You've Got A Notification!

You’ve Got A Notification!

Vocal’s new Notifications feature changes the game little bit. At least for me, it does. It makes me reconsider my strategy for reading people’s work effectively, and for getting people interested in mine.

How so?

I like the notifications. A lot, actually. I love that it inspires engagement and community. It’s a way to make sure I am catching and interacting with comments. I can see who is “Liking” my stories, which brings people to my attention to check into their work, too, and it let’s me see who and what work brings in subscribers. This is, to me, the most important, and it also makes me a bit more thoughtful about to whom I subscribe, and what and how often I publish my own stories, as I also don’t care to give my authentic fans reader fatigue, which would cause them to ignore me, or even unsubscribe. My fear is posting work too often, causing people to lose interest, like when I receive constant emails to my inbox from some random business or material to which I subscribed due to a momentary interest.

But I also fear being forgotten because I don’t post enough. The key is to find a balance - and it’s hardly the same for everyone. So first, I look at myself. How often do I like to read new material from my favorite authors? Multiple times a day, aweek, a month? What do I feel is too much, or when do I wish there was more?

My personal goal is to receive and maintain a fanbase. Not everyone on this platform aspires to the same. My interpretation is just one way to think about it, and how it impacts my personal decisions in achieving my writing goals.

My intention is not the same as your intention; just something to think about.

I appreciate my readers and subscribers. What can I do to hang on to them? How can I best use this feature to keep and grow my audience?

Likes

By seeing the person giving a Like to my work, I can view their work in return and find out a little bit about the audience who my work is affecting. I can reach out to them, encouraging engagement and building a relationship. This is great for networking and discovering new writers to read.

Subscriptions

Subscriptions are great because when a reader signs up for one, it means my writing made such a lasting impression on a reader, that they are eager to read more. Whenever I publish a piece of work, everyone on the subscriber list is notified, giving them the chance to read it. Like being notified of Likes, viewing new subscribers again offers the ability to do a little research into the audience and gives me the opportunity to engage with the person.

Comments and Replies

This is even better than a like, because I can read how a piece of my writing impacted a reader, providing information which I can use to develop my writing. Replies offer a way to implement interaction between creators and those who appreciate the creations.

The new resources being provided to us by Vocal are exciting for their ability to encourage engagement and build our productivity as writers, but we also must consider each new feature and the best way to implement it to fulfill our goals, which is a unique consideration for every individual’s endeavor.

Thanks for reading! Do you like the Notifications through Vocal? How do you plan to utilize this feature?

Keila Aartila grew up in a small, rural community surrounded by animals and family. She, along with her husband and daughter, horses and other pets, now live on 40 acres in Northern Wisconsin, surrounded by forest and wildlife. She has spent her life reading about, writing about and working with animals, her goal always to be as reliable, trustworthy and honest as a horse, but her innate humaness keeps getting in the way. She remains determined to keep trying, though.