Medium Doesn’t Actually Pay for Engagement?
Spoiler: it doesn’t — but there is one thing that pays out massively…
So, Medium made a big brouhaha about adding engagement to the earnings calculations. The writers made it an even bigger hoopla, like a hoop-la-la-la. Seriously, we’ve gone nuts with worrying about engagement. But, is it warranted or are we nuttier than squirrel turds?
I don’t think it is.
The other day, one of my friends was curious how my boosted post did earnings-wise, compared to the high engagement I get normally. Yes, you heard that right — I finally got boosted! It wasn’t the first nomination, but the first accepted (my boosting batting average is still total shite).
If you’re curious which story, it was How To Curse Like a Motherfucker In Writing. My vagina story got nominated, but Medium didn’t have the balls to boost it. I mention the boost because that’s going to be important later.
But back to the engagement hullabaloo. Does it really pay in the new earnings calculations? Well, let’s take a little looksy dooksy at my engagement and earnings: (all screenshots by me, of my account)
Do you see the big hubbub bubble of earnings in the new calculations? Me neither. All that engagement and I’m not exactly making it rain like a 90s rapper.
But that stats screenshot above doesn’t show the view volume, read ratio or article length. So here ya go:
I don’t see an appreciable difference in earnings based on engagement in the new MPP program. So, engagement doesn’t really pay (or at least doesn’t scale). If it does, it’s a minor impact with diminishing returns as engagement increases.
In my experience, all it can do is bring on a few more readers. Huzzah right? But, you need soo many readers to increase earnings that it’s not a good time investment strategy, just write something else in that time you’d spend.
Engagement isn’t the holy grail.
Stop Focusing on Engagement
After Tony Stubblebine’s comments about inauthentic engagement enraged people, I wondered why people cared so much. Other than being proud of our community engagement, I think a lot of people think that was affecting their earnings. But none of us are exactly going to get that rapper-level skrilla by engaging with other writers.
Engagement should be fun. It should be something that you want to do, with writers you really resonate with. Engagement might not pay (authentic or not), it’s just how we morally support one another.
So engage with the community exactly how you want to. It isn’t lining anyone’s pockets or heating their home— but it can warm their heart.
Focus on This Instead
If your goal is to expand your audience, reach more people, and/or earn more of those dolla dolla bills — there is a way to do it. Get more views.
There are two ways to do this:
- Work on your headlines and hook — to get more people reading your shiznit.
- Get boosted.
If you want to earn broccoli wads full of cash (which I recognize is not everyone’s goal), getting boosted pays exponentially more.
For example, here are the earnings on my one boosted post (for reference it did ok, but not great — some pay out much much more):
Here are a couple of non-boosted comparative posts (fewer views, but still nowhere close to the earnings even scaled):
If you’re looking to earn those big ole Benjamins, focus less on engagement and more on getting boosted. This means posting in the pubs that have the boost and focusing on the quality of your content (also, use Grammarly and popular tags).
Takeaways:
- Engagement doesn’t pay.
- The boost does though;
- So, focus on the quality of your content.
Or do literally none of the above, and keep writing for the motherfucking love of the game, like a true gangsta’ playa’. I’m personally not chasing the boost, because I won’t change my swaggy style — but, as always, I’m still continually trying to get swaggier.
~Robin Wilding, reporting from…an engagement-induced coma
