Ever wondered if anyone reads your #inleo Monthly Prompt entries? And if the curation process is fair? The answer is yes and yes – as much as possible. I am among the ones who read the entries, and just like every other curator, I strive to pick the cream of the crop. Each day brings a mix of the good, the not-so-good, and occasionally the ugly. By the way, the terminology comes from the famous spaghetti Western with Clint Eastwood, except it is more polite to dub the middle group the not-so-good-ones. If you struggle with getting curated, here are some do’s and don’ts that should help you to get among the good ones.
source: themoviedb.org
Before getting to the lists, there is a thing to point out: You are not automatically entitled to receive the upvote just for submitting your contribution. This is not a paid copywriting gig. And once again: if your post was submitted correctly, it was read. If it wasn’t upvoted, other entries were preferred over yours.
Five Keen Do’s
- Write posts you would enjoy reading yourself. Oh yes, the first rule of success is that simple. You may not impress curators with such posts, but they would likely draw the attention of people with similar interests to yours, eventually gathering supporters. If they avoid dumping Hive and Leo, you’d likely get your fair share of upvotes anyway.
- Avoid generic posts. Be genuine. Be original. Be yourself. Hive is basically a social network blended with a creative platform. Few people here are interested in boring, rewritten content from elsewhere, possibly AI-enhanced. The Internet is flooded with such crap. Do you read it? I don’t.
- Write on the topics you relate to and skip the others. Did you know there are other contests and initiatives? Just off the top of my head, we have Monomad Mondays, Three Tone Tuesdays, Wednesday Walks, Throwback Thursdays, Market Fridays, Beer Saturdays, and Sublime Sundays… Check them out!
- Engage with other entries. Have you noticed that most entries have little to no comments and just a handful of upvotes? Are the posts so dull that nobody really cares about them? Then why should they get curated? You can help us evaluate the entries by engaging with the ones that resonate with you.
- Learn from the successful authors. Some people are naturally gifted in writing, while others spend years improving their skills. You can definitely learn a thing or two while browsing the other posts. I don’t suggest copy-pasting or anything shabby. Get inspired.
Three Keen Don’ts
- Do not try to cheat anyhow. Yes, we can tell AI-generated/enhanced text. Yes, we can tell when you’re just rewriting a random article on a topic you don’t relate to. You’ll hardly get curated for such content and may even end up blacklisted.
- Do not submit your entries multiple times, not even in two days. If your post was submitted correctly, it will be read. Resubmitting wastes the curators’ time.
- Do not rely on machine translation blindly. It does not always sound good. Besides, you lose control over the text’s appeal to readers.
However, it should be about having fun in the first place. So: Have fun writing, reading, and engaging! It will pay off for sure.