A List of My Most Read Stories in 2022

My biggest earners and the stories behind the curtain

As the end of the year approaches and we’re done with Christmas celebrations and New Year’s plans, the review time begins. What did we do in 2022? What were our travel highlights? And which things did we not achieve or complete and will take them over into the next year?

I also like looking back at my writing journey. I started writing online in 2020 and I did publish a book in 2021 and had plans to go further but I did not find or make the time to work on another one in 2022.

Instead, I focused on my passion for writing on Medium while working as a full-time skydiving instructor. I lived on three continents and explored even more countries.

My writing on Medium spreads across different topics from travel-related content to nature writing and photo essays. I do create also a handful of biography pieces now and then which receive a lot of views from my readership.

Half of the articles making it to number one this year were writing prompt responses. What does that tell us? I either really do like writing challenges which is true or my readership likes those prompt responses. Which is also true.

Here I am going to present the top earners of 2022.

January

The Best Place I’ve Been - Mountains

It was published on January 11 and yes, it was a writing prompt response to Globetrotters, a travel publication I would become an editor for a few months later.

Reading the topic of “the best place I’ve been” I knew I couldn’t respond to that topic in one article. I broke my responses up into four topics. Mountains, beaches, rivers and deserts.

I had enough content for each of them to fill a book but managed to create a not-too-long and boring piece. And the article talking about mountains as a travel destination was the one receiving the most views.

I learned to walk and ski in the mountains. I learned how to carry my backpack and how to spot wildlife. I was taught to respect mother nature and fell in love with the joy of hiking.

I guess I put lots of passion into this piece and decorated it with several photographs taken over the years. A personal narrative is always part of my writing and I am happy to see this article up here.

The top earner of January 2022

February

Paddling Through Crystal Clear Waters

Published on January 30th, this article was still written a day before February started and had the entire month’s time to collect momentum.

At the beginning of 2022, I was based in Thailand. Jumping out of planes for a living and spending the earned money traveling across islands and exploring new beaches was what I loved about my time back there.

Paddleboarding is the latest passion I picked up a few years ago and ever since I do not travel anywhere without my inflatable paddleboard.

I’ve learned how to stand on the board on the rough Atlantic Ocean and have since paddled across Germany’s river system and also went out on crystal clear waters in Thailand.

Who doesn’t like white sandy beaches and turquoise water? So, I do get it my readers why you did select this piece for a winner.

March

The Valley Where Butterflies are Dancing and Time Stands Still

Published on the 9th of March, this article was written while traveling through Thailand’s North. In fact, the top four articles this month were all travel content on my adventures in Thailand.

I still remember the day. We were far North in the country on a road trip through one of the least visited National Parks. We tried to go on a hike but the trail was overgrown and we decided to leave the place and drive back out of the park.

We drove to the base of the mountain where we saw a small waterfall and cooled down our feet in the river. Then we walked across the fields where countless butterflies were buzzing around us.

It was such a beautiful day. We were in no rush to get anywhere and just went with the flow. At the end of it all, we stumbled upon a gorgeous cottage in the fields where we ended up staying for 4 days.

April

10 Things You Don’t Know About Me

I had switched continents by now and was back in Germany. This article was published on April 13th and was a writing prompt response.

It took me a while to come up with things I thought my readers didn’t know about me yet but it was fun to write this article. And as always, those pieces about me do seem to find an audience out here. Mostly because my life is a bit different from the others’.

May

A Surprise Out of the Bush

Also written as a writing prompt response, I published this wildlife story on May 13. I was going through my hard drive looking for animal pictures and stories I could share.

My African adventures are those I love creating and this one was a very fond memory of mine from years ago. I’ll never forget the feelings and thoughts I had when that animal appeared.

A very special moment.

June

Flow Like Water — My Adventures in the World

Published on June 1st, this was the introduction post of Globetrotters' monthly writing challenge. I love water and always have been fascinated by it. Therefore I had loads of experiences to share.

This article talks about my adventures in and on the water around the world.

July

The Day I Said “Yes” Changed My Life Forever

Another story about me and my life was published on July 17th. This was a writing prompt response to a challenge started by fellow editing colleague Jillian Amatt.

"Have the courage and say yes" was the topic. And I made my very own experience of saying yes and what it did to my life.

August

When Solo Traveling Almost Got Me Killed

Published on the 2nd of August, this article was the first one that got some negative words in the title. While I certainly stand for sharing personal news, this one I published to warn others.

With this article, I almost doubled my earnings from July to August. Yes, it proves the sad fact that negativity sells. However, it was also nice to see how much traffic I can pull with my writing.

September

And this piece did so well that there were no changes in September. “When Solo Traveling Almost Got Me Killed” made it for one more month to the prime position and scored in October as well, coming in second still.

October

How to Insert Links to Your Photo Credits

Published on October 17th, this article I created after long discussions with the editing team of Globetrotters analyzing if people were ignoring our request on the image policy or if they simply didn’t know how to do those things we asked for.

So here I sat down and explained everything about inserting links in a step by step guide. And as you can see many people did not only read the article but also found it helpful as one can see in the comment section.

November

In November, my “About Me” story kept the lead for almost the entire month but lost in the end with a difference of 7 cents to the leading post. “When Solo Traveling Almost Got Me Killed” once again made the winner.

Published on the 1st of September 2021, my about me story is a guide on how to find your niche on my profile.

December

A Medieval Christmas Market in a Historical Old Town

Published on December 2nd, this writing prompt response described my experience and memories of a very special Christmas Market in a German town.

This month I did write a lot about Christmas since it was the topic at Globetrotters but only this piece made it so far up the ranking.

So, this was my list of the most-read articles of 2022. A mixture of personal essays and writing prompt responses represents the interest my readers have in my writing.

With this piece, I want to thank all of you for being here, always reading and commenting on my work and encouraging me with your kind words.

Thank you.

I wish you all a wonderful 2023.

Read here about my previous yearly summaries:

https://readmedium.com/the-year-i-started-to-write-for-real-b3b95e95a35c

https://readmedium.com/what-we-can-learn-from-my-top-earners-a-summary-of-2021-858d937917a8

https://readmedium.com/2020-in-photographs-1d65ef4dfce9

https://medium.com/@anne.bonfert/2021-in-photographs-4ed1525c60b9

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