Take Your Sweet Time Getting Dressed.. and A Question Answered!

Either way is fine .. just pick SOMETHING! A great question from a reader answered inside!

Made this for Maxine Le Strange, a newcomer to the Haven. Yes, another "Sweet" caption. I must be getting sentimental in my old age, since I'm going to turn 666 again around the end of the month! I blame it on what I've been getting as far as subject matter recently, and the best stuff has been less evil. I am going to have to seek out some new spots for visual depravity!

I got a question submitted by Miss Nichole from my ASK DEE tab! Let's get to it!

Hello! I just started my own TG Caption blog after having enjoyed TG captions for many, many years. How do I go about extending my reach and becoming part of the community? I'd love to link up other blogs and get linked back, but I honestly don't know where to start. Any advice?

Well, good question, and one that I hope I am qualified to answer! The easiest answer is to start posting your captions onto your own blog, and post consistently. If you wish to post once a week, do that or once a day ... just try to stick to a regular schedule once established. Also, list TG blogs that you like in the appropriate section, which will give others a good idea of what you like, and if those sites get enough hits from your site, they'll definitely notice you. Take the time to make the blog look the way you'd like it, and there are plenty of tools out there to bling it up. Make it appear like a good representation of who you are and what you create. I'm a gothy/witchy person, so I have a black and purple motif that I've found works well with what I create. Don't be afraid to ask other bloggers how they did something design wise, either with the site or in their caption creations.

THIS IS THE BIGGEST PIECE OF ADVICE I CAN GIVE to your question though is this: start commenting and giving feedback to the captioners you enjoy, or start a conversation in the comment section with others .. both would be a good start. You cannot become acquaintances with people at a party if you stay in a corner being self conscious and cautious. You have to go out on a limb and put yourself out there. The people involved in TG stories, captions, etc tend to be some of the nicest, respectful and helpful people and most are relatively non-judgmental, especially to newbies looking for advice.

The other advice would be to join a site like Rachelshaven.com where you can trade captions with others. Until recently, 95 percent of my captions were made as trades for members there, and I can count on more than 2 hands the amount of good friends I've made there .. the kind who you'll send Christmas cards or an Amazon gift card to on their birthday, ask how the kids are doing when they had the flu, or offer condolences over the passing of a family member. Your results may vary, but have had my life enriched over the last 9 years by belonging to the Haven (And being an admin there for the last 7 or so years) and running this blog.

When you trade captions, you end up learning more about your weaknesses and strengths as you deal with different preferences and how to craft a tale that others will appreciate .. and hopefully you'll get some sweet captions that they've made starring YOU in return. It is GOING to make you a better captioner in no time flat, regardless of your skill level.

Lastly, when you do get a comment on your post, reply as best you can. Offer thanks for their praise or concerns, acknowledge their support, and engage them as best you can. We always look for the best service when it comes to stores and restaurants, and being friendly isn't just good business, it's good for community building. People like Hailey Pixley answer almost EVERY comment she gets and people missed her for MONTHS when her blog disappeared. It made her so happy to know that people missed her, and her readers were delighted when she came back. When people notice you haven't been around lately, and say so, THAT is when you know you are a big part of a community, online or in real life.

A plug for your blog isn't an unwelcome thing to post in a comment, especially if it accompanies a cogent sentence or two that is meaningful to the discussion .. if it is in your profile, you shouldn't even have to post the actual link. Just don't spam people, as those will get blocked, almost 100 percent of the time.

Also, don't get discouraged if people don't comment. It is a uncomfortable fact of life that you are lucky if you get 1 comment for every 1,000 page views per caption, regardless of how spectacular each one is. 

Hope this helped you Nichole, and anyone else that might have had the same idea. I love to see our community expand, as it helps everyone ... a rising tide lifts all boats. It is why I do the DIY Challenges and try to show everything that a TG captioner thinks about during the creation of their work .. to expose the artistry behind it all and hopefully get others motivated to do the same thing!

Forgot something else. Try to give them something they might not be able to get elsewhere. For me, it is the way I look at things in general, a bit askew and off the beaten path, and things like highlighting a song at the end of the post and tying it in to the caption or the discussion somehow. Just some personal touches to hopefully keep people wanting to come back and visit you again.