avatarIlam Padmanabhan

Summary

The author reflects on their prolific writing month, analyzing the impact of increased posting frequency on their content's performance and personal experience.

Abstract

In January, the author significantly increased their writing output, publishing over 40 posts in 27 days. This surge in content creation led to a notable rise in views and reads, though the distribution of engagement was spread more thinly across the multitude of posts. Despite the increased visibility, the author observed a decrease in daily earnings from 1.3 to 1.5 dollars to 30-50 cents. The quality of writing was maintained, with more posts being accepted by reputable publications and distributed by Medium. However, the author grapples with the challenge of finding a niche, as they enjoy writing about a diverse range of topics, from mental health to space exploration. The author questions whether their approach is optimal for audience engagement and financial return but ultimately prioritizes the joy of writing over these concerns. They invite readers to reflect on their strategy and offer the possibility of subscribing to their content via email.

Opinions

  • The author is ambivalent about the benefits of increased posting frequency, noting that while it led to more views and reads, the engagement per post decreased.
  • There is skepticism about the direct correlation between the number of distributed posts and the actual impact on views and reads.
  • The author values writing quality and diversity over focusing on a specific niche, despite the potential benefits for audience building and monetization.
  • The decrease in daily earnings has prompted the author to question their writing and publishing approach, though they assert that writing remains a source of joy rather than a means to an end.
  • The author encourages reader interaction by asking for their perspective on the writing strategy and whether they would be concerned with the observed trends.
  • There is an endorsement of Medium as a platform for writers, suggesting that readers could also benefit from becoming writers and potentially earning money from their work.

I wrote a lot this month, what happened next?

I nearly doubled my posts (40+ posts in 27 days) in January, want to know what happened?

Can there ever be too much? Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels

Every single piece of advice on success on this platform asks for two things — writing consistently, and writing a lot. I did both this month. I wrote over 40+ posts in 27 days. I did stress myself initially. In fact, I started wondering if this was a good idea?

But then I got into a groove. Writing came to me more easily. And I wrote a lot!!

I have literally doubled the number of posts compared to the previous month, so what happened? The full month’s report is here if you are interested.

Curious? read on.

Before we get into the current month, I’d recommend reading about my experiment in which I paused writing for a week and resumed. It went somewhat viral. If this subject interests you, I’m sure the other one will as well.

Coming back to January:

Views/Reads: The number of views/reads has increased significantly. The last 30 day rolling average for views/reads moved from 2100/1200 to 3000/1500. I know it doesn’t make a difference, but I always thought having 3000/1500 views/reads would be cool! And I got there in January!

However, the distribution of views/reads spread across many more posts.

Overall number of views/reads went up, but.. screenshot from Ilam Padmanabhan

The average number of reads per post went down though the overall number increased. There was a significant volume of external views/reads as well.

In a nutshell, I had more eyeballs looking at my content. But that did not translate into higher member read time.

More reads/views — but more spread out. And all over the place in terms of topics! Screenshot from Ilam Padmanabhan

Money: At the beginning of the month, I made about 1.3 to 1.5 dollars a day. Thanks to the two posts that carried the month (my experiment pausing writing for a week and simplest definition of Agile). But more recently, the income has dropped to about 30–50 cents a day. Neither 1.5 dollars nor 30 cents make a difference to my life, but the drop makes me wonder if this is the right approach to writing/publishing.

Writing Quality: I’ve had more of my posts accepted at good publications this month. More than half of my posts got distributed by Medium. I don’t see any evidence that getting ‘distributed’ makes a sizable impact on views/reads. Time will tell. But I can infer that the quality of writing is okay or at least not worse than before.

Niche: I’m struggling with this one. I cannot find a niche and focus on it. I want to write about everything I want to write about. Within the same week, I wrote about mental health at work, future of Mars, a dream boss, my surgeries, my conversation with a tree, etc.

Am I confusing my audience? Am I making them wonder what irrelevant stuff I’ll dish up next?

This post is an honest reflection. I’m not judging me. But I’m genuinely wondering if I’m going about it the right way. Should I write more or less? Should I write on specific topics more and hold back on non-starters (from views/reads perspective)

If this is par for the course, I’ll hold on. Writing is a joy to me, not a punishment. I’ll keep writing regardless of money. And I do not want to please the crowds by writing about just a couple of topics that are well received.

What would you do if you were me? Would you be concerned? Is there anything else you would do differently?

Thank you! I hope you have your viral post soon!!

If you liked this post, you’ll also probably like the one below. It is my biggest hit so far!

You can also see how the writing helped in the monthly report below.

You can also subscribe via email, I’ll send a weekly selection of my posts for free directly to your email!! Use this link!

— — — — — — — — —

Ever fancy becoming a writer? Get rid of all that useless crap from social media, get access to the work of thousands of amazing writers, become an author, and possibly make some money. It costs only $5 a month. Give it a go today! Use this link!

By the way, I write on a lot of other topics. More about what I write here!

Please follow me / subscribe to emails so you’ll know as soon as my next post is out.

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