I Wrote a Story and Published It on Both Medium and NewsBreak: What Were the Results?

It came down to 24 views vs. 7,361

I used to love writing on Medium and I wrote here often. When I first started with Medium in 2019, the potential for growth seemed enormous. My stats improved each month.

And then it changed. My growth grew stagnant. It even began to decrease.

Recently, I decided to try a little experiment and put up one article in two different places. NewsBreak and Medium.

Here’s the article:

Here are the results:

24 views on Medium

7,361 views on NewsBreak

Now I know there are some limitations to my methodology. My little experiment isn’t a true test of the platforms for the following reasons:

• My headlines were slightly different. When I published the article on two platforms, I didn’t know I’d be doing this test, so I tweaked the headline a bit for Medium.
• It takes consistent writing on a platform to have success. And while I do write consistently for NewsBreak, I have published a total of two articles so far this year on Medium. Well, three once this one is done.
• However, I could argue that I did write consistently for Medium for a long time, and it got me nowhere fast.
• I chose the wrong topic for Medium. NewsBreak values recipes and promotes them. Recipes have never been a prime reading on Medium.
• The article I tested was short, and the writing style was simple. Again, perfect for NewsBreak, but perhaps not so for Medium.

And yet, the difference is so stark it seems clear, maybe Medium is not the platform for me.

But, I’m not completely giving up on Medium because:

• There is so much freedom on this site. No editors will review your work and deny your article unless you’re writing for a publication. You can self-publish anything you like. After spending most of my day writing most for clients and other websites, I find that incredibly freeing.
• Medium is where I got my start and published my first article with my byline. It was those first published articles that gave me a portfolio and got my foot in the door with other clients.
• Medium can be great for reaching a large external audience. Though I don’t get paid for them, my Medium articles sometimes rank on the front page of Google. If you want to try affiliate marketing, or selling a course, or just having your stories seen, Medium’s high Google ranking can help.
• I love the community on Medium and the writing friends I have made. I don’t want to leave that behind.
• I enjoy being an editor for Illumination publications. I’m finding more joy in helping others on Medium these days than writing here for myself.

The final verdict

If the platform you’re spending your time on isn’t working out, don’t give up. Keep trying other places until you find your best fit.

Some people thrive on Medium. While clearly, others don’t. Don’t think because your article bombs on Medium that you’re a bad writer, or nobody wants to read your work.

It may be you just haven’t found the right place yet.

If you’d like to give NewsBreak a try, you are welcome to use my affiliate link here and sign up to be a contributor. (Note: I may get a small one-time bonus if you do.)

You should know before you can make money writing for NewsBreak, they do have requirements for their monetization program. You will need to have 100 registered followers and write 10 articles before you are approved. Read about it here.

Want to unlock unlimited stories like this one? Consider becoming a Medium member for $5 per month. If you sign up with my referral link, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.