Commenting Makes a Shocking Difference in Your Stats
This is how I know
Yesterday I was busy once again reading articles on Medium — and boy do I have a list a mile long of articles I want to read!
It seems like there’s never enough time to get to all of my favorite writers and their current writing pieces, plus the new writers I’ve found in Indigo’s Read4Read club.
It’s a lot to get through, but it’s wonderful!
In case you don’t know my reading style, I binge-read nearly every day. I’ve literally read every story written to date from at least 2 writers that I follow. I probably read over 250 articles weekly. And I’m always hungry for more!
Of course during the day, I generally check my stats at least 2 or 3 times to see how my own views and reads are doing. And lately, I have noticed a strong connection between the way I’ve been reading and commenting.
Let me confess.
(Sometimes I just clap while I’m binge-reading so I can get to the next article.)
Yes, I have been guilty of getting right into the next read without leaving a comment. After all, the writer is getting the reading time credited, right?
And he knows it was me, because I clapped. The full 50 claps.
And maybe I didn’t have any meaningful comment to leave. Just nothing to add to the conversation.
But lately, like I mentioned,
I’ve noticed a correlation between this way of reading one story after another and my own number of views and reads.
The difference is this: when I comment on each story I’ve read, even if it’s just one sentence about something I appreciated or that stood out, my own stats are higher.
Commenting makes that difference.
Donnette Anglin mentioned the same thing in her article:
When you comment on a writer’s article; it shows respect, appreciation and it’s an indication the article resonates with you. It’s also a guarantee, nine out of ten times a writer will visit your homepage and reciprocate reading at least one of your articles — I usually do. (bold added by J.D.)
When I read her article this morning, I thought: ‘Well, I do that, too.’ When I see that someone has commented, new writer or one of my favorites, it motivates me to read at least one of their articles.
So, I’ve decided to slow it back down a bit and start commenting more. Yes, Medium does limit you to how many comments you can make per day. But I haven’t tested out those limits in a while. And if they shut down my ability to comment, I can always fall back on the private note feature-right? One way or another, I will get back to commenting and engaging others to let them know what I enjoyed about their topic or their writing style.
Not only for the sake of my own views and reads, but because I know how much I appreciate comments of support and encouragement from those who read what I’ve written.
Shout-outs to some of my R4R club members: Alain Polo, Angie Mangino, Brendan - Coaching Apprentice, Carlo Zeno, Elise Chidley, Grace Bianco, Hermione Wilds Writes, Helen Hensell, Mad Machine, Michelle Renee Kidwell, Olivia Reed, RGomez — If you haven’t read these writers, you’re really missing out on some great topics!
Join me in writing for Medium — it’s free! If you use this affiliate link you can get unlimited reads (it won’t cost you extra, but I’ll get a portion of the fee). If you’d like, you can make a small donation here. ❤️
