How to Boost Your Readership as Fast as My 3-Legged Dog Runs
We had to have a little fun with all of the snow on the ground, didn’t we?
I don’t know what you are seeing in your area, but mine has already compiled more than half a foot of snow with another 3 inches or so expected throughout the evening.
So yeah…
I’m snowed in.
Given that, I wanted to dig up some useful statistics for you about how to accelerate your readership.
Of course, I also had to take some obligatory photos of my dogs running around in the snow of course.
Oh! But I forgot to mention, that’s my 3-legged dog…
Meet Kodak!
She’s our fierce little protector who possesses the speed of Secretariat despite her missing limb.
And today, Kodak wanted to introduce herself and provide you with some useful tips about how to grow your readership on Medium.
1) Don’t be Afraid to Get Real
When I first started on Medium I noticed a number of very well-researched and put-together articles.
These pieces contained a lot of detailed information about the topics that they covered.
With my background in writing, I thought that this was the right approach to take. I had written plenty of heavily researched and detailed articles for clients before, and that looked like the path to success to me.
Unfortunately, it’s not..
A big reason because people are not often willing to spend much time at all with your content.
Slate Magazine provided some important statistics about how the average Internet user interacts with content that they come across:
- 38% of people bounce from a website in under 30 seconds without taking in any of the content.
- Of those who do stay for longer than 30 seconds, 5% of them don’t scroll at all.
- That means, if 100 people opened this piece (i.e. 100 views), on average, only 59 have even made it this far!
Interestingly, though, I have enjoyed somewhat better engagement rates than that. In fact, I have held a steady ~70% read ratio across all of the pieces that I have written since January 1st.
How then am I earning a higher readership than what would be expected across any given website on the Internet?
It’s the dog isn’t it?!?
Well, hang on just a moment before you rush out and adopt a 3-legged cute pupper.
Actually, you can and should do that if you want to. They are the ABSOLUTE BEST.
However, while Kodak (and Lily!) certainly does her part in attracting attention, I credit more of it to the fact that I write in a genuine and approachable tone.
This is an absolute must because when Neil Patel, co-founder of Crazy Egg, performed a classic A/B test of the same blog, he found the following:
- Roughly 2.5x more readers consumed the ENTIRE article when it was written in a casual tone instead of a formal one.
- Readers spent a total of 4:45 of reading time on a piece with a casual tone compared to just 1:22 of reading time on average on a formal one.
That’s not meant as a statement to toot my own horn. Rather, it is a skill that has to be harnessed and one that I am still working on every day.
I am more naturally accustomed to writing a more thoroughly researched and neutral piece of website content. That is my background, but I knew that I needed to change it up for my Medium audience.
That leads me to my next point.
2) Understand the Social Nature of Medium
You probably don’t want to drone on like a college professor if you want your articles to lift off.
Understanding where your work will be published, in this case, Medium, is an extremely important aspect of creating the kind of content that will perform well wherever it needs to go.
For example, if I were to pitch this exact same story to some of the clients that I have off-platform, I imagine they would:
- Immediately request revisions.
- Drop me as a writer.
- Ask that I check myself before I wreck myself.
Yeah… they wouldn’t like it.
But, I have a feeling that YOU will (fingers crossed!)
That’s because Medium is a social platform and not a rigid client who expects a certain level of formality.
So don’t be afraid to make a lot of friends here, even if they are somewhat different from you (like cats and dogs!). You might just find that your work resonates with some people you wouldn’t have expected it to.
3) Apply Caution When Necessary
Finally, Kodak wants you to know there is at least one last thing to be mindful of while growing your readership.
The last thing to remember is that pumping the brakes and using some caution while growing your readership is wise.
This is to say that you shouldn’t commit your time to any and every account out there.
There are plenty of people who:
- Establish a one-sided relationship with you only (they won’t engage with your material).
- Abandon their accounts.
- Are outright scammers.
Spending your precious time on these accounts is the equivalent of flushing your time down the toilet.
Carefully consider how you spend your limited engagement time each day and focus on forming deeper bonds. That will serve you better than trying to engage with accounts that fall into any of the above categories.
That’s all from Kodak for now, but don’t worry, she will stop in from time to time!
