MEDIUM | WRITERS | WRITING | COMMUNITY | MAKE MONEY WRITING

Help A Fellow Writer? One Way: Keep Your Tabs Open

If it works, you helped. If it doesn’t, you don’t lose anything.

I’m new to Medium. I only started writing for you folks a little over a month ago. In this time, I had, like many of you, gone through all the existentialist questions you can think of. Real answers? No, not really. More questions? Yes. absolutely!

One of the questions: Why am I here?

In my writing, you will notice that I refer to the power of community. How it helps us through a difficult time, make a ‘change’ or find ‘inspiration.’ it also works the other way. We help out, give advice, support — even if only by listening (In this case reading).

Support and encouragement are sometimes the most valuable type of payback. In fact, here is my response to a comment from Zion, just the other day:

“Thank you for your encouraging words. Sometimes, encouragement can be just the thing one needs. The best kind of payback.”

While on Medium, I started reading a lot. I think many of us do. Even if you are here to write. You get to read a lot too. And in reading, you find a lot of insights. New angles, new ideas, new ways, etc.

Hold on, we are not all here for encouragement! Surely, I can’t get into everyone's mind. But from reading, I found out that many of us, myself included, are here to create another source of income. For some, it is the only source of income. Some brave souls tell you clearly, “I am here to make money.” On this note, I read many stories about writers’ earnings and making money on Medium.

Cut. Change of scene:

How my Brain Functions.

My writing process is quite iterative. I tend to work in clusters. By that I mean when on a topic, I tend to research many angles and look at varying points of view. Technically, this involves abusing my web browser 🙈

As I go through my research, I open a new browser tab for each interesting link I see. So, after a few minutes, I typically have quite a number of open tabs.

I sift through these open tabs and read what I find useful and copy tidbits from what is valuable, as sources of information. Later, as I develop my piece, I acknowledge them as references (links).

In this process, many tabs are left open, as I only read them one by one. This was when the light bulb started glowing in my head.

Cut. Change of scene:

How Medium Algorithm Works

It hit me! How do writers make money on Medium? I know, I don’t. I am not part of the partner program as I have not reached 100 followers yet. One day I might be. If I ever do, then I stand to gain as well.

From my reading, writers on Medium get compensated based on how the Medium algorithm calculates their earnings. Hmm, I’ve heard that one before. YouTube, anyone? In fact, all paying platforms use their own algorithms to decide how they compensate their users.

So, it is important to understand how the Medium algorithm works. But not to be bogged down with technical details, especially, since these algorithms are always updated. There is usually one or two dimensions that are overriding and tend not to change that often.

For medium, that one important variable is ‘essentially,’ read time. The most important aspect about this variable is that it ‘uniquely’ acts as a multiplier. How long your readers spend reading your articles is one of the main determinants of how well you will be compensated on Medium. Granted, there are several other variables, like engagement, followers, boost, etc., but they are then multiplied by the read-through rate. They are also quite menial for writers who are just starting their journey.

So, more specifically, the read-through rate. Here is the formula as per Medium:

The Read-through rate, as defined by Medium, measures the percentage of readers who engage with your article for over 30 seconds on any given day. Naturally, the greater the “Read-through rate adjustment,” the higher your payout will be. It’s a multiplier as I pointed out earlier.

So, in layman’s terms, the more time your readers spend reading your articles, the better you get paid. Otherwise, why would Medium clearly state that they only count reads for articles where a reader spends at least 30 seconds reading your story? Obviously, Medium is more interested in Reads than Views. BTW, some stories are very short, and I am not sure how the algorithm compensates for that.

P.S. In NO way is this explanation meant to oversimplify how Medium calculates earnings. In most cases, no one really ever knows how these algorithms are designed or how they work. This is a simplified interpretation of their calculation logic — as they have explained it. If it helps, it helps, if it doesn’t, you tried. This is the main premise.

Cut. Change of scene:

How to Help a Fellow Writer?

Now that we know that time spent reading a story is a one key factor in how it pays the writer, all we have to do is: Help them cross the 30 sec mark — or even farther.

You can do this by opening the stories that you want in a new tab, each. This will most probably give the writer the additional 30 seconds they need for their story to qualify to earn them money. Then go about your reading normally. The longer it stays open as you read, the more the writers would gain. Of course, the more engagement, the better.

As you can see below, right clicking your mouse button in Windows, opens up the shortcut menu and all you have to do is choose ‘Open link in new tab’. It is the same if you are using a Mac. Except, since there is no second button on the Apple mouse, press and hold the Control key when you click an item using your mouse or trackpad.

Cut. Master scene:

The Power of Community

Here I go again 😊 This time I am going to give a specific example and ask you all to ‘imagine’ how this would translate for fellow writers — financially speaking.

For this I will, once again, refer you to our friend Zion. He started a publication called the Follower Booster Hub. He positions it as a community that is committed to mutual “follow-to-follow” and “50-claps” practices. His ‘About’ page reads:

“we guarantee that your articles will receive promotional support and a significant increase in followers.”

Now, picture this: Your story is left in a desolate open tab, for an extra minute, waiting to be read. Your intriguing story is then read, and engaged with. Imagine this happening with a whole army of supporters who give back the goodwill you’ve shown. How much more read-time are we talking about now?

Of course, this doesn’t trump quality. Your article, from its title to every word within, should scream “great read."

But when the magic of community kicks in, I’m confident your paycheck will get a nice boost too. And I bet you’ll be pretty thrilled yourself.

P.S. My understanding of FBH mission is not simply to clap and run. I understand that it’s meant as genuine support and engagement — dedicated to aspiring writers like myself. So, ideally, your article should be captivating enough to hold the audience’s attention for more than 30 seconds.

On the Way Out…

So, in a nutshell, doing this little thing — leaving tabs open for just 30 seconds more to support other Medium writers — reminds me how sometimes it can be so easy to help others. By simply taking a moment to let their stories linger a bit longer, we’re making the writing world a friendlier place. A place for encouragement. We all need some of that, especially when we’re starting out.

I know this comes naturally to me, while for you, it might feel like an effort. But please remember, it means a lot to writers who are trying to stand out and earn more on the platform. It’s a small nudge. Sometimes, the tiniest gestures can lift others up in ways we couldn’t possibly imagine.

Finally, I am not in any way suggesting that readers mobilize an indiscriminate effort. This is not a call for practices like clap and run. On the contrary, I think that helping the articles that piques our interest get a chance in the spotlight is the right thing to do. Especially the shorter ones. My notion is genuine all the way. I encourage readers to leave genuine comments, share articles on social media, and engage with writers in meaningful ways.

So, let’s help out a fellow writer. One like you and me. One who is starting today, just as you and I did not so long ago.

And, as I always say, it’s all about the power of community.

Got more existentialist questions?

Then follow me for more, or better yet, subscribe to my email list to get my stories with updates, tips & ideas as soon as they come out.

Loved this piece? Show some love:

“I encourage readers to leave genuine comments, share articles on social media, and engage with writers in meaningful ways.”

P.S. As I’ve gotten into the habit of letting half-baked articles take a little nap in my draft bin, this piece was no different. It found itself dozing off for a couple of days. In the meantime, I stumbled upon another article on the same topic. So, just to be fully transparent, Zion has written about this subject himself. He must be the Jedi Master of intuition and wielder of supernatural forces 😊 You can read his article here.

I am sure this topic was covered by many. Still, I chose not to toss out what I’ve written and decided to share my two cents as well. I hope you find both pieces enjoyable! 🙏

P.P.S. Just before publishing, I came across this interesting and related read from Bin Jiang. Have a look here.

Disclaimer:

Please be aware that the information provided in this article serves as a general overview and may not cover every aspect of the topic. Please exercise your own due diligence as you see fit.