Why I Use Vocal

I joined Vocal in May of 2021. I found it when I was looking for writing contests to enter, something I've always enjoyed doing in my spare time. I began to use the platform periodically when a challenge held my interest, but I was never super active on the website until May of this year.

Prior to becoming more active on Vocal, I struggled with getting reads. My most-read story at the time was a fictional piece about my hometown that I shared on Facebook with friends and family. The people I was familiar with gave me recognition on Facebook, but none of that translated into any kind of audience here.

A few months back, I found a Facebook group, Vocal+ Assist. Created by the ever so lovely, Rick Henry Christopher. While there, I learned that I was using the platform all wrong. There was a reason I wasn't getting any reads; it was because I wasn't reading in return.

I was coming on the website to post every once in a while before disappearing into the void, dissatisfied with my lack of interest. Now, I try to log on and read a handful of stories every day from my favorite creators and new creators I stumble across. I make sure to heart, leave comments, and provide insights. Because if you want Vocal to work, you have to believe in reciprocity.

Since then, I've learned that for me, Vocal is the best social media website in terms of my writing career. Here are the reasons why.

Engagement

Once I started engaging with other creators on the website and on Facebook, my reads and likes began to soar. It's really difficult to find creators organically due to the sheer number of submissions that Vocal receives daily, but if you know where to look, you can begin to curate an audience interested in your work as well as find creators you are interested in.

Some of the best ways to drive engagement is through Facebook groups such as the aforementioned Vocal+ Assist. There are others, including Vocal Social Society, The Medium Writers and Vocal Creators Support Group, and The Vocal Creators Lounge. There are also a number of general writing-related Facebook groups that allow users to post their stories from different writing platforms.

Another way that Vocal has encouraged engagement and fostered community is the creation of the relatively new Discord Server. While Discord itself does pose a learning curve for people who have never used the platform, it's a great way to find new stories to read and talk with other members of the platform.

Additionally, the Discord server allows users to post their own stories (not in a spammy way, though) and nominate other users for Top Story. There have been a number of stories that I and other creators have nominated that have gotten a spot on the front page. A little bit of communication and reciprocity is all it takes.

Connections

Piggybacking off of everything I've already stated: driving engagement and building an audience have also allowed me to forge meaningful connections with many creators on the platform.

I'm inspired by the sheer amount of creativity I consume daily on this website, and I hope that in some small way, I've been able to inspire others as well. Vocal is a thriving community of like-minded individuals if you know where to look and you put yourself out there to be found.

Though we might not always see eye to eye on everything, we can all come together and appreciate each other's work. We all know what it's like to put our all into our art, and that's something that makes this website special.

People from all walks of life come together, learn from each other, and grow with each other, as Vocal is still growing. Not only that, but we have the ability to influence where we want the platform to go, as seen in many new challenges being inspired by the input of Vocal creators.

Speaking of challenges...

Challenges

This is by and large my favorite aspect of Vocal and being a Vocal+ member, and it is the thing that drove me to the website in the first place. The thing is, it doesn't matter if I win anything (though that is an added bonus for many). I just appreciate the prompts that Vocal gives its creators.

There are so many unique opportunities to experiment with styles and story-telling techniques that I've never considered, and there's really no pressure added. Sure, it's nice to do your best and try to win, but at the end of the day, they help in driving creation.

There are so many pieces I would have never written if it hadn't been for Vocal challenges. Pieces that I consider to be some of my best work ever. I'll highlight a few below.

For the Broken Mirror Challenge:

For the Runaway Train Challenge:

For the Quadru-haiku Challenge:

Visibility

I've been writing for a long time, but I've never felt more seen than I have these past few months on Vocal. Everybody is on this platform for a reason: to share their art and to consume the art of others.

It's difficult to market your work on other social media sites, as they're generally made to communicate, share memes, share the news, make friends, etc. Don't get me wrong, Vocal can do all of those things too, but it's grounded in writing-based content creation as opposed to anything else.

I can post about my writing on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram until I'm blue in the face, but it's hard to find an audience when people are not generally on those websites to look for independent writers, poets, and authors. TikTok certainly has its place in writing with the incredibly popular "BookTok" subculture, but that's more about promotion than sharing writing for writing's sake.

Having been lucky to find visibility on this website has shown me that my work is worth reading, even if it's by a handful of people. I feel appreciated, and that just feels really good. It gives me the confidence I need to continue doing what I love and continue putting myself out there.

Portfolio Creation

This is one of the biggest blessings Vocal has given me. At this point, this article will be my 90th submission to the Vocal website. Though not everything I've posted is portfolio worthy, there are plenty of pieces that are.

I've been able to curate a collection of work I'm proud of and happy to put my name on. When looking for jobs in the writing field, I can point recruiters and potential employers to my stories on Vocal. That's something priceless to me.

Don't get me wrong, I've always been a writer, but most of my inspiration came from deadlines in college and needing to get something done for a grade. I did good work too, but it was hard to find motivation outside of class to keep creating.

For a long time, it didn't feel like it was going anywhere. That it was just a glorified hobby for me, and well, maybe it still is. But with Vocal, it makes me feel as though my work is meaningful. I'm more motivated to write than ever. I encourage feedback and critique to make my writing better. I believe wholeheartedly, Vocal has made me a stronger writer.

So here's to Vocal and all the reasons why I use this platform.

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If you've made it this far, thank you for reading. If you're feeling up for it, give me some reasons in the comments below about why you choose to use Vocal.