Dear New Writers, Medium Stats Are Not For You

Summary

The article discusses the experience of a writer on Medium who initially focused on viewership statistics but learned to prioritize engagement and consistency over immediate analytics feedback.

Abstract

The author of the article shares their journey of returning to writing on Medium, emphasizing the initial obsession with viewership statistics and the subsequent realization that these stats are often delayed by 12 to 24 hours. Despite the temptation to track immediate performance metrics, the writer found that maintaining consistent posting and actively engaging with the community, such as responding to comments, is more beneficial for a new writer's growth on the platform. The article suggests that new writers should focus on the quality of their interactions and content rather than getting caught up in the numbers game of read ratios and follower counts.

Opinions

The author initially experienced disappointment due to a focus on outdated viewership statistics.
There is a recommendation to avoid obsessing over immediate article performance metrics.
Engaging with the community through comments and interactions is deemed essential for new writers.
The author believes that the delay in statistics can be advantageous as it allows writers to concentrate on creating and engaging rather than fixating on analytics.
Consistent posting and community engagement are highlighted as key strategies for maintaining visibility and gaining followers on Medium.

Dear New Writers, Medium Stats Are Not For You

Image designed by Jothi PM using canva

It has been more than 14 days since I restarted writing on Medium(“Happy Valentine’s Day!”). I posted my articles consistently for all these days. Sometimes, I missed publishing but I never missed engaging with others.

One interesting thing is that my account never lacks visibility. It keeps getting followers.

Image by Jothi PM from Medium Audience Stats Page

In the first week, I used to stick my eyes on the stats and got disappointed. Later I found that these stats are at least 12 to 24 hours outdated (based on my timezone).

Image by Jothi PM from Medium Stats Page

“Wait, What?” I was staggered. You can’t know the read ratio for an article right after you post it. That’s a good thing because you can keep your mind off what has already been done.

Whenever I post an article, I always keep an eye on notifications. If someone comments, I will jump and engage. I believe that’s what every new writer should do too.