What's the secret to the amazing marketing some of you do?

[XianPiete]

I recently started writing here again and have noticed that some of you get really amazing numbers of readers after a few days of releasing a story. I have been releasing one or two chapters a day at different times during the day and evening and have only managed to pick up around 35 or so readers on my story over the first week. Since a story only shows up on NU for a few minutes and a story is on the front page here for maybe an hour with all the stories being posted, what's the marketing secret to getting 300 to 500 readers in those short windows of time? It can't be just from this site. I know when I had a top-ranking story here, it took weeks to build up a following of readers.

 

[Yorth]

Well, the stories that actually do reach the 300-500 reader mark in the first week are usually in a very specific category—mainly, reincarnated as X, with X being a cute girl. With that said, I can still give you my little tricks on how to min-max views. One thing you can control is the timing of your posts. Now, I can't give you the perfect time to actually post as that changes each day, but what you wanna do is check the last 24 hours and see which time periods had the least density of chapters posted. That's probably when you would wanna post. I remember it in the past to be somewhere around 6 am to 10 am utc+0, but that could have changed. Either way, just find that time period and exploit it.

Now that you have found the best time period in which you wanna post, it's time for the second trick. This one is kinda weird, as it relies on luck a lot, but it definitely puts the odds at your side. Wait out the torrent of the turn of the clock posting, keep checking the latest update, wait until the last story updated, and then you post your chapter. When do you know the torrent has died down? You don't—you speculate. It depends on how much you wanna wait. Three stories? Five stories? Either way, once you're confident that there is a very low probability for another story to update right after you, you post. Just make sure that you don't wait too long, else it's all for naught.

 

[weakwithwords]

I've read a chapter from one of your works, particularly the one for adventum, and I think it is well-written and appealing. However, badly written works, those with poor grammar and/or flimsy plots, can and do attract readers as well. I am guessing it's a matter of taste. Taste (readers) and luck (author).


Walk without rhythm, it won't attract the worm. -Fatboy Slim (Weapon of Choice)

 

[XianPiete]

I've had a story on this site sit in the top ten before as I was writing it, so I do understand how to build up a following, that's not really what I am asking. I want to know specifically how people are getting a few weeks worth of readers almost instantly? It can't just be from simply posting to this site at a magic hour. Is the trick using some other social media site or something?

This isn't a slam on another author's work, or that I think I am superior or something, I genuinely would like to know what marketing strategies one can use to achieve this kind of instant readership? I'd love for people to read my stories, I just feel like I don't know how to avoid slipping between the cracks.

 

[binarysoap]

I've had a story on this site sit in the top ten before as I was writing it, so I do understand how to build up a following, that's not really what I am asking. I want to know specifically how people are getting a few weeks worth of readers almost instantly? It can't just be from simply posting to this site at a magic hour. Is the trick using some other social media site or something?

This isn't a slam on another author's work, or that I think I am superior or something, I genuinely would like to know what marketing strategies one can use to achieve this kind of instant readership? I'd love for people to read my stories, I just feel like I don't know how to avoid slipping between the cracks.

Honestly? Most likely, they advertised their new story on their own established story with a good number of readers. Also, having a good bait cover and title helps immensely too. And no, posting at a magic hour doesn't help that much.

 

[K5Rakitan]

It seems like you're trying to copy the success of other people. Keep in mind that what works for one person won't work for another. You need to tailor your approach to your audience. As an author, I assume you would like to read a story similar to the one you are writing. So, what would attract you as a reader to your own story?

 

[JayDirex]

Nah, scribble hub itself is advertising for you by posting your chapter release on the front page.

Now, you can go and do extracurricular activities and what-not, but I find that most readers come to those who post a chapter frequently, like every day. And it has to be more than 20 chapters.

I'm only speaking for myself because I do not write to the most popular genres so I have to work really hard to make sure that my stories are quality.

With that said, I'm just going to go ahead and rant and let you know that there are stories up here written on a napkin in crayon, with grammar that reflects it (I'm talking unreadable by a native English speaker). But they will have over a thousand readers simply because they are writing to the theme and genre du jour at the moment, whatever it is. usually a cut-and-paste job of the last better story with a slight tweak to the MC.

"I woke up and I'm the villainess in a game I used to play." this is an original concept story from me, you can take it if you like -_-

 

[CautiousTitan]

Most of the time, it's because the new novel is released by an established author that has a reader base from other titles. It can also be a variety of different things that leads to the aforementioned growth that you described. Knowing your audience, as well as knowing what you want to write, helps in gaining a readership. But of course, as with most things in life, it depends.

 

[XianPiete]

It seems like you're trying to copy the success of other people. Keep in mind that what works for one person won't work for another. You need to tailor your approach to your audience. As an author, I assume you would like to read a story similar to the one you are writing. So, what would attract you as a reader to your own story?

Not chasing success mine or anyone else's, I was just curious if there is something I am not doing that I should be doing to get eyeballs on my work. I write because I like to write, not because I am hoping for it to become a lottery ticket. If I was just after success I could have kept flogging my last popular story even after I had nothing more I wanted to say.

 

[GDLiZy]

Cliche title (screaming isekai), big, busty anime girl front cover, good synopsis, and finally good story.

Not sure about the last two, but definitely the first two.

 

[XianPiete]

Cliche title (screaming isekai), big, busty anime girl front cover, good synopsis, and finally good story.

Not sure about the last two, but definitely the first two.

Does the world need another "Isekai'd villainous vampire girl falls for the reincarnated CEO"?

 

[gaylolis]

mine had no cover but i did add the smut, gender bender, and girls love subplot tag.

at one point the readers and views exploded

well it's not much, as they didn't really comment, but it's the first time it happened to me.

 

[Kldran]

I find that most readers come to those who post a chapter frequently, like every day.

I gained readers the fastest when I was publishing chapters every day.

 

[LostinMovement]

I understand the frequency of updates plays a major role in gaining new readers. As long as you update daily, have a good cover, a decent short synopsis and an interesting premise, people will flock to your story. Personally, I can't post daily because I can't write at such a quick pace without burning out. I've seen stories with daily chapters were every chapter ranges from 500 to 1k words at most.

Also when you play to the tune of the masses, it's easier for them to pick up your story. Isekai? check, gender bender? check. GL? check. If you are writing BL, you mustn't forget that smut tag otherwise most won't care to read it. It is just the truth, sex sells specially in a viewership that is deeply entangled with anime and anime culture.

 

[Annavyney]

Consider optimizing your release schedule. Experiment with different times of the day and days of the week to see when your audience is most active. Additionally, engaging with your readers through comments, messages, and forums can foster a sense of community and encourage them to spread the word about your work. Also, consider investing time in search engine optimization (SEO) techniques to improve your story's visibility on platforms like https://www.searchseo.io/ctr-manipulation. Crafting compelling titles, using relevant keywords, and optimizing your story's metadata can make it more discoverable to potential readers browsing these platforms.

 

[Generic.Archdemon]

 

[fluffypie374]

The first original novel I threw up, I did consistency and a bit of time variation, a decent amount of views, but not much...

Then, I threw on a fanfic that I wrote just because... did double chapters daily, random times, tagged it as smut, and within a week, it's views, readers, and favorites caught up to my original (which had been up for a month), and is looking to surpass it...

So... you see the marketing strategy?

 

[tiaf]

You all want to be part of the undead.