My Views Went Down But My Earnings Improved by 3x—A Case Study
And how you can use this study to 3x your earnings too.
It’s mid-December and I’m already close to my last month's earnings.
When December started, I wrote an article about the fact that I’m going full time with writing.
This means that I pay attention to stats a little bit more now. I try to understand what works and what doesn't, to help myself and help you too, in the process. After all, we all have a journey on Medium.
Last month, I had a little over 1000 views and made $7.
As of December the 15th, I have 340 views and made $6.32!
What changed?
The answer is simple. Quality.
Dr. Mehmet Yildiz in his article about Medium vs Vocal said that Vocal+ is paying $6 per 1000 views.
From the earning stories of various writers on Medium, I saw the same average per 1000 views. Like my $7 dollars per 1000 views in November.
But, according to my stats this month, if I reach 1000 views, I will earn around $19 dollars!
It’s 3 times more!
What’s the secret sauce? Engaging content.
Quality is the Alpha and the Omega
My stories are not lengthy. The average length is around 4 minutes, and my two best stories are a little less than that. But I talk about something personal.
People love to read personal stories. We all have something in common and we love to see other people’s experiences.
When I’m writing, not many people happen to read me. But those who do, they stay for the whole ride.
After all, writing is like a train, waiting for readers to jump right in.
Average reading time? 3:10 minutes! And only 42 views, but it made over a dollar!
It’s my most personal story so far, that’s why everyone took the ride till the end. Give it a read if you want. You can understand why it works. And if you don’t, I’ll explain later in this story.
Another great story of mine, with more views than the previous one, but less reading time. Still, it made more than I anticipated given the fact that I wrote it after a picture of a rainbow I captured with my smartphone.
Key Aspects of an Engaging Story
It’s for the reader, not the writer
If you want to empty your mind and only that, write in your personal journal.
You want the readers to read your personal story because they want to drain something out of it.
I like to write personal stories, but they are structured to engage the reader. To make them feel related to me.
Your Intro is the most important part of your story
The intro is what will keep someone in the story or not. You have to jump right in, explain to the reader what you are writing for, in this story.
You need to give Quotes/Questions
The Qs of success is in quotes and questions. With questions, you are making the reader stay in your story. Wonder what will the answer be.
With quotes, you are giving them a sense of professionalism. The quotes come from people that changed the world, so readers trust them and relate to them better.
You have to offer a final thought
Your last part is as important as your first. It has to be positive.
Why? Because people want to leave your story happy. Giving them positive vibes makes them more likely to come back for another story of yours.
They want to leave with a new piece in their minds, of completion. You want that piece to be as good as possible.
Personally, I like to end my article with a question. If the reader stays long enough, they will understand it better, and feel a sense of completion.
Wrapping Up
It appears to me that all of us can 3x our earnings. This case study is here to prove it.
And you are more likely to achieve that, than I. English is not my mother tongue, and I surely have a lot yet to learn.
All you have to do is offer quality to the readers. Engage them from the beginning and they will stay till the end.
Also by raising the bar for yourself, you are raising the bar for others too. You make them push for better results as well.
