The Best Days to Have Published a Story on Medium in May 2020 — Data Analysis
I analyzed all 560 of the stories featured by Medium in May 2020 and found the best day to publish for engagement.
In this report, we will explore the best days to have published a story on Medium during May, 2020. I hope that the information shared here helps you optimize the choices you make in your writing journey. Enjoy!
Towards the middle of this report, you can find a bar graph of engagement for each of the seven days.
Who am I?
I’m a software engineer who knows how to obtain, process, and report data efficiently. As a writer, I’ve set my eyes on Medium’s featured stories to help myself and other writers understand what Medium’s editorial team prioritizes. I will do my best to summarize my findings in a series of articles. You can follow me and the Writers Guild publication to stay alert.
Let’s explore the data!
#1. Sunday
There were 23 stories published on Sunday featured by Medium in May, 2020. These stories accounted for 4.11% of all stories featured during May. The stories from Sunday were curated across thirty-four topics, including Politics, Society, and Race. The most frequent topic was Society, which appeared in five stories.
Formatting
The greatest number of words in a single story that Medium selected from Sunday to feature on their homepage was 5,622. The minimum number of words was 381. The average number of words was 1,886.
Those words summed up to an average reading time of 8 minutes.
- Maximum reading time: 21 minutes
- Minimum reading time: 2 minutes
Reader engagement
There was a total of 101962 claps received on stories published on Sunday. The applause came from 18,657 readers.
- Average number of claps: 4,433
- Maximum number of claps: 35,397
- Minimum number of claps: 109
There was a total of 1029 responses received on stories published on Sunday.
- Average number of responses: 45
- Maximum number of responses: 352
- Minimum number of responses: 1
Ranking based on engagement
Based on the averages of this engagement data from stories published on Sunday that were featured on Medium’s homepage, Sunday was the best day to publish a story on Medium in May, 2020.
#2. Wednesday
There were 109 stories published on Wednesday featured by Medium in May, 2020. These stories accounted for 19.46% of all stories featured during May. The stories from Wednesday were curated across sixty-seven topics, including Race, Justice, and Equality. The most frequent topic was Culture, which appeared in twenty-three stories.
Formatting
The greatest number of words in a single story that Medium selected from Wednesday to feature on their homepage was 11,449. The minimum number of words was 344. The average number of words was 1,815.
Those words summed up to an average reading time of 7 minutes.
- Maximum reading time: 44 minutes
- Minimum reading time: 1 minutes
Reader engagement
There was a total of 262169 claps received on stories published on Wednesday. The applause came from 45,972 readers.
- Average number of claps: 2,405
- Maximum number of claps: 31,878
- Minimum number of claps: 45
There was a total of 2227 responses received on stories published on Wednesday.
- Average number of responses: 20
- Maximum number of responses: 241
- Minimum number of responses: 0
Ranking based on engagement
Based on the averages of this engagement data from stories published on Wednesday that were featured on Medium’s homepage, Wednesday was the 2nd best day to publish a story on Medium in May, 2020.
#3. Saturday
There were 27 stories published on Saturday featured by Medium in May, 2020. These stories accounted for 4.82% of all stories featured during May. The stories from Saturday were curated across thirty-three topics, including Society, Race, and Equality. The most frequent topic was Business, which appeared in six stories.
Formatting
The greatest number of words in a single story that Medium selected from Saturday to feature on their homepage was 4,144. The minimum number of words was 534. The average number of words was 1,526.
Those words summed up to an average reading time of 6 minutes.
- Maximum reading time: 16 minutes
- Minimum reading time: 2 minutes
Reader engagement
There was a total of 58340 claps received on stories published on Saturday. The applause came from 10,170 readers.
- Average number of claps: 2,161
- Maximum number of claps: 19,087
- Minimum number of claps: 84
There was a total of 523 responses received on stories published on Saturday.
- Average number of responses: 19
- Maximum number of responses: 113
- Minimum number of responses: 0
Ranking based on engagement
Based on the averages of this engagement data from stories published on Saturday that were featured on Medium’s homepage, Saturday was the 3rd best day to publish a story on Medium in May, 2020.
#4. Thursday
There were 116 stories published on Thursday featured by Medium in May, 2020. These stories accounted for 20.71% of all stories featured during May. The stories from Thursday were curated across sixty-nine topics, including Race, Equality, and History. The most frequent topic was Coronavirus, which appeared in thirty stories.
Formatting
The greatest number of words in a single story that Medium selected from Thursday to feature on their homepage was 4,734. The minimum number of words was 227. The average number of words was 1,406.
Those words summed up to an average reading time of 6 minutes.
- Maximum reading time: 18 minutes
- Minimum reading time: 1 minutes
Reader engagement
There was a total of 274786 claps received on stories published on Thursday. The applause came from 43,088 readers.
- Average number of claps: 2,369
- Maximum number of claps: 36,553
- Minimum number of claps: 33
There was a total of 2390 responses received on stories published on Thursday.
- Average number of responses: 21
- Maximum number of responses: 181
- Minimum number of responses: 0
Ranking based on engagement
Based on the averages of this engagement data from stories published on Thursday that were featured on Medium’s homepage, Thursday was the 4th best day to publish a story on Medium in May, 2020.
#5. Friday
There were 109 stories published on Friday featured by Medium in May, 2020. These stories accounted for 19.46% of all stories featured during May. The stories from Friday were curated across sixty-six topics, including Parenting, Equality, and Coronavirus. The most frequent topic was Culture, which appeared in twenty-five stories.
Formatting
The greatest number of words in a single story that Medium selected from Friday to feature on their homepage was 8,932. The minimum number of words was 209. The average number of words was 1,545.
Those words summed up to an average reading time of 6 minutes.
- Maximum reading time: 34 minutes
- Minimum reading time: 1 minutes
Reader engagement
There was a total of 246219 claps received on stories published on Friday. The applause came from 39,241 readers.
- Average number of claps: 2,259
- Maximum number of claps: 30,950
- Minimum number of claps: 34
There was a total of 2092 responses received on stories published on Friday.
- Average number of responses: 19
- Maximum number of responses: 183
- Minimum number of responses: 0
Ranking based on engagement
Based on the averages of this engagement data from stories published on Friday that were featured on Medium’s homepage, Friday was the 5th best day to publish a story on Medium in May, 2020.
#6. Monday
There were 84 stories published on Monday featured by Medium in May, 2020. These stories accounted for 15.00% of all stories featured during May. The stories from Monday were curated across sixty-five topics, including Business, Environment, and Technology. The most frequent topic was Coronavirus, which appeared in eighteen stories.
Formatting
The greatest number of words in a single story that Medium selected from Monday to feature on their homepage was 7,272. The minimum number of words was 309. The average number of words was 1,727.
Those words summed up to an average reading time of 7 minutes.
- Maximum reading time: 30 minutes
- Minimum reading time: 1 minutes
Reader engagement
There was a total of 179735 claps received on stories published on Monday. The applause came from 28,754 readers.
- Average number of claps: 2,140
- Maximum number of claps: 15,799
- Minimum number of claps: 93
There was a total of 1594 responses received on stories published on Monday.
- Average number of responses: 19
- Maximum number of responses: 125
- Minimum number of responses: 0
Ranking based on engagement
Based on the averages of this engagement data from stories published on Monday that were featured on Medium’s homepage, Monday was the 6th best day to publish a story on Medium in May, 2020.
#7. Tuesday
There were 92 stories published on Tuesday featured by Medium in May, 2020. These stories accounted for 16.43% of all stories featured during May. The stories from Tuesday were curated across seventy topics, including Work, Culture, and Coronavirus. The most frequent topic was Culture, which appeared in twenty-one stories.
Formatting
The greatest number of words in a single story that Medium selected from Tuesday to feature on their homepage was 3,526. The minimum number of words was 189. The average number of words was 1,413.
Those words summed up to an average reading time of 6 minutes.
- Maximum reading time: 14 minutes
- Minimum reading time: 2 minutes
Reader engagement
There was a total of 117045 claps received on stories published on Tuesday. The applause came from 16,461 readers.
- Average number of claps: 1,272
- Maximum number of claps: 8,726
- Minimum number of claps: 46
There was a total of 1150 responses received on stories published on Tuesday.
- Average number of responses: 13
- Maximum number of responses: 81
- Minimum number of responses: 0
Ranking based on engagement
Based on the averages of this engagement data from stories published on Tuesday that were featured on Medium’s homepage, Tuesday was the 7th best day to publish a story on Medium in May, 2020.
Thanks for reading Writers Guild — A Penname publication
Share your stories on ManyStories.com to reach more readers. Auto-tweet your stories on repeat with Signal to increase engagement.
