IT HAPPENED TO ME
My Underwhelming Boost Experience
You can lead a horse to water, but Medium can’t make you click that link. Clomp Clomp.
On October 1st, I received the e-mail any active Medium writer loves to see:
My first boosted story! Someone who is entrusted to have taste — a taste maker, if you will — liked my writing enough to nominate it!
(I suspect my ‘someone’ was Andrew Knott, editor of the funny Frazzled, where my story originally appeared.)
There’s no way to know for sure who boosted your story unless they tell you.
(I thank you kindly, Andrew, whether it was you or not. I love that my story found a home there.)
Medium’s algorithm is shrouded in mystery. Medium’s Boost Program provides a bit more clarity, and the May 2023 update boasts hard numbers:
I joined Medium in mid-August. This is all new (and murky) to me.
I’m not here to educate anyone on boosts.
I’m here to showcase my abysmal stats. And whine a little.
It’s disappointing but true:
The Ratmobile was one of the 5% of estimated boosted articles that gets less than 500 new views in a seven-day period.
Before anyone tries to make me feel better, or dismisses my whining:
Yes, I know it’s an honor to simply be boosted.
Yes, it’s a complicated time on Medium right now. The “Does Boost Work?” chart above is sourced from March of 2023.
Yes, I wrote a true story that is also fiction and it’s about rats both dead and alive and superheroes and personal growth and that’s not for everyone and maybe the algorithm was indifferent to it and yada yada yada.
I’ll live.
But, as I teach my 16-month-old son, sometimes you need to feel butthurt for a beat before you move on.
MY FEELINGS ARE VALID OKAY JEEZ WAHHHH
Also, stats are fun.
They’re probably the biggest reason I’m on Medium. I wish more people posted theirs.
Moving on.
Frazzled published the story September 27th. My story was boosted October 1st. For accuracy (and what remains of my dignity) purposes, these screen shots are from yesterday, October 9th, in order to give October 8th a chance to populate.
Without further ado — I could go on and on and I don’t want you to eat your arm— feast your peepers on the bottom 5% of Medium:
I’ll reiterate, that’s 187 views since BEFORE my boost. Here’s the boost:
No need to grab your cheaters, your eyes do not deceive you.
85 total viewers in 7 days.
I’d provide stats about my readers’ interests, but there haven’t been enough readers for that.
The pros:
48% isn’t a bad member read ratio.
I am in no way discouraged to continue writing. Medium’s platform has me more interested in writing than I have been in probably five years. The Ratmobile is a brand new piece.
I’m swamped with a new job and the aforementioned son, but I have an hour lunch break.
I’m not going anywhere.
So there you have it. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink. Whomp whomp. Clomp clomp.
Anyone want to weigh in? Anyone ever gotten less views than 85 in seven days post-boost?
I’d be remiss not to post my story. Maybe you won’t click it too!
