Attracting followers

[SimonDoom]

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.

I'm a Boomer (barely), and I like having followers. I don't think I have an "undue obsession" with the numbers, though.

I think it's a lot healthier to focus on followers than scores. I see authors here getting their noses bent out of shape because their scores drop from 4.94 to 4.84, and I think that's nuts. I don't see authors who are interested in views and followers showing the same level of nuttiness about their numbers. I'm happy with good numbers, but perfectly sanguine about bad ones.

When I say it's nice to have followers, I don't mean one should write only to attract the maximum number of readers. I mean simply that there are things one can do to get more eyeballs on one's stories, whatever they are, and that's a good thing. Views correlate positively with favorites and positive reads. The whole point of publishing, as I see it, is to connect the stories I write with people who like them. The best way to do this is to focus on total views, as opposed to anything else. If I maximize my total views, then I probably maximize my appreciative readers. I'd rather have 10,000 appreciative readers and a score of 4.55 than 1,000 appreciative readers and a score of 4.8. I know some think differently, but frankly, I don't get it.

 

[Rob_Royale]

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.

As a writer I want my work to reach a larger audience so doing an incest story and a loving wives story is precisely what I did and it worked and continues to work.

 

[TruthwithaTwist]

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.

Mid-50s. So, full-scale GenX (yeah edited thanks to people pointing out my embarrassing error!!!).

And not an obsession at all. But, I do like to be successful in whatever I do and I’m always looking at metrics to track that success. Here on Lit - there are metrics: Favorites, Ratings, and yes, Followers.

You are correct that times have changed, but every generation finds ways to “keep score”. For some it was family, for others it was wealth, for the current generation, it may be social and media influence.

So, perhaps I did take this the wrong way?

 

[SimonDoom]

Mid-50s. So, full-scale Boomer.

And not an obsession at all. But, I do like to be successful in whatever I do and I’m always looking at metrics to track that success. Here on Lit - there are metrics: Favorites, Ratings, and yes, Followers.

You are correct that times have changed, but every generation finds ways to “keep score”. For some it was family, for others it was wealth, for the current generation, it may be social and media influence.

So, perhaps I did take this the wrong way?

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

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

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

They (whoever 'they' are) have now come up with Generation Jones, placing it between Boomers and Gen X; 1954 to 1965

 

[SimonDoom]

They (whoever 'they' are) have now come up with Generation Jones, placing it between Boomers and Gen X; 1954 to 1965

As much as I recoil from having to learn still more subcategories, that description is definitely me. I'm technically Boomer, but most Boomers I know remember the 1960s, and I don't. I'm a 70s/early 80s person. The vibe was very different from what people born from 1946-1955 or so grew up with.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

As much as I recoil from having to learn still more subcategories, that description is definitely me. I'm technically Boomer, but most Boomers I know remember the 1960s, and I don't. I'm a 70s/early 80s person. The vibe was very different from what people born from 1946-1955 or so grew up with.

And we got better music.

 

[THBGato]

I don't know, reading through this I kind of feel a bit "meh".

Sure, followers are nice (currently on 404 followers after 16 months on Literotica and 31 stories).

However, I'd MUCH rather have comments*... and the two don't necessarily go together. My most recent story, which was at number 1 on the category top list, got 33 comments - 8 of which were from Anonymous. So clearly most of my followers either 1) didn't read it or 2) did but didn't comment.... so in which case how does them following me benefit me?** About two months ago, I got really excited as a prolific commenter in the Lesbian category followed me. "Yay," I thought, "they'll probably work through my back catalogue and I'll get loads of comments."

Nope. Nada. Nothing.

Excitement back on ice.

I feel like a lot of my comments come from a hardcore of 20 odd superfans and the rest our pal Anon.

Basically, in a roundabout way, I'm saying be careful of chasing a chimera: you might think it's what you want but might end up doing things/writing things that you actually don't like in order to chase an audience that, when you get it, you realise you don't want or need.

(*with comments in mind, I've been sticking my stories on Wxxtpxd. Far fewer reads BUT sooooo many more comments. My story Thirty has, appropriately, 30 comments from 19k views after a year on Lit. On Wxxtpxd it has 194 comments from only 246 reads after two months!)

(**The one exception to this rule is being followed by writers I admire. That makes me feel so seen and squeal with joy a little, whether they then comment on my stories or not.)

 

[TheLobster]

On Wxxtpxd it has 194 comments from only 246 reads after two months!

Are you sure that This Other Site counts reads in the same way Lit does?

Here, view counts are immensely inflated, because pretty much every hit on just the first page counts as one, regardless how far into the story the reader has gone.
If The Other Site does something more clever, like at the very least tracking clicks on every separate story page, then the ratio of comments to views/reads may not be comparable.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

The question is actually trickier than it seems at first. Most people here tell you to write in more popular categories, and they are right, but that's only one part of the equation. Another part is to write and publish regularly. Followers seem to appreciate authors who publish stories at a predictable pace.

Sadly, that's not all. I am not sure what the rest of the ingredients are. Promoting your work helps, of course, but I am not sure that's a major factor. Quality of writing helps as well, but I am also not sure that's a major factor either.
There are definitely some intangibles here, as I am often puzzled at the large following of some authors, but also at the comparatively small following of some other authors who seem to tick all the mentioned boxes, yet still their follower base stays mediocre at best.
Readership is weird.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Are you sure that This Other Site counts reads in the same way Lit does?

Here, view counts are immensely inflated, because pretty much every hit on just the first page counts as one, regardless how far into the story the reader has gone.
If The Other Site does something more clever, like at the very least tracking clicks on every separate story page, then the ratio of comments to views/reads may not be comparable.

Valid point. Since we're all on Lit and subject to the same system, the system Lit uses, while not optimal, can sill give us valid comparisons. It skewed, but it's skewed the same for all of us.

 

[Voyeurkenneth]

The question is actually trickier than it seems at first. Most people here tell you to write in more popular categories, and they are right, but that's only one part of the equation. Another part is to write and publish regularly. Followers seem to appreciate authors who publish stories at a predictable pace.

Sadly, that's not all. I am not sure what the rest of the ingredients are. Promoting your work helps, of course, but I am not sure that's a major factor. Quality of writing helps as well, but I am also not sure that's a major factor either.
There are definitely some intangibles here, as I am often puzzled at the large following of some authors, but also at the comparatively small following of some other authors who seem to tick all the mentioned boxes, yet still their follower base stays mediocre at best.
Readership is weird.

Good points. Another small slice of that pie is a user that boast lists or favorites deemed attractive to a prospective follower.

I know I’ve considered following some non-authors if only because they’ve curated interesting lists/favs.

 

[THBGato]

Are you sure that This Other Site counts reads in the same way Lit does?

I'm certain it doesn't, which is why I said "views" for Lit and "reads" for the other site, which only counts it as a read if the view spends at least 5 mins on the page.

 

[SinclairGroupLLP]

However, I'd MUCH rather have comments*... and the two don't necessarily go together. My most recent story, which was at number 1 on the category top list, got 33 comments - 8 of which were from Anonymous. So clearly most of my followers either 1) didn't read it or 2) did but didn't comment.... so in which case how does them following me benefit me?** About two months ago, I got really excited as a prolific commenter in the Lesbian category followed me. "Yay," I thought, "they'll probably work through my back catalogue and I'll get loads of comments."

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

(**The one exception to this rule is being followed by writers I admire. That makes me feel so seen and squeal with joy a little, whether they then comment on my stories or not.)

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

 

[Britva415]

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

Young people are redefining it. Whether Boomers and X'ers like it or not, X'ers and even Millenials are Boomers to young cunts.

 

[ElectricBlue]

There are definitely some intangibles here, as I am often puzzled at the large following of some authors, but also at the comparatively small following of some other authors who seem to tick all the mentioned boxes, yet still their follower base stays mediocre at best.
Readership is weird.

The biggest tangible, I think, is category, which you don't mention. Write half a dozen stories in I&T, and your follower count is likely to be far higher than someone who's written one story in six categories in the same amount of time.

 

[SimonDoom]

Young people are redefining it. Whether Boomers and X'ers like it or not, X'ers and even Millenials are Boomers to young cunts.

Since they don't know anything about history, I'm not inclined to give their views on the subject much credence.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

The biggest tangible, I think, is category, which you don't mention. Write half a dozen stories in I&T, and your follower count is likely to be far higher than someone who's written one story in six categories in the same amount of time.

Read the post again, I did mention it. In my first point, I agreed with what most people recommended, to write in popular categories, and yeah, IT is the most popular one. But that's often not enough. It helps, of course, but still, I've seen authors writing heavily in that category, getting the red H often, but still being under, say, 1K followers. There are intangibles and factors beyond those that are most commonly recognized and offered.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Read the post again, I did mention it. In my first point, I agreed with what most people recommended, to write in popular categories, and yeah, IT is the most popular one. But that's often not enough. It helps, of course, but still, I've seen authors writing heavily in that category, getting the red H often, but still being under, say, 1K followers. There are intangibles and factors beyond those that are most commonly recognized and offered.

Oops, yes, I did miss that, reading backwards through the post!

I think you'd have to check out the delivery speed of writers too. When I was writing my long Arthurian novel, I pretty much took ten months off, and my account remained very static. When it was published, it didn't make much difference (too niche), but once I began to publish shorter pieces more frequently, my follower count increased.5

For me, the 750 word anthologies are an instant shot of adrenaline - a quick easy read, and readers would stick around and trawl through my back catalogue.

You're right, there's no rhyme nor reason why one story takes off like a rocket and the next one doesn't - when the quality of the writing is much the same (same writer, same period of time).

 

[SimonDoom]

The biggest tangible, I think, is category, which you don't mention. Write half a dozen stories in I&T, and your follower count is likely to be far higher than someone who's written one story in six categories in the same amount of time.

This is 100% true, and it worked for me.

But it's crystal clear, too, that you don't have to do it this way. There are some authors who have a lot of followers who never write incest. There are very successful lesbian sex writers, and sci fi writers.

 

[Voboy]

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

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.

I'm a Boomer (barely), and I like having followers. I don't think I have an "undue obsession" with the numbers, though.

I think it's a lot healthier to focus on followers than scores. I see authors here getting their noses bent out of shape because their scores drop from 4.94 to 4.84, and I think that's nuts. I don't see authors who are interested in views and followers showing the same level of nuttiness about their numbers. I'm happy with good numbers, but perfectly sanguine about bad ones.

When I say it's nice to have followers, I don't mean one should write only to attract the maximum number of readers. I mean simply that there are things one can do to get more eyeballs on one's stories, whatever they are, and that's a good thing. Views correlate positively with favorites and positive reads. The whole point of publishing, as I see it, is to connect the stories I write with people who like them. The best way to do this is to focus on total views, as opposed to anything else. If I maximize my total views, then I probably maximize my appreciative readers. I'd rather have 10,000 appreciative readers and a score of 4.55 than 1,000 appreciative readers and a score of 4.8. I know some think differently, but frankly, I don't get it.

Completely fair takes, everyone. Thanks for setting me straight. As I said, I was merely speculating.

 

[Voboy]

So, perhaps I did take this the wrong way?

No, you didn't. I was hazarding a guess about people who care about followers, because I've never really seen that having a lot of followers makes a massive difference in the way my stories are received.

Thanks for indulging me; I'm happy to be wrong. And yeah, you're probably GenX.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I think you'd have to check out the delivery speed of writers too.

I mentioned that in my post as well.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I mentioned that in my post as well.

A post written before coffee! You'd think I'd have learned that by now .

 

[lovecraft68]

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.

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.