Reviewing Vocal Media

I have been posting my content (e.g. poetry, blog posts, fiction) on Vocal Media since June 2022. You can view my profile and read my stuff for free by clicking here.

Although I have been quite happy with it in the past and would most likely continue to post there for the foreseeable future, there are some additional things that I must note about it since I wrote this blog post six months ago: Medium vs Vocal Media | The Pros and Cons.

The five topics that I will cover today are the reasons why I am migrating my content from there to my website and on Medium as well.

Here are the five topics that I am covering today:

1. Censorship
2. Pay structure
3. Challenges
4. Top Stories
5. Communities

Censorship

Censorship is a big issue with Vocal Media and it is strict with what content you produce or decide to post.

I am impartial to this since I understand the necessity to have ground rules for abusive and spammy content. It is also privately owned and they have every right to protect their brand.

However, if you are a horror writer, an erotic writer, and even a blogger that talks about slightly controversial topics, your stories may not get approved.

You do not have the same creative freedom as you would have here on Medium, and on your website.

This censorship is applied all across the board even when you are paying to post there (i.e. Vocal+ member).

For example, my blog article “Seven Red Flags in Job Applications” did not get approved.

It got flagged for either AI writing (which it is not―this was passionately written by me out of my frustration from applying for jobs) and/or spammy content (even when it is not and it is a helpful blog post).

I have reached out to customer support to find out how they go about approving content and their reasoning for rejecting this post.

From my assumption, they also use some kind of AI that searches for certain keywords and depending on the score (of how many blacklisted keywords showed up) it produces, your article will be automatically rejected.

My hypothesis is that the blacklisted keywords that got flagged are:

1. Entrepreneurship
2. Pyramid Scheme
3. Sign up here!
4. Get money back
5. Sell

This would be such a shame since they have built their brand on having actual people reviewing and approving your content first.

Thus, if you are also an affiliate marketer, Vocal Media may not be the platform for you too.

I am not dissuading you from trying out Vocal Media. After all, I firmly believe in spreading your eggs and not just putting them in one basket. However, keep this in mind before you begin posting on their site.

Pay Structure

It is straightforward on how you can earn money from your content.

If there is one thing that I like about Vocal Media is that I don’t need a certain amount of followers before I can apply to be a partner and start earning (unlike here on Medium).

Edited: I stand corrected. I just saw that they have removed the minimum requirement of 100 followers. Instead, you have to be at least a paid member. See requirements here.

However, the amount that you may earn on Vocal Media is not a staggering amount. At most, I have earned about $50.00 CAD including tips and having some of my content as the Top Story.

I am sure that there are those who have earned more than me. However, if you do not market your content at all, the likelihood that your post will be read is zero.

This can be applied anywhere, I know. But SEO does not matter much to Vocal Media and they don’t rank high on Google and other Search Engines just yet.

You must do ALL the legwork, and have to be aggressive with marketing.

My suggestion again is to post your work everywhere. Including here on Medium, and your own website (if you have one).

Optimize it by utilizing good-ranking keywords, and score high in SEO so that even when you are not manually marketing your content via social media, it still shows up on search engines.

Challenges

Vocal Media has writing challenges that they regularly put out. You can be monetarily awarded if you win.

Most of their challenges are fun and are great writing prompts if you need some inspiration.

However, I am not sure how they judge the stories and the biases that are involved. I am aware that this can be applied everywhere but keep this in mind before submitting your story in the challenges.

Things to examine:

1. Who is your audience?
2. What is the pattern here?
3. What are they usually looking for?

Another thing to note is that the Challenges are exclusive to Vocal+ members (paid membership).

Top Stories and Top Writers

When your story or article does very well, Vocal Media will highlight it on their Top Story page.

This is excellent since your content will most likely get read by others!

However, although I have had two stories that made it into the Top Stories, I am unsure what the deciding factors are for this. I’ve had stories or blog posts that had more traffic than my two Top Stories, and yet, they didn’t make it as one.

I hope there will be more transparency in the future about this. The same goes for Top Writers.

Communities

I am a big fan of how Vocal Media organizes their communities!

It is user-friendly, there are a lot of communities to choose from, and in a way, it makes up for the lack of SEO ranking.

However, I wish that they have a separate section for series-based content. This would make it easier for the readers to find the next or previous chapters.

The Verdict

Although I see the potential in Vocal Media and I am still going to be posting there, it is important to note its shortcomings.

The censorship and lack of transparency are probably what turns me off the most.

It is not ideal for bloggers who are tackling sensitive issues, affiliate marketers, product reviewers, erotic writers, and horror writers.

It is nice to get paid for the content that I produce but I am starting to wonder if paying for Vocal+ membership is even worth it.

If you have used or are still using Vocal Media, let me know what your experience is like!

___

Hi, I’m CyCy!

Thank you for reading. I truly appreciate it!

I usually write poetry and fiction. However, I also love sharing helpful tips and/or non-fiction blogs as well.

Also, other than me fangirling about anime, books, comics, and shows/movies that I watch, I usually create darker content, whether art, video shorts, or stories. If this is something that you also enjoy, let’s be friends 🙂

Disclosure: Please note that if you choose to click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive cash compensation. Rest assured that I only recommend products that I personally find helpful or enjoyable, and that I believe may also be of interest to you. Click here to find out who I am currently partnered with and affiliated with.

Speaking of anime, have you seen My Happy Marriage yet?

If not, you’re missing out! Click here to see my quick review of it.

If you are also looking to build a website for your blogs, hobbies, store, or for anything at all, I recommend Bluehost.

If you would like to learn more, read my article: Why Bluehost is Perfect for Novice Website Builders.

P.S. I would genuinely appreciate your support whether it would be subscribing, sharing this page with your friends, and/or leaving me a tip. If you also want updates on my latest releases, sign up for my newsletter here.

P.P.S. I also offer Beta-Reader services if you are a writer/author and need a Beta-Reader. Check out my Fiverr link here.