How To Get Reads, Votes, and Comments - A Guide

Chapter 6 - What Can I Do To Get My Story Noticed?

So how do you actually go about helping readers find your story?  These are all the things I did, and I know they'll work for you.

Number One - Write and post your very best work! 

I said it before, but this is the most important part of the 'work' you need to do.  Write to the best of your ability and never stop trying to improve.  You can promote all you want, but if your story isn't written to the very best of your ability, it's not going to make a bit of difference.

If you feel you need extra help, there are Wattpadders who offer their services as editors, and even offer critiques.  You can find them in special advertising threads in the Story Services club.  (Details for how to find the clubs are in the last chapter.) 

There are also a whole bunch of books on Wattpad that cover the basics of writing - grammar, sentence structure, editing, how to write fiction.  Do a search in the Discover section to look for whatever help you're needing.  You can use the '#' in front of any word to search for those tags.  Each tag you add to your search will narrow down the choices presented to you.  I also have a reading list called 'Read These for Wattpad Success' that has quite a few of them.

As your writing skills improve, you may notice your earlier chapters don't look so good.  You can see where things could be worded better, you notice the spelling and grammar mistakes, maybe something is missing.  Don't hesitate to go back and edit those early chapters.  I've reviewed and edited my chapters numerous times.  Remember, when someone stumbles onto your story, you want it to be the very best it can be.

Two - Advertise.

You can advertise is by using the 'Share' buttons on your story or chapters.  They allow you to share it via Twitter, Facebook, e-mail, etc.  That function is there to help you promote your story, and you should be sure to use it. The idea is to get the word out to as many people as possible.

Three - Add tags to your story. 

The majority of Wattpad's users are app only users who never visit the website. How do they find stories to read? Some are suggested to them by Wattpad, the 'Recommended Stories'. Some are the featured stories or stories from the hot list, and the rest are found using the Discover section. When they do a search, they're entering key words, or tags.

Tags have never been so important as a tool for readers to find your story as they are now that stories have one genre. Those tags should be your sub-genres as well as key words that let readers know what kind of story you've written. You can add tags while editing a story in the Create section on the website.  On the app, touch the pencil icon at the bottom of the screen to edit the story.  Then choose the tags section to add or change them.  The tags you use should be a good identifier, but not so obscure that you're the only one using it.

You can also check the trending tags by hovering your mouse over the 'Discover' word in the orange bar on the website. If there are any that apply to your story, be sure to add them. When I first joined Wattpad, I actually read quite a few stories by searching for tags that matched ones I'd used for my own story. So you never know who might be reading or why!

Four - Reach out to current or potential readers.

I've already discussed some ways to reach out to readers, the ones who vote or comment on your story, but there are other people you can reach out to that may or may not be readers.

People who add your story to their reading list.

Every time someone adds your story to their reading list, it shows up in your Notifications.  You should always take the opportunity to thank them and tell them you hope they enjoy it.  Make the message as personal as you can so they know you really do care.  It might just make them decide to take a look and then start reading right now.