You've readers, you've followers, and then you have all the Wattpaders. We all know how difficult it is to get someone to read your story. And so, engaging with your readers and your potential readers in a meaningful way becomes a big part of this task.

Often without being asked, often on content they don't normally read, friends will be there. So if you want to attract people to your content, then the goal is not to advertise your content, but to advertise your friendship. Chat someone up in the comments, make jokes with them, connect over common experiences and you'll probably find they end up checking out your stories just because you seem nice

They also low-key judge you if you don't ever respond to comments (too good for them?) without explanation. If you're a busy person, let people know, but otherwise take the moment to engage with those who comment. They took the time to say something, you should take the time to say something back

If someone is willing to make a note, ask them about it and for them to elaborate on what they mean, even if you disagree with their note or critique. Did they say your character feels a little flat? Ask them why they feel that way. What words (or lack of words) made that happen? How could it be better?

Ask your readers what other stories they like or what sorts of things they do in their spare time. People like to talk about themselves (you know that, you're a writer after all), so encourage them to talk and really listen. You'll probably make friends, socializing in general is really healthy for humans, oh right you'll also come out looking really great and probably better build your fanbase.

An extremely common reader behaviour is to go to the author's profile of a story they love and look at the author's reading lists. And if you have friends, you could probably ask them to add you to their reading lists (We would say you should add their stories to your lists but you already did that, right?)

Book clubs, for example, are a great way to get engaged and gain exposure while doing something you like. Again, it's not about looking for spaces to advertise in. Your story doesn't even need to be in the book club for it to have a positive impact

Most people are just going to read your stories and nothing else. Make sure an author's note at the end mentions your other stories they might want to check out. Don't be pushy, you're still thankful they read through your content in the first place!

It will not go well. So any equivalent action with your story also won't go well. Also, this is one type of engagement that not only gets ignored, but will often cause a negative impression against you. So double loss.

It's pretty rare for someone to tell you they changed their opinion after someone on the internet snapped back at them. Responding to critiques or requests for updates with anger, while tempting, won't change that person's mind and you'll still feel lousy (though you should certainly report and remove egregious bullying)

If you try to engage in a neutral space with obvious self-advertising, or questions that pretty obviously benefit you or rely on someone reading your story, that's not going to go over well. You can ask your readers for their input all the time, but if it's just a stunt they'll pass

Nobody owes your story a read (except your fiancé who hasn't read your story after four years but it's fine), nor do they owe a comment or vote or anything else. The vast majority of readers (75-80%) will comment. It's not you, it's them. And they're certainly not going to be convinced to do it because you demand it or because you hold out updates for it or because you try to make them feel bad about it.