Avoid The Algorithm, And Follow Me Directly! (Troubleshooting Current Social Media Setbacks)

Folks who have been watching my saga recently (detailed in my post Another Social Media Struggle (Reddit Has Decided To Kick Me In The Teeth, And I Could Use Some Help)) have likely noticed that one of the major challenges that every creator in the world is dealing with is that we simply cannot reach our potential audience. And the reason we can't seem to reach people is because the social media sites and groups that used to help us connect are now throttling our signals, restricting our ability to post, and trusting to bots to determine what kind of posts are allowed, and when an account needs to be shut off... even when it's wrong.

And while I'm taking several steps at present (seeking out new Discords that might appreciate my work, coming up with a fresh Reddit strategy, trying to figure out why the hell Facebook stops me from making posts anywhere but my own personal pages, etc.), there is one thing that I would like all of you reading this to do for me. I would like you to please go to my Patreon and my Ko-Fi pages, and subscribe/follow me there.

 

If you want to tip me or support me for what I'm doing, I appreciate that. But mostly I'm going to be using those accounts a LOT more, because they seem to be some of the only places that I can actually let people who enjoy my work see what the hell it is I'm making.

Because a lot of what I'm putting out is getting lost in the screaming void, and I'd like you to see it.

But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, don't forget to sign up for my newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.

Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!

You Get A Direct Feed (And It's Technically Free)!

The entire point of social media, from a creator's perspective, is to connect you with your audience, and your potential audience. As someone whose hair is more gray than not these days, I remember when it basically did this, too. I've quoted the numbers before, but a decade or so ago I could get hundreds of impressions from Facebook, thousands from Reddit, and tens of thousands on a good day from Digg or Stumbleupon (both of which have gone down into the dark depths of websites murdered by AI slop). These days, though, it feels like the same 17 people see all my posts on whatever social media I'm part of, and when I do manage to fly through the storm of algorithm interference it's like trying to get an emergency message to someone through a time machine.

Dearest Allies, I request your aid in this time of dire need...

Which is why I wanted to take this week's post to ask everyone who made it this far to follow me on Patreon and Ko-Fi. Because while both of those are crowdfunding websites, you can follow me for free on both of them, and get notified when I share things on them (it's usually once or twice a day in the evenings, so not a huge inbox stuffer). And I'm asking this because, just like my newsletter that I mentioned above, it's one of the only ways for you to actually see and hear what I'm doing without the algorithm getting in the way, waiting for moderators to approve a post (which can take hours, days, or weeks), or depending on your For You Page to decide that you get to see stuff that I've made, as opposed to your 19th advertisement of the day.

 

My hope is that if I can get enough folks onboard with this request that I can get direct feedback from people who want to be in my audience the way that I used to on the sites that have slammed all their doors, and which are burying creators under restrictions and inertia. Because I post dozens of things (sometimes as much as a hundred posts or more) every day... and there are a lot of people who have tried to follow me who just don't hear about it because the algorithm won't slide it into their feeds.

 

So get a direct line, and let me know what you think of my work today!

 

Lastly, speaking of Reddit, there are two subreddits that I moderate that I would like to invite folks to. I am the moderator of Tabletop Homebrew! So if you have things you'd like to share, or if you want to see the sort of things creators are making and sharing, stop in, get comfortable, and take a look around. We'd be happy to have you.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my additional audio dramas over on The A.L.I.C.E. Files! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, my hardboiled gangland noir series starring a bruiser of a Maine Coon with Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Blue Sky, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Need RPG Recommendations? Check Out "Missa Reviews"!

As a lot of folks know, I like to use some of my Monday slots to big up other people's signals to help them find a larger audience. It's bee a little while since I've done that, which is why I wanted to cast a spotlight on a friend of mine who just started a new YouTube channel with a goal I can really get behind... holding up RPG content and creators who might not otherwise get noticed by the audience at large!

And since the focus of her first episode was my horror modules The Curse of Sapphire Lake and Ghosts of Sorrow Marsh (appropriate for the Halloween season), I figured that I'd do my best to spread the word to as many of my readers as I could reach!

What Can You Expect From This Channel in The Future?

One of the main reasons Missa started this channel was because she has a lot of folks in her circle who create RPGs for a living, and had to watch all of us do our best to promote our work on social media... often to no avail. And the main frustration that so many of us have to deal with is that there are so many people out there (particularly group and forum moderators) who just don't want to see self-promotion posts... but when you're a small creator, that's kind of your only option.

It was watching so many people in her circles struggle that made her want to use her voice to lift other people up. Because as someone who loves RPGs of all sorts, Missa wanted to try to do her part to get the word out about games and supplements that don't have huge advertising budgets and massive followings behind them, but which more gamers should really check out.

Frankly, as someone who depends on his RPG output to keep his rent paid, there aren't a lot of channels like this out there (or, at least, there's far fewer of them than you'd think, given the popularity of the hobby). So help a newcomer to the YouTube scene grow her following, check out her channel Missa Reviews, and help her first video get some love! I have it on good authority that the next one will be taking a look at a fellow creator of mine who has been putting out some really interesting guides to witches, deadly plants, and more, and I'm eager to hear Missa's take on them!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my cat noir thriller Marked Territory, its sequel Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

In These Harsh Times, Game Designers Need All The Help They Can Get

Unless you live down among the dark elves (in which case, welcome to the Internet, glad you could finally join us), then you're no doubt aware that this pandemic has been a trying time for all of us. Creators in general, and game designers in particular, have been feeling the squeeze, though.

 

And we could really use your help right about now.

 

You literally are our best hope.

 

What I'm about to lay out are some simple things you can do to help the creators out there that you want to support through this pestilence. Not every option will be available for every individual, but go through the list and see what you can do to help. Because most of us were barely scraping by before all of this started, and now we're basically holding on by our fingernails.

And while it should go without saying, you can basically swap my name and details for most other game designers out there. I would really appreciate any and all help you can kick my way, but I also totally understand if there are other creators out there you'd rather support. Just remember that a lot of the stuff you can do is free, so you can be pretty generous with your actions!

How To Support If You Have Money

Gold makes the world go round.

This pandemic has led to a lot of us losing our jobs, or taking pay cuts. However, there are some of us out there who've managed to maintain our positions, or even to find new demand for our skills. So if you have spare money in your budget, and you want to help game designers out there, here are some simple things you can do.

First and foremost, buy their games! Whether you grab my 100 Kinfolk Bundle off of Storyteller's Vault (1,400 kinfolk NPCs for Werewolf: The Apocalypse), snatch a copy of one of my modules like The Curse of Sapphire Lake or Ghosts of Sorrow Marsh for DND 5th Edition, or download one of my DM supplements like 100 Cults to Encounter, 100 Fantasy Guilds, or 100 Secret Societies. Every purchase makes a difference when sales are down, and they've been steadily declining for a lot of us during this time.

Also, for ease of browsing, I've put the more than 80 modules and supplements I've written and been a part of into two archives. One gallery is on Pinterest, and the other is on Flipboard, but both of them have the same content. So take a moment, stop in, and see if anything appeals to you!

Alternatively, if you want to support a creator directly, consider just giving them a tip, or setting yourself up to support them. I'm on both Patreon and Ko-Fi, as an example, so if you want to help me keep the lights on while I keep these blogs going, any and all donations are greatly appreciated!

Lastly, check to see what other projects your favorite game creators have on the market that you might not know about. For example, if you're a fan of Clinton Boomer (which you should be) then you should check out his novel The Hole Behind Midnight sooner rather than later. If you've enjoyed Lauren Masterson's (alias Alice Liddell) contributions to High Level Games' blog, pick something off her Amazon author page or out of KHR Arts if you prefer her artwork.

This one is my latest release!

And because I'm still excited, I'll take this last chance to plug Marked Territory which dropped on the 1st of the month. A back alley noir mystery featuring the debut of Leo, a heavy from the Bronx, he ends up getting his whiskers involved in other people's business, and nearly getting in over his head. Curiosity might try to kill the cat, but he doesn't give up all that easy. A solid read for those looking to kill time in quarantine.

 

How To Support if You Don't Have Money

 

If you're just as broke as the rest of us, don't worry, that doesn't mean you don't have the power to help the creators and designers you like! In fact, even if you are making contributions and buying books, you can still do these things to double the results of your actions!

 

Never underestimate the value of a hand up!

The first thing you should do is find your favorite creator's social media channels, and follow them. The more followers someone has, the more attention they get, and the wider their signal gets boosted! I'm on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter, for those who are interested.

Also, consider signing up for your favorite creator's mailing list. I started one recently (you can sign up here) and it provides a weekly update of all my new releases, fresh content, and other projects every week!

In addition to signing up for our updates, though, you can also use the power of your audience to help boost our signals so we can reach more people. For example, if you see a blog entry of mine that really speaks to you, share it with your groups! Whether you're in Facebook groups, you spend time on Reddit, or you've got a community on Discord that you think would enjoy it, don't be afraid to boost that signal. The more people who find out about what we do, and the more people who share it, the better off we'll be.

This goes double for my articles on Vocal, by the by, as they pay me based on how many reads they get. So if you want to help me out specifically, make sure you read through that archive and share anything that catches your eye!

Lastly, if you have bought something from a creator you love in the past, then take a moment to leave a review! Whether it's on Amazon, Drive Thru RPG, Goodreads, or perhaps all three, ratings and reviews make a big difference as to which products get seen, and which ones get forgotten. So even if you don't have the cash to buy something new, a few nice words and a recommendation can help that module, supplement, novel, etc. reach new readers who just might make a future purchase.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Improved Initiative is Now on Pinterest!

One of the unfortunate realities of being a creator is that you need to reach out to the biggest audience possible in whatever ways you can. I've been fortunate that I've found a pretty reliable base of supporters on Facebook, and I've been steadily trying to grow my Tumblr and Twitter presence over the years as well. Incidentally, if you're not following me on these sites, I'll link my Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter pages to make it easy for you.

However, with the recent demise of Google +, I've had to find a new outlet to make up for the loss in traffic and regular readers. And so, at the urging of several people, I have decided to jump onto a new platform with both feet... Pinterest!

I know these are Post-Its, but you get the general idea.

While I added the link to my Pinterest up there on the top bar, I thought I'd take this opportunity to discuss what I've done with it so far, and what I plan on doing with it in the future, should you choose to follow me there.

Pinning Down My Releases and Latest Activities

My primary goal over at Pinterest at the moment is to put together a single, easy place to find all my books and supplements. For instance, if you check out the Board For My Books then you'll find things like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, but you'll also find collections that I've been a part of, like the horror anthologies American Nightmare and Noir Carnival. No muss, no fuss, nothing getting lost in the shuffle or your newsfeed; it's all right there at your fingertips!

I've also started a second board, which will be a repository for all the RPG supplements/books I've written or been a part of. On My RPG Supplements Board you'll find things like the 100 Whispers and Rumors in a Borderland Town that I wrote for Raging Swan Press, as well as stuff like Feats Reforged IV: The Magic Feats from Total Party Kill Games. That board is being brought up to speed a little bit every day, but soon it will be a cover-indexed place to find all the stuff you can use at your gaming table that will be updated as soon as something new drops so you never miss a release.

And that's just the start of my plans.

Would you like to know more?

Once I've got my books and supplements up to speed, I'd like to create an additional board for cool games and supplements I've found in my searches. Some of them will have been reviewed here in the past, and some won't, but the idea is to put together a central location where folks can find stuff I would personally recommend, in case you're curious. I'll likely have another board with physical things like props, coins, etc. that could be used both at a tabletop game, and in a LARP. I'll also be combing through my past articles, both from here and on Vocal to showcase which pieces of advice have gotten the most views in the past. So if you don't want to dig through 5+ years of history on my blog, you'll have the greatest hits at your fingertips!

That should keep me busy till... oh, about the end of spring! And after that, I'm sure I'll be building more boards to showcase all the wild, weird, or otherwise handy tools folks can use at their own tables. So if that sounds like something you'd be interested in, please head to my Pinterest page, and give me a follow! Check out what I've got up so far, and if you'd like to see something I haven't mentioned then leave it in the comments below.

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday update. I promise I'll be back on-message shortly with more gaming-specific thoughts, advice, plans, and suggestions!

If you'd like to see even more of my work, you might want to drop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio where I help out quite a bit. And if you'd like to help support me, you could either Buy Me A Ko-Fi, or go to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a patron! Every little bit helps, and trust me it's greatly appreciated.