WRITING | MEDIUM
I Wrote on Medium Once a Day & Then 3x a Week
I made this key mistake
I’ve read a fair number of Medium articles recommending the frequency writers should post. Once a day vs. 3 to 5 times per week? The suggestions vary, as do the justifications, from consistency and “satisfying the algorithm” to quality over quantity.
So I thought I’d try both approaches out myself as a new writer in 2022. I started on this platform on October 16. Here are my results, including one key mistake I made during my first two weeks on Medium.
My Stories about Medium did best
What’s something all Medium writers have in common? Well, Medium, of course.
The platform encourages internal engagement in how it monetizes stories. Authors receive more cash when paid members read their content, so stories about the website do well. But the catch is that Medium won’t curate stories about itself for wider circulation.
That’s O.K. I think that having for you pages chock-full of Medium content leaves less room for original writing and stories.
Sharing stories on social media led to fewer reads
Generally, I don’t share my stories externally. But on Friday, I decided to share my story Why Calling Someone Lazy is the Laziest Explanation of All on Twitter and Instagram.
I know some of my friends read through the article because they shared some thoughts with me. But mostly, sharing led to 37 views but only 2 reads and a 5% read-through rate.
I’m not sure the stats are true to life, but I think I’ll avoid posting externally unless a story is something I actually want to share.
Stats
When I was posting every day, my views were on a gradual increase. From below 50 views to over 150.
Then, when I published three times a week my stats stayed around a steady 100 views per day. There were some increases on the days I hit publish.
The day I had the most views was when I published my story My Honest Thoughts About Medium After My First Week in 2022 in the publication Illumination. It seemed to spill over to the next day too.
However, views are different than story engagement.
I had better read-through rates when I published every day. However, 5 out of 7 stories in my first week were about Medium.
I also made an error.
My mistake: I self-published before submitting to publications.
I actually had no idea that Medium orders articles based on publish date until someone informed me. By self-publishing before adding my stories to a publication, my stories were pushed down by other more recent stories in the publication.
Follower progress: At the time of publishing this article, I had 125 followers and 3 email subscribers. I reached 100 followers on October 24, a week and a half after joining, and am now part of the Medium partnership program. That means I can earn on stories that follow the platform’s guidelines. So far, I’ve made a few cents on one article that I submitted to earn.
So, what’s the best strategy?
Overall, it appears publishing every day is a good strategy to increase views, not necessarily engagement. And that publishing 3 times a week is a good way to maintain a steady level of views.
Writing about Medium is a good way to gain views, but you won’t earn anything from the partnership program doing so.
I think quality engagement depends more on high-quality content and topic choice. But this is just my personal experience. I imagine it varies from writer to writer.
I’m still unsure about the strategy I’m going to use moving forward.
I don’t want to sacrifice quality and voice for views. I’m still experimenting with story types. However, if I find a method that works for me, I don’t mind posting every day.
I’m playing it by ear.
