I Sold Out, and You Can, Too

If you follow my work and have wondered why so many of my recent stories are about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, here's the answer: I'm a sellout.

I know it. I can admit it. I've started writing for views. I found where the money is at, and I'm capitalizing.

Don't get me wrong—I believe every word I write. I'm not being dishonest or insincere. I really do care about the Sussexes and the maltreatment they've endured. Most of the pieces I write are stories that were bouncing around in my head anyway.

And I do still write for myself. I still enter Vocal Challenges. I still talk about other things I really care about.

But the royals are my bread and butter. The only story of mine to have broken 2,000 reads is my first piece about Meghan Markle. As of this week, six of my ten most-read stories are about the British Royal Family.

I started November with somewhere around 6,800 views. Today, on the 23rd of the month, I have finally surpassed 10,000 total views (11,194, to be exact). That's over 4,000 views in the past three weeks.

I don't say this to brag; there are plenty of SEO-savvy Vocal creators who make double that in half the time. But new members often ask how to increase their daily views, and (at least from a non-SEO approach) here's the answer: Facebook groups.

I'm not talking about Vocal groups. I mean groups specific to your story's topic. If you're writing about Lord of the Rings, find a fan group. If your story is about cars, join a group for car enthusiasts. If you're sharing recipes, join a cooking group. Doing this won't get you hearts, but it will help you get views. There's no prize for getting your story liked on Vocal. The money is in getting people to open your link and read long enough that it counts.

Here are six tips that should help you rack up more views:

1. Find the right groups

Not all Facebook groups are created equal.

One of the challenges you may face is finding groups that will allow you to share your links. Some groups are heavily moderated and strict about content; others allow members to post without any administrator approval. Finding large groups with thousands of members that allow you to post freely—or, at least, will approve your posts—can be tricky.

A few things to check for when joining a group:

1. How many members are there? You want to aim for groups with at least 10,000 members, but that doesn't mean you should automatically discount groups with several thousand.
2. How many posts are shared per day? You can find this information in the 'About' section of a group before you even join. If there are a lot of daily posts, it either means that group members can post freely or that admins are pretty lenient about what gets through.
3. How active is the group? Check to see when the last several posts were made. I don't bother with groups that haven't seen a new post in a day or two.
4. Check to see if posting requires administrator approval. If not, you still need to follow the group rules and post relevant content, but it removes the element of waiting to see if your post will be accepted. If I'm worried something might be a stretch, I tend to include an "admins, feel free to take this down if..." disclaimer, just to be respectful.
5. Check to see if all the group posts are shared by the same person or few people. If so, these are usually admins who are the only members allowed to post. In my experience, these groups aren't worth the time.
6. Skim through the discussion feed to see how well links like yours usually do; is there a lot of interaction with these posts, or are they ignored? What do successful links have in common?

Remember that Facebook interactions don't necessarily translate into views; if I get 200 likes on a group post, I can typically expect less than half that many views on Vocal. Generally speaking, there are two ways of getting more people to engage with your material: the title and the caption.

2. Intriguing titles

My most-read piece, "The Simple Truth About Meghan Markle," has been so successful because the title forms a question in readers' minds: What is the simple truth about Meghan Markle? It leaves people wondering if the article is complimentary or critical. They have to open the link to find out.

It's important to note that, although subtitles are visible in embedded links on Vocal, this isn't the case on Facebook. The subtitle of this story gives away my position—it tells readers that this is a pro-Meghan article. But when I share the link on Facebook, people will only see the title and the cover photo, making it necessary for them to open the story to know what I am going to say.

Last week, I published another story about the Duchess of Sussex with an intriguing title: "The One Thing I Mistrust About Meghan Markle." I posted this story in pro-Meghan groups with a disclaimer that it is, in fact, a pro-Meg story. It garnered over 500 views in 24 hours, and more than 700 in 48. In just two days, it became my second-most successful story.

In this case, it was actually beneficial for me to reveal my position, because the groups I was sharing this story in wouldn't have been receptive to content critical of the Duchess. Paired with my reassuring caption, this provocative title effectively piques people's interest. If they love Meghan, they want to know what the one thing is. And if they hate her, they want to know what the one thing is. It's a win-win.

With this story, it also helped that I have a semi-reputation in these groups as a defender of the Sussexes. People are more likely to engage with provocative titles like this, because they know that I support Meghan and am unlikely to have written an article attacking her. Over time, you'll begin to develop a relationship of trust and familiarity with other members of your groups, and you may even build a following.

3. Captions

The second way of getting people to click on your link is a compelling caption. I'm not talking about the subtitle of your story; I'm referring to the comment you attach when posting something on Facebook.

When I first wrote the above story, the title was "8 Times the Sussexes Proved That Love Is Real," or something like that. But, for reasons I can't explain, I changed it as I was submitting, and it became "Their Love Is Real."

This was a huge mistake. Because people saw it, thought it was a pretty picture with a pro-Sussex caption, and moved on. There was no indicator that there was something to click on and read. The subtitle doesn't show up on Facebook, remember? So they didn't see that there were eight pictures to look at. I got hundreds of likes on these posts and only ~50 views on Vocal.

I learned from this mistake. Now, when I share this piece, I do so with a caption that lets people know there's more inside: "Here are 8 of my favorite pictures from Meghan and Harry's relationship 💕." Boom. All of a sudden, I'm back in the game. It's now in my top ten most-read stories.

Sometimes, simply posting the link to a story with no additional information is sufficient or even better. "The Simple Truth About Meghan Markle" doesn't usually need to be accompanied by a caption, because I don't want to give anything away.

4. See what sticks

I've attempted to replicate my royals success with other topics to mixed results. In my experience, Harry Potter and Taylor Swift fans aren't interested in clicking on links, but Golden Girls fans are wonderful patrons. Dr. Phil fans jumped on my piece about being invited on his show. It's really just testing out what might work and seeing what sticks.

Write about a variety of topics, and join lots of groups. I'm a member of fifteen groups about the royals. Remember, just because something doesn't work in one group, that doesn't necessarily mean that it won't work in others; some of my stories in Sussex groups garner 12 likes, while others generate 200-300 likes each time I post. I've left the groups that didn't serve me and regularly look for more to add to my list. (It's good to keep a record of which groups you've already tried; I didn't, and it's been frustrating.)

You'll also have to have thicker skin than Vocal alone requires; while the lack of a comment section on this site insulates creators from negativity, posting your stories on Facebook will open you up to criticism. When I write pro-Meghan pieces, I have to expect those who hate her to voice their opinions (and they do). Remember that, while posting in groups where your content will rile people up might generate views, it will also prevent you from establishing the trust that keeps readers coming back to your work.

These tips are more geared toward nonfiction pieces; while I haven't tried myself, I'd guess that they probably won't do much for those hoping to promote works of fiction. There are groups specifically for fiction writers, but I would assume that it's still hard to get people to read those stories.

Test out different strategies, titles, and captions. When you find something that works, stick with it.

5. Vocal Blitzkrieg

You don't have to promote your stories every day. Doing so might actually be counterproductive; you could end up annoying people. In the past, I only posted in my groups periodically, typically every couple of months or so. It's a blitz tactic. I post a single story in six or seven different groups and watch the views pile up. I might share the same story in several more groups over the next few days, creating a ripple effect in my stats.

Now that I've started to write more regularly about the royals, I've begun to post more frequently. Each time a new story is published, I drop it in a bunch of groups and wait. One benefit to sharing several stories over a short period of time is that it will help members become familiar with your work and start to recognize you. Try not to change your Facebook profile picture over this time; it's a primary way members will begin to remember and identify your stories.

Don't post once and stop. Your groups will constantly be taking in new members, which means new readers who may be interested in your content. Wait several months, then delete your original post and share it again.

6. Write something worthwhile

It's not enough to actively promote a bad story; you have to put in the work to produce a good one. You need to write something of consequence, and you need to write it well. You don't want to develop a reputation as the person who spams the group with links full of typos. You have to create something that people relate to, something that fills the gaps between what they're looking to read and what's already out there.

Become familiar with your audience. The relationship you establish with your readers should be one of mutual respect. The group members I interact with are absolutely wonderful people who seem to genuinely enjoy and appreciate my work. On my end, it's nice to connect with people who are so supportive and who care about the same issues I do.

My readers make me feel like I'm providing a service they want, and I think that I am, because I'm providing a service that I want. I'm defending Meghan the way I wish other people would. Other writers' articles supporting Meghan make me feel better, so it's nice to think that maybe the stories I write give my readers that same kind of positive feeling.

In other words, don't just write for views; create something you're proud of and passionate about.

I'll be honest—even the slightest understanding of search engine optimization would probably save me a lot of time and energy. The truth is that unless you win a Challenge or have an understanding of SEO, you probably won't make a lot of money on Vocal. But if you're just looking to make a little extra cash, the best advice I can give is to find your niche and milk it for all it's worth.

If I were Meghan Markle, people would claim that all this scheming to get views proves that I'm evil, that I'm a liar, that I'm a manipulator.

Fuck that.

I'm a goddamn businesswoman. I work hard for the $6 per 1,000 reads I earn on this site. Very few creators are making the big bucks on Vocal, and it takes hard work, dedication, and an understanding of how the game is played to get there.

So, yeah, I'm a sellout. Christmas is fast-approaching, and I have eight sisters to buy presents for. Which makes the $15 Vocal has sent my way for my three Top and Awesome Stories in the past month invaluable. It makes every tip precious. And it means that I appreciate wholeheartedly every view I get, every like on Facebook, every heart on Vocal, every supportive comment, and every friend I've made in these groups. If you've contributed even one view to the over 10,000 I've accumulated, thank you.

Thanks for reading! I hope that this story has been helpful and informative. If so, please subscribe and click the 🖤. Good luck getting more views!