Does promoting in the forum actually work?

[Vayvaction]

I've barely ever seen a user that a reader that not a creator in the forum and with promotion post I feel like most just drop the link to their story and go. And sub for sub seems kinda dumb..... Because your not earning genuine reader that wants to actually read your novel.

[kyupol]

It does but it is just one of many ways to promote your work.

[Lensing]

I can only speak for myself, I only read comics of people that I interact with and never people who only
drop their link in the promotion topics

[UrMom]

Maybe the first couple of times, especially if you make the effort to talk about your story, or communicate with people as another person. This forum is so small you're basically copy/pasting into the void after a while, it's WAY more productive to branch out and promote on social media and participate in Discord communities. My biggest reader pulls came from making the effort to find comic related Q&A events on social media, then actually talking to other participants about their answers while also putting in effort to give thoughtful answers of my own, as well as doing webcomic reading events. (As the readers.) You also need to find where your audience is and promote there, because pumping your work out to other creators only gets you so much, other creators are just as busy with their own work as you are. They will only check your stuff out if 1. You two share the same super small niche, 2. You make the effort to talk to them as a fellow creator.

Sub for sub is also extremely vapid, don't know why people keep making multiple ones ever day here, but I guess it's no more vapid than the generic "Promote your work!". (The same people nonetheless, making multiple promo posts, one right after the other, like doing the same thing over and over in a small community is going to get them different results.)

Sorry about the salt, I haven't eaten breakfast yet.

[irr11tauthor]

Sometimes!

It's not a miracle for interaction and I've definitely gotten subs that are just trying to get sub backs. But I've gotten a few genuine readers here.
And have found things to read here

[AmysGames]

Sometimes, if you happen to catch the attention of a fellow creator who is interested in your story. Themed promotion threads tend to work better than the generic "Promote here!" ones.

But in general, like said above, it's mostly just throwing your work into the same set of eyes over and over, so it's only going to be so effective.

[theyrebothakilogram]

I actually had 2 subscribers on tapas before I started posting on the forums, so for me it's helped a lot :))

[CanonLy]

I actually earned a few subscribers by promoting on tiktok, but promoting in the forum helped boosting my story!

[ralyash]

Its kind of a creators supporting creators kind of thing. Numbers themselves do generate a certain amount of interest, so it's helpful in its own way. Think of it like seed money in a tip jar; people are psychologically more likely to like something when they see others have done so/taken interest.

Like others though I have gotten real readers from the forums and I love them to bits <3. I'm shy and when I do talk I talk too much, but most of the people I've met on the forums are generally really nice so I see it as a good place to get ones feet wet if they aren't used to doing promotions in the first place.

There's also a networking factor. If I find stories I like on here or think my friends will like I'll pass them along, so there's always the chance others will do the same .

Like everyone else points out, though, its only one of many ways you can do promotion. There's no magic bullet when it comes to promotions so you just do what you can when you can and hope something works XD.