#tagging tips

To improve discoverability when posting or searching for Megastar content, try the following:

When posting:

Use #megastar together with a continuity tag or keyword (e.g. #TFP #TFA #IDW #EarthSpark)

Pair it with character name tags or keyword (#Megatron #Starscream)

Consider also using #megascream

When searching:

Combine #megastar with a continuity or character tag

Or search #megascream for cleaner results

Just a small tagging suggestion to help Megastar content stay visible and easier to find across platforms.

If you have better tagging suggestions, feel free to share. And you’re more than welcome to translate this post into other languages to help spread awareness.

those are the two tags i will be personally blocking

Canon convergent means you follow the essential plot lines. This can be used to write a fic set before, after or during canon, but the main elements need to remain the same. Examples: character deaths, the beginning and end of canon etc.

Canon divergent means you change essential plot lines. Keeping a character who dies, alive in your fic is canon divergent. This tag is often used in combination with others such as "X lives" or "Everybody lives".

This means there is no point in tagging the same fic with both canon convergent and canon divergent. Canon convergent refers to specific plot points, not just the general universe. It is the default for fics to take place in their canon universe, unless specified otherwise.

Speaking of, these fics set in non-canon universes are called alternate universes, AU for short. These are your typical "what if they went to high-school/college/the coffeeshop together" stories.

While on the subject of AU's, I will take the chance to speak of something else than tagging. Recently in a fandom I was active in, I was surprised to see plagiarism claims. However, these were thrown around much too fast in my humble opinion. Remember that when writing for a fandom, in particular big ones, you will be working with the same characters and mechanics as potentially tens of thousands of other people. What will make your work special is the way you combine certain elements, mixed with your personal style. Countless stories have similar plots if reduced to their bare bones. Don't be offended too fast.

Now I am addressing the OC and Reader Insert writers: learn to differentiate the 2.

OC's, or Original Characters, are the ones with a name, description, back story etc. As soon as your characters has a name or a detailed description, they are an OC. No point in tagging both OC and Reader in order to get more clicks, people will just leave if it does not match what they are looking for. Also OC's are not cringe. I remember a time where Reader Insert fics were the cringiest and look at us now.

Reader Inserts are meant to remain as neutral as possible. This means no name, no description, and as vague of a backstory as possible. No one wants to read about them having "luscious, long, blonde locks" if their hair is none of those. It breaks immersion.

And if something is a necessity for the plot (example, stories targeted at short/tall/fat/skinny/white/poc readers), mention it in other tags, the summary or the warnings section depending on your platform. A quick "short!f!reader" won't hurt anyone.

And vice versa, I encourage you to specify when a reader you write is gender and/or race neutral. As there is so little work targeted to POC and genderqueer or male readers, such works are gems and you will be thanked for it (I know I have been).

Just wanna share a bit of advice to any writers that happen upon this...

Tags are the most important way to get your work out to viewers!

More people will find your fics if you use tags that people are searching for. Take a look at the top fics within the fandom you plan to write for and see what tags they are using and do something similar. 

My suggestion would be to add the pairings (such as idol/character x reader/oc, show/band x reader/oc) as well as the genre (idol/band/character/show genre).

When I look up fics, I very specifically look up these types of tags:

“ateez fluff” , “changbin x oc” , “hxh x reader” , “billy hargrove smut” , etc 

Broad tags like “kpop x reader” , “yandere au” , “anime angst” are a good idea, too, and tags such as “skz reactions” , “kny series” , “kdrama oneshot” allow readers to search for the specific format they want to read.

type in different tags and see what Tumblr recommends as “popular”

Others might be different in what they search, but in general I’ve found that when a fic doesn’t have these types of tags, they get less notes because less people are finding them. 

As a side note, put the most important tags first (within the first 5) and also include alternate spellings / names for the people you’re writing for within the first 30 tags. 

Final notes that might help...

Many people (myself included) skip over fics that are blatantly not meant to be in the tag they’re looking for. 

i.e, please don’t tag BTS in your EXO fic, or Chisaki Kai in your Dabi-centric fic. Tumblr isn’t like AO3 - tag the main lead / relationship, not the other main characters that feature in the fic. 

People search for both Seventeen and SVT so why not use both? Some people look up stage names while others use the idol’s real name. You have plenty of space so test out different tags and see if it helps.

While not necessary, creating a blurb at the top of your fic that includes the summary, word count, genre, pairing, and any warnings will let people know at a glance if it’s a fic they’d be interested in reading. 

Clearly state when a fic contains dark content - it’s kinda fucked up to spring it on people without warning. It isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Please be mindful of others. 

Lastly, please please please use a read more! if your fic is longer than 500 words, or if it contains sensitive and/or explicit content (including triggers!). It’s the courteous thing to do, and might stop you from being blocked as some people will block authors that clog up a tag.

Some people will argue that smut and yandere fics shouldn’t be tagged under the general/broad tags (such as “miranda lawson” , “mcu” , “loona”). It’s up to you if you choose to add them to your fics. 

IMO it’s fine, as people who don’t want to see such fics can use the in-built filter to optimise their online experience. But that also means you have to add tags such as “yandere vaas” , “smut” , “mafia au”. That way the filter will pick the fic up and hide it from those who don’t wish to see it!

I assume these tips work for member x member or character x character stories too! But I don’t read/write those types of fics very often so I’m not 100% sure how best to tag them!

Like, how do people add their own tags under a post? I see these unusual long af tags under posts like wtf how do you do that? I really wanna do that

okay i’m not sure if i quite understand what you’re asking but i made a video… let me know if this isn’t what you’re asking <3

i just type out what i want to say and hit enter but tags do have a character limit so you can only make them so long

Hello!  This is a tip I have both been dreading and excited for.  Tagging is essential to make sure people can find and see your stories.  But as we all know Tumblr’s tagging system is often messed up.  So here we go.

1. The first 20 tags are the most important.  Tumblr will only make your first twenty tags searchable. This means you put you most relevant tags first and work your way down.  If you want to do sassy and fun tags, put them at the end.  The way I do it is: post type (such a Tip Tuesday, Weekend Reading), topic/character (Tom Hiddleston, Editing, steve rogers fanfic), relationships (Loki x OFC, x reader), other tags

2. Use similar tags to increase exposure.  Not everyone searches for the same thing.  So it is important to tag with variety.  For an example, I tag a Tom Hiddleston fic like this: tom hiddleston tom Hiddleston fanfiction tom hiddleston fanfic tom hiddleston fanfic tom hiddleston imagine hiddlesfic hiddlestoners tom hiddleston x reader tom hiddleston x you tom hiddleston fluff/smut/angst (as applicable) british actor rpf That is a lot tags but it helps people find it.

3. Don’t use punctuation besides an apostrophe. Tags don’t like punctuation.  So don’t use anything outside of an apostrophe, otherwise it is not searchable.  So no slahes, no cute little emoticons.  Use “x” instead of a slash.  

4. Don’t tag hate or unrelated items  This should go without saying, but don’t tag hate.  So if your post is anti a particular ship, don’ t use that tag.  It is disrespectful and kind of dick move.  Less so  is tagging things that have nothing to do with the story.  If Steve and Bucky are nowhere in your story, don’t tag it as Stucky. I personally feel when I see this it is a writer/poster looking for notes and is just looking at what they think are popular tags for attention. To me, it is off-putting and makes me less likely to read that person’s work. Sorry but that is completely honest.  Pro Tip: I generally only tag the main characters unless a side character has a large role in the story. 

5. Controversial Opinion:  Don’t cross tag.   This is my personal opinion, I know people feel differently, that’s cool if you do.  Cross-tagging is related to tagging unrelated items up in #4.  What I often see given the fandoms I am in is some writers tagging the actor in fics involving their characters and vice versa.  This is often true when it may be lesser known characters (Yeah I’m looking at you Magnus!) To me, it feels disingenuous. You know that actor/character is not in the story but you are using the popularity and the connection to gain more attention. One of the sad facts that when you write for lesser known characters, it will get less attention than the bigger fandoms.  But if people who follow the bigger tags wanted to read those character’s stories, they would also follow those tags.  But again, if you choose to do so, I’m not going to call you out, I’m not going to unfollow or block, it is just a difference of opinion.