We're unbelievably lucky to have built a community of creators from all walks of life—all shapes and sizes, with different interests, from all over the world. And in times like this, we owe it to each of you to make it unequivocally clear where we stand. Black lives matter, Black voices must be amplified, and we all must do everything in our power to ensure that Vocal is a platform where Black creators can feel safe and secure trusting us with their stories.

Megan has been a creator on Vocal since July of 2019. Thanks to the compelling stories she creates and the way she uses Facebook to find her audiences, Megan’s gotten hundreds of thousands of reads on her stories and has seen her earnings spike. We asked her to share some of her advice to help you learn to do the same.

Are you a creator? Of course you are; I assume that's why you're reading this. If you're not a creator, then become one, because it's super fun. But the point is if you're reading this, you saw the title of this story, and you decided that you want to make a truckload of money by writing for Vocal.

Have you ever scrolled through Instagram to see that Vocal shared another creator’s story? Or maybe you were reading our Staff Picks or Vocal Verified roundups, and you wondered to yourself, “How do I get my story featured?” Every creator has been there—after all, isn’t that what we all want? To be recognized for what we create and have more people see our work?

One of the more commonly asked questions by Vocal creators is how to use social media to increase your readership, and to drive up your overall reads per day. And while there's a lot of very general advice out there that talks about making your titles pop, or how you need to get images that make people stop scrolling, that isn't very actionable.

You’ve just submitted a story you’ve been working tirelessly on for the past week. Every word, image, and concept is polished to perfection and you know that it’s going to be your key to success.

We've always said that you, our creators, are our partners—you're the ones who make it possible for us to continue to build a community and platform for storytelling. Writers, musicians, podcasters, videographers, bloggers, and creatives of all types have shared their stories with us this year, and pushed us to work hard to make Vocal a better home for your stories.

It’s that time of the year again, people! As we get ready to close off 2019 (hello 2020!) we’re looking back at what this year has meant for the Vocal community. Not only has our platform gone through some big updates over the course of this year, but we’ve been excited to welcome many new creators and help them share their stories. Thanks to these stories, we’ve discovered new artists, picked up a few hobbies, taken several notes on how to actually practice self-care, and so much more.

It’s hard to be a creator. Hard to stay inspired, hard to manage your own site, hard to get people to actually see what you’ve created when you finally get it out there. That’s why we made it easy.

Sometimes it takes more than just text to tell your story. Whether you’re showcasing your latest Vimeo short or using your Instagram posts to add a personalized touch, there are many ways to bring your Vocal story to life. But adding photos, videos, audio, and social media posts shouldn’t slow your creative flow.

According to The Writing Cooperative, you only have 10-20 seconds to catch a reader’s attention. People have a tendency to scan stories for only the most relevant information, and bounce right off the page if they’re not hooked quickly. So, how do you create stories people will actually read?

SoundCloud has become an essential tool for many talented artists—offering them tools and community to share their music, reach fans, find potential collaborators, all while honing their craft.