How do you engage readers on Literotica?

[FreyaGersemi]

Aside from sending pictures of my boobs (and other body parts) and participating in sex chats -- both of which I am not interesting in doing -- how do you engage readers? Or do you take a laissez-faire attitude and just post stories, only engaging if and when they initiate the contact (comments and/or private messages). I am very interested in what others are doing to build their readership. Thank you!

 

[oneagainst]

Write good.

Seriously though, I tried dm's back with thanks for the follow, to crickets. They talk through the comments and if you're lucky they give you a ping. I'm not sure you can force or manufacture it.

 

[lovecraft68]

I feel our stories are how we engage the readers, and any comment or feedback we receive are from those who wish to engage in return.

Other than that, I don't make any effort.

Law of attraction, you don't chase, you let it come to you.

Or, maybe that's just me finding a better way of saying apathy.

 

[bumpercars]

I reply to comments and PMs, and I also have an external site where I give short updates about upcoming stories and occasionally solicit feedback.

Of course the biggest thing is writing stories that excite you and your readers, but outside of that I just talk to them wherever I can, basically.

 

[lovecraft68]

Write good.

Seriously though, I tried dm's back with thanks for the follow, to crickets. They talk through the comments and if you're lucky they give you a ping. I'm not sure you can force or manufacture it.

Most people who follow won't respond to you reaching out because a lot of people here set up their lit account with a toss away e-mail they used just for this, or one they seldom use. They're not expecting to get any type of message from here like authors do.

 

[FreyaGersemi]

Write good.

I think that I'm doing that... At least judging by the "Red H" ratings, I guess. But sometimes I post a story and it rockets into my top 20 for views in a day, top 10 in two days, and two weeks later it's closing in on the top 3 for views. The very next story (both in the middle of a fairly long series, so nothing abnormal) is creeping along with views.

Clearly, one story elicited views (along with likes, comments, ratings, favorites, follows) for some reason, while the very next one did almost nothing. Then the current one (same series) is doing pretty well out of the gate.

I'm just trying to figure things out (and forcing myself to market my work which I am notoriously terrible at). But maybe I'm trying to solve the unsolvable?

 

[THBGato]

Personally, as a reader, I really like it when writers are a little bit chatty at the begining/end of their stories. It feels like they are building a relationship with you. BrokenSpokes and bi_cathy do this really well, though I've recently discovered FeatherWatt who really nails this aspects, so much so that it's really part of the story itself.

I've noticed quite a few writers responding to comments too. Not sure if that has the same effect.

I notice you follow lots of writers, which is great. I suspect that, if other writers follow you, you will start attracting some of their readers (that's how I find most of the stories I read, by looking down the favourites lists of my favourite writers). Not sure how you go about persuading them to follow you back though. Some may out of pure politeness, others I think are quite fussy about who they follow.

Ultimately I think it all comes down to the advice above - if you write great stories, you'll get readers.

The only thing I do really (apart from respond to PMs) is use my profile bio as a mini-blog, keeping my followers and casual browsers abreast, as it were, of what I'm writing/what's pending.

 

[samhasstories]

Currently all I do is quietly write my stories, and occasionally post here. I do wonder sometimes if I should engage more, but I'm not really sure what that would look like. Replying to comments seems sort of like replying into a void - those commenters will only see the reply if they actively go back into the story they already read, right?

If I got PMs I would probably respond to them, but that doesn't really happen. So I just smile at positive comments and thank them only in my head.

 

[Bamagan]

I try not to engage readers, especially if I don't have air support and artillery deployed.

 

[SimonDoom]

I think if you want to actively engage with readers who comment on stories (and leave their names), you can, but I don't think it makes a big difference in terms of getting more readers. I sometimes respond to a reader who left a particularly kind or interesting comment, but not always. I'd describe my approach as relatively "laissez-faire."

 

[OffNSFW]

My stories are a one way street. I want my readers to like them, but I'm not open to suggestions and I'm definitely not into fostering parasocial relationships. I read comments, PMs, etc., but I don't interact. Ever.

Everything I have to say to them is in the writing, and I think that's how it should be.

 

[FreyaGersemi]

I notice you follow lots of writers, which is great. I suspect that, if other writers follow you, you will start attracting some of their readers (that's how I find most of the stories I read, by looking down the favourites lists of my favourite writers). Not sure how you go about persuading them to follow you back though. Some may out of pure politeness, others I think are quite fussy about who they follow.

I do follow a lot of writers. I'm polite!

The only thing I do really (apart from respond to PMs) is use my profile bio as a mini-blog, keeping my followers and casual browsers abreast, as it were, of what I'm writing/what's pending.

Oh! That's a good idea!!!! I didn't realize many people read the profiles. Thank you!!!!!

 

[FreyaGersemi]

I find people might pm me and ask me to write a fantasy for them, I write it and they engage, then one day they just suddenly stop corresponding.

Yup.

 

[THBGato]

Oh! That's a good idea!!!! I didn't realize many people read the profiles. Thank you!!!!!

I'm not sure if casual readers do, but on your Home stream it tells you when somebody you have followed updates their profile. I often click to see what they've written. I also note that several of my followers do so too, as they've said as much in their comments:

e.g.

 

[FreyaGersemi]

I'm not sure if casual readers do, but on your Home stream it tells you when somebody you have followed updates their profile. I often click to see what they've written.

THAT makes sense. Of course, once you said that, I realized that I do that, too!!

 

[KeithD]

Or do you take a laissez-faire attitude and just post stories, only engaging if and when they initiate the contact (comments and/or private messages).

Yep, that's me.

 

[intim8]

Personally, as a reader, I really like it when writers are a little bit chatty at the begining/end of their stories. It feels like they are building a relationship with you. BrokenSpokes and bi_cathy do this really well, though I've recently discovered FeatherWatt who really nails this aspects, so much so that it's really part of the story itself.

I've started doing this, as noted in another thread, and it has anecdotallly been wildly successful, including a 47% increase in my follower count in a month. (from 121 to 179, so really only 58 new followers, but hey, 47% sounds a lot cooler )

I think the new public lists could turn into a big opportunity for audience building. It brings an element of word of mouth to the whole thing, and depending on how "quality" lists get promoted, can bring attention to the people curating them.

 

[intim8]

The only thing I do really (apart from respond to PMs) is use my profile bio as a mini-blog, keeping my followers and casual browsers abreast, as it were, of what I'm writing/what's pending.

I need to start doing that, but the one thing holding me back is that I'm not confident in being able to keep promises I might make about what is upcoming. My day job keeps getting in the way, and my writing habits are pretty undisciplined. Though I may do it by holding back on announcing things till they're basically in the can and ready to go through the submission process.

 

[AchtungNight]

Like everyone else, I write stories and hope they are enjoyable, respond to feedback when appropriate, and talk about each story a little in my introductory notes. I also advertise them in here, engage with other authors and fans when I can. Sometimes I will also read and comment on other authors’ work- as you know, this can motivate them to read and comment on mine in reply. Other than this, there’s really not much you can do to engage with readers. [shrug]

 

[intim8]

Write good.

Yes, this has to be the foundation of all of it. Techniques can only go so far if the quality isn't there to begin with.

 

[Djmac1031]

Pretty much since Day 1 I've put some kind of Afterwards at the ends of my stories, encouraging readers to comment.

And many do. I don't generally respond to comments on the stories unless there's a specific question by a reader or something. Or to correct a mistake in publishing.

I do occasionally get DMs or messages sent via email, and I do respond to those, if at least with just a simple thank you.

It's rare, but I have had a few want to go into more in depth discussions about the stories and I'm always happy to share whatever they wanna know as far as how the story came about etc.

 

[SimonDoom]

I always reply to pm's and I try to give a decent variation of stories.

I do too. I don't respond to every comment posted on a story, but if someone is going to take the trouble of sending me a PM, I think this is a nice courtesy. I deeply appreciate it if a reader goes out of their way to let me know they enjoyed the story.

 

[Lifestyle66]

I just write more stories.

The ways I've found to try getting more VIEWS (ie. readers) is to ignore the ratings. I write in Loving Wives, and the ratings there are mostly 1s or 5s. I write swinger/sharing stories, and 50-60% of those reader HATE my stories. But they read them!

So, know your audience for the selected category. I KNOW that 50-60% of LW readers prefer BTB stories, awarding those with 5s. So, I wrote one story about my favorite swinger couple titled "What Were You Thinking?" tagline: "Husband discovers his wife’s deception."

Note that for the LW BTB crowd, that's like a magnetic shouting "This is a cheating wife story!" It now has over 100k views since it published in July last year! But it's rated at just 3.35 with 1,329 votes, because many of the BTB lovers think he should have divorced the bitch. (But they're my favorite characters, so I had to give them a way out.)

One other tactic I use it to choose tags carefully. Before publishing, go to the category page and see what tags are popular. For Loving Wives, tags such as "cuckold", "cheating", or "Hot Wife" are popular.
For the Erotic Couplings category, "LESBIAN" is far more popular than "lesbian sex", so learn how to phrase the tag for the best search to build on the views after the story falls off the New list.

 

[TheLobster]

I ignore them.

No, seriously. At this stage, I'm still exploring what it is that I wanna write about and how, so I'm not at all interested in feedback. Perhaps at some point I'll seek guidance from more experienced writers, but it'll be a long time, if ever, before I start scaring about the opinions of randos on the internet. If they don't like my work, refunds are hassle-free and automatic here.

 

[AchtungNight]

Advice from the transgender author of successful webcomic Real Life about success with online media. “Don’t Suck and if you do, Stop Sucking.” Vague but accurate advice. Don’t take it literally if you’re giving oral sex, of course.