5 tips on How to Write a Bestseller on Vocal

5 tips on how to write a bestseller on Vocal

Ok, so you’re a writer and you’ve found this great online publisher with an established and active user base. You’re full of ideas (have been for years!) and now you’ve finally found your place to shine. Go on writer, crack out that masterpiece!

Except, don’t.

Nobody beyond your mum and her cat will read it, because you’re writing for yourself.

‘Oh yes, it’s terribly cathartic, I love it’ (but I’m not making money out of it)

‘Everyone who’s read it say they love it too’ (all 17 of them)

‘I don’t understand why I’m not fabulously wealthy yet’ (because your own clicks don’t count)

So what do I mean ‘you’re writing for yourself?’

Everyone asks ‘Is Vocal a scam?’ I bet it was the first thing you looked up when you heard about right? So you saw all the people complaining that they never made anything, that Vocal was set up to make money off writers. Well, they’re wrong.

How to make money from Vocal

Vocal is a search engine. It’s a search engine whose content you writers control. You’ve had a run through it, you know they use a very light hand when moderating. And you also know there’s some very good content on here, and some people really do make a living from it. And they do that because they also understand that it’s a search engine that’s also used by search engines.

Which means you need to do your Keyword Research, and write for that. Nah-ah – don’t click that ‘x’, just because I said a dirty word. I’m not telling you to go all out and make clickbait, I’m telling you to research your topic, find where the people you want to read your work hang out, chat to them, see what they’re chatting about, be involved and write for them. As an added bonus you’ll be able to harness their enthusiasm once your articles up and running!

Segue Alert!

Once you have your article you’ll be able to…

Mobilise your supporters

Yes, share it on faceapp, twitsup and whatbook, get your mum, her colleagues, your colleagues, your friends, her friends, their friends to read it and damn right you’re going to ask them to share it. Don't forget to thank them at the source of the Share and your phone will be pinging, because Mr Al Gorythm loves a little action so will boost your little back and forth for more people to see.

But don’t just stop there. You know earlier when I said to find your audience? Well now you need to ask them to read your piece, and comment, and share. Again Responf and Thank once they have. Ping!

Promote your work

That’s right! Now its time to get on your soapbox, crack out the megaphone and start waving your flag for everyone to see! Except… you’re in your living room, and even if you were allowed to get to Piccadilly Circus those retentative Londoners would just look at you like the crackpot you are and shuffle on by. That’s why you need to…

Build Backlinks

Hang on, this is starting to sound like a website. D’uh, you’re on the t’interweb, use it. Reach out to bloggers, to journalists, to anyone who might have a passing interest in your topic, because trust me they are hungry for material, and the more links you have going to your story the more the search engines will pick it up and drive traffic to it, especially if you did your Keyword Research, right? It doesn’t cost you anything and the worst they can do is say no. Actually the worst they can do is ignore you. Yeah, I know, I’m an attention starved child.

But hey, here’s an idea: link to your own pieces from your other pieces. And… dare I say… write some other pieces specifically to support your main piece? The best thing is you can re-publish these pieces on Faceache, PinTwit, YipYak etc, using the same keyword research you did earlier to generate traffic for your article. And what’s traffic? Traffic are people, who will enjoy the article you’ve written because yes, you are a writer, you didn’t just sit down and think How to Be A Writer, you sat down and thought How Can I Make A Living Out Of Writing.

Do you know what else you need to do?

The Number One Tip on How to Make Money As A Writer is….

Pay for advertising

What? I know, you’re here to get paid yourself, it shouldn’t be costing you anything! But how do the best selling authors on Amazon make money? How do you get onto the best selling authors list in the first place? Sit down Doris, I’m about to deal you some truth pie.

They pay for it.

No, they don't slide a manilla envelope across the table, waggling their eyebrows and winking. They pay for targeted advertising, either on Amazon itself or on Facebook. Every dollar they spend generates them $4 in sales, and every sale, download, or click, gets the big old ostrich feather right into our friend Al Gorythms armpitm, moving them up the bestsellers list, which generates more tickles, and more money.

The same principle applies here. If you pay for advertising off site, driving targeted traffic to your article on Vocal, you will move up the foodchain, get seen by more people and make some money back. How much money depends on;

• Your Keyword Research
• Your Outreach
• Your Promotion
• And how good a writer you are.

And while I’ve got you, please, for the love of God, stop using Stock Images. If you can’t use Adobe Express to create it yourself go to fiverr or peopleperhour and find someone who can – the investment will be worth it in the long run.

Finally;

Why you should pay for Vocal+

Vocal run great challenges, but to enter the biggest ones you need to be a member of Vocal+. Some people say this is Pay to Play, but what other platform can you win $2500, $3000, $5000 or even $20000 while doing what you love for less than $10 a month? With several challenges a month and no restrictions on entries you really should be writing for them all, plus it’s good practice – every single thing you write hones your skill and makes you a better writer.

There are thousands of people entering each competition but if you’ve done your Research, your Outreach, and your Promotion not only will you stand a very good chance of beating the competition but you'll have written a great article too!!