LIFE LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT GETTING READS
What I Do to Get More Reads
And perhaps, more importantly, what I don’t.
This is an Excel Spreadsheet I use to check which stories I have shared on which FB Group. This makes it easier for the group moderators and for me because when I post, I write the number of my article. If you are trying to find the group to join, most of these have Medium in front.
You can use this if you like or email me, [email protected] to get the Excel spreadsheet so that you can edit it as you wish.
I give each of my stories a number, then, when I post it to a group, I put the number in the box so that I know which group I have shared it in recently. I typically only share one story three times so that I don’t get accused of spam by the FB bots. However, when it is a story I want to promote heavily, I change my two or three sentences that I call my intro.
Instead of just sticking a link in the box, or much worse, that old “tit for tat” quid pro quo thing everybody is sick of seeing, give your potential reader a reason to read yours.
It might be that you’re close to a milestone. There’s nothing wrong with pointing that out. We all want to help each other out. We know some of you need to feed the family with your writing. I’d rather read that than, “You show me yours; I’ll show you mine.”
I then click “like” on the story right above mine and read that, clap fifty times and highlight any that particularly stands out.
I then clap three times in the comment box when I come out. Or, I write what I thought of the article, depending on how much of a hurry I am in, and then if there is another story below mine, do the same with that.
As you can see, I belong to at least 18 groups that I post to daily. I only post within the “daily thread” unless there is a particular prompt like “share your latest curated article,” which I am still waiting to post on, “share your article with the most claps,” or another. I then read one up and one down there too.
I usually read at least 40 or 50 articles a day that way.
How to Use Signal, ManyStories, LinkedIn, and Twitter
My Notifications from Medium
I also click on the new follows and read one or more of their articles depending on if I like the topic or the title appeals to me. I clap for and respond to every comment. Although that might change with the new format for commenting, we might not be able to clap from there.
Sharing Your Profile on FB Groups
I really like the prompts to share your profile picture within FB Groups. I try to add a comment to each. If I have not followed you, I will and read and clap for at least one story. If I really enjoy it, maybe more.
If I am already following you, I will comment “already following,” and if one of your stories sticks out in my mind, I will comment “must-read” or “Follow and read their story…” Broken Arrow, I Had Sex with a Rock Star, What I Learned Loving My Husband’s Best Friend, Risen, Repeat Offender, or whatever you thought was their best story. Engage your potential follower. BTW, you should read all of those!
I never post to another person’s post unless my link directly answers their question. I think it is rude to plop your article down on someone else’s post and comment, “I read yours, read mine.”
About Curation
I’m not going to go into this too deep because I have never been curated out of 180 something stories. However, here are a couple of things I think will put a new writer in the cell block next to mine in the “Curation Jail.”
Title Case
“The rules are fairly standard for title case:
· Capitalize the first and the last word.
· Capitalize nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions.
· Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions.
· Lowercase the ‘to’ in an infinitive (I Want to Play Guitar).”
From the Title Capitalization Tool, https://capitalizemytitle.com/ or read Casey Boticello’s article:
You might see all kinds of variations, but this is the AP standard, and it’s easiest. IMO
Use a Title and a Subtitle
The subtitle, according to Medium guidelines, should be sentence case with proper punctuation. Use the big “T” for the title and the little “T” for all subtitles.
You can add links to your previous articles, but according to Curation Guidelines, do not use friend links. However, I use friend links everywhere else. Whenever I share my story in FB Groups, it is a friend link, then everyone can read it, and if someone reads it that is not a member and they decide to join within 30 days, you get paid!
More helpful stories:
Stephen Dalton is a retired US Army First Sergeant with a degree in journalism from the University of Maryland and a Certified US English Chicago Manual of Style Editor. Top Writer in Fiction, Short Story, VR, Design, & Creativity. Editor of Pop Off, Top Dalton’s Blog, 100WordStory, B.O.S.S., and SportsShorts100WordsOnly
You can see his portfolio here. Email [email protected]
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