How to keep your story alive after the first week

[hotwords229]

Hi, does anyone have any thoughts on how to get readers to keep reading your stories after they've been bumped off the "new stories" page?

I know tags are everything, but what about promoting your stories? Is there a good way to keep your story "alive" for the people who simply didn't see it when it was new and don't want to sift through the trillions of stories with similar tags as yours?

Your ideas are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[ElectricBlue]

There's nothing you can do to promote your story on Lit. It lives or dies on its merits, and will stay on the category first page until it rolls to the bottom and falls off as other material gets published.

If it's popular with readers it might generate a Red H, a high score and some comments which might keep it in the top story sub-lists for a day, a week, or a month, which would attract more readers. After that it depends on tags, and you posting more material so folk get curious in your story file and read your back list.

Some writers promote with emails and Twitter feeds, but that's outside Lit and would involve a chunk of effort that would be better placed writing the next story, I think.

If a reader has you as a "favourite author" they'll see your story go up on their dash. But that's it.

Write the next one and slowly build up a following, is the best advice that can be given, really.

 

[LeandraNyx]

Deleted

 

[Nezhul]

good tags help. It helps readers find your story.
Don't hesitate to add multi-word tags like "fuckign machine" or "blonde lesbian" - both words will count during search.

 

[ElectricBlue]

There is also the "New Story Advertisements" thread at the top of this "Feedback" forum (I forgot it in my first post). I promote my new stories there - zero idea whether it brings extra readers though, it's probably only known about by folk who wander into this forum. I didn't see it for a long time - but it's another "hey, I've just publish something" place.

 

[PervOtaku]

I don't know, I still get comments on old stories from time to time, so folks must be finding them somehow.

Probably one thing is that if somebody really enjoys your new story they are more likely to go read your older ones.

And of course, it's part of the strategy in posting chapters weekly or biweekly, rather than dropping all the chapters in one go. Each chapter gets its turn on the "new" list.

 

[sr71plt]

Write and post stories regularly and write well. Readers will see your stories regularly and will like what they read and then they will read your back list. It's not a difficult concept.

 

[SimonDoom]

I agree that the best thing to do is to keep writing and publishing new stories. You don't necessarily have to write a new chapter of the same story. If readers like your new stories some of them will check your submissions list and check out the other stories you have published. I have noticed that new views of all my stories -- even those in unrelated categories -- go up during the 5-day period after a new story has been published.

 

[sr71plt]

For example, I checked the posting dates of the stories from my list that were favorited or received comments today, 24 June 2017:

There were six on the story that posted today. But stories posted in the following months, going back ten years, also were favorited or commented on today:

April 2017, February 2016, December 2009, May 2008, and March 2007.

 

[Naughty_Penpal]

I have noticed that new views of all my stories -- even those in unrelated categories -- go up during the 5-day period after a new story has been published.

How can you see the number of new views on a story? Is there are place on Lit where the data can be seen? Or is it as simple as making a note of the total views?

 

[Bramblethorn]

How can you see the number of new views on a story? Is there are place on Lit where the data can be seen? Or is it as simple as making a note of the total views?

The latter. Some of us keep spreadsheets and update them every so often.

Reads taper off drastically after the first couple of days, more so after the first week when a story falls off the new list, but they don't stop altogether. They'll still trickle in over time, and that adds up. Being on a category toplist will also draw eyeballs, though that's not so easily arranged

Other than that, like others have said, posting new stories is the best way to draw attention to the old ones.

 

[sr71plt]

How can you see the number of new views on a story? Is there are place on Lit where the data can be seen? Or is it as simple as making a note of the total views?

I don't keep comprehensive track of the expansion of views. I have too many stories posted to keep track of that comprehensively. But I can see a trend in the favoriting and commenting going on on my stories--which is directly reported to me on my author page. I do see a flurry of this activity around the posting of a new story--and as I noted in my previous post, it shows for stories posted back to the beginning of my file here--eleven years. So, reading of the back list is happening and the evidence I see is that it's happening because I'm still posting stories and readers are reading those and going back and reading earlier stories of mine here too.

 

[8letters]

Hi, does anyone have any thoughts on how to get readers to keep reading your stories after they've been bumped off the "new stories" page?

I know tags are everything, but what about promoting your stories? Is there a good way to keep your story "alive" for the people who simply didn't see it when it was new and don't want to sift through the trillions of stories with similar tags as yours?

Your ideas are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Content with story stats removed]
My experience is only with Incest stories and it has been that higher-rated stories and complete stories get a lot more views well after they are published then lower-rated stories and chapter stories.

 

[TornConflict]

Keep writing

I am have only posted my second story but I found that posting another story got my previous one more views and ratings. I wrote my first story the beginning of the month. It only averaged about 10 view a week after not being new anymore. My new story went up today and my prior one has seen several hundred more view today and about 25 or 30 more ratings. I wasn't sure that would happen but hoped it would be the case.