Wattpad: the revolutionary app empowering writers on a global scale

Introducing Wattpad, the hyper engaged online community with grandiose plans to ‘connect the world through stories’.

In a world where user-generated content is driving record engagement and threatening to overthrow conventional media platforms, savvy communities like Wattpad are starting to thrive.

This may be the first time you’re hearing of Wattpad, but it certainly won’t be the last. Emerging from humble beginnings in 2007 with a handful of faithful readers and contributors, today the site is a vibrant community of millions who spend upward of 23 billion minutes sifting through Wattpad’s content every month.

Wattpad’s purpose

Situated in the heart of Canada’s start-up central Toronto, Wattpad aims to narrow the gap between user-generated content and content from mainstream entertainment while providing lucrative career opportunities to amateur creatives.

Wattpad is a constantly growing digital library of literary works from fresh voices that utilises technology in ways we’ve never seen. This pool of user generated content (UGC) is predominantly interactive, which means readers can contribute ideas, votes, and suggestions to someone else’s story while it’s live in the draft stage. Granted, we’ve seen consumer feedback drive product changes in the retail world, but this is definitely a first for the publishing industry. In essence, each Wattpad story is a creative democracy and anyone can offer their artistic input.

Though you can opt to be the only contributor where your own work is concerned, over 350,000 authors have chosen to embrace the unique opportunities offered by interactive stories. Just think, Misery could’ve been a very different tale in 2020.

With upward of 80 million monthly visitors, Wattpad is currently the biggest social network of original writers and readers on the planet. And in the mobile age of apps and instant connectivity, it’s no surprise that the platform has garnered an audience mostly comprised of digital natives. In-fact 90% of the company’s whole viewership is said to belong to Gen Z and millennials.

How Wattpad is expanding

While Wattpad is still a way off realising its definitive goal, big strides are likely to be made in 2020.

The site already boasts affiliations with global multi-media powerhouses Sony Pictures, Hulu, and SYFY, as well as Macmillan publishers, Anvil publishing, and Penguin UK, but Wattpad isn’t keen to rest on its laurels just yet.

The long-term goal is to become the ultimate mediator between everyday creatives and big Hollywood productions, and to open up a ‘world of stories waiting to be turned into movies, TV shows, and audiobooks’. To eventually reach these lofty ambitions Wattpad is continuing to form affinities with influential brands and is giving advertisers the opportunity to target their engaged community of writers and readers. In it’s current state, the app is the eleventh highest grossing in the ‘books category’ on the app store and is eighth on the Google Play store. It’s safe to say business be good.

The introduction of ads has made Wattpad a lucrative venture for aspiring writers too. Placed between the chapters of interactive stories, these ads generate revenue based on number of ad views, and some of the platform’s popular authors are said to be making £1000 to £2000 a month. After all, there’s no more active audience than Gen Z.