Our Personal Vocal Goals

I am probably repeating myself once again as I write this , but it does come from a lot of observations about how I see others pursuing their own Vocal Goals.

Why Did We Join Vocal?

Were we seduced by those big prizes offered in the challenges. I certainly was. Since then I have been publicly virtually invisible to Vocal. I have lots of “Awesome Story” bonuses , but they don’t get you any publicity whatsoever.

Do We Regret Joining Vocal?

I certainly don’t but my perspective has changed. This year I intended to cut back my posting on my Seven Days In blog , but in six months I have posted 250 pieces on Vocal (I think a lot of people see me as quantity over quality) but with a hundred posts on my blog that is 350 pieces with two months to go.

Also for the last two months Vocal+ has paid for itself in reads alone , with bonuses and tips. I have taken over $200 from Vocal and paid them about $70 , but to do that I do need to keep writing because once a piece is posted that’s it , they are seldom re-read . Also once a Vocal reader reads my piece that’s it , so re-sharing doesn’t really help if your audience doesn’t change

We All Want Reads

I see people asking for reads to hit 100 , 1000 and more overall reads and that is understandable (1000 reads gets you a $5 bonus) but I feel that people asking for reads because they want 5000 a day is a bit much.

Promotion of low read items is a good idea , because if reads are low it's unlikely that your Vocal friends have read the stories

I am too lazy to do this and feel that if I did I would personally be going against my own principles , but that is me.

I share some posts on twitter , but some I feel I should just share with my Vocal friends. This obviously limits how many reads I will get.

The thing is Vocal members will read and comment on your work in the Facebook groups so you know whether what you are doing is really appreciated. I have tried dropping stories into other groups that I saw may be a potential audience but generally people seem to only respond to pictures . memes and mauve short videos.

Ironically reading seems to be beyond a lot of the non Vocal target audience, I am sure that’s insulting but my normal Facebook friends seldom acknowledge my posts and then the various groups I’m posting in , I see no acknowledgement of my posts.

Vocal Groups

I am a member of maybe five Vocal groups and tend to post my stories in most of these where I can, and I do believe that 95% of my reads come from my Vocal friends. People recommend SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques , but while I do want people to read my posts, I do not want to compromise my writing to improve it’s SEO . It would take time and I do prefer an easier life.

Every two reads generates around a cent on Vocal+ but you need to keep them coming.

There are a list of my Vocal groups in this article here

So What Are My Goals?

They have changed since I joined Vocal. My main aim is to write. I know my writing will never win a Vocal competition or be a Top Story because I am undisciplined and like with the SEO I don’t fall into line. This has caused issues with Vocal Creators in the past , but I can’t change. It’s the same reason I won’t join a gym. I do not like what I see as the boring regimentation, but to others that is the Ambrosia of the Gods.

Although Vocal doesn’t recognise me , my Vocal Facebook friends do and they are the ones that keep me going and wanting to write.

My writing will generate enough money to maintain my Vocal+ account and that along with the love and support from my Vocal friends is all I need.