WRITING
3 Surprising Lessons I Learned by Writing on Illumination
Data insights that shed a light on my writing
After writing for the past four months, I’m pleased to say that I’ve almost achieved my target — The goal that I set for myself last Christmas.
My aim was to write 100 articles by the end of 2020. So far I’m at 87.
Given that we just passed the first quarter of 2020, I’m now thinking that I should reconsider this — What do you think?
Anyway, the reason for this article is to share recent insights that I discovered, with you, my fellow writers.
Oh, I tend to do this from time to time, which I hope is to your approval.
Engagement
As I said before, to borrow my own words, when Dr Mehmet Yildiz “invited me to participate in this project, I was humbled, honored and excited. Ambiguity and chaos ignite a fire in me, something that ILLUMINATION offers in abundance.”
My sentiment has not changed.
In fact, with each passing day, I enjoy being part of this project even more. I also enjoy and appreciate the level of engagement extended to me and others, by you, the Illumination crew.
On that note, allow me to share my first discovery— Engagement.
The level of engagement here is phenomenal.
In just two weeks, 7 of my Illumination articles occupy my Top 10 ratio.
What does this tell me? We’re building a ‘Community’, one that highly values other's contributions. The proof is clear to see — numbers don't lie.
Consuming articles at the rate we do is also an indicator of rapid learning. For me, this validates one of our values — Fusion.
Comparison
For reference, I thought it would be helpful to benchmark the evidence above by comparing and contrasting with my overall Top 10.
As you can see below, Illumination has yet to appear in my overall Top 10, which is expected considering that every one of the articles below was published before Illumination was born.
What I find really exciting is the future potential.
Let me explain. When Illumination gains more exposure in time and viral pieces arise the impact could be significant.
Below is more data to back up my opinion.
Take my top article for example. A piece that’s accrued over a thousand bucks to date. But engagement is poor, a miserable 17%.
So using some very basic arithmetic, the potential could look like this:
→ (25k * 0.7) = 17.5k reads based on Illumination engagement
→ If 17% = $1,115, then 70% = (1115/17)*70
= $4,591
That my friends is the power of Engagement, Community and Collaboration.
That said, let me clarify one thing. I’m not here to earn revenue. I assure you of that. I’m here to earn your respect, your engagement, your feedback. My promise, my commitment to you is to do likewise in return.
My three main objectives, from the outset, are:
- Improve my writing skills
- Connect with other great writers
- Learn from an abundance of amazing content
They are the reasons I’m here. Plain and simple.
Do you read me?
Looking at the recent data I thought, this is worth exploring further. So I did. What I found was interesting — one of my Illumination articles has already made my Top 10 in terms of the number of actual reads.
Whaaaaa’? I hear you say — Yes, the fact is that in just two weeks, 1 of 87 is listed.
I’m not getting over-excited as number 7 on the list is actually an older piece, but thanks to Illumination it now has a new audience.
That said, there are a few Illumination articles on the rise. 4 or 5 in the top half already, so let’s see what happens down the line.
I find this really encouraging. Green shoots I’d say.
Final thoughts
We all know that things are rarely linear, there are too many variables. What I can say is that early signs indicate a bright future.
So to recap, below is a summary of my thoughts — 5 takeaways:
- Engagement is reciprocal, encouraging others to engage
- Community is a powerful force
- Collaboration solidifies “fusion”
- Writers truly are readers
- We’re better together
On that note, I wish to extend my gratitude to you, the writers and editors, for your engagement and participation.
