So You Want More Comments/Views/Points Here On Gather?

I’d be the first one to admit to that I don’t have a clue as to why I’m currently receiving the amount of views and comments that I am. It amazes me that over the past four or five weeks I’ve gone from an average of 100-150 views and maybe 30-70 comments per article to something like an average 1400-2300 views and 80-200 comments. I’m very humbled and grateful for this added attention, but do I understand why it’s happening? I really don’t, bottom line.

With that being said, I’m starting to have people here ask for my advice regarding what they should do in order to obtain more views and comments for their writings. Let’s face it, everyone who writes likes for it to be read, it’s the one common thread amongst us writers. When we aren’t read at a level we feel is appropriate we tend to wonder what’s wrong. I’ve already had Gatherers ask me point blank if they write stuff that’s too dull, too basic, too “raw”, and more. It’s damn near impossible to answer as my personal tastes are mine, hell, just because I think something is great or not is only my opinion, nothing more. Still, these questions are being asked, so I think I’m gonna offer up my two cents as to what I think one can do to both gain, and lose, an audience here on Gather.

Let’s start off by making something clear – when I began here a bit over a year ago I was receiving an average of 20-40 views and 2-5 comments per article. I definitely didn’t start out with a built-in audience or the proverbial “silver spoon,” and I promise I’m not Tom Gerace’s long lost brother. So what did I do?

Here’s what:

1. I started posting content at least once a week, and experimented with different days of the week to do so in. Once I found the days that seemed to draw best for me, I stayed with them. I think it’s very important to provide regular content if you want to build an audience, putting stuff up on an irregular basis will keep your reading audience exactly that – irregular. They won’t know when to expect you.

2. I joined groups and added friends. Think about it. Every time you add a friend your notices and comments show up in their feeds. And the more friends you add the more people that message gets out to. As regards groups, hey, look at it this way - if you post to a group that contains 500 members, that’s potential exposure to any and all of them regarding whatever you’ve just posted. Hell, I even occasionally audit my groups now. If I belong to one that has under 100 members, I check to see if it’s growing or on the decline. If it’s dying, I drop it like a bad habit, conversely, if it’s growing I make doubly sure that my articles keep getting there.

3. I “talk” to my readers. Truth is, I make it a point to interact with them, mostly because I enjoy it. Let’s face it, Gather is a social networking site, people want to get an idea of the person behind the writings, so one’s success is partially dependent on one’s interactions. For me, that means that I respond to comments, and if some comments turns into a “thread within the thread,” I make damn sure we keep that dialogue going as long as possible. The more human and approachable your readers see you as being, the better off you’ll be. You’ll ultimately find that a good conversational thread will draw as much or more for you than the article which prompted it in the first place.

4. Become friends with popular people on Gather. Hell, let’s face it, if your name and picture stops popping up on a page like Selene’s then people are going to begin noticing you. Post responses to their articles, suck up, and you’ll end up forming some really cool online friendships and also increase your potential readership.

5. Write stuff that has a fairly broad appeal. You might think that the lemonade you sipped with old Aunt Julia while you discussed the recent problems she’s been having with the corns on her feet is riveting stuff, but, believe it or not, most won’t see it that way. Not to mention the fact that old Aunt Julia might not appreciate having her warped old feet trotted out here for public scrutiny.

Now, those are some things you can do to help yourself – here are some things you can do that I’ll guarantee you will decrease your audience.

1. Use controversy and “Gather drama” as your means of drawing people to your page. Don’t get me wrong, controversy and “Gather drama” will draw for a certain period of time. Inevitably though, the issue(s) or people involved get old, people inherently don’t like to be upset all the time, hell, people don’t like being around azzholes period. Use this tact as your “hook” and your audience will drop off at some point. Hell, just since I’ve been on Gather I’ve watched certain people go from enjoying nice followings to almost insignificance, and I think it’s mostly due to them not paying heed to this basic tenet. Dallas was a great old TV soap opera, but there’s a reason CBS only gave us an hour of it each week. Don’t let yourself be lured into quick and easy views/comments through drama only to find that a few weeks later no one knows you’re out there. It’ll happen.

2. For God’s sake, if you don’t remember anything else here we’ve talked about today, remember this:

Don’t solicit money here on Gather!

I know Gather doesn’t directly allow solicitation, but I’ve seen enough discreet (more or less) panhandling situations here to float a ship. And in every case I’ve witnessed, the person involved does not increase their audience, in fact, over time they decrease it. Expecting online friends to give you money for whatever problems you’re experiencing at the moment might be expeditious, hey, you might even raise some money from it. Over time, though, it’s all gonna go downhill because the truth is that people don’t like hanging out with moochers, no matter how engaging or personality blessed they appear to be.

3. Don’t whine and bitch about the fact that you’re not getting enough attention! Wanna keep that trend going? Keep bitching. Most people like to keep kicking a whiny person’s azz, it’s just one of those weird laws of human nature.

4. Literary snobbishness impresses no one and draws even less. Plus, when you have to tell or indicate to people “who you are,” then most likely you “aren’t” or “never were.”

5. Don’t allow trouble making azzholes to entrench themselves on your page! Gather is like most social networking sites in this regard, you’ll find good people and then you’ll encounter some who are either antisocial or so desperate for attention that they’ll do anything in order to obtain it. If one of these types tries to “light” on your page, then punt them off however many times as it takes. When you force them to rely on their own drawing power then their ship is sunk. It’s always the right thing to do as nothing takes down a fun, positive thread any faster than some troublemaking misfit.

6. If you try to make people feel beholden to read your stuff then you can forget it. Bottom line, if you tell folks stuff like,

“Well, if you’ll read mine I’ll read yours.”

Your azz is already toast. People might read you out of obligation once, twice, or maybe even a few times, but they won’t continue doing so over any significant period of time. In fact, they’ll get tired of being asked. In the end, reading is just like sex – it’s best when done because the time and feelings are right, not because of a sense of obligation. And we’ve all done it out of obligation at one point or the other, so don’t act like we haven’t.

In conclusion, my dear and fellow Gatherers, I hope these suggestions help. Please remember that these are just my opinions, I’m quite sure there are more than a few successful Gather members who happen to have taken very different paths towards attaining the audiences they currently enjoy. I’d just ask y’all to keep ‘em in mind, have fun, and do the things necessary in order to make your audiences grow!