How to Rise From the Dead on Wattpad - A practical guide to getting noticed

Tip 8: Ask for Votes

This might seem distasteful to many, but it's how I receive a higher percentage of votes-to-reads than the average Wattpad writer. Since votes count toward the "trendiness" of your story, we want to do what we can to remind readers to vote.

The task seems simple, at first. At the end of each chapter, you add a quick message reminding readers to click the vote button before moving on to the next chapter. Many readers honestly forget to vote, and don't mind being reminded to do so. They actually want to vote, but if they're into the story, voting is forgotten.

Numerous readers will find these reminders annoying, however, so it's important to take your vote reminders to the next level with the following suggestions:

1. Make sure it looks separate from the story text. I usually do this by putting an extra space and then making the reminder bold. You want to avoid confusion by making it obvious you are talking to the reader.

2. Change up the wording. Don't copy and paste the same "Remember to vote!" message over and over. Repetition is boring, and will eventually be ignored.

3. Don't be rude or demanding. Readers don't owe you anything. Writing things like "Stop being lazy and vote!" is off-putting. You can poke fun at yourself, you can poke fun at your own story, but never insult the reader. No matter how frustrated you feel, never take that out on your readers, or pretty soon the few you have will disappear.

4. Be clever. Readers want to be entertained. Reminders usually get in the way of that, and that's why they're annoying. BUT! If you can write funny vote reminders or work the reminder into a contextually relevant comment, most of your readers will love it.

When I first started writing vote reminders, they were of the polite variety, like, "I'd appreciate a vote if you think I deserve it." Then I started writing reminders that were more contextually relevant. For example, in Chapter 2 of my book, Siena, the chapter ends with her thinking about her dead mom. The reminder says, "So sad. Please click the Vote button to help Siena."

Does this seem cheesy? Perhaps, but many readers respond to it. They not only vote, but they also leave a comment agreeing that it is sad.

When I began Book 2 of my series, called Sember, I got more creative. I wrote reminders like, "Down-trodden heroes don't stay down for long. You'll be my hero if you click that vote button!" By Book 3 (Nirrin), I tried adding a little humor. Here are some examples:

It's hard to know if cheering is appropriate here, so let's just vote.

Interrupted again! These people have terrible timing. But at least they vote. ;)

That's right! Get some answers! And some votes!

Hmm. Maybe we have some time to vote before everyone dies?

Writing entertaining vote reminders takes time, but is well worth the effort. Sometimes I get more comments on my reminder than on the rest of the chapter! You're writing your story to entertain readers, right? So think of this as an extension of your story. By making your vote reminder relevant to the story, it will feel less like pandering, making more readers inclined to vote.

A reader once commented, "I don't normally vote, and find reminders prodding me to do so annoying. But this was so good, it actually made me want to vote. Damn you." This was paraphrased from my memory. I wish I could find it and the reminder it was referring to, but I have a lot of chapters, ha! My point is, vote reminders work when done correctly. So make the effort to write interesting ones!

ADDITIONAL TIP: I just thought of this. In the past, some of my readers asked what the point of voting was. Apparently many of them don't vote because they have no idea why they should. After discovering that, I added a quick author's note at the beginning of Chapter 1 to explain that votes help a story's rank, making it easier for other readers to find and enjoy. After posting that, I received no more comments asking about the point of voting. I think my vote count might have increased as well. For an example of wording, check out Siena, on my profile. I'll put a link to the chapter in in the comments.

Thank Your Voters

LeslieThroneberry just reminded me of something I used to do when I first started out, namely thanking the readers who are voting on your story. When you're just starting out and every single vote makes you grin with glee (because there are so few!), it's easy to send out a quick note thanking those few for their efforts. Chances are they'll increase their interactions with you because they feel appreciated and seen. (Later when the votes start rolling in, this won't be very practical. But when you're starting out with few followers, this is a great way to make them feel special.)