Summary

The article discusses the challenges and strategies of growing a following on Medium, emphasizing the limitations of reciprocal engagement as a growth tactic.

Abstract

The author reflects on advice given by Brendan, an aspiring coach, who suggests that simply following others is insufficient for genuine engagement and growth on Medium. The article delves into the myth that follower growth is a mystical process, arguing against those who claim exclusive knowledge of how to gain followers. The author acknowledges the value of consistency in engagement, including reading, clapping, and commenting on others' work, but critiques the sustainability of engagement exchanges as a long-term strategy. The math behind reading every follower's content quickly becomes unmanageable as one's following grows, and the financial incentives for such engagement are minimal. The author suggests that, while engagement is important initially, writers should focus more on their content and selective interactions as they grow. The article concludes by reminding readers to balance engagement with their own writing and to use platforms like the author's R4R page on Medium for targeted growth.

Opinions

The author disagrees with the notion that followers can only be gained through a secretive organic process.
Engagement with followers' content is acknowledged as beneficial but becomes impractical beyond a certain number of followers.
The article challenges the idea of an engagement exchange as a viable long-term growth strategy on Medium.
The author emphasizes that time spent engaging with every follower's content could be better used for writing and selective engagement.
The financial aspect of reading others' content is presented as not worth the time investment, given Medium's payment structure.
Successful writers on Medium, such as J.J. Pryor and Ev Williams, are unlikely to have the time to engage with all their followers' work, illustrating the impracticality of the engagement exchange at scale.
The author encourages new writers to engage as much as possible but also to recognize when it's time to focus on their writing and core relationships.
The article promotes the use of the author's R4R page on Medium as a tool for mutual support among writers.

Followers

The Math Beyond 100 Followers

The landscape of reading changes with each step

Accurate depiction of figuring out how algorithm stats work… Image by ArtsyBee on Pixabay

Earlier this month, Brendan - Aspiring Coach advised people to Stop Using Follow For Follow.

You know me. I had to bite.

Of course, right under that he says “Increase your follows, engagement, and reads.”

Well, boo. I was really hoping for something to disagree with!

You see, a lot of people like to put off the idea of gaining followers. As if followers are mythical fairytale creatures that can only be organically captured through a secret process only they can explain.

Yeah. I like arguing with those people. 🤷‍♂️

But Brendan wasn’t trying to say not to work on followers, just that clicking the “follow” button isn’t really enough.

Alright. You got me there. Can’t argue with that, it’s sound advice.

(Edit: We’re working on rebranding this kind of follower method to be separate from the spammy f4f. For more information, read about “follow-up.”)

Oh, But Wait —

So he goes over some good general advice like consistency, and how that’s not just about writing frequency but also how often you’re engaging (reads, claps, and comments). Good stuff, things I don’t really think about but I’ve clearly got going for me.

I comment a LOT in building those Follower To Follower posts.

But then he starts in on another Medium trope- the engagement exchange.

Oh goodie. An argument is in here, after all! (Cue maniacal laughter and steepled finger pose.)

Ok, Sorry Brendan

After reading the article again to complete this story, I realize you weren’t actually saying the things my argument assumes. So I’m not really arguing with you or what you wrote.

Rather, I’m arguing with the somewhat reasonable conclusion many people take from that concept initially.

So, bear that in mind as we push onward into the depths of combat…

Engagement Entanglement

“They won’t be readers, so to gain readers, engage with their stories.”

It sounds like good advice, right? Comment on others’ stories, and they will be more likely to engage with yours. It’s true, and it does work. But it’s not a great strategy for long term growth.

Let’s think about how this will work, shall we?

Imagine you have 100 followers, and you read their stories — they read yours. Doable, right?

What about 1000?

10,000? 100,000? At what point does this strategy start seeming unmanageable?

For me, at about 250 followers it was impossible to keep up with everyone’s stories. Trying to engage on every story they had was exhausting.

To understand why, let’s imagine you’ve got 500 followers and you try to read at least 1 of their stories a week.

That’s 500 stories a week!

How many stories can you read in a week? If every story is 1 minute, maybe 500 is doable. I mean, that’s only 8.5 hours of read time (not including response time, of course).

But what about 10,000?

Let’s assume the average story length is about 5 minutes. That’s 50,000 minutes a week. 833.3 hours…which is 35 days! You can’t even read one story per month at that level.

Now, let’s look at earnings: I’ve heard reports of $0.02–0.04 per read minute. Let’s aim high and say it’s 5 cents.

50,000 minutes of your read time is worth $2500. That’s not how Medium will distribute it, mind you. There’s only about $2 a month you’ve got to spread around to people. Some of those people won’t be in MPP, so they won’t get paid for your read anyway. And those that are, probably won’t get much.

Now, let’s say you also have 10,000 followers and only 10% read any one of your articles. They’re only human, and most aren’t reading every.single.one. That’s 1000 people per article!

At 5 cents, that’s $50 each article — $1,500 for the month!

At 100% conversion(which is impossible, but maths), with 1000 followers at 5 minutes per article, that’s 5000 minutes, or 83.3 hours, or 3.5 days straight trying to keep up with their articles to maybe hope for this impossible conversion rate.

It’s simply not feasible to go about Medium this way long-term.

Marketing And Sales

I’m no salesman, and I’ve never worked as a successful marketer. However, like the rest of you, I can understand where that math is taking us.

Engaging with your readers makes perfect sense, and is a well-known strategy for retention. However, engaging with their work regularly is impossible. Maybe a select few, sure. That’s why there’s collaborators.

But making all your followers feel special like that isn’t possible. You would have no time to write, or track metrics, or sleep — much less live whatever life you’re hoping to have while working from home.

In sales, it’s all about numbers. And ads.

Gaining followers is like getting permission to show ads to a growing crowd. Each article you post advertises itself (and if you’re paying attention, advertising something off Medium as well). When it interests them, they will click on it. If it doesn’t, they won’t.

The engagement (or lack thereof) isn’t likely to have much to do with this after awhile. It helps in the beginning, much like kicking off from the side of the pool — but once you’re in the water, it’s all about swimming.

Consider a big writer on Medium like J.J. Pryor (15k+ followers) or Ev Williams (224k+ followers). Do you think they have time to read their followers’ work?

Do you think they have time to read this post?

I doubt it. If either of them actually commented here, I’d be extremely surprised. Although, just in case- hey there Ev, thanks for creating Medium!

Cold, Hard Truth

I know it seems harsh, but when you think about how often you have time to spend with even your best friend, the numbers stop feeling so cruel.

When was the last time you gave your friends and family 83.3 hours out of your week? Or even the month?

Maybe exchanging reads helps with growth, but it has limitations. You have limitations. And that’s ok. If you’re just starting out and have the time to spare, absolutely engage as much as you can!

But when it starts overwhelming you, take that as a sign you’ve reached the next step and start focusing on your writing.

And, of course, the select people that stood out along the way.

(BTW, the R4R page on my pub is there to help with this — just use the tag R4R when submitting as a writer to Monster Alley! I’ll put something out more directly to really kick off that process soon!)

Until next time, follow each other, follow the dopamine, and follow yourself, always!

Hey, look: a newsletter. And also Twitter.

Support writers, read without limits, and be part of the community — all for $5.