I Can’t Believe How Many Claps One Comment Got! What I Learned That Can Help Your Own Writing Journey

The notifications just keep coming in. Like boozers trickling into a bar shortly before closing time because they just can’t help themselves.

I made a single comment on somebody else’s article, and six days later it’s still fresh on my mind because of notifications from Medium.

Here’s the comment:

I’ve been confounded as to why this single comment keeps getting claps after six days. Published stories usually stop getting traffic after only a few days.

So I dawned my Sherlock Holmes cap and did some investigating (but skipped the opiates, in case anyone was concerned).

I’m on a mission to learn about anything that can help us achieve our goals here, and when something keeps getting engagement, I believe there’s some nugget of insight waiting to be mined.

So What’s Happening?

The first thing I noticed when I checked back on the comment is that the article I commented on had received a lot more traffic and engagement than it had when I first read it.

I think I was one of the first people to comment on it, and it now has 77 comments and 2.6k claps.

So one reason my comment keeps getting seen is because the article itself keeps getting readers. Makes sense. No brainer.

But that doesn’t fully explain why people are still bothering to clap on my comment.

So I’ve thought about the comment itself, and this is what I’ve been able to come up with:

• It was a lot more than ‘Hey! Good writing. Now please read my work because I’m desperate for views.’
• I was honest about what I do on Medium and what my goals are, and showed an openness to talk with people who do differently.
• I created potential talking points based on what the author had said.
• I injected some of my experience of being a business owner into the comment, giving it credibility.
• I affirmed common interests shared by many writers, providing a sense of community.

Am I overthinking one comment I made? Perhaps.

It’s also possible I’ve misunderstood why people seem to like it so much.

But like I said, it’s important to learn and share as much as we can so we can all succeed.

The Moral of the Story

What I found from this isn’t anything new.

It was simply reminded that interacting with other writers is necessary for growth.

I don’t know if any of the people who clapped on my comment resulted in me getting more reads or they just clapped and left. But it’s another example of how important camaraderie is on the platform.

And I truly believe the support and community we show will be reciprocated and help us on our Medium journey.

We should all take time to engage with others and provide meaningful feedback when we read their stories.

Thank You

Thank you so much for reading! I truly appreciate it.

If you’re interested, I encourage you to read the story that started this whole thing by Long After the Thrill of Living is Gone. You can find it here:

See you next time,

David.