There are sites where an author can self-publish free-to-access web novels, one short chapter at a time (500 to 1.5k words recommended per chapter). Many of the popular novels are published weekly and have 100+ chapters.
I see authors making money in several ways on these sites:
- Ad revenue
- Tips through the site (readers can watch extra ads to do this if they don't pay)
- Patreon or another external site
(This is quite different from "traditional" self-publishing. It shares some similarities with web comic publishing, though that offers more options for promotion.)
The first two options require your series reach a certain level of popularity (100-250 subscribers) on the site, otherwise you can't earn any money. And the last one is also linked quite a bit to how many people are reading your content.
I already know plenty of strategies I can use within the site (book cover, content length, content quality, engagement with readers, etc) and on Patreon (early access, bonus content). I suspect these alone won't be enough to reach that threshold of readership though. I want information beyond that on how to get more people reading.
How can an author promote and market their web novel?