1 View Is A Miracle — Start Acting Like It
The other day I saw someone complaining about getting 100 views on their latest blog post.
That just goes to show you how much Medium has spoiled us.
100 views is a miracle.
Go start your own Wordpress blog and try to get 100 views on your next post. Unless you have 100 Facebook friends who suddenly give a flying fuck about what you do, you’re not getting 100 views. You’re not even going to get 10.
So chill out with the bashing of Medium and whining about “low reach.”
I wrote an article recently about how Medium’s algorithm seems to be f*cked, and while I stand by that analysis for now, I certainly don’t think publishing here is a waste of time.
In fact, I still think Medium is the best place to get discovered on the internet when you consider the other options.
Let’s dive into why..
You’re Not Going To Get Better Views Elsewhere
Wordpress, Facebook, Newsbreak, etc. You’re not going to get better views on the alternatives. I’ve gotten 380,000 lifetime views on my personal Wordpress blog, which I started way back in 2016.
I can still get 380,000 views on Medium in about 5 months.
Medium Made 100 Views Seem Insignificant
To a certain extent, the person complaining about getting “only” 100 views was correct. By Medium’s standards, getting 100 views on a curated story seems low.
But that’s only because Medium’s been known to suddenly launch stories into the stratosphere with no warning.
I had one student publish their first story on the Medium Partner Program and it made $7,000.
SEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS.
Shit, he could’ve gone out and bought a car with that money.
For too long Medium’s been an oasis in the middle of the shit desert that is blogging online, and we all forgot what life’s like outside of that oasis.
Think about 100 views for a second. That’s 100 human beings who read your article. That’s like three high school classrooms full of people reading your words.
I don’t know about you, but that seems pretty incredible to me.
Would you get nervous if you had to get up in front of 100 people and read your blog post line by line? I know I would!
If you would get nervous too, and you still think 100 views isn’t a lot, please go put on a clown outfit immediately.
Don’t Underestimate The Value Of 1 Reader
Every reader you attract is a miracle. Someone decided, for instance, that your article was more important to pay attention to than the tidal wave of eye candy on Instagram.
Someone stopped scrolling Facebook for you.
Someone had a choice between the cutest cat video of all time and your article, and they chose your article.
This is a miracle.
You captured a strangers attention through the fog of war that is the internet. Someone who doesn’t know you, and someone who you don’t know, either.
That’s pretty powerful stuff. When we spend so much time refreshing stats pages and seeing articles get 3,000–4,000 views easily, we stop valuing the 1.
The 1 reader.
I hope people never forget the 1 reader through all of this.
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