MEDIUM’S ATTRITION
Only 8% of Writers Will Still Be Here in Five Years
Have you thought about your Medium exit strategy?
Even if you plan to be here forever, Medium might not. Things change.
I didn’t have a clear picture of my future on Medium. I hadn’t thought about it. Nobody asked me. You haven’t thought about it either, have you?
Why I ask —
Where Did All the Medium Writers Go?
Have you had a look at how many people have come and gone from Medium? It’s a lot. And it is perplexing.
I took a random sample of 50 writers who published on Medium in 2018 (FIVE years ago).
Of those, only four are still publishing articles on Medium. And only one of those is publishing regularly.
The other three publish about one article per month and are receiving little or no claps and zero comments. One of them has nearly 30k followers and has received zero claps and zero comments for his last six articles.
If you need any more proof that follower counts don’t count, these figures should dispel that need. Follower counts are a false representation of your actual readership.
Of the 46 who are no longer publishing on Medium, the top ten were followed by 256k, 92k, 84k, 55k, 43k, 41k, 36k, 34k, 30k, and 16k people respectively.
My Experiment
I wrote an article that broke all the rules. And it took off without getting boosted. A reader commented, “It helps to have a base of 4K followers.” I’d argue it isn’t so important.
Here’s a follower/regular reader formula —
Multiply the number of years you’ve been writing on Medium by 25 and use that number to divide your follower count.
Example:
Someone who has been on the platform for three years and has 10,000 followers:
10,000/75 = 133 regular readers.
I tested this formula on myself and it gave me 53 regular readers, which seems about right.
What’s going on?
I was having a chat with my friend, another Medium writer. He’s a wise old fellow with a young spirit. We share a love for this platform. Then he kicked my comfortable chair from under me — he told me he was thinking of leaving.
He’d almost had enough. He has other projects he wants to get on with, Medium was destroying his resolve. He scattered seeds of doubt. I picked them up and chewed them over —
Some people accidentally saunter into the Medium maze and are happy enough not to bother trying to find their way out.
Others find Medium addictive, like a slot machine. It is a diversion that steals focus. The occasional win doesn’t pay nearly enough over the long term. It isn’t the only reason people leave.
Leavers might channel their energy into other writing projects, take up different hobbies or simply give up.
Money isn’t everything, there are other reasons for being here on Medium.
Medium can help you improve your writing more than you ever imagined. It offers a significant advantage over other writing resources. It’s a supercharged learning environment for writers.
It does one thing better than anything, anywhere else — feedback.
The feedback you get is almost instantaneous. Publish and learn. Publish more, learn more. There is surely no quicker way of becoming an expert in headlines, hooking readers, and honing your writing — if you are willing to read and learn.
In learning to write for an audience, feedback is essential.
We can expect to read some average writing. Other writing will enthrall and some will bore. We are all different. But every day we come across articles that entertain, enlighten, or empower.
Medium is a social platform. We are like-minded people, with like-minded interests. We make new friends who soon become just friends and, in time, they will become old friends.
Some of those reasons will keep people reading and writing here much longer than for mere financial gain. There are some of us who will be here until either we or the platform dies.
The vast majority, however, will sit bolt upright in their bed one day, roused from their dozing with an epiphany —
“Medium is mainly populated by deluded writers who think the world is interested in their top-ten listicle, their rants about their ex-partner/politicians/state of the nation, their cats, or their meagre earnings.”
Smelling Salts
Medium writers could earn more money cleaning toilets, selling lice shampoo, or waxing backs. Fortunately for the platform, none of us like doing those things — we much prefer reading and writing
But attrition rates are high. The Average Jo goes through 5 stages —
The Story of Average Jo
Average Jo is an aspiring writer. She has dabbled in writing, answered a few hundred questions on Quora, then heard about Medium, a blogging site paying its writers well — according to some.
Average Jo signs up. Her expectations are high.
- Exploratory Stage: She explores a range of topics and styles of writing. Her articles aren’t accepted into big publications and when self-published, they receive little or no interest.
- Development Stage: She reads other posts and realises there are submission guidelines and style guides. Her writing improves, she conforms to the rules, develops her writing skills and style. She concentrates on her niche.
- Growth Stage: Her following grows, her earnings creep up and she has the occasional hit.
- Maturity Stage: She has established herself as an authority in her field and continues to grow her audience. She has had some big hits, and she is trying to vary her topics as she is running out of stories in her niche or getting bored with repeating the same old stuff.
- Decline Stage: Her audience continues to grow, but much slower. Despite a larger following, her reads are down and her payments reduce month after month, no matter what she tries.
For most, Medium has a lifespan. How else can you explain a Medium writer with 256k followers disappearing into the void?
Some experience burnout or writer’s block, which can make it difficult to continue writing. Others lose interest in writing or may feel that they have said everything they wanted to say. And there will be many who experience personal or professional setbacks that make it difficult to continue writing.
If any of these apply to you, it is okay to take a break. You can always come back or reduce the time you spend writing here to something more manageable.
Writing shouldn’t be a chore.
Your Exit Strategy
Think about what you want to achieve with your writing, how you want to grow, and where you see yourself one, five, and ten years from now. Even if you imagine yourself still here in twenty years, what if Medium isn’t?
Copy every article you post and store it somewhere other than Medium.
Your writing is your intellectual property and you need to protect your stories. Years down the line, you may want to repurpose your work and post it elsewhere.
If you are a reader, please don’t have an exit strategy. Keep reading. Especially, keep reading my articles.
Having an exit strategy will help you focus on your goals and make sure that you’re always moving in the right direction. It’s important for —
- Taking your writing in the direction you want to go.
- Protecting the value of the content you’ve created.
- Creating a smooth transition.
Bloggers come in all shapes and sizes, and each one has their own unique style. Some bloggers are like sprinters, while others are more like marathon runners.
Whether you are the tortoise or the hare, you share the same destination — success. Whatever success looks like for you, that is what you strive for. It could be fame and fortune or enjoying your hobby within a supportive community — the latter is much easier to achieve.
Wherever you are on your journey, have a plan because —
It’s Going to Get Harder
I’ve noticed already.
I’m reading articles by authors I’ve previously enjoyed, admired, and praised. Suddenly, my eyes glaze over and I’ve switched off. You may have felt this, too. The author is more prolific than usual, but the writing isn’t as engaging.
I suspect foul play. A dastardly deed. I think, “Oh aye, A.I.”
I’ve copied and pasted their article into an A.I. detector and this pops up —
I got a new follower this morning and, as always, I had a look at his profile. He’d only published two stories, in one of them he’d left his ChatGPT query right at the top —
“Write an article about an book home docter.” (sic)
I kid you not!
Where there is money involved, there are people who will try to take it from you.
Unfortunately for us all, readers are a discerning bunch. Using A.I. will reduce Medium’s reader engagement, memberships will drop off and people will go elsewhere. Nothing is surer.
My exit strategy
I have other writing projects I am keen to get on with, but I plan to be here for a little while longer. Despite my concerns, my writing on Medium is not in imminent demise. It’s the best practice I can get.
“To write is the seemingly endless struggle in search of unattainable perfection.” ~ Malky McEwan