I am not a popular writer on Medium. I have reluctantly accepted that Medium contributors do not want to hear about my alternative democracy despite the current democracies are not working so well. The world is not ready for this idea.
Being a numbers person, I like looking at my Medium stats, meager as they are. My average revenue per article is about $1.50. I try to make some sense of why some articles get $3.00 and others get $0.50. But it’s still a mystery why some of my articles do better than others.
I have recently encountered a few articles criticizing two top writers: Umair Haque and Jessica Wildfire. An inspiration came to me to use these two writers to demonstrate why Medium readers should move beyond these writers’ popular work and toward something more useful — like building an alternative democracy. So I wrote an article with this theme.
When I published the article, I predicted its earnings based on its catchy title. I thought “$5.00!” I just don’t have the natural audience to assume much beyond that.
Well, this article earned $67.75!
I really was not expecting that!
My other after-the-dust-settles stats are: 1,100 Views, 325 Reads, and 91 Fans. I estimate about 20 more followers/subscribers, but I can’t find that exact stat.
And I got 62 responses. I continued my usual practice of providing thoughtful responses to people responding to my articles. This probably took about six hours over three sessions.
I have compiled some statistics on these responses. Maybe there is something useful for other writers.
Who Responded?
26 were Medium contributors with whom I have interacted before.
36 were Medium contributors who were new to me.
What idea did the responders seem to get from my article?
I am sometimes guilty of reading a Medium article a little too fast — and missing the point the writer was trying to convey. So misperceptions are always possible. I had several ideas floating in this article. What did my readers glom on to?
Here’s a summary of what these 62 responders saw in my article.
1) Main Idea: We need to move away from the daily doom rants and consider investigating an alternative democracy. It seems this message was understood by 1 responder.
2) Sub-idea: Umair & Jessica have offered us little for effective solutions: 12 responders.
3) Sub-idea: Medium is its own echo chamber: 2 responders
4) Sub-idea: Some top writers are getting some Medium assistance to promote their work: 4 responders.
5) It was inappropriate for me to use these two writers to boost my earnings: 6 responders.
6) New ideas are difficult to implement: 3 responders.
7) Suggestions for promoting the TDG: 3 responders.
The above table is based only on what the responders told me. There is likely more to what they were thinking.
For #5, I should acknowledge that these responders were civil in their disapproval.
Accolades and Raspberries
While there were responders who admonished me (#5 above), there were also responders who thought it was important to chastise the two writers.
Here is my summary of how the responders regarded Umair and Jessica:
Supporters of both writers: 10
Supporters of Umair, but not Jessica: 2
Supporters of Jessica, but not Umair: 3
Detractors of both writers: 13
Responses to the TDG, my alternative democracy
The TDG got some direct commentary. While I suspect most of these responders had little knowledge of the TDG, I will still accept that the TDG has become a little better known.
Supportive and encouraging of the TDG: 10 responders
Detracting of the TDG: 5 responders
I should acknowledge that the detractors of the TDG were civil in expressing their opinion.
Tangible Results
The article had a couple of links to the TDG essay on Medium. The essay got 92 visitors from my viral article. Judging from the “average reading time,” I estimate 20 of them finished reading this essay.
The TDG website got 44 visitors from the viral article. However, my website stats suggest only two visitors read a good part of the TDG book.
According to my Kindle and Kobo accounts, only one TDG ebook was sold while the viral article was vibrant.
So there’s good news for those responders who believed that I only wrote the article with its catchy title for personal profit. I’m not seeing much profit, even with the earnings from a viral article.
Conclusion
While I am happy for the $67.75 and increased exposure, the viral status does not make that much sense to me.
Published on Medium 2022
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The End of a Medium Experiment
