Cricket Repellant

Attracting new readers

One morning, I checked for responses to the lovingly crafted article I posted the evening before.

Crickets. 🎶

Not even one comment or like.

Never discouraged by the sound of crickets (a metaphor for low reader response), I decided to put a positive spin on my experience and start again with a brand-new perspective and renewed creative enthusiasm!

I just lied.

I was devastated not to have a single like—not even one. Likes are easy to give; just click the "Like" button.

But I wanted to think about what might be happening. And I wondered what I could do differently to attract readers. I will share what I have tentatively come up with.

Follow the rules

The prompt for the piece I submitted was 500 words. Mine was getting close to 2,000, a discouraging length for tired editors. This piece is exactly 500 words, including all the titles.

Turn problems into opportunities

I was frustrated in a graduate course when I encountered a word limit of only 500 words. I stopped getting angry, embraced the word limit, and submitted all my work in exactly 500 words. This has recently become useful when checking medical abstracts. And here.

Use Tasty Titles

The title should be short, tasty, and easily absorbed, like a piece of dark chocolate. The flavor of the title should give a taste of what is to follow. Otherwise, it is clickbait. Don't be unkind to your readers.

Be spotted bobbing in the ocean

There is an ocean of things to read. If you want to gather an audience, you need to be conspicuous. Writing well about an interesting topic is a start, but it is necessary to attract attention. Write about well-known people in your own area of expertise and impress them so they say something awesome about you. Think of it as waving your arms in front of their binoculars. That not only means being interesting, you need to pop up in front of where they are looking—you need to be in the channels they are following.

Elle Griffin, who writes The Elysian on Substack, connects with prominent authors writing in her area of expertise by commenting on their work. She also places strategic ads in select publications to attract new readers.

A Game of Tag

Invite people to look at your work, particularly if you are in a group of writers. This should be used sparingly. Tag people likely to be interested in your work. Creatives are busy.

Read Before Writing

The best writers consume large portions of great writing.

Write Publish Repeat

David Perell of Write of Passage encourages consistent publishing. The more regularly you publish, the less you will hear crickets.

Do not fear the sound of crickets

Crickets are inevitable. Even the best writers hear them. It is hard getting no response to our cherished writing, but it is best not to be discouraged.

I decided to be optimistic when faced with setbacks and learn from them.

🎶