Why Are We Discouraged From Asking Readers Readers to Share Articles?

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   eugbugposted 6 years ago

   How come?

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      psycheskinnerposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Perhaps you could say what "discouragement" you are referencing.

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         eugbugposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         Well on a few occasions, editors have removed from articles suggestions I made to readers about sharing. I can't remember what they said, but the impression I got was that they thought it was spammy and cheeky to do so. Other editors have left the suggestions in place.

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 6 years agoin reply to this

      It's a form of self promotion, which is against the TOS.

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         eugbugposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         Or self-promotion by proxy even. The readers are the ones pressing the buttons

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            lobobrandonposted 6 years agoin reply to this

            Magazines do not ask readers to recommend the magazine in every article and we are expected to have magazine-style articles. Just putting some humour into the thread

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               DrMark1961posted 6 years agoin reply to this

               A little humor but still the best comment on this subject. If I were reading a journal and it said at the bottom "If you have found this article useful share it with your friends" I would discount the article and maybe the author.
               I think we get more readers by NOT asking for a share. (Totally subjective, however, and I have absolutely no proof behind my comment. Does "gut feeling" account for anything?)

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                  Ilonagardenposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                  I don't think gut feeling counts, here Internet and hard copy media act differently, although right now the lines are blurred. Online work cannot survive without a tribe, or mass sharing. The sheer mass of "stuff" on the web means that it is impossible to even surface for a reader to see, let alone "get more readers by not asking for a share". Only highly visible, recognizable brands can attempt to say such a thing... in my perspective.

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   Patty Inglish, MSposted 6 years ago

   Ten years ago I was told that asking readers to share our articles is the same as asking them to distribute spam, and not allowed. There may be other reasons today that I don't know.

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   eugbugposted 6 years ago

   I always ask them to do it if they find it useful. I got my knuckles rapped by editors a few times though.

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   eugbugposted 6 years ago

   There are, or at least there were (what happened them?) share buttons, so sharing is possible. So why not get them to share as a token of gratitude, since we've helped them and possibly answered their questions free of charge?

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   theraggededgeposted 6 years ago

   I remember having a paragraph snipped when I asked people to share a certain article. The editor said it was self-promotion.

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      eugbugposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      It may be self-promotion, but doesn't it benefit the niche sites also if readers visit related articles after reading a shared one? And what's the point of the share buttons if they aren't going to be used? All I say is "If you find this article useful, please take the time to share on Pinterest or Facebook" which I think is a subtle suggestion!

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      Ilonagardenposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      I think that is due to "old school" thinking which does not reflect how todays media works. Almost all successful sites ask readers to share articles, usually at the end of an article, sometimes with those annoying pop-ups. Most modern marketing advises to ask readers to "do something" in a call to action.
      Self-promotion and spamming have different profiles than the type of promotion required in online media. There may be other reasons such suggestions for sharing are considered self-promotion here, I don't know.
      I personally have been very lazy about asking readers to share... and still have old notions about blogging and writing, etc. that have held back my success. In order to be noticed at all, I have had to bury those inhibitions at promoting my work.
      One caveat is that many do not bother to get to know the etiquette of specific social media, and by ignoring differences in how, and how often one shares or asks others, creates a spammy situation.
      It doesn't bother me that Hubpages doesn't like it, since as I said, I'm a lazy social media participant. It does mean that you will have to get creative about using the social platform itself. But info articles have their own difficulties in sparking the type of interest that leads to a share, just on their own. JMO.

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   eugbugposted 6 years ago

   On a side note, the share buttons have disappeared. I can't remember whether there was a thread about this?

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      lobobrandonposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, there was. They were not being used enough for it to be worthwhile to have them, considering they reduce page load speed due to the increased number of calls, etc. I would prefer more search traffic due to the faster speed than the possibility of some social shares.

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