Postscript: 10 Reasons to Edit After You Publish
One of those annoying “I swear it’s not bragging when I analyze my viral story” stories…
My motivation in writing “10 Reasons to Edit After You Publish” was to share the strategies I use to convert stories that may initially track below a 40% read ratio within the first 24 hours to winners by using stats to fine tune the headline, sub-header, image and introductory paragraph. But, the success that I had this week applying these strategies to a story with a slow start was so striking, that I have to tell you about it.
My previous notion of “going viral on Medium” was again blasted out of the water this week, and it was with a story that I would never have guessed would be a winner. I had been ambivalent about the piece to begin with; it was a bit simplistic. It was one of those pieces that I suspected my editor (**yes. I’ve been publishing with one publication on Medium for long enough that I feel I have a working relationship with the editors there) might reject it. He didn’t. The story was immediately published and curated.
Those of us who write for Sexography on Medium are really lucky. What you’ve heard about the platform is true — readers are basically here for tech, sex and “how to succeed on Medium” stories, with a healthy dose of existential panic during these pandemic days. The publication has a very active readership. Whereas my curated P.S. I Love You stories generate about 200 views if I don’t intervene (unless they go viral), I can count on my Sexography stories to always hit 1,000 views (based on my current follower count of 1.3k followers. Don’t forget — It’s all about the followers!)
Since stories on Sexography are about sex and sexuality, the headlines and images really matter. It’s not exactly like flipping pages in a porn magazine, but it’s not entirely not like that either.
In addition to analyzing the early stats, when I publish with Sexography, I pay attention to what’s going on on the publication’s home page. It’s happened more than once that I’ve caught two of us using the same Unsplash image on our stories, both featured on the homepage (bad!), and the image has to look right side by side with its neighbors. As so many readers scroll the Sexography homepage, a story will launch from there when it looks enticing.
During the first week of “Primal Sex”’s life on the Sexography homepage, it was flopping. I changed the title and the image each three times, and still, nothing. I knew that the story had an appealing blend of wisdom and spice, but I couldn’t get readers to click.
It took a week of tweaking, and of correcting a few of the bad habits I’m working on (stereotyping, over-simplifying, going negative…more on that in a future post), but I finally got it right. The story had a two-word, intriguing title, followed up by a subheader that succinctly stated the message of the piece, making the case that it would be worth the readers’ time, complimented by an “appealing” image (yum!).
One week after publication, after the story had moved three scrolls down on the Sexography home page, something tipped.
(That something just might be Medium’s Oct 2020 changes in the Desktop UX and curation policy, but who can know...)
What I do know is that the story suddenly went viral, earning 10k views in 48 hrs and counting.
Folks do like the story. In a way, they like it even more than I do, which is gets into the complicated dance between our authentic voice and our successful brand.
But, I’m telling you, 24 hrs after publication, “Primal Sex” was a bust. After 100 views, it was earning a read ratio that hovered +/- 30%, and it was on track to earn pennies, not big bucks.
By applying the strategies laid out in “10 Reasons to Edit After You Publish” that I was able to transform it from a crawler to a major winner, with nearly 7k reads (and counting) and a 57% read ratio.
Do you have a suggestion for Medium? Drop it in the box! Click here for submission guidelines. Let’s support one another by reading and writing suggestions for how to improve the platform.
