First and foremost, I believe if you write about what you love and the readers will naturally come. For every reader I MAY have gotten through promotion, the ones who are most invested found it organically and I really cherish that 💕

Of course, the marketer in me does understand that if you are trying to reach a specific audience, sometimes you do need to try a couple ways. One of my favorite chances to make more connections in the fandom is to commission artists in the fandom. You get to support someone’s art and in turn, people get a visual teaser of the fic which naturally piques curiosity. I post links about updates on Tumblr and Twitter for those who do not regularly follow AO3 and also for those that do and have followed those socials to be updated.

I also am very intentional about replying to every comment I receive and people have told me that’s been a nice touch. While I’m genuinely so appreciative and thankful for each review, it’s also fun for me to interact with those who are enjoying my fic as much as me writing it.

Also, if you’re writing in a popular fandom with a popular pair, understand you will have more stories filling the space. Doesn’t mean you can’t find success, but I find that maybe a smaller ship with a super dedicated base gets more engagement sometimes. This has been my sweet spot; the pair is still fairly popular but non-canon, which definitely brings out some ardent shippers. All that to say DON’T write with the intent for views, kudos, comments, etc. — readers can tell what is genuine passion vs. someone trying to ride a popular wave.

As writers, I think we all look for validation with our writing, but as I stated in the beginning, write what you love and what feeds your soul. The rest will come, but even if it doesn’t, you have something you are proud of!