So I know that while it can be annoying to think that people are spamming barely 1 paragraph introduction chapters to pad their numbers, at the same time...it can feel good to be getting a lot of numbers, lol. So for the majority of us here that do actually try, I wanna ask a question. In your opinion, when is the best time to post? As in, what time during the day do you think the site is the busiest, with the most site hits and most members online so that when you publish a chapter and your story is on the front page for that short time, the most people will see it? I'm on EST, and when I was actually saving chapters and not publishing them immediately (I have to be really inspired to be doing that), I was doing it around 6 or 7 PM, figuring it'll be there for the rest of the night for people to read. But sometimes I get pretty okay numbers at midnight or 1 in the morning (When I usually have time to write and I decide to publish immediately), so maybe I'm missing something.
This topic damned near ought to be a sticky, it comes up so often! The problem with "the best" time is that there's no one answer. I personally find I get the best results posting late at night, like 3-4 AM, because my submission will be front page for hours, yet gets exposure during the "morning wood" rush around 5-7 AM, when a lot of readers just need a quick wank before work, and almost no one has time to write... Other people I've talked to say the best trick is to save up half-a-dozen chapters and post them one by one about 15 minutes appart during peek traffic around 6-8 PM on weekdays, keep your story in the top three for several hours. I lack the patience for that approach and it seems like cheating to me anyway, but YMMV...
I've found the best time to post is around 6 pm EST on Monday. Reason being West Coast people that go into work early are starting to get off work and you should still be on the front page when the office workers get off later that evening. East Coasters are of course mostly off work by then. Also, their are a lot of Europeans up and maybe looking for a good wank before hitting the hay. Friday and Saturday are the worst as people are generally busy and don't have time for a dirty story. As for the multiple chapter thing this does work but I would spread them out over more than a fifteen minute period. I think the least I've been on the front page with a new chapter is 3 hours so I would probably wait till I'm near the end third row before submitting a new chapter. Also, this give your reader time to, ahem, recharge so to speak between chapters. *edited for clarity
I have been wondering about this as well. I have yet to find a time where there is a huge rush of people. However I have noticed that new stories will almost always have a huge rush of people liking and favouriting it in the first couple of days.
Yeah, I probably should have looked it up first. I've noticed that too, writing until 2 in the morning, posting, and having a lot of notifications when I wake up the next day. I doubt I'll ever have enough saved chapters to do that trick. Interesting, I'll have to try that time out and see how it goes. And yeah, I wouldn't post 2 chapters in a row like that.
There's kind of a balance in that popular times for reading are often also popular times for writing. So if you're getting more views, you also might be getting pushed off the front page faster. Weekend days are probably the worst, with many people out and busy, except for authors, who are busy writing and posting... For an above average run, you just gotta get lucky, it seems, with people reading and other authors not posting.
Yeah, it sucks when that initial rush dies down. And then a lot of the views are just people taking a look to see if they like it and they don't, so the drop off of view counts happen. I think there's a whole other thread talking about that, though. I hadn't thought of it that way, but I'm willing to take that risk. I will stop posting on the weekends, though, you're more then likely right about that.
I think, writers rather publish at the end of their writing sessions while readers will more likely notice the updates at the beginning of their reading time.
Yeah nothing worse than publishing and 5 minutes later two others publish as well so you get zero minutes on that coveted top spot.
It also kind of depends if it is a new story. If it is a new story I would suggest early in the week when postings or slower so people will browse down to the new stories.
If not More! I have seen a lot of stories start with that number and then flounder there. I would recommend at least Ten chapters plus have reached your first sex scene.
I can perhaps offer some "data" from April 2017. After writing around 30 chapters before hand, i tried to publish them every time the story fell out of the "Recently Updated Sex Stories" from the front page, and in that week i recorded the statistics (Likes, Views, Favorites, etc.) of the story once every hour as often as i was able. Regarding the data: I don't know how valid that data set is, or how representative, as it was the week after Easter, i.e. the first Monday was Easter Monday, and its possible that more people than usual were on vacation or something similar, possibly leading to a posting / reading behavior that is not the same as during a "normal" week. The time in this context is Middle European Time (CET / UTC+1 / https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/cet ) The statistics on the stories at chyoa get updated once every full hour. Spoiler: raw data Monday 17.04.2017 01:40h 100% (1,556 users) 834,512 Views 371 Favorites 99 Bookmarks 200 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 08:40h 100% (1,556 users) 840,926 Views 373 Favorites 101 Bookmarks 201 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 11:00h 100% (1,557 users) 842,924 Views 374 Favorites 101 Bookmarks 201 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 12:55h 100% (1,557 users) 843,641 Views 375 Favorites 101 Bookmarks 202 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 13:40h 100% (1,558 users) 844,296 Views 375 Favorites 101 Bookmarks 20:33h 100% (1,571 users) 848,478 Views 378 Favorites 104 Bookmarks 21:22h 100% (1,574 users) 849,553 Views 378 Favorites 104 Bookmarks 203 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep Tuesday 18.04.2017 0:55h 100% (1,577 users) 852,224 Views 380 Favorites 105 Bookmarks 2:12h 100% (1,583 users) 853,814 Views 381 Favorites 105 Bookmarks 205 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 5:27h 100% (1,586 users) 856,397 Views 384 Favorites 109 Bookmarks 7:54h 100% (1,592 users) 857,742 Views 385 Favorites 109 Bookmarks 206 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 8:30h 100% (1,600 users) 858,578 Views 385 Favorites 109 Bookmarks 13:07h 100% (1,621 users) 861,392 Views 387 Favorites 110 Bookmarks 207 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 15:47h 100% (1,641 users) 862,421 Views 387 Favorites 110 Bookmarks 208 Chapters 37 Chapters Dee 16:04h 100% (1,641 users) 863,152 Views 387 Favorites 110 Bookmarks 208 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 17:00h 100% (1,641 users) 863,837 Views 387 Favorites 110 Bookmarks 208 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 18:53h 100% (1,641 users) 864,729 Views 389 Favorites 110 Bookmarks 209 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 23:47h 100% (1,650 users) 868,739 Views 393 Favorites 115 Bookmarks 211 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep Wednesday 19.04.2017 00:00h 100% (1,650 users) 869,558 Views 393 Favorites 116 Bookmarks 211 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 6:57h 100% (1,651 users) 871,877 Views 393 Favorites 117 Bookmark 7:00h 100% (1,651 users) 872,000 Views 393 Favorites 117 Bookmarks 10:07h 100% (1,656 users) 873,705 Views 394 Favorites 117 Bookmarks 212 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 14:06h 100% (1,658 users) 875,706 Views 395 Favorites 121 Bookmarks 213 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 15:14h 876,316 Views 37 Chapters Deep 17:49h 100% (1,686 users) 877,509 Views 398 Favorites 122 Bookmarks 18:02h 100% (1,686 users) 878,213 Views 398 Favorites 122 Bookmarks 19:02h 100% (1,686 users) 878,963 Views 398 Favorites 122 Bookmarks 214 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 20:01h 100% (1,688 users) 879,739 Views 398 Favorites 122 Bookmarks 215 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 21:05h 100% (1,689 users) 880,761 Views 398 Favorites 122 Bookmarks 22:01h 100% (1,689 users) 881,856 Views 398 Favorites 122 Bookmarks 216 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 23:15h 100% (1,689 users) 882,727 Views 398 Favorites 122 Bookmarks 216 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep Thursday 20.04.2017 6:07h 100% (1,697 users) 887,258 Views 399 Favorites 122 Bookmarks 218 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 7:02h 100% (1,697 users) 887,852 Views 399 Favorites 122 Bookmarks 218 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 8:01h 100% (1,697 users) 888,297 Views 400 Favorites 123 Bookmarks 218 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 9:17 100% (1,698 users) 888,685 Views 400 Favorites 123 Bookmarks 218 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 10:15 100% (1,699 users) 889,265 Views 400 Favorites 123 Bookmarks 218 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 11:09 100% (1,699 users) 890,124 Views 401 Favorites 123 Bookmarks 218 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 12:13 100% (1,699 users) 890,607 Views 401 Favorites 123 Bookmarks 219 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 13:20 100% (1,699 users) 891,100 Views 401 Favorites 123 Bookmarks 219 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 15:52h 100% (1,701 users) 891,876 Views 401 Favorites 123 Bookmarks 220 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 17:20 100% (1,701 users) 893,281 Views 402 Favorites 123 Bookmarks 220 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 18:30h 100% (1,703 users) 893,924 Views 402 Favorites 123 Bookmarks 221 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 19:02h 100% (1,703 users) 894,555 Views 402 Favorites 123 Bookmarks 221 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 20:30h 100% (1,703 users) 895,186 Views 403 Favorites 123 Bookmarks 221 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 21:00h 100% (1,703 users) 895,998 Views 403 Favorites 123 Bookmarks 221 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 22:03 100% (1,703 users) 896,788 Views 405 Favorites 124 Bookmarks 222 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 23:08 100% (1,703 users) 897,949 Views 406 Favorites 124 Bookmarks 222 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep Friday 21.04.2017 16:54h 100% (1,792 users) 905,798 Views 405 Favorites 125 Bookmarks 224 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 17:30h 100% (1,792 users) 906,346 Views 405 Favorites 125 Bookmarks 225 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 19:18h 100% (1,792 users) 907,495 Views 407 Favorites 129 Bookmarks 225 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 20:47h 100% (1,792 users) 908,273 Views 409 Favorites 129 Bookmarks 226 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 21:00h 100% (1,792 users) 908,760 Views 409 Favorites 129 Bookmarks 226 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 22:27h 100% (1,794 users) 909,776 Views 409 Favorites 129 Bookmarks 226 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 23:07h 100% (1,801 users) 910,627 Views 409 Favorites 129 Bookmarks 226 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep Saturday 22.04.2017 00:04 100% (1,804 users) 911,448 Views 409 Favorites 129 Bookmarks 227 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 11:27 100% (1,814 users) 916,878 Views 409 Favorites 131 Bookmarks 228 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 12:06 100% (1,814 users) 917,544 Views 409 Favorites 131 Bookmarks 228 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 13:17h 100% (1,814 users) 917,917 Views 409 Favorites 131 Bookmarks 228 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep Sunday 23.04.2017 00:28h 100% (1,840 users) 924,382 Views 411 Favorites 134 Bookmarks 236 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 14:17h 100% (1,847 users) 929,874 Views 410 Favorites 141 Bookmarks 238 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 18:32h 100% (1,864 users) 932,363 Views 409 Favorites 141 Bookmarks 239 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 19:02h 100% (1,864 users) 932,938 Views 410 Favorites 141 Bookmarks 240 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 20:05h 100% (1,868 users) 933,605 Views 410 Favorites 141 Bookmarks 240 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 21:48h 100% (1,879 users) 934,624 Views 410 Favorites 141 Bookmarks 242 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 22:01h 100% (1,879 users) 935,400 Views 410 Favorites 141 Bookmarks 242 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep 23:01h 100% (1,880 users) 936,896 Views 410 Favorites 141 Bookmarks 243 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep Monday 24.04.2017 0.00h 100% (1,880 users) 938,194 Views 410 Favorites 143 Bookmarks 243 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep Story of the week 24.04. 03:00h 03:00h 100% (1,885 users) 940,600 Views 412 Favorites 143 Bookmarks 243 Chapters 37 Chapters Deep I put the data in a sheet to better visualize it. Wherever i had no data i just used the previous values. (inaccuracy on Saturday for example, where i must have posted 7 chapters without recording data) Spoiler: Spreadsheet, total values each hour. Likes, Views, Chapters Spoiler: Spreadsheet, gains per hour. Likes, Views, Chapters Spoiler: Spreadsheet, gains per hour, all days summed up. Likes, Views --- The story in question was https://chyoa.com/story/Size-Matters.6850 . Obviously the resulting data is partly inaccurate. First, half of the measure points are missing. Second, out of these missing data, from 01:00 till 06:00 out of possible 42 data points in one week, i only got 5. And third: It's only one week, with one specific story. Still it is interesting to see and to draw some conclusions, for example: Likes total per day (Best day to post) Monday, Thursday Had the worst likes total, around or below 20 each. Wednesday and Saturday around 40 likes each Tuesday and Sunday had around 70 each. Friday had around 100 likes. Likes total per hour (Best and worst time to post) Consideration: As the statistics get updates only once per hour, the values actually count for the previous hour. So i already factored that into the conclusion of the following bullet points: Worst time to post: Between 00:00 and 10:00. Only 39 Likes total, i.e around 4 likes per hour (all weekdays combined!) 0 likes also between 11:00 and 12:00. (all weekdays combined!) Good times to post: 12:00 -24:00. Around 20 Likes per hour (all weekdays combined!) Peak: Between 15:00 and 16:00: 89 Likes in that hour that week (However that is due to Friday with half the day of data points missing). Views total per day Best days: Monday and Tuesday with around 17k - 18k each day Wednesday - Sunday around 13-15k each day Views total per hour Most views per hour: 23:00 - 24:00 with around 10,7k (all weekdays combined!) Followed by 22:00 - 23:00 with 8,5k (all weekdays combined!) Overall i would say: Views per hour start climbing throughout the day. Starting low around 2k per hour (all weekdays combined!) between 10:00 and 12:00, and rising from there. Conclusion: Best time to post overall for maximum exposure. The likes are in my opinion very much random, and depend heavily on single readers. (Sometimes you have a single person liking almost all of your chapters, and sometimes you have readers who only like very specific ones. Or none at all, sometimes they just bookmark some chapters here and there. However i believe the views are a good measurement to see how many people actually get to read your story, and that was the question of the original forum post here. I believe the data supports the following conclusion: For maximum views: Monday and Tuesday evening, try to have your story visible on the front page between 22:00 and 24:00 o'clock.
I created and edited the spreadsheets specifically during the post just now, and had never really looked at the data before. Anyways, took me long enough (not very familiar with spreadsheets either), and this is what i could come up with. ;-)
I think, that most Likes come from readers who have the story in their favs. to be more accurate, you could spread the measure points to the previous unmeasured hours. (e.g. if you have 3 unmeasured hours and the following measured hour has 1000 likes, all 4 hours would get 250 likes) I think it is more about reaching readers who don't know the story and make them fav the story. If I get a notification, it isn't sure that I immediately read/like the chapter.
Here is the LibreOffice Spreadsheet, in case anyone wants to edit the data according to gene.sis suggestions. I personally don't want to look at it anymore right now. It already stole more than 2 hours of my life! ;-)
Anyways, what i originally really wanted to write a few days ago, when i saw this topic for the first time: If i have just finished a chapter, and if i'm pretty content with it, i'll post it right away. Happy that i managed to finish it and add something new to the story. Imho it doesn't really matter when you post, because it's all pretty random anyways. If you are "lucky": Sometimes your story will stay on the front page for a whole evening, just with one new chapter. Sometimes you can have it stay on the front page throughout the night and the whole morning. If you are "unlucky": No matter when you post, it might happen that your story already gets kicked off the front page after 2 hours. But: If i would have to revise a strategy on how to post, i would actually suggest to spread out your posting times as much as possible. I.e. don't post always on Monday evening, but always post on different days and times. My goal as well, as gene.sis suggested, would be to reach different and unique readers, and have a chance that they favorite your story. Because those readers will get a notification every time you post.
Wow, that's a lot of data and research, I appreciate the effort! Paying close attention to my own numbers, I'd have to agree with dingdongs, the likes do very much seem random, and there are probably a lot more factors than just the numbers and timing of postings. The quality of your content, I'd imagine, is also important. I suppose what I wanted to learn was whether, among the authors here, there is a generally accepted time everyone agrees is the best time to post or not. What I did learn, though, is not to post on weekends, lol.
