Help!!!

[Ocean Eyes]

Gosh why is it so difficult to start the converstation?! I always feel like my greeting messages are a little too short or sometimes just unnecessarily long. Please tell me I'm not the only one who goes through this kinda of dilemma : ' )

 

[Lala]

I think it’s natural to be nervous about contacting people you don’t know, but I always treat it almost like a job interview. I mean you are sort of interviewing for the chance to write with them, so the way I generally approach it is to start out a little bit more formal. My partners know that doesn’t last long, since I tend to be a goofball in PMs once we get going.

For me personally, I tend not to be very interested in extremely short messages that just say “our kinks match, want to RP?” Or messages that are lacking in punctuation or capitalization, or are extremely sexual OOC.

The messages that tend to catch my eye are ones with a clear concept in mind of what story the person wants to write with me (either one of their own or one of mine). I love when people demonstrate they’ve read my RT and scoped out my writing style before contacting me. It doesn’t matter if a message is long or short, as long as it relays intent. In addition, I’d recommend having a good RT of your own, because that and post history are always my first stops after receiving a message!

There’s no magic formula and I tend to think the right matches find each other eventually. Just be yourself and relay what you want from the start. When I contact someone, I always mention no pressure if too busy/not interested. I think a lot of the anxiety that comes along with contacting someone is the worry about rejection, but the reality is that some people just aren’t the right match. And on the other side, I always do feel bad about declining. So I always make it a point to include that in my own messages so the other person understands that I am 100% okay receiving just a short note back saying no thank you.

I hope that helps a little.

 

[MisterKing]

The only real piece of effective advice that can work for anyone is honestly just "git gud"

Keep doing it, again and again, accept that you're going to suck in the beginning but as long as you learn from each one before you know it you'll have a style & method that works for you and gets you where you want to go.

Since the above sentences are effectively useless, though, have a collection of small tips that almost always apply:
- Nobody likes a salesman
- Everyone knows that stock, spammy, copy/paste messages don't work, but be sure to have some things in there that make sure the recipient can tell it's a message specifically to them
- Include an invitation for them to respond (eg, asking them a question). these work best towards the end of the message

 

[Ocean Eyes]

Wow why didn't I ever receive notifications from this :/ Seriously thank you so much guys, I'll do my best to add in those sort of things for now on into my introduction messages! :3

 

[Gen V]

Include an invitation for them to respond (eg, asking them a question). these work best towards the end of the message

My god I cannot agree with this enough.

That being said, the way I send a first message is not a copy / paste thing, but i do slightly disagree with the first reply because I do follow a sort of magic formula so to speak.

1) I always say hello, how are you, nice to meet you, or something along those lines - and specifically use their name. I know it's not really 'meeting' someone but it does make a message feel more personal feel which might make you more likely to get a reply.

2) "I was just reading your thread and really liked..." basically just to let them know it's not a cold call message and that you have seen what they wrote.

3) "What I was most interested in was <insert specific plot, pairing or idea here>" - Again, showing you read it, but also prevents you from seeming vague and needing your potential partner make all the decisions for you, which most people dislike.

4) Make a suggestion regarding something, whether it be an addition to the plot, something about the characters or the setting and ask for their opinion.

5) Kinda like the same principal as a cover letter when you apply for a job...I mention that I'm looking forward to hearing back from them, even if the answer is no to my suggestion(s).

I find that falls in the sweet spot for not too short / unimaginative, but equally not an essay that completely changes their idea or goes off on a tangent that they might not be interested in.