Summary

The author, Justiss Goode, celebrates reaching 1000 responses on Medium, emphasizing the personal growth and community engagement benefits of leaving meaningful comments, which they value more than accumulating 1000 followers.

Abstract

Justiss Goode reflects on the significance of making 1000 responses on Medium, a milestone achieved just shy of their 5-month anniversary on the platform. They express greater pride in this accomplishment than in gaining 1000 followers, attributing it to personal development in communication skills and increased comfort in engaging with the reader community. Goode highlights that commenting has led to unexpected benefits, such as improved writing skills, community recognition, and deeper connections with other writers. They encourage readers to evaluate their commenting habits and offer strategies to enhance engagement, suggesting that meaningful interactions are more rewarding and can potentially increase earnings on Medium.

Opinions

The author values the act of commenting as a means of self-improvement and reader engagement more than simply accumulating followers.
Goode believes that each writer's situation is unique, and one should not compare their engagement levels to others.
The article suggests that stepping up commenting efforts can be beneficial for writers looking to increase their earnings on Medium.
The author acknowledges that not everyone is naturally inclined to be outgoing or chatty, but emphasizes that anyone can improve their commenting skills.
Goode sees the number of responses as a direct reflection of their own efforts, as opposed to followers, which they feel is more of a collective effort.
The benefits of commenting are viewed as "side effects," including the ability to post comments as mini-stories, receive applause from other readers, and establish oneself as a go-to person on certain topics.
The author encourages a reflective approach to commenting, suggesting readers assess their past comments, schedule commenting times, and use prompts to facilitate meaningful engagement.
Goode shares a personal perspective, not claiming expertise but offering insights based on their own experiences and life lessons on the journey to self-improvement.

How Do I Benefit from Leaving Comments?

Here’s why I’m prouder of my 1000 Responses than my 1000 Followers!

Today, I reached an exciting milestone here on Medium, and I did it just two days short of my 5 month anniversary as a member.

No, the milestone I’m talking about is NOT my more than 1000 followers that I currently have, though I’m sincerely grateful for them.

The milestone I’m referring to is my having made 1000 Responses since I first began. The funny thing is, I sincerely left all those comments with no ulterior motive in mind, except maybe that I hoped they continue returning to enjoy more stories. That kind of goes without saying.

But lo and behold, I’ve been noticing some cool benefits about commenting, and they’re not just a rerun of the tips I already wrote about, not entirely.

In fact, two or three of the five I mention later in this story, just recently occurred to me, although I’ve always experienced those benefits.

Keep reading, and you’ll see what I mean…

All writers are different when it comes to leaving comments

First let me start by saying: Not everyone should be expected (nor should they try) to reach 1000, or even 100 responses, based on someone else’s time frame.

None of us have exactly the same variables going on in our lives, so we should never tear ourselves down for what we’re not doing, as compared to someone else.

The point of my sharing the things that I do, is to make readers stop and THINK, and evaluate your own situations. Maybe there’s something more you can do, and maybe there isn’t.

It’s no secret that many writers’ schedules and lives are already stretched to the limit, especially some of the editors here on Medium.

But with all that being said, if your desire is to increase your earnings while writing on Medium, it may be necessary to step it up just a notch or two. Perhaps the following information can provide a way for you to do just that.

Now that I’ve reached this milestone from commenting, I can honestly admit, I’m more proud now, than I was when I reached 1000 followers (I’m actually over 1200 and this is the first time I’ve written about it).

Why am I prouder about this achievement? Because I feel like it shows self improvement that’s attributed to me, and not to my followers.

I’m growing in my communication skills. I’m becoming more and more comfortable with the way I respond and my degree of openness with readers. All this is a good thing and beneficial to a writer.

What about you? Have you discovered the positive side effects from leaving meaningful comments yet? If you haven’t you will; then again, maybe you won’t, depending on how serious you are about it.

One important part of the equation is your personality type, and that is just a plain and simple truth. Not everyone is an extrovert, or a natural born Chatty Cathy (like I am).

Some people have issues with engaging with others, and they stress out about saying the wrong thing. This, and other variables should be considered when you decide to evaluate your personal commenting patterns.

If you determine that you could stand to make some improvements, you can try a number of ways to do that, including:

Take a moment and evaluate the responses you’ve left in the past, and make note of your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to commenting.
Determine whether you could benefit from scheduling a specific day to comment, or maybe a certain time of day.
Create yourself some commenting prompts, to use to help you get started, and tailor the remainder of the comment to whatever you read in the story.
Highlight segments of the story you read, and paste it in your response, along with a brief thought about how the quoted statement made you feel.

How I feel about reaching 1000 followers.

When I consider how I felt reaching 1000 followers, I won’t deny that it was a good feeling, knowing that so many people could potentially be reading what I write on Medium.

But as for a feeling of true pride, in a way, I didn’t feel like I should be claiming the credit. The followers did all the work.

The followers are the ones who find you, read your stories and make the decision whether or not to follow you. They basically do all the work so I don’t feel I need to take all the credit. But my responses are different.

One thousand responses (and counting) means that I’ve reached out one thousand times and left a comment.

Of course, I’d like to think that I’ve been able to reach out and touch each one of my followers, at least once, but that’s not actually the case. The math doesn’t add up, especially because I know I’ve spoken to some of you on multiple occasions.

But the number is still a good indication of how well I’m doing when it comes to engaging in the Medium community. This is a crucial factor if we care about increasing our earnings (like most of us do).

5 Benefits that are positive side effects of commenting

I refer to the five benefits I’ve sighted below as side effects, because they were things that unexpectedly happened to me, from all the commenting I’ve done.

I wasn’t trying to impress or give fake feedback. I merely read the stories I commented on (or the comments that others left me), and I gave a genuine response.

But as a result, here are the benefits I discovered:

You have the ability to “tick the box” that allows you to post the comment to your own profile page, just like it’s a story.
You have the ability to write a long meaningful comment that can be the equivalent of a mini story, kind of like a Short Form story.
Your responses are able to draw attention from other readers, and have them applaud and comment on them. (This happened to me and blew me away).
Your responses have the ability to help other readers begin to see you as a “go to” person on certain issues. People are curious, so they visit your profile.
Your comments give you the opportunity to create an exchange with other writers and get to know them better, and vice versa (It’s like the difference between the neighbor you speak to all the time and the one you barely wave at).

The Takeaway

Instead of being down on yourself for the things you’re unable to change, think about ways that you can make meaningful improvements that are actually within your power to make.

This applies to commenting on Medium stories, as well as everything else in life.

Remember:

Evaluate your current archive of responses and note your strengths and weaknesses.
Consider scheduling a specific day or certain time of day for commenting.
Write some commenting prompts, and tailor them to adapt to each story.
Highlight parts of the stories you read, to use in your response, along with your thoughts about the statement.