Facebook Overwhelm: Too Many Groups is Worse Than None at All

Facebook groups are great for support and promoting your posts but too much of a good thing can leave you overwhelmed and burned out.

Given the number of freelance writers out there, it’s no wonder most freelance writers struggle with the problem of how to get users to read and engage with their material. Medium writers are no different.

In 2016, over 7.5 million articles were published on Medium. This up from 1.9 million in 2015, so there’s no telling how many more posts will be published in 2019. This is a lot of content for potential viewers to read. Given this, if we want to build our brand, grow our audience and increase our earnings we need to find ways to direct attention to our work.

When I began writing on Medium, I wasn’t a stranger to the fact that freelance writers need to promote their work to be successful. I’d written on other platforms and had tried my hand at writing a blog. It wasn’t an easy task generating interest for my articles. I’d say I’d spend at least as much if not more hours each week on marketing efforts as I did writing new material.

With Medium though, due to their earnings being based on claps from members which translated into a portion of their membership fees, I wasn’t sure how to go about self promotion. I’d always focused on gaining traffic through SEO strategies and various social media avenues like Mix or Reddit. But for my Medium articles, while it would be nice to know I had people interested in my work, readers from these sites wouldn’t help me in terms of earnings unless they just happened to be Medium members.

Then a friend I knew from another platform got me involved with one of the Medium Facebook groups. I loved it. There was a sense of community and the ability to place links to articles in daily threads that were read by group members. Some of the best writers on Medium were members and reading not only got me new fans in return but it also provided me with new ideas for my own articles.

I’d never thought to look at Facebook groups before to market my work on other sites because, to be honest I’d been turned off regarding Facebook with their increasingly strict policies on posting content. But with the boost I’d gotten with this Facebook group I’d returned to the fold like a lost lamb. Then I thought, “Where there’s one, there may be more,” and I searched Facebook and sure enough, there were. I joined all of them.

As my views, engagement and followers kept growing, I became addicted. I read in the Medium facts that your earnings came not just from readers membership fees but also from the amount of engagement your work receives. “Well then,” I thought. “Why not try to generate more views even it they aren’t members. It can’t hurt.” I started joining general blog promotion groups.

Initially, this strategy of, “If one is good then two are better and ten are better yet,” seemed like a great idea. My views, engagement and followers continued to rise.

Problems Ensue

It wasn’t long before I realized I had a problem. I began to have trouble keeping up with all the reading. People are only willing to read your work if you read theirs. It was hard enough when I first joined, but every week membership in all the groups kept growing. I’d often find myself stuck on one group page for a while. Then I’d rush to try to get to other group pages until I was reading much of the day and into the night.

I didn’t truly feel part of any of these communities anymore because being a member of so many meant I couldn’t spend a lot of time on any of them unless I neglected others. Plus, I only had time to focus only on the share threads and couldn’t become involved in any other activities or conversations.

My writing suffered. The number of posts I needed to read meant that I skimmed most of them. Even though I tried to comment on many, I wasn’t able to engage with the depth I had that generated new ideas. My time for writing shrunk and I produced more generic articles.

When I went to bed and thought of getting up to write in the morning I was no longer excited. I was actually miserable, thinking about all the reading I had to do and having no inspiration to actually write anything of interest.

I wasn’t writing the types of posts I had intended to when I joined Medium. I had stopped growing in my skills and abilities, had stopped experimenting with new types of posts that I hadn’t written before, stopped being involved in contests and challenges, stopped looking for new publications to submit to.

Then one day I burnt out. I stopped all of it. I had no desire to read, no desire to write, and I was tired, really tired.

The Aftermath

I am still trying to come out of that place where I’m too overwhelmed to do much of anything. I have realized that too many, soon becomes too much and it doesn’t do me any good. I have started participating in only those groups that I felt are best for me. I cut out all of the non-Medium groups and scaled back in terms of which Medium groups I participate in. Needing to cut back further, I am reading those writers that support me and am pickier about reading the work of others.

I have started to heal.

Deciding Which Groups to Join

With the number of Facebook groups available these days, you can find a number for just about anything, including promoting your writing. It may be tempting to join a bunch of them especially when you see your numbers climbing after joining the first.

But it’s important to be careful in the number you choose to join. When you belong to too many groups, especially if they are active, you will likely become overextended with the number of articles there are to read and other activities there are to participate in.

In order to feel the sense of community belonging to groups can provide, you need to be invested in them and in the other writers who belong. You can’t trip lightly through a dozen or more and expect to feel like you are a part of all of them. The most likely result is that you will end up becoming overwhelmed and losing the sense of community you once experienced.

Given all of the possible groups there are to join, it’s important to be selective. More isn’t always better and in this case it can lead to more problems than benefits. Be sure to review the about section. All groups have rules and often other requirements as well, even if these are implicit and becoming familiar with these is important. Determine what your goals are for joining a group. It should be more than just increasing your own earnings through self promotion. Ask yourself the following questions before joining.

• Do you know what the group purpose is or are you just joining because it was called Medium something or another?
• What are the group goals and do you share them?
• Are you willing to fulfill the requirements and follow the rules for being a member?
• After reading posts from the group does the atmosphere seem to be one you’d be comfortable in?
• Are the names of those involved familiar to you?
• How many posts can you realistically read and engage with in a day and does the number of links shared seem to fit with or exceed your limit?
• What are some ways you can bring value to the group?

It’s better to start with one group and participate fully in that one, determining what kind of time commitment is involved before considering others. If you determine a group doesn’t feel right to you or you become overextended by the number of groups you’ve joined, it okay to either pull back and watch from the sidelines or leave it. It doesn’t mean you are being irresponsible or failing to follow through in your commitments. You can always come back in the future.

The Takeaway

Groups can be an amazing resource for you to share your work and engage with other writers. They are a great way to forge new relationships and collaborations with those who have the same interests as you. When used correctly, they provide growth opportunities for all members. By choosing the ones you belong to wisely, you can become involved in Medium communities in a meaningful and beneficial way without becoming overextended or feeling overwhelmed.

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You can find links to my other work on Medium and follow me here.Thanks for reading!