as a writer, i've found that people are more likely to reblog if you don't mention it constantly and instead tell them only once in an encouraging way like 'i'd love to hear your thoughts' or something. if the lack of engagement is really bothering you, i think it helps to only write what you want to read! i've found that it helps a lot when i write for myself because i know i'll be proud of it even if the engagement isn't great :)
i don’t know, i think no matter what content interaction on this site sucks
i’ve only been writing on this app since september 2020, and i was writing for a fandom that’s basically the same in numbers as stranger things. and interaction sucked in 2020, but even just two years going past has changed a lot and the interaction is even worse. i cant for the life of me remember the post i read (it might have been @ao3commentoftheday but im not entirely sure, either way they have a GREAT take on this and i suggest reading their posts) but content nowadays is tailored so that people have to use as minimal effort as possible. the tiktok algorithm gives you videos based on what you watch, so you only have to like, and tiktok is arguably the biggest social media site at the moment. and all of the new people joining tumblr from tiktok are going to use the same rules. interaction is shit on tumblr and even worse on ao3 where there is no algorithm, but people treat it like it is.
i’m really glad that you write for yourself and enjoy writing what you’d like to read — i promise i’m not trying to tell you that you can’t or that it’s bad. if i’m being honest i’d love to settle with that. but everybody loves hearing good things about what they’ve done. engagement isn’t about popularity or however many followers you have, it’s about appreciation for the work that content creators spend their own time making for free (not including commissioned work, though that isn’t to say they shouldn’t receive good feedback too). and when you receive a compliment on your work, you’re more likely to make more because you know people enjoy it.
i’ve done many requests that didn’t get feedback from the requester. i’ve made fanfiction based on other people’s fanart and never heard back from them about it, even though they are also a content creator. and as much as i’d love to sit here and not care about the interaction, it’s disheartening when you put hours and hours into writing that people won’t even reblog or say anything about, but they’ll reblog from creators that already have a big following because they’re popular, but that’s a whole other thing i won’t get into.
i think it’s great that recently i’ve seen so many writers talking about the shit interaction because it gets people noticing. for example, if i hadn’t spoken about it then you wouldn’t have sent me this ask. tons of people are currently joining from tiktok and twitter, and they won’t understand how tumblr works unless people tell them. maybe this whole post is just a dumb ramble but i think it’s important that people know why reblogging / commenting is so important. and if they do nothing about it after they’ve read about it then it’s on them.
this is no hate to you btw nonnie, it’s just something that really annoys me as a content creator.
sending love :)
