Help with titles and tags

[RTM]

Hi all

Apologise for the rubbish title.

I am in the process of moving away from writing celeb erotica to go more mainstream but it's presented me with a problem; titles and visibility.

What tags do people normally use? I usual puts the basic codes (MF, Cons, Oral) but is there any type of thing you put in for more visibility for searches?

I'm working on my first story and need to think of a titles. Does anyone use a type of process for one or do you use the body of the story to create one?

Thanks

RTM

 

[SimonDoom]

Here are some basic guidelines I try to follow with titles, tags, and taglines/descriptions:

1. Make them work together so they are 1) sufficiently descriptive to give the reader a pretty good idea what to expect, and 2) titillating.
2. If it works, put a titillating word in the title--something that readers of that category will get excited about. If it's a mother-son incest story, you can never go wrong with "mom." I discovered that "bikini" was a home-run word in the exhibitionist category.
3. Scout out tags by looking at the tag charts for various categories. Look for commonly used tags.
4. Study very popular stories to see what they do.
5. If the title is non-descriptive, then make the tagline more descriptive.
6. Put yourself in the shoes of a reader looking for a story. What are they likely to search for that will lead them to your story? Focus on the things that are most erotic and enticing about your story, rather than extraneous information. Readers may NOT be aware of basic codes. "Cons" may not mean anything to them, so they may never think to do a search for that term. Use "consent" or "consensual" instead.

 

[Emilymcplugger]

Hi all

Apologise for the rubbish title.

I am in the process of moving away from writing celeb erotica to go more mainstream but it's presented me with a problem; titles and visibility.

What tags do people normally use? I usual puts the basic codes (MF, Cons, Oral) but is there any type of thing you put in for more visibility for searches?

I'm working on my first story and need to think of a titles. Does anyone use a type of process for one or do you use the body of the story to create one?

Thanks

RTM

For tags never put weird shit.

I see tags all the time that have characters names in the story and that might be the only tag. No-ones gonna find that story and it’s themes by putting the tag “Archibald Leach blow-Job”.

Make your tags as appealling and as broad to your story as possible and use all ten. Make it so if I’m in the mood for a group story with reluctant themes I can find it with those tags. If you’re having someone use a candle as a dildo the tag should be “dildo” not “candle-dildo”. Think about the reader and how they’d find your story.

Your story should be individual to you but the tags should be as big as possible and use all of them, even if it’s difficult.

Good luck.

 

[Djmac1031]

The trick with titles is making them interesting, intriguing, without just blurting out the the whole story.

To borrow from Simon's example, here's two titles for the same story:

1: Mom Fucks Son In The Car
2: Mom And Son Take A Ride To Remember

The first tells you what happens right away.

The second only HINTS at what MIGHT happen with a little innuendo, making the reader want to find out more.

From that title, your short description can add slightly more detail: "while traveling, a mother & son explore forbidden desires."

No mention of sex or fucking in title or description, but we all know what's gonna happen, and now we wanna find out how.

Hope this helps.

 

[nice90sguy]

I see tags all the time that have characters names in the story and that might be the only tag. No-ones gonna find that story and it’s themes by putting the tag “Archibald Leach blow-Job”.

Ah, so that's why I never could find any stories catering to my Cary Grant fetish.

 

[AlinaX]

The Girl In The Yellow Dress

 

[Emilymcplugger]

Ah, so that's why I never could find any stories catering to my Cary Grant fetish.

I was hoping someone would spot that.

But if your story is in the Celebs section “Cary Grant” and “Blowjob” would be fine as two separate tags.

Ironically enough.

 

[stickygirl]

Useful thread because I'm rubbish at these. Another point worth keeping in mind is that Lit lists things alphabetically and also if someone is scanning down a list of titles, they might find a hundred starting with Mom, which is fine, but the next couple of words will catch the eye and lure them in.
Don't wait until you're at the upload page to figure out what to include, because you'll go blank.

Based on advice here, I've added a word to my 750 story title

 

[Emilymcplugger]

Useful thread because I'm rubbish at these. Another point worth keeping in mind is that Lit lists things alphabetically and also if someone is scanning down a list of titles, they might find a hundred starting with Mom, which is fine, but the next couple of words will catch the eye and lure them in.
Don't wait until you're at the upload page to figure out what to include, because you'll go blank.

Based on advice here, I've added a word to my 750 story title

What tags and tagline are you going with?

We’re all dying to know (serious, never sarcastic)

 

[stickygirl]

What tags and tagline are you going with?

We’re all dying to know (serious, never sarcastic)

Oh, okay! The title was simply going to be Summer Storm, which I changed to Soaked in Summer Storm, the thinking being wet t-shirts?
Tags - I'm still confused on this, because in this case, there is zero sex and it's Romance. So for anyone looking for
'romance, summer, thunderstorm, wet, vacation, couple, love, forest, nature, rain,'
then happy days.

 

[Emilymcplugger]

Oh, okay! The title was simply going to be Summer Storm, which I changed to Soaked in Summer Storm, the thinking being wet t-shirts?
Tags - I'm still confused on this, because in this case, there is zero sex and it's Romance. So for anyone looking for
'romance, summer, thunderstorm, wet, vacation, couple, love, forest, nature, rain,'
then happy days.

Perfect.

If I’m wanting forest romance in the rain I’ll find it here (again, never sarcastic).

 

[MajorRewrite]

I’ve become worse at titles and descriptions over time. My first story was “Spring Break Wife” with the description “Gary joins his mom on spring break”. Putting both mom and wife in there proved to be an explosive mix, and spring break attracts attention too. The story has a bazillion views.

My latest story is also in the Taboo category but is my second-lowest viewed story, even though it’s my highest rated. In another thread, helpful people pointed out that the title and description provided little to draw readers in. It’s “The Last Wallace” with a description of “Ellie inherits a unique town and learns a secret”.

Of course I also have a story titled “Mom Son Lap Halloween“ which I thought was funny because it’s so simplistic. It does have a whole lot of views.