How do you promote (advertise) your story and where?

[beast_regards]

How do you promote (advertise) your novel and where?

Which one invites the least amount of backlash?

Do you spam the link on Facebook and Twitter?

Do you post on Reddit?

Make tiktok videos about it?

Print chapters and stuff them in your neighbour mailboxes?

While some of those may be more amusing than others, there doesn't seem to be any good solution.

So, what is your tip how to approach it?

 

[Deleted member 84247]

I don't. Well, I do post it on Discord on one server. The best advertisement you can get is getting trending.

 

[RiaCorvidiva]

I... uh, really don't for the most part. I mean, I post here and elsewhere, and I suppose if anyone wants to check the link in my signature, they can do so.

But I don't even have a FaceBook, Xitter, or TikTok or whatever newfangled platform the kiddies are using these days. (Threads? Is that the new one?)

 

[Toast2Venus]

You don't, just post it and hope for the best. ?

 

[MatchaChocolate69]

Spam or promoting are almost always detrimental.
You need the right tags and the right audience for your niche; the rest comes with consistency.

 

[LilRora]

Advertising on Twitter or on Reddit can help a fair bit, but if it's a written story, not a manga, it won't be a large number compared to what you can get by updating consistently for a long time and/or getting to trending page.

Most people who are actually interested in reading will find your stories on sites dedicated to it, and I'm pretty sure getting initial popularity then maintaining the schedule is the way it goes for a huge majority of popular stories. It's just the initial popularity that's the issue, and there's no real guide to that. There are some things you can do to improve there, such as having a good cover, synopsis, proper tags, good prologue/first chapter, matching the audience... but really, there are also things you can't change without completely rewriting a story, such as genre or themes, and those also have a huge impact.

The way I'd personally advise to do it is, post consistently and put a lot of tiny connections, like do shoutouts, make some updates on Twitter or Reddit, adverts if you can, and other those small things, but don't be pushy about it and don't make it the only reason you're doing something outside your writing platform. If someone's not interested in reading, they won't be interested in your story even if you shove it in their face, but it's gonna annoy those who might give it a read - and granted that's kinda exagerrated, but it's the idea that matters.

 

[KuromiMago]

Sites like Royalroad have their own advertising mechanism, but they're quite dependent also on how can you deliver your story in the first chapters, and how well will you fare in the chosen niches there.

The best way to advertise your work, which is but a means to reach for more readers, is to initially find who wants to read your work. Once you understand who your readerbase is, and study what they want or do not want, how to surprise and catter them...well, then you're game.

Once you've found your people then there's chance that numbers will go a little higher, and then, just now, you start to worry more about how to get it outside this (or that) specific bubble. I have no experience on foreign media, but here in my country you'll have a good time pushing content to Instagram and Tiktok, the rest are basically dead. But even so...forging a loyal readerbase will see more benefits in the short run, I think, and for this Discord works.

Reddit may be a good thing, they have self-promo posts weekly at some places there, and although this will most likely never be a huge bump, you'll find 1 person or another that click your link, and 1 among 10 will probably stay.

So...I do really think that the best place to promote your work is here, and other similar platforms. Posting at good hours, with consistency, and aim to trending is the "easiest" way.

And out of curiosity...what do you write?

EDIT: while I wrote...LilRora simply put most of the same ideas out. I am too slow. I must return to the mountains. Train more. Type so fast that the sunlight will never touch my keyboard!

 

[Iamnotabot]

Please for the love of god don't spam your story link on Twitter(x) or FB. I learn that the hard way, the amount of a-hole coming to shit on your story is insane.

Never had tiktok or reddit, and my neighbor can't read english.

 

[CarburetorThompson]

Buy a billboard

 

[Shrimp_eater]

Here.

Read my novel pls.

 

[beast_regards]

The way I'd personally advise to do it is, post consistently and put a lot of tiny connections, like do shoutouts, make some updates on Twitter or Reddit, adverts if you can, and other those small things, but don't be pushy about it and don't make it the only reason you're doing something outside your writing platform.

Are there even shoutouts on this site? On Royal Road, they are ubiquitous, but they are just as likely to backfire as they are to help with the visibility, just as the review swaps do.

Once you've found your people then there's chance that numbers will go a little higher, and then, just now, you start to worry more about how to get it outside this (or that) specific bubble. I have no experience on foreign media, but here in my country you'll have a good time pushing content to Instagram and Tiktok, the rest are basically dead. But even so...forging a loyal readerbase will see more benefits in the short run, I think, and for this Discord works.

I have no idea how the Instagram works. However, TikTok is what led me to ask this question, because I've seen a guy who advertises himself there as well as on the Royal Road's subreddit. While Royal Road subreddit is quite straightforward, there are self-promos all the time, the TikTok seems to require you to actually post the videos about something else, and then swap to promoting your novel once you have an audience that follows your video. It seems to be easier to have one person who promotes a lot of novels, not necessarily just his, than just create your own TikTok channel (account, whatever it is called).

And out of curiosity...what do you write?

That's a very good question. Honestly, I do quite struggle to classify my writing.

 

[Representing_Tromba]

Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are all good starting site. Reddit is okay but it has be in certain subreddit to be effective. Tik tok and YouTube are both big for booktuber/booktokers so it can be very good to be noticed by them. Good reviews and word of mouth are going to be your best friend

 

[prognastat]

I don't do anything and I suspect most things have limited effectiveness. Maybe getting good artwork of your novel and posting it on twitter with a link back to the novel would be something that might generate some appeal.

The best venues would probably be ones already related to readers of the type of content you're writing so maybe if you have a novel on RR paying for their advertisement is effective. I wonder for how many people it is cost effective though.

 

[beast_regards]

Buy a billboard

Hmm. Billboard. Yes. Sadly, it's even more expensive that Royal Road ad.

 

[J_Chemist]

Advertising is for cowards. Let the dice roll and decide your fate.

 

[Deleted member 54065]

How do you promote (advertise) your novel and where?

Which one invites the least amount of backlash?

Do you spam the link on Facebook and Twitter?

Do you post on Reddit?

Make tiktok videos about it?

Print chapters and stuff them in your neighbour mailboxes?

While some of those may be more amusing than others, there doesn't seem to be any good solution.

So, what is your tip how to approach it?

I don't. I just let the algorithm do it for me, since my weakness is advertising.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Print chapters and stuff them in your neighbour mailboxes?

Many years ago, I met a good friend at Girl Scout camp, and we pulled some pranks. I wrote the story, printed some copies while my parents were out of the house, stuffed them in Altoids tins to keep them safe from the rain, and left them out for other kids to find and read.

 

[LilRora]

Are there even shoutouts on this site? On Royal Road, they are ubiquitous, but they are just as likely to backfire as they are to help with the visibility, just as the review swaps do.

Here on Scribble, no, I don't think anyone does them. Generally here it's much more, uh, casual? Few people here actively try to get their stories more visibility. Hard to say if it's a bad or a good thing.

And in regards to backfiring, that's why I'm saying to do small things and not be pushy about it. The tiny chance is always there, but I don't think any sensible person will complain if you give a link to a story you liked every couple weeks.

 

[beast_regards]

The best venues would probably be ones already related to readers of the type of content you're writing so maybe if you have a novel on RR paying for their advertisement is effective. I wonder for how many people it is cost effective though.

For this, I actually know the answer.

Many people share the results of their ad campaign, and I can tell you, they aren't cost effective for most people.

Ad campaign on the Royal Road - the cheapest one - did consistently yield about 200 or so followers, give or take, for the duration.

The most successful writers on the Royal Road claim that about 1% of your followers would subscribe to your Patreon.

If you do the simple math, you find out you actually need to somehow make $25 from one person to even break even with the RR's ad as a starting writer. That is very challenging, to say the very least. A digital copies of the complete novels sell for like $5 on Amazon. On the other hand, for the big names that dominate the Royal Road lists. it's probably a worthy investment, since they can get 3000 followers on first chapter without an ad.

Read my novel pls.

I did.

Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are all good starting site. Reddit is okay but it has be in certain subreddit to be effective. Tik tok and YouTube are both big for booktuber/booktokers so it can be very good to be noticed by them. Good reviews and word of mouth are going to be your best friend

So nothing to do unless you are already famous and officially published.

Unless they have Bash The Watpadd videos (I seen a few)

Here on Scribble, no, I don't think anyone does them. Generally here it's much more, uh, casual? Few people here actively try to get their stories more visibility. Hard to say if it's a bad or a good thing.

And in regards to backfiring, that's why I'm saying to do small things and not be pushy about it. The tiny chance is always there, but I don't think any sensible person will complain if you give a link to a story you liked every couple weeks.

And where I would find the sensible people?

 

[prognastat]

For this, I actually know the answer.

Many people share the results of their ad campaign, and I can tell you, they aren't cost effective for most people.

Ad campaign on the Royal Road - the cheapest one - did consistently yield about 200 or so followers, give or take, for the duration.

The most successful writers on the Royal Road claim that about 1% of your followers would subscribe to your Patreon.

If you do the simple math, you find out you actually need to somehow make $25 from one person to even break even with the RR's ad as a starting writer. That is very challenging, to say the very least. A digital copies of the complete novels sell for like $5 on Amazon. On the other hand, for the big names that dominate the Royal Road lists. it's probably a worthy investment, since they can get 3000 followers on first chapter without an ad.

Not entirely surprising and if the numbers are correct then 2 new paying readers isn't exactly breaking the bank considering that it probably between $10 and $50(many patreon subscribers don't hang around for more than a month or two) return in sales/subscriptions and you still need to take transaction fees and taxes from that. It sounds like it might be most effective for an already well known author to advertise when he has launched a new novel to get a bump at the start, however if you are already that well known chances are most would find out eventually anyway and all you did is speed up the process of discovery for your new work.