Cracking the Wattpad Code: Insider Secrets the Pros don't want you to know!

Struggling to Rank on Two Genres? Here's an el neato trick

So, I am actually dedicating this post to Anne Jamison because she tipped me off to this. Yes, that's right. I learned this trick from her! And the truth is that this trick DOES work, but it really depends on what you're trying to accomplish.

Okay. Let's say you've been following Cracking the Wattpad Code for a while. You know about Vote Storms, you know about asking for comments and you understand that reads don't matter unless they come on a daily basis.

You also understand that updating frequently helps. A LOT.

What's missing then? A few more things. Which I willl get INTO in future updates. Muwahahahahah! :D

Hey, I can't reveal everything in one shot now can I?

So what's this neat little trick now, Mike?

This one's rather simple. MOST of you, will choose TWO genres to feature your work in. It's not an accident. After all, Wattpad encourages that you select at least two categories to classify your work in.

BUT. You and I are not sheeple. We are not ordinary people! We don't follow the status quo, in fact, we would rather die, than be part of the status quo! And so like all well meaning citizens, we DEFY the status quo!

So, as status-quo defyers, what if we *gasp* you and I were to select a SINGLE genre instead of two?

Well I'll tell you what my experience with this was.

For the longest time, I really struggled with getting Cracking the Wattpad Code to rank well. Blame it on my lack of updates, or even more interesting, blame it on a conspiracy theory that states that Wattpad is deliberately keeping this book small so less people know about it (cue in creepy X-Files music, for those of you old enough to get that reference).

In truth, it really doesn't matter. Because on "Cracking the Wattpad Code", we can talk about theoreticals all day long, but all we really care about is what works. And that, ladies and gentlemen is what we truly focus on.

So the concept here is simple. When you update your story, EVERY FIVE DAYS. You know that this grants you priority on the algorithm. Then, we need to WIN THE CLICK, which is the topic of a future post. ;) What's next? Well, do we want to strengthen our focus perhaps?

What the heck does that mean?

Ok, let's get into it.

Let's say you chose two major categories to classify your work in, and again, this is something that Wattpad deliberately encourages.

Well here's how it works on the presentation algorithm (and again, these are OBSERVATIONS and HYPOTHESES on my part, Wattpad will neither confirm nor deny these are true. For all I know, I could be making these up COMPLETELY. So read and apply at your own risk. :D

 Okay. Let's say that you picked two genres like any normal person would do. Well, you are then granted a certain amount of 'chances' on "Stories You Might Enjoy". 

By the way, everyone almost always assumes that "Stories You Might Enjoy" works exactly the same as the Hot List and Featured Stories, which is to say, that everyone sees the same thing. That's not exactly true. Everyone's version of "Stories You Might Enjoy" is a little different. It's tailored to the interests of each reader.

Mike, you lost me. How does this all apply to what you've just been talking about?

That's simple. Let's say that for each category, and for each update, you get twenty five chances to show up on someone's "Stories You Might Enjoy". That's reasonable right? In reality, it might be more than 25 chances. I am simpliying. So let's say you chose Romance and Fantasy, so you end up with 25 chances in Romance and 25 chances in Fantasy.

This is where it gets interesting. What if you suddenly notice, as I did, that you rank exceptionally well in one category, and do terribly in another? Well, you do one of two things. You either switch categories, or you completely kill the other category altogether.

What happens when you kill the other category altogether? Well, in my case, you get more chances in the category you're already doing well on!

So that's the big secret of the day folks. Rather than get 25 chances in each category, I chose to focus and get 50 chances in a single category where I know I do well in! I've never once been able to get Cracking the Wattpad Code to the first page of the Hot List, but shortly after I killed my other category, there it was. I was #15 on the first page of non-fiction.

If you're struggling to rank on two categories and you're doing exceptionally well on one category, it's worth trying out!

Good luck! And until next time ;)

Oh, vote and comment! Because it does matter! :D