A Simple, Failsafe Method for Enticing New Readers to an Old Piece

Summary

Christine Stevens outlines a method for attracting new readers to an old article on Medium by using a "Russian-doll" recursion technique, which involves posting a link to the original piece with the same title and no additional content.

Abstract

The article by Christine Stevens, confirmed by Medium Support, suggests that republishing an old story on Medium is permissible if the original version is removed to avoid plagiarism flags. To engage new readers with existing content, Stevens recommends posting a "hook" on one's Medium page. This hook should have the same title as the original piece and contain only a link to it, ensuring that comments on the original piece are preserved. Stevens has applied this method to her piece titled "My Colorful Life" and is monitoring its effectiveness.

Opinions

The author believes that this method is the simplest way to attract new readers without the hassle of republishing.
Stevens implies that retaining comments on the original piece is beneficial, suggesting that engagement and community are important factors in content strategy.
The technique is presented as a "failsafe" strategy, indicating the author's confidence in its effectiveness for content revitalization.
By mentioning that she has just posted her example and will observe the outcome, Stevens shows an experimental mindset, open to learning from the results of her strategy.

Baiting sans switching via “Russian-doll” recursion

If you want to attract new readers to an existing piece without going through that process, the simplest way to do so is to post a “hook” on your page — titled identically to your piece — containing nothing but the link to the piece (no text or image). An added advantage is that all comments accrued to the original piece are retained.

Example (which I just posted on my page — we shall see how it goes!)

A Simple, Failsafe Method for Enticing New Readers to an Old Piece

Baiting sans switching via “Russian-doll” recursion

(Title) My Colorful Life

(subtitle) My ever-evolving palette, as told in Crayola Color

My Colorful Life

My ever-evolving palette, as told in Crayola Color