags to attract attention.
9. You use the term "love slave" in the description, which leads me to believe that your story might belong in the "nonconsent" category. That's a MUCH more popular category than novels. Play up the slave/noncon angle and put the category there.
10. The two most popular categories are incest/taboo and illustrated, neither of which seems to apply. After that is Loving Wives, which doesn't seem to apply. Some other popular categories are mature (usually for age gap relationships) and nonconsent, both of which might conceivably apply (I didn't read the story). If the story has bondage/dominance-submission elements, it could be BDSM, but that category doesn't get as many views.
11. If you want followers, you have to know your market. Do your research. There's a ton of information here, but the best way to get it is to be an active member and researcher rather than a passive one.
12. There are multiple ways to become a popular Literotica author. The single, fastest way is to write relatively short standalone incest stories, often, but that's not the only way. Some authors acquire popularity by specializing in and doing a good job in other niches. Others acquire followers by writing in many categories.

The principles I've discussed above have worked for me. I'm number 63 on the most-followed list, out of 50,000 or whatever, after publishing 64 stories over 8+ years. My stories have over 12 million views.

Numbers aren't the only thing that matters, or the most important thing. But if you want them, I think you'll find these ideas help.


Good luck!

 

[ElectricBlue]

Hi, everyone,

I need advice on how to attract more followers. I feel that I'm a very proficient writer, yet the two stories I've posted have only garnered seven followers. Whereas writers have posted one story and gleaned hundreds of followers from that story alone.

Any advice or tips? Or should I just suck it up? I'm also dismayed that only one of my stories has earned the Hot designation, while the other lagged. I'm wondering if this has impacted my follower count.

You have to write more. It really is that simple.

Two stories is only a first step, you need to have a dozen out there before you start beating up on yourself.

EDIT: I missed the bit where your first two submissions are novellas. For an unknown author on Lit, I've always said, start small. Short stories, released quickly, that's how you get visibility.

The next greatest erotic novel can wait. Do an apprenticeship first.

 

[PrimalDual]

Most of these replies boil down to Marketing oneself. This is one of my biggest surprises about Literotica. I had the impression publishing here would bring you to a pool of potential readers who would browse and slowly find you. That doesn't seem to be the case, due IMO to the flood of daily drivel getting published alongside. Time doesn't wind up being my ally.

You have to schmooze, and you have to push by doing things outside your actual range of interest, like entering story contests. If I had enough interest in devoting this much effort, I might have chosen a different career path. As it is, it's an interesting diversion, that threatens to become a distraction, that could turn into a real time-sink with little ultimate reward. So, I sit with the status quo - a few dozen mostly-unread stories that I wrote for my own amusement and hope bring a smile or an insight to a paltry few who happen to pass by.

 

[Nynah]

-- You're publishing in a category, N&N, that doesn't get many readers. And you've put it all out in a big lump. I see 19 Lit pages for your first story, a whole novella-sized chunk of words. That presentation makes your story seem like a big commitment, and a bit intimidating. I've made the same mistake.

OP, everyone has already given all the advice that I would have so all I will add is this: VallesMarineris' point about your first story is quite valid about not requiring a huge investment right up front, but as the two comments on that piece pointed out, you copied your story from wherever you wrote it into Lit's submission screen twice, effectively doubling what is a ten-page story into nineteen pages. As others have said, Novels & Novellas doesn't get a lot of traffic but I think double checking your work before you submitted it might have helped a little bit (or at least not scared off any prospective readers who weren't ready to commit to nearly twenty Lit pages of content).

 

[StillStunned]

Just like with feedback, the answer is hiding in plain sight, yet most would rather dance around it than name the obvious.

Attention is not something you chase; it is something you draw. Magnetism is not learned; it is carried.

Attractiveness does not arrive; it emerges.

And if this highly actionable advise doesn't work...

The fastest way to more followers is to write Incest/Taboo. It doesn't have to be long. Too Cold Not to Fuck was my effort to get more followers. It's 1.5k words, a brother and sister sharing a sleeping bag. It has more than 180k views, and was responsible for probably my first 150 followers. It's spawned five sequels and a WIWAW, and together that series accounts for probably 650k views in total and 500 of my 570 followers.

 

[ronde]

Hi, everyone,

I need advice on how to attract more followers. I feel that I'm a very proficient writer, yet the two stories I've posted have only garnered seven followers. Whereas writers have posted one story and gleaned hundreds of followers from that story alone.

Any advice or tips? Or should I just suck it up? I'm also dismayed that only one of my stories has earned the Hot designation, while the other lagged. I'm wondering if this has impacted my follower count.

What has worked for me:

Write often and don't worry about the length of each story. Readers won't follow you if you only publish long stories a month apart. You'll develop a following if you publish shorter stories more often.

Write in several genre instead of sticking to just one. You'll get "cross-over" readers that way.

As far as the "Hot" designation, that depends upon the number of readers who are sufficiently impressed with the content of a story to vote, and has little to do with the number of reads or followers.

Above all, no matter what you write or write about or how long the story is, readers won't read, vote, or follow you unless your stories are at least plausible and are readable.

 

[SouthernCrossfire]

Lalalaraa, there's a lot of good advice above from a number of very authors and it generally works over time if you continue writing quality work. The "over time" part is important here; have patience as you follow the advice and don't become frustrated or give up. Your number of followers will grow.

 

[TheLobster]

Perseverance, consistency, and quality. In other words, write well, publish often, do it for a long time.

Or just write incest like @StillStunned suggested and I can confidently concur.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Publishing in Novels and Novellas doesn't get a lot of eyes on your stories.

This is very true.

I published my first story here in 2014. It went into Novels/Novellas and did well enough to be a monthly contest winner. I posted in a few other categories over the years, but didn't see any significant increase in followers until 2023, when I published my first incest story in that category. Within weeks I had gained hundreds of new followers. I have written four other I/T stories since then and each adds to my follower count and views for my stories in different categories.

To sum it up, the average views for my stories in Novels/Novellas is 33,513. The average views for my I/T stories is 65,280. (All have the red H in their respective category)

The other key, IMO, is to do single submissions of complete stories rather than breaking them up into chapters or parts. I originally posted four of my novels in chapters, and while they did well, the feedback indicated that readers preferred longer, whole stories. I had Laurel post the single file for each story and remove the parts. Since then every story has seen an increase of at least 0.10 in its score.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

And if this highly actionable advise doesn't work...

The fastest way to more followers is to write Incest/Taboo. It doesn't have to be long. Too Cold Not to Fuck was my effort to get more followers. It's 1.5k words, a brother and sister sharing a sleeping bag. It has more than 180k views, and was responsible for probably my first 150 followers. It's spawned five sequels and a WIWAW, and together that series accounts for probably 650k views in total and 500 of my 570 followers.

Well, it seems to have worked for Plath, he's got as many followers as his talent would suggest.

 

[Cagivagurl]

Rare earth magnets are strong...

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

1. To get followers, you need to get attention. The more eyeballs on your stories, the more followers.
2. Add a link to your submissions page to your signature, so every time you post here people will see the link to your stories and can easily go to them.
3. You need to write more stories. If you specialize in writing novels, it is unlikely you will gain many followers, because not that many people will actually read your stories all the way through.
4. Get involved in this forum, read it often, learn the rules, do your homework, search for and read how to articles about categories and things like that. Post in this forum and be a positive contributor.
5. Write standalone stories of 5000 to 20,000 words in popular categories. This is the number one thing you can do to get a lot of eyeballs on your stories and thereby get followers.
6. Publish more stories more often.
7. You might consider analyzing your novels story, figuring out whether it could be published in a popular category, and then publish it either in a popular category as one long story or break it into chapters so it gets more attention overtime.
8. Use all of your tags. On one of your stories you used only 4 tags. Use all of them, and choose them wisely. Use titillating tags to attract attention.
9. You use the term "love slave" in the description, which leads me to believe that your story might belong in the "nonconsent" category. That's a MUCH more popular category than novels. Play up the slave/noncon angle and put the category there.
10. The two most popular categories are incest/taboo and illustrated, neither of which seems to apply. After that is Loving Wives, which doesn't seem to apply. Some other popular categories are mature (usually for age gap relationships) and nonconsent, both of which might conceivably apply (I didn't read the story). If the story has bondage/dominance-submission elements, it could be BDSM, but that category doesn't get as many views.
11. If you want followers, you have to know your market. Do your research. There's a ton of information here, but the best way to get it is to be an active member and researcher rather than a passive one.
12. There are multiple ways to become a popular Literotica author. The single, fastest way is to write relatively short standalone incest stories, often, but that's not the only way. Some authors acquire popularity by specializing in and doing a good job in other niches. Others acquire followers by writing in many categories.

The principles I've discussed above have worked for me. I'm number 63 on the most-followed list, out of 50,000 or whatever, after publishing 64 stories over 8+ years. My stories have over 12 million views.

Numbers aren't the only thing that matters, or the most important thing. But if you want them, I think you'll find these ideas help.


Good luck!

Number 5.
Good luck

 

[TruthwithaTwist]

1. To get followers, you need to get attention. The more eyeballs on your stories, the more followers.
2. Add a link to your submissions page to your signature, so every time you post here people will see the link to your stories and can easily go to them.
3. You need to write more stories. If you specialize in writing novels, it is unlikely you will gain many followers, because not that many people will actually read your stories all the way through.
4. Get involved in this forum, read it often, learn the rules, do your homework, search for and read how to articles about categories and things like that. Post in this forum and be a positive contributor.
5. Write standalone stories of 5000 to 20,000 words in popular categories. This is the number one thing you can do to get a lot of eyeballs on your stories and thereby get followers.
6. Publish more stories more often.
7. You might consider analyzing your novels story, figuring out whether it could be published in a popular category, and then publish it either in a popular category as one long story or break it into chapters so it gets more attention overtime.
8. Use all of your tags. On one of your stories you used only 4 tags. Use all of them, and choose them wisely. Use titillating tags to attract attention.
9. You use the term "love slave" in the description, which leads me to believe that your story might belong in the "nonconsent" category. That's a MUCH more popular category than novels. Play up the slave/noncon angle and put the category there.
10. The two most popular categories are incest/taboo and illustrated, neither of which seems to apply. After that is Loving Wives, which doesn't seem to apply. Some other popular categories are mature (usually for age gap relationships) and nonconsent, both of which might conceivably apply (I didn't read the story). If the story has bondage/dominance-submission elements, it could be BDSM, but that category doesn't get as many views.
11. If you want followers, you have to know your market. Do your research. There's a ton of information here, but the best way to get it is to be an active member and researcher rather than a passive one.
12. There are multiple ways to become a popular Literotica author. The single, fastest way is to write relatively short standalone incest stories, often, but that's not the only way. Some authors acquire popularity by specializing in and doing a good job in other niches. Others acquire followers by writing in many categories.

The principles I've discussed above have worked for me. I'm number 63 on the most-followed list, out of 50,000 or whatever, after publishing 64 stories over 8+ years. My stories have over 12 million views.

Numbers aren't the only thing that matters, or the most important thing. But if you want them, I think you'll find these ideas help.


Good luck!

Great tips! I’m admittedly getting frustrated with my low follower count. Ratings are solid, 30 stories written, mostly in contests.

Because I base my stories on real events, I’m resisting every urge to do an incest one as it may be too big of a stretch.

 

[Voboy]

Great tips! I’m admittedly getting frustrated with my low follower count. Ratings are solid, 30 stories written, mostly in contests.

Because I base my stories on real events, I’m resisting every urge to do an incest one as it may be too big of a stretch.

Don't take this the wrong way, but how old are you?

I strongly suspect an undue obsession with follower count is tied to a youth and adolescence spent growing up with Facebook or other social media sites. Gen X, I think, tends to be less worried about it because we didn't grow up with vast numbers of online "friends" or other kinds of supporters. It was not a way to keep score in life.

This is just me speculating; let me know if I'm off-base, lol. Either way, followings tend to grow fairly slowly here compared to, say, TikTok.

 

[TheLobster]

This is just me speculating; let me know if I'm off-base, lol.

Considering that his profile mentions 4+ decades of sexual experiences, I’d say you are pretty wildly off the mark

 

[SinclairGroupLLP]

Don't take this the wrong way, but how old are you?

I strongly suspect an undue obsession with follower count is tied to a youth and adolescence spent growing up with Facebook or other social media sites. Gen X, I think, tends to be less worried about it because we didn't grow up with vast numbers of online "friends" or other kinds of supporters. It was not a way to keep score in life.

This is just me speculating; let me know if I'm off-base, lol. Either way, followings tend to grow fairly slowly here compared to, say, TikTok

Honestly, I think it’s fair to be concerned with follower count, depending on what you write and where.

If you’re doing serial stuff, like me, you want as many followers as you can get, because they’re the ones probably most invested in the story. I also find that if you’re chasing red Hs and you’re in specific categories that attract a lot of one-bombers, the only people able to sustain the initial hit and climb into territory that actually reflects the value of the writing (as much as the ratings do, obviously) you need a high follower count. Almost invariably, when I see new IR stories published that are above 4.3 on the day they come out, the author has 400- followers. Otherwise they’re sitting in the 3s until people actually read the story. This is, of course, assuming the writing isn’t total shit.

So I can see why folks, even non-Zoomers, would want to increase their follower numbers.