An Open Letter To The Gang At Vocal

Dear Vocal,

Dear Vocal, at a time when many were struggling to keep their minds off of the pandemic, the lockdowns, and the fear and apprehension of the new world we were living in, you gave us something to do. As frustrating as you may seem at times, having something to do throughout the weekends with no movies, no social events, no sporting events, and few other outlets was rewarding. Perhaps it kept some from going insane by giving them a voice in the world as the world felt cold and the silence became deafening. So, for that, I'll acknowledge you were of great help to some of us.

While you may or may not be of a mindset that open-mindedness is a good thing, it would be great if you could finally open up a few things to the people that try your platform. These are things that I haven't heard anything about on the page but have thought about at different times since joining Vocal in 2020.

Delays

Delays in approving the submissions are an issue nowadays and it wasn't always like that. It seems pretty obvious to anyone that is paying attention that you're short-staffed and don't employ enough people to keep up with the work. We all get it, you've got to remain profitable. That's the finance of business and business management 101.

It's of little secret that Creatd is doing well financially, no doubt in large part to the memberships of your users. Then, it's also no secret that partnerships and sponsorships mean that Creatd and Vocal are paying out less of the challenge wins than if they were not finding partners and sponsors. This isn't rocket science and anyone that has ever read a success story about...well, any billionaire, knows one of the tricks to getting rich is when you get someone else to put up the money.

Every time there is a delay in approving submissions that equals potential reads that are lost to your platform users. It also means that it is almost impossible to write pieces that time out with events, movie releases, or newly timed occurrences in the world. The delays are also pushing people to look at other venues and creating a certain about of bad "word of mouth" about Vocal and how things operate.

Challenges

Vocal + users are filling your site with content and some of it that I've read, maybe even a piece or two of my own, is pretty good considering most aren't professional writers. The challenges have your staff extremely busy.

By now, you're probably noticing that many people question the legitimacy and fairness of the challenges. I recently read a mathematical, statistical breakdown, and there is an argument out there that you don't even read all of the challenges. I'm sure it's not that simple, and I'd definitely hope they're all being read.

The challenges should be affecting people by inspiring them, driving them, and pushing them to do their absolute best work. But, instead, what's happened is a percentage of very talented creators on your platform simply don't believe they have a chance at winning a challenge. I don't for a minute think that's the message you wanted to convey throughout the process of the challenge and it seems counter-intuitive if it is.

Vocal says it takes suggestions, well here's a suggestion for Vocal I'd like to offer. Looking back, before the higher dollar amounts, there used to be 1,000.00 and 500.00 dollar challenges. Perhaps, consider bringing back or instituting some challenges that are scaled-down and give people a better chance of feeling like they could be a winner. I've read several people's work and it shocks me they haven't been winners.

Also, since you never seem to get the winner announcements out by the date promised, I'd suggest changing the announcement dates. Perhaps try changing it to something like "Winners to be announced the week of the (Date)". Since the challenges feel more like a lottery to people, this would alleviate the tense waiting on the user's side and give you at Vocal a more flexible time frame to make the announcements. That "Lottery" like feeling I see the challenges compared to at times might feel less like a lottery if there wasn't a day we expect the announcement.

My final suggestion involves challenge entries. I'm sure you have read plenty of complaints about challenge entries. Vocal and its partners have put together some pretty hefty cash prizes. And, that's great. But, it also has created a money mindset in writers. Everybody that enters the challenges is chasing a payday.

So, my suggestion would be for Vocal to look at creating a list for these highly sought-after prizes. It's nothing more than an honorable mention list. There are some advantages to having a list like this. Yes, it would create some work. But, if you think about it, from our perspective, making the list of top 500 entries would show people where they rank. It's a step progression from what feels like the loser's circle to the top. If it were ranked, then the writers that consistently enter the competitions could see how they're improving and how they're viewed by the judges, even if it were by vocal employees putting the list together.

If they don't get a prize, then so be it, but it would be encouraging to the writers to see their name on a list that at least made it into the top 500, or 100 in smaller competitions. It's a thought that might encourage people to keep trying, keep striving and keep improving on their work.

Seriously though, it'd be great if you hired a few more people to help out with some of the day-to-day basics so things run smoother for your paying clientele.

Conclusion

Thanks to Vocal I have gotten better as a writer and a creator. You came into my life when I was looking for something to fill some very slow days entering the pandemic's second year. Like many, you helped to keep me sane and feeling like I was doing something, even if at times the frustrations overwhelmed me. So, thanks for that. But, as much value as some of us place on what the effect of Vocal has been on our lives, our writing, or our social media connections, there are some things about the platform that do need to be addressed and I, like many, hope that you'll be doing so in the very near future.

Now, for the obligatory placement of my Ambassador Link.

Check out my link below if you aren't a member and want to try Vocal +. They almost always have some sort of special on membership fees, and the ambassador link does help the writers earn a small percentage, but costs you nothing more than the standard Vocal membership. It provides you with the opportunity to write for some pretty impressive cash prizes and you can earn a small passive income through the platform.