Attracting followers

[SinclairGroupLLP]

The only numbers Gen X worried about when we were kids was getting the high score in an arcade and having our initials in the top spot.

I chased the high score in Spy Hunter constantly back when I was a kid, but there must have been some Pinball Wizard type dudes who played at the same arcade I did because I never got higher than eight.

 

[TruthwithaTwist]

If you're mid-50s, you're Gen X, not Boomer. Boomers were born 1946-1964.

You, my friend, are 100% correct! The worst part is, I always go down TikTok and Instagram rabbit holes, watching videos about GenX!

I may have to turn in my 80s membership card for this error!

 

[TruthwithaTwist]

I chased the high score in Spy Hunter constantly back when I was a kid, but there must have been some Pinball Wizard type dudes who played at the same arcade I did because I never got higher than eight.

I LOVED me some Spy Hunter!

 

[GoodnessO]

Please don't change your story writing to CNC or incest, for the "ratings".
Write what you know & like, for yourself, 1st & foremost. Don't worry how many people follow or not, just do you.
Personally, I would write true stories... best I can recall them, LOL. But everyone doesn't want to write out stories from their life... or maybe it doesn't seem interesting enough.
Posting has potential to garner followers. (That's not why I post, but I have sometimes noticed new followers after certain posts I've made.)

 

[GoodnessO]

Eventually I may try to publish a story I've drafted titled, The Biggest Cock I've Ever Seen (& held).

 

[THBGato]

What about votes and reads? I feel like follower may not translate into comments, but it certainly helps with views and votes.

Do they? Views, sure, but votes? Only three of my stories have more than 400+ votes, so clearly not all my followers read/vote. I suspect that for many users here, following somebody is basically bookmarking your profile as "something I might be interested in". I don't think it makes most of them more likely to vote.

This is exactly how I felt when you followed me, lol. Penny and I squeed together a bit.

But I don't follow you. I LOVED the one lesbian story you've written, and commented on it, and added it to several lists. But I only really follow writers with substantial/mainly lesbian bodies of work.

Which kind of proves my point - it's the commenting that means the most. It's my comment that made you happy.

I know you follow me, but I don't think you've commented on any of my stories, or added any to favourites. That's cool - I'm not saying that to guilt trip you - but it also kind of proves my other point: if the followers you gain don't interact with your stories, then what do writers gain from them? I'd rather get a comment from Anon than a silent follower (again, that's not a dig, just me explaining my point of view).

 

[lovecraft68]

I chased the high score in Spy Hunter constantly back when I was a kid, but there must have been some Pinball Wizard type dudes who played at the same arcade I did because I never got higher than eight.

Same here, both in Asteroids and then Defender I was the perennial number two to "Axe". Not sure what that says that I remember that around years later

 

[SinclairGroupLLP]

But I don't follow you. I LOVED the one lesbian story you've written, and commented on it, and added it to several lists. But I only really follow writers with substantial/mainly lesbian bodies of work.

Which kind of proves my point - it's the commenting that means the most. It's my comment that made you happy.

I know you follow me, but I don't think you've commented on any of my stories, or added any to favourites. That's cool - I'm not saying that to guilt trip you - but it also kind of proves my other point: if the followers you gain don't interact with your stories, then what do writers gain from them? I'd rather get a comment from Anon than a silent follower (again, that's not a dig, just me explaining my point of view).

Man, talk about a Mandela effect, lol. My memory is going!

It’s weird the following thing, because you’re right - I do follow you, but haven’t commented. I’ve voted, but I only tend to comment on IR stories, largely because they don’t ever seem to get a lot of comments. Most of your stories have more comments than some of my entire series, lol.

I think that’s an interesting discussion for another day - why we comment and what compels us to do it.

And I guess, at least for me, I consider following to be as much of an interaction as a comment or a vote, since it’s still a metric I can track and that’s displayed and the author is told about it in their activity feed. I love getting new followers, even if they never comment.

 

[THBGato]

why we comment and what compels us to do it.

For me it's a simple case of "do as you would be done by". If I finish a story, I vote and comment on it, as that's what I wish others would do.

 

[BreakTheBar]

The realistic question, folks, is that of all the statistics you can garner on Literotica (reads, comments, votes, # of releases, # of releases with a Hot designation, # of Top 10s, etc.), why chase Followers?

The simple answer is validation - it signals that the reader wants to read more, right? Except... does it?

Take it from someone in the Top 25 of Most Followed list (I think I'm #21 right now?) - the more content you write, the less the numbers matter. I'm at 207 releases, most of them in series, and have 10.4k followers. The next guy up from me is Penname3000 with 1,058 releases and 10.6k followers. Silkstokingslover, at #1, has an untouchable 57k followers with 732 releases. Each of us has VERY different catalogues of work, writing different niches.

The way I see it, there are two primary ways to consistently gain followers here on Lit - know how to write to your niche and fulfill what that niche wants consistently, and write Incest content. Apparently, LW might also be a follower-builder, but is usually a morale killer at the same time. I've dabbled in Incest content before during my first stint of writing erotica back in 2015, but that wasn't what built my follower count - I mostly post in Group Sex, Mind Control and SciFi/Fantasy. I write big, ongoing series that occasionally make people mad. I took a 7-year hiatus one time. My follower count is based on the fact that I write a consistent quality and content type that represents my brand. I can dabble in other categories, experiment with different stuff, but my core audience can expect certain things out of my work with a reliable consistency.

But that brings me back to the start of this post - why chase followers? There was a time this site didn't HAVE a Follow function and I ran an e-mail notification list by hand so that I could let folks know when I was releasing new content. I did that because, frankly, I wanted to build my audience and make a career out of writing.

If writing is a hobby for you, don't worry about Followers. Enjoy writing, enjoy working on your stories, and your characters. Do it for yourself, learn and grow as a storyteller, and your audience will find you. Only worry about Followers, and even Reads, Votes or any other stat, if you want writing to be more than a hobby. Metrics are only important if you WANT them to be important, and they are a great way to start stressing out or feeling down over something that should be fun and entertaining.

 

[RachelWalsh]

You could always shit post some political trash. That seems like the only thing people here want now.

 

[Lalalaraaa]

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).

I don't know how my story got posted twice; I could have sworn I only submitted it once. Is this something that can be corrected?

 

[Lalalaraaa]

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.

Yes, but I have novels in me! My next one will be an erotic fantasy, so perhaps that will help in attracting crossover followers.

 

[Lalalaraaa]

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.

LOL! I'm Gen X!

 

[ElectricBlue]

I don't know how my story got posted twice; I could have sworn I only submitted it once. Is this something that can be corrected?

You'll have to submit an edit. Submit the corrected text, with the same title plus the word EDIT, and add a note to the editor explaining what you're doing.

It will take 2 - 3 weeks, but all the scores and comments will be retained.

 

[Lalalaraaa]

Thanks!

 

[Quimpossibility]

Hi folks.

I'm a bit confused: i have followers that I have removed, and another who isn't listed that I know follows me. I'm wondering if Lit has different categories of followers (if that makes sense) depending on whether or not they are an author. Thanks

 

[GoodnessO]

IDK the answer to your specific question, but I too have found the list of "followers" to be inconsistent.
For example, until I started following Lalalaraaa, I was unable to see any followers on her profile. After I started following l

 

[GoodnessO]

IDK the answer to your specific question, but I too have found the list of "followers" to be inconsistent.
For example, until I started following Lalalaraaa, I was unable to see any followers on their profile. After I started following l

... Lalalaraaa, I'm able to see only myself as a follower.

 

[GoodnessO]

Also, depending on which view I look at to see my own profile, I see a different list of followers.

 

[Voyeurkenneth]

Hi folks.

I'm a bit confused: i have followers that I have removed, and another who isn't listed that I know follows me. I'm wondering if Lit has different categories of followers (if that makes sense) depending on whether or not they are an author. Thanks

I think there might be a difference in followers forum-side vs. story-side.

 

[taytay4eva]

Eventually I may try to publish a story I've drafted titled, The Biggest Cock I've Ever Seen (& held).

<said like you caught big fish> "How. Big. WAS. It?"

 

[GoodnessO]

<said like you caught big fish> "How. Big. WAS. It?"

There's a different thread on that topic... But this story title caught your eye.

 

[taytay4eva]

There's a different thread on that topic... But this story title caught your eye.

I do love a good fishy tale

 

[Quimpossibility]

I think there might be a difference in followers forum-side vs. story-side.

It seems that way.

Plus i have removed a few followers that i no longer chat with and they still show up. I assume that's just a weird glitch.