How to Earn More Tips on Vocal.

There are ways to garner more reads and then there are ways to garner more tips. Both often overlap but there are quite a few unique differences and ways you can increase your tip earnings without even needing to get a massive boost to your reads. Wanna now how? Wouldn't it be great if there was a neat little guide to help you.

Well, what do you know. You're reading it!

1. Understand Value

All stories have value. Everything you write has value. But monetary value is a different thing entirely. It doesn't matter what you're writing, whether it's short stories, informative articles, etc. people read your work for a reason - for its value. This can be a captivating story, a unique stockpile of interesting facts, an emotional rollercoaster of your week, anything that grabs the reader and holds them till it's over. People will tip you based on the impact and value your story gives them.

To put it plainly: when you tip other creators is it ever for a story you feel had no worth to you? Of course not! You tip creators because their stories inspired you, captivated you, ie. had value to you. Always strive to create stories with value.

2. A Helpful Reminder

The tip button is surprisingly quiet when you're reading a story you like. More often than not a reader could very well be more than happy to leave you a sparkling $1 tip but simply forget or aren't aware. At the end of your story add a small reminder (just one) that the option to tip is available. Don't pressure your readers accidently as this will not bode well so pick your words with care. Something like 'Any and all tips are extremely appreciated' is perfect.

Keep it short and sweet, at the bottom of your story and outside the main body of your work. Don't ask for specific amounts and be sure to thank your tipers.

3. Keep it short and sweet

This tip actually applies to all your work in general. Although lengthier stories have a higher chance of showing on google (roughly 1500-2500) from my experience the shorter, more direct and simple stories I've written have garnered more tips than the lengthier ones.

The layout of your story should be spaced into short paragraphs to help it look less imposing and if you're making a list or giving advice try to make each point a seperate paragraph to keep it neater. If you're doing a countdown from ten then the analysis of each number/contestant should be less than, say, a countdown from five.

When re-reading your story, check for unnescary sentences or even paragraphs that don't really add anything to what you're trying to say. By cutting these you're saving your audience from unnescary information.

(This is, of course, subjective and mostly applys to informative articles rather than short stories.)

4. Presentation Matters

Everybody's tastes are different but nobody can dislike a consistent aesthetic to your story. It affects your tips a lot more than you'd think. The stories I've taken extra time with to keep a coherent aesthetic just happen to be the ones I've recieved the most tips for. Nobody wants to leave a like for a messy story, let alone give its creator a tip, so take the time to throw in a few nice, high quality photos between neat, small paragraphs. You don't have to go overboard or add too many pictures as this will detract from your story and might make it look cluttered.

Have your own style. It's great to get inspired by others but if you're doing what other creators are doing than your chances of earning a tip are going to be drastically limited.

5. Tip Other Creators

It goes both ways.

If you loved a story, were impressed by the rich language or learned something really insightful, leave a like and give them a $1 tip. If you can't spare it that's totally ok! Make sure you leave a like and, if you feel like it, shoot them an email, saying how much you liked their story. It goes a long way.

Vocal recently added an update that allows you to see the creators who tipped you, something you couldn't see just a few months ago. If you find a story you loved from someone who tipped you previously, maybe pay them back the favour.

Be generous and kind. You know how much a simple like/tip means to you so show a fellow creator how much you loved their story. By taking this initiative you're simultaneoulsy encouraging other writers to do the same.This will inevitably result in more tips for you.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed and learned something useful from this little guide. If so leave a like and, as always, tips are hugely appreciated. See ya! - Ciaran