HolyChaos

Hi! I've had a writing/imagines blog for a little while now, but I keep losing inspiration for my writing because no one really shows any interest in it. I feel like if I could get more exposure, I'd actually have someone to write for, lol. So I guess my question is, do you think it's appropriate to reach out to larger blogs for shoutouts, or is that weird/annoying? Thx

Hello, sweet nonnie! owo/ I’m sorry this took me a day to get to but I wanted to mull this over before I replied, because I think there are some important aspects to this question that should be addressed - I hope my answer is satisfactory enough! *insert all the heart emojis* 

First things first, I’ll answer your question. 

I don’t think asking for shoutouts is a smart move, in all honestly. Asking for shoutouts usually reaps little reward as the blog is never authentically and organically recommending you to their followers - and the followers can tell. You’re more likely to be skipped over by other blogs and seen as grabbing for attention. There is also the issue of bigger blogs seeing you as just using them for their followers and you’re more likely to cause annoyance - you’re more likely to alienate yourself from the blogs you’re trying to build connections with.  

Now, on the topic of exposure and losing interest. 

You can’t write your book for anyone else; you need to write it for yourself first. An audience will come when they can see you love your work. If you’re not writing for yourself, then I don’t think you’re giving the story enough love to make others love it. But, god, I do understand that validation is a really strong motivation and it feels amazing to get, but it can’t be the only thing that gets your book finished. Exposure and having an audience is great, but its something that needs to be slowly grown and cultivated otherwise you don’t build the relationships you need to have people support you. 

So, lets talk how to grow that exposure, yeah? 

This is a really good one! Not only are you cultivating relationships within the community and learning more about peoples work, you’re also getting your name out there. Especially if you regularly ask questions. 

“But Bel!!! What if I can’t think of anything to ask?”

This is something that I totally get. My recommendation for this is one thing: ASK GAMES. Ask games are a lovely way to interact with the community without much effort. You see a writer reblog an ask game? Send a few numbers/emojis or whatever in! Its a great way to build friendships! It’s how i’m now stuck with @notanotherhour (jk Davy ily fuckface) but he does this really well!! He’s constantly on my dash or in my inbox in some way or another because of ask games!! Its a brilliant way to interact with people and validate other writers. 

This one is a simple one, but if you post five posts all at once, and is the only thing on your page, people are just going to gloss over it. I’m guilty of this myself. Space your work out over a few days/weeks/months. That way, when people on your tag list get the notification they’ll be more inclined to click on it because its been a bit since they’ve seen any of your content. 

Moodboards/Aesthetics/Edits win hearts. If you give your original content an aesthetic edit along with it, its more likely to stop people scrolling down their dash and go “oooh pretty!!!!!” and then go “!!!! ooh a wip I haven’t seen before.” They’re also more likely to reblog something thats pretty onto their own dash bc… the aesthetic. 

Important!! People want to support people who support them!!! Especially mutuals!!!!! Especially if you give them comments and tags!!! 

… 

And thats it really \uwu/

I hope this is okay!!! Good luck, nonnie! I wish you the best!!!

Love, Bel.