Does It Pay to Promote a “Vintage” Medium Post on Facebook?
Here’s What Happened When I Tried It
On July 23, according to my Medium Partner Program Stats, seventeen of my Medium stories earned just a penny each. (These stories ranged from the first story I ever published on Medium, back in February 2019, to recent COVID-related work.)
So? I decided to conduct a Medium Experiment.
I would chose one of those stories and see if I could increase my earnings by promoting it on Facebook. Specifically, I would post the link in the seven Medium Facebook groups I belong to.
In my experience, posting links to new work in a Medium Facebook group always pays off. It usually brings in dozens of readers. Occasionally, it brings in hundreds.
But what about re-posting links to older work?
Exactly how much — if anything — is posting a “vintage” Medium piece on Facebook worth?
Of the seventeen prospects for this experiment, I chose this one:
Why? It’s funny. It’s timely. Most important? It’s illustrated with a photo of a cat.
I posted the link on all seven of the Medium-related Facebook groups I belong to, and waited for the reads to roll in. Maybe hundreds of readers who had missed it the first time I promoted it on Facebook would discover it now!
The next day, I checked my stats. How much had my Zoomcat story earned on the day I re-posted it?
(Cue drum roll and crash of cymbals…)
Ten cents!
How many people had read it? Just eleven.
Although I like making a dime as much as the next writer, re-posting links to old work on Medium Facebook groups clearly doesn’t pay.
Here’s what I’ve learned — time you might be tempted to spend on re-posting old work would be better spent writing something new.
Your results might differ, of course. If you’ve had spectacular success reposting older work on Facebook, I’d love to hear about it. (Either as a response to this piece or — Writing Prompt Alert! — in your own post.)
But while I’m waiting to hear from you? I’ll be busy writing something new.
( Medium Sherpa and Writing Coach Roz Warren writes for everyone from the Funny Times to the New York Times and is the author of Our Bodies, Our Shelves: Library Humor.)
