How I Consistently Can Hit Over 2K Claps on Medium

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If you look at my latest three articles, you will notice that they all have one thing in common: > 2K claps.

My article titled ‘Why Getting Worked Up Doesn’t Work’ received at this very moment 2.1K claps:

My very personal experience, ‘Shattered Innocence: My Descent into Drugs’ received even 2.4K claps:

2069 claps were given to ‘Do THIS When You Can’t Write’:

To me, receiving 2K claps is huge. This is not luck. It happened intentionally. I wanted those articles to get a minimum of 2K claps.

Why?

First, please don’t think I was just wondering about how great it would be to get all those claps. I did not just sit and ‘manifest’. I believe things happen for a reason — a simple belief of cause and effect.

I caused things to happen thanks to the intentional and conscious actions that I took that would lead to a certain outcome.

In this case, receiving a minimum of 2K claps on those articles.

The answer to the ‘why’ is to grow and prove to myself that putting in the effort is paying off — literally. With this method, I am not only expanding my circle but also increasing my Medium earnings.

While 2K claps for some might be a daily thing, achieved with ease, to me it is not. It was actually quite challenging. Some inside details and progress I shared on my Facebook page.

Here you read that my strategy is quite simple: just keep engaging with other writers until you’ve reached ‘the number’. Different writers.

Also, you read that I have a list on Notion.so to keep track of who engaged with me and with who I engaged. For my latest article, I engaged with 57 writers until the number reached the 2K. Reading and leaving meaningful comments on 57 articles takes time and effort. But it’s all worth it to me.

The reason that it’s worth it to me, is that I not just put effort into making my articles the best I possibly can with the time that I have, but that I put an even bigger emphasis than I already did on engagement. I forced myself to keep reading and commenting until I reached my 2K target.

One thing that happened in this process — a very important thing to note — is that this method does not only attract people to your latest article but also to other pieces of yours. Of course, those earnings go up as well.

So until now, this method has led to growth in my Medium circle and my earnings. And I think another factor will play a role: a psychological one.

If a reader stumbles upon an article from you, and it has got all those claps, highlights, and comments — this gives a good feeling. A feeling of credibility and trust.

Of course, numbers are just numbers, but I see it similar as to taking fitness advice from a skinny dude. I’d rather ask someone else from who I see with my own eyes he walks the talk. Anyway, this psychological effect can also lead to people wanting to follow you quicker, or even talk about you. This even happens here on Medium.

When someone grows quickly or gains a lot of traction, people are writing about that person. I’ve seen that happening multiple times. That person then becomes even more ‘famous’ — more growth, more readers, more money.

Then now I want to take a moment to thank all of you who are reading my articles. Even when it is just a ‘return’ of the fact that I commented on your article. I am always very grateful for each and every reader, each and every comment, and each and every clap. You can trust me on that I do not, and will never, take it for granted. My appreciation goes out to all of you.

I will proceed to utilize this strategy. I will not release a new article until the one I want reaches a minimum of 2K. Until then, I will keep engaging in a genuine, meaningful way. The intention is to achieve that number as quickly as possible. My journey of my previous three articles is proof that intentional effort leads to results. Yes, I sacrificed some things, but I achieved what I wanted.

I hope this article inspires and motivates you to put in the effort in whatever you want to achieve. I don’t believe things ‘just’ happen.

Now, go get those targets. :)

“No great thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.” — Epictetus

If you found any value in this article, please remember, that giving those full 50 claps really helps us Medium authors a lot (more than you might know)!

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