Okay, I've said time and again how popularity shouldn't be the reason that you write; you should write because you enjoy it. However, some people still really care about sharing their work and that is understandable, too. In this chapter I'm going to show you how to advertise your stories and also how not to advertise. Believe me, if you don't advertise your story properly, you might receive the opposite reaction that you were aiming for.

What I personally don't understand is how anyone can expect people to stumble across their page and rocket them to fame without even getting their name out there. Clubs are a great resource for advertising. Keep in mind that my definition of advertising probably differs from yours. I don't mean that you should go to a club and tell people to read your book. Most people probably won't if you do that. But, if you start discussions or participate in the threads, people will start to get to know you. Whenever I decide to frequent the clubs, I find that there are many users whom I recognize from when I used to go on there more often. Those are the people that will get more followers and more reads. Someone might just decide, "This person looks cool. I'm going to check out their page." Voila. That is how to advertise without even mentioning your story through the clubs.

If you expect anyone to care about your story, you are going to need to prove that you care about others, too. Most readers won't be bothered to comment on a story because they are lazy and they believe it's a waste of thier time. Well, let me tell you something: as nice as it is for the author to receive a comment, it benefits you just as much. The moment you say something on Wattpad, it is a shout into the void. It is like you are calling out to everyone else that is reading that story "I exist"! If you make a particularly interesting point or observation, or say something that another can relate with or laughed at, you are increasing the chances that they will visit your page and read the book you want to be read.

In order to gain reads, you have to read outside of your story. It's just that simple. And even if you don't comment but you vote that author might decide to check out your profile, especially if they aren't popular on Wattpad. That way they will appreciate and notice the gesture that much more.

A lot of readers forget to vote. A lot of readers. But, sometimes they will be reminded without you even telling them. . . . If I go to the effort of leaving a comment and the author replies, sometimes that is the extra push I need to vote. It shows that the author appreciates what the readers have to say and that, somehow, makes them deserving of that vote. Consider that. Don't be silent.

I think that any of you can back me up when I say that most followers don't actually seem to read your stories and if they do, they're silent so you can't even tell. The thing is, if you never talk to your followers, they will probably forget about you. It's a simple fact of being a Wattpad user. I always make sure to thank every single person that follows me. When you do this, they might be more inclined to check out your stories. I also send messages to my followers occasionally if I update a story or I reached an achievement and I want to thank them. Sometimes I even ask them questions on my profile. Interact with your followers! This will subtly push them towards your works.

This is just a basic way of advertising. Admittedly, I don't really check out the hashtags but some people do so it won't hurt you to try. Look to see what hashtags are trending and consider using some of them.

By this, I don't mean go follow two hundred random people and pray they return the favour. I mean that you should interact with other Wattpad users. I have met many people on Wattpad that I really like talking to and I would consider my "Wattpad buddies". You'd be surprised at what will make you connect with someone. I actually made a friend simply because we are both Canadian and an abundance of the people on this website are from the USA. It was nice to find someone from home.

One thing I have learned is that it is usually the people that you get to know (somewhat) on Wattpad that support your stories. Why? Because they realize that you deserve that support. Go meet some people. It's never a bad idea.

By getting many people to critique and edit your story, you automatically bring attention to it. Often times, critics or editors will even vote on your story if they liked it. Not to mention that your stats will go up for every read, vote, and comment you receive. Also, you should keep in mind that every time someone comments on your story, it shows up on their profile. That means that their followers will now be informed about your story as well, especially if the comment was flattering.

Here's another basic way for you to advertise. For every genre, there is a thread dedicated to advertising your stories in the designated club. It is updated regularly, so make sure you are keeping track of the times that it is refreshed. It may take a while for anyone to notice your story, but there is no harm in trying.

I would hope that this would be something you already practise, but being a generally friendly and cordial person isn't a half-bad idea. People will be less inclined to follow you and vote/read your stories if you have an unfortunate attitude and are rude or offensive. In fact, even if they do like your story, they probably won't vote just to spite you. So always be polite. It's all right to disagree with someone but be respectful. It doesn't matter how rude they are to you; be the bigger person.

Updating regularly means something different for every author. Decide what "regular" means to you. Is it once a week? Once every three days? Make sure that your readers know, though, so there won't be any surprises. I can actually prove that updating regularly increases your popularity. I'll use this book as my evidence.

A little over a month ago, this book I only updated about every month or so. Why? Because I'm a procrastinator at heart. It had been uploaded onto Wattpad for about a year and had only one thousand reads and one hundred and something votes. It had been on the hot list a few times but one specific time I decided: this is it, I'm going to try harder to update this book. Needless to say, I started updating every day (by the way, I don't recommend this) and I haven't missed a single day since that moment. Now the book is coming to a close and I've made it to number six on the hot list. Not bad, eh? All of that was due to me updating way more frequently than I used to.

This is going to be pretty short because when it comes down to it, there are only two main things that you really shouldn't do.

There is almost nothing in the world that is more annoying than spam. If you ask someone to read your story, fine. If you ask them again and again and again, not fine. I'm going to break it down for you and this might sound harsh. You may think you're pretty special and your writing is on fleek but in reality, the rest of us really don't care that much about you. If we want to read your story, we only need to be told once. If you remind us again, you just erased every single chance you had of us checking it out. Spam will be your downfall.

Don't go around asking people to check out your story. It sounds needy and is incredibly insulting to the author if you don't even acknowledge them. Especially don't leave these comments on their story without even saying anything about it. I will guarantee you that not one person will even read your story if you leave these comments.

That being said, even if you do vote and leave the author compliments, you still shouldn't ask them to read your story! It makes everything else seem like it wasn't genuine, even if it was. Plus, most authors just won't be bothered to check out your story. I always get a little miffed when people ask me to. There are other ways to advertise your story and this is quite possibly the worst one. I also hate when people don't even follow me but send me a private message telling me to check out their story. They don't even ask, they act like I owe it to them. Sorry, kid, but I prefer not to be used. I'll read your story if it deserves to be read. I don't want to be bothered.

The other thing is author's notes. Every time someone says in their author's note "don't forget to vote" I almost never do. Voting is something you earn, not something that your readers are required to do. You can't just snap your fingers and get everything that you want. Readers will decide whether you are deserving of that vote or not. Be appreciative that they even read your story. A better way to phrase it would be to say "if you liked this chapter, I would really appreciate it if you voted". It comes off way better.

That's all I have to say about advertising. Let me know how you advertise your story and if you disagree with me or not. Thanks always for reading!