Dos and Don'ts (and a Maybe) of advertising your story!
DOS
1. Your profile. Your profile is your space to advertise and type anything you want! (As long as it is within Wattpad's rules.)
2. Your books. This one seems dumb, yes I know. Why advertise a book on one of your other books? But it's a good idea, especially for fanfic writers. Fanfics give a taste of your writing style, and more people are likely to look up "Percy Jackson Fanfics" than "[You're specific original story name]".
3. If people are ASKING. I can't stress this one enough. If someone is posting, "I'm bored, does anyone have books for me to read?", that is an invitation to ask them to read your book. Also, give a title and a short summary instead of just a link. Seriously. Nobody is going to click on a link with no context at the risk of a virus or computer bug.
4. Add the right tags. Tags can get you a long way. While typing in a tag, popular suggestions show up. If they are relevant, pick them. In tags, include things like the genre, if it's an original story, if it's LGBTQ+ or a murder mystery. Don't include popular tags that don't have anything to do with your book, because it probably won't work anyways, and is deceitful.
5. Other Sites. If you have a blog, or you're on Twitter or something of the like, your profile is a safe place to advertise. Again, don't do it on other people's profiles though.
DON'TS
1. Don't spam people's profiles or PMs. This one is big. Don't fill someone's PMs with no context links to your book. It gives you a very bad rep, as many will agree, and decimates your credibility as a writer. You can also get reported to Wattpad HQ, and that's not the impression you're trying to build. (At least...I hope so, you little brat!)
2. Don't advertise on other people's books. If it's a book about how to get more read, asking people to give you advice is a different story. But going onto someone's fanfic and giving a link to your book is plain rude and frankly, really annoying.
3. Don't do Reads for Reads or Votes for Votes. Reads for reads and votes for votes are when you agree with someone else that if you read/vote on their story, they'll do the same on yours. It's against Wattpad rules, and even though your read count may go up, they aren't real reads, and it isn't true success.
I once read someone's book when they asked me to, and I voted and offered advice because it was a good story. Then I get notifications that the person had voted on every chapter of my story. I was elated...until I checked the timestamp. Every single vote had happened within one minute. 15 chapters, nearly 15,000 words. In one minute. They hadn't read my book. It was basically a vote for vote, and I felt like a cheat. Just some personal experience.
MAYBE
This is one you can do, but don't overuse it or the advertising becomes obvious. If you can write a relevant comment to a statement on another book, and squeeze in your book, it might help.
For example: If a book line says, "Ugh, I got writer's block! Sorry guys!"
You can comment, "Aw, that's awful! While writing my book, [Book Title], I had writer block for months in the middle!"
That way you've put your book out there without seeming like you're pushing it on people. Don't provide a link. Then it really looks like advertising. Just write your comment and hope someone is intrigued somehow.
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My book, my advertisements! Go ahead and click that little star! And maybe give my other books a read? :)
Love you all!
- Astraeus
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Wattpad: Rants, Clichés, and Everything to Avoid
Non-FictionA compiled list of what makes me, as a reader, want to exit out of a book immediately. *Not made to offend anyone. Cover by me.*
