Four weeks ago, I ventured onto the Wattpad platform in my Great Wattpad Experiment. My reasons for doing so were straightforward:
- I was looking to grow my readership.
- I was hoping to engage in conversation with readers about my stories.
This is the update I promised on how my experiment is going. 🙂
My main focus on the platform so far has been the promotion of Gwynneth Ever After, a contemporary romance that I self-published and still have full control over. I’m releasing Gwynneth’s story as a serial — one chapter at a time on Fridays — and at the end of each new chapter, I provide buy links for readers who can’t wait to find out what happens next. (My Grigori Legacy series is controlled by my publisher, so I’m unable to experiment with those books in quite the same way.)
Statistically speaking, here’s what’s happened with the book after four weeks:
- It has reached #10 on Wattpad’s romance list.
- It has been read 27,037 times as of the writing of this blog post.
- It has received 814 votes and 116 comments from readers.
All well and good, you’re thinking, but has any of this had an impact on sales numbers?
Actually, yes. While I won’t have sales figures until my next royalty statements from each of the digital platforms, I have seen a significant rise in the book’s ranking on Kindle, Kobo, and Nook (to my knowledge, there is no ranking system for iBooks…if I’m wrong, please let me know!). In addition, eight readers have let me know via comments/messages that they had purchased Gwynneth Ever After in digital format. Given that the book had pretty much stopped selling altogether (probably because I hadn’t been promoting it at all), this is pretty awesome.
So…my conclusions. I’d have to say that I am really enjoying the Wattpad experience. The platform itself is simple to use and uploading new chapters is a cinch. (My biggest challenge has been holding to the serialized format–knowing what’s coming in the book, I can’t wait to share with readers! 😀 ) I’ve seen a definite upswing in both readership and sales, and for those reasons I’m going to continue with (and…ahem…maybe expand on) my experiment. And, of course, I’ve had the distinct pleasure of conversing with readers about the story as it unfolds. It’s not quite as good as sitting down over coffee with them, but it’s a nice alternative. 😉
A final note: if you’re thinking of trying out Wattpad yourself, be aware that your results may vary from mine. Genre will, of course, play a definite role, and your presence on other social media will also have an impact. For instance, when I release a new chapter, I tweet about it several times a day for 2-3 days, and I also post on my Facebook page in order to drive more traffic to the story. It stands to reason that if you’re an author with an established online presence, you may generate more interest than someone who’s just starting out.
Questions? Comments? I’d love to hear them!
P.S. Check out my other Social Media Monday posts for more tips on growing your online presence, and stay in the loop by subscribing to updates (red box, right hand side bar).
P.P.S. To find out more about writing on Wattpad, check out their Writers’ Page.
P.P.P.S. Know another author who might find this post interesting? Please share! 🙂
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