What's Your Strategy?

[racheldearest]

What is your strategy for promoting your stories? Like, how do you advertise to get people to view your story?

 

[Darkniciad]

The most effective promotion on Lit is simple -- keep coming out with new stories regularly.

The New Stories list is where most of your views come from, so getting your name on there as frequently as you can turn out a good story is the #1 promotion method.

If people like the story that they see in the New list, they're likely to look through everything else you have posted.

 

[sr71plt]

I write the best quality stories I can with the hope that if someone reads one he/she will come back looking for others.

BUT there are so many readers opening the stories here as compared to almost anywhere else (including buying them in the market), that I don't really worry about who is reading them and who isn't. I just write what I like and submit it.

 

[Darkniciad]

You can use your forum signature, and it does generate hits ( or at least it generates hits to my website, where I can identify them coming from my sig, so I assume the story pages are probably getting about equal exposure )

There are only so many people visiting the forum, though. Many of those aren't here to read anything story-side, either.

Advertising anywhere else ( besides perhaps your own website ) is dicey. Most places will consider it spam, and a lot of people will just click the link to 1-bomb your leave nasty comments for cluttering up whatever place you advertise it.

Entering themed contests ( Valentines will start soon ) gets you a longer period of exposure, and automatic placement at the top of the New list on the day the story comes out.

Avoid your story posting on Sat night/Sun if at all possible. Sunday is dead as hell. Once a couple of stories get approved, you'll have at least a general idea of how many days it will take them to post.

Catchy titles and taglines can make a big difference. You don't have a lot of space to work with -- but neither does anybody else. If yours stands out, it's going to attract readers.

Beyond that, the things that generate hits are beyond your control -- other than writing the best story you can. The Toplists for highest scores/views can generate hits. Red Hs generate more hits ( especially if you can get one while still on the New list )

 

[TheeGoatPig]

Promote? I don't get it?

 

[Bebeslut]

I've noticed an awful lot of readers go for "chaptered" stories -- the ongoing tale. Lots and lots of hits that way.

That's probably one of the reasons I get so few hits -- I refuse to use chapters. I like to write stand-alone stories, even though they all feature the same characters.

 

[Darkniciad]

I've noticed an awful lot of readers go for "chaptered" stories -- the ongoing tale. Lots and lots of hits that way.

That's probably one of the reasons I get so few hits -- I refuse to use chapters. I like to write stand-alone stories, even though they all feature the same characters.

Actually, the reason that makes a difference is getting your name on the New list more often, and the tendency of the scores going up when those who don't like the story don't come back to vote ( leading to red Hs )

Almost without fail, the number of reads on subsequent chapters of a story drop off to a point of less than 1/2 -- sometimes 1/4 of the first.

So far as maintaining the same average strength of readership, stories without a "ch. xx" do a much better job of that. My "of the wood" series of self-contained stories that follow the same family over several generations do a much better job of attracting consistent views and votes every time a new one comes out than anything with a chapter number. They also attract more reads to the previous stories in the series than previous chapters of a chaptered story will pick up.

The major disadvantage is that Lit has no way ( yet... It's supposed to be an upcoming change ) to group stories in a series that don't have some sort of chapter designation.

 

[sr71plt]

The major disadvantage is that Lit has no way ( yet... It's supposed to be an upcoming change ) to group stories in a series that don't have some sort of chapter designation.

You can do the Sue Grafton thing and arrange your titles so they fall in order alphabetically.

Sue Gafits: At Birth
Sue Gafits: Early Years
Sue Gafits: In the Middle Years
Sue Gafits: Later Years
Sue Gafits: Twilight Years

Mildred and Archie
Mildred and Buckie
Mildred and Chauncey
Mildred and Dwayne

 

[Darkniciad]

I actually had that plan for one series. Even started with A to make it easy. The story just didn't take off, so there was never a B.

You can do the Sue Grafton thing and arrange your titles so they fall in order alphabetically.