Summary

The article discusses the misconceptions about the significance of claps and followers on Medium, emphasizing that they do not necessarily reflect the true popularity or quality of a writer's work.

Abstract

The author of the article reveals insights about the true value of claps and followers on the Medium platform. Contrary to popular belief, a high number of claps does not equate to a proportional number of readers, as it only takes 20 followers clapping 50 times to reach 1000 claps. Similarly, having thousands of followers does not guarantee genuine engagement with the content. The author encourages writers to focus on the quality of their writing and the real engagement from readers rather than obsessing over claps and follower counts. The piece suggests that the apparent success of stories with many claps may be misleading, as it could be the result of a small number of dedicated followers. The article aims to shift the perspective of Medium writers, advocating for a more productive approach to writing and engagement on the platform.

Opinions

The author believes that writers should not be discouraged by the number of claps or followers they have, as these metrics can be deceiving.
It is implied that the quality of engagement, such as readers fully consuming the content, is more valuable than a high number of claps or followers.
The author suggests that having a large number of followers is not inherently beneficial, as it can be challenging to maintain genuine interactions with such a broad audience.
The article posits that the true measure of success on Medium is the readership and the actual consumption of the content, not the visible metrics like claps and followers.
The author emphasizes that writers should concentrate on producing valuable content and fostering real connections with their audience rather than chasing after high clap counts or follower numbers.

The Truth About Claps and Followers is Not Really What You Think

Is this a secret some writers don’t want you to know?

With all the recent revelations I’ve made about Medium and how my stories are earning money, I discovered some pretty interesting facts.

I learned that claps and followers don’t really hold the significance that many writers place on them.

This important knowledge can have a positive affect on your mental attitude towards writing on Medium, and on your productivity. Keep reading and I’ll explain just how.

The Math of Getting Applauds

This little revelation is really all about the math of getting applauds. I’m sure I’m not the only one who the logic of this has finally dawned on.

I’ve actually been fixated on the subject of applauds — a topic that I’ve written about lately, and in fact, I was prepared to continue writing about it, until something came to light.

All this time, I was under the wrong impression about the value of applauds, especially when I wrote the story: Applauding for Stories You Enjoy: What Makes You Want to Clap More than Once?

In that particular story, I mention how I had no idea that a maximum of 50 claps are allowed to be given by a member, for every story they choose to applaud.

Ever since I wrote that story, I’ve been pushing the idea of giving more claps, and hoping it would stick with readers and writers. But now I realize that the number of claps doesn’t always mean what we assume it means.

First, ask yourself, what do you think, when you see a story has over one thousand claps?

Think about it for a moment. Those are the stories we notice the number of claps on right away, even before reading the story. You probably think like I do: “Wow, this got over a thousand applauds,” and of course, for no reason:

You subconsciously assume that these claps are the result of one thousand readers giving their approval.

But that is not necessarily so, and in fact, in all likelihood, this is probably not the case. Have you stopped to realize that all it takes for one story to get 1000 claps is just 20 faithful followers who clap 50 times.

If you have 20 faithful followers respond to a story and each of them give it the 50 clap maximum, that totals 1000 claps — aka: 1k — which is a number that we see all the time (usually a little more than a thousand, but not much more).

That’s the actual math of things, in a nutshell, but what does that mean?

Stop Focusing on Applauds

I believe it’s easier to focus on your writing, and stop worrying about the progress of others, once you know you’re not doing as bad as you think.

Being the imperfect humans that we are, it’s easy to get discouraged when you look at a story that appears to have hit the jackpot, and gained more than a thousand views in a short span of time.

It’s not that you’re jealous of someone else and their progress; it’s just that you don’t understand what you could be doing so drastically wrong.

Well maybe, you’re not doing anything wrong, and maybe those stories aren’t doing as much right as it seems. It may just be that the writer has at least 20 loyal followers, who clap 50 times, whenever a story is published.

You Don’t Need Thousands of Followers

When it comes to building followers of Medium, this is another issue where writers allow themselves to get twisted up, myself included.

I currently have well under 500 followers, and I’ve had hopes of seeing this number rise. But now, I’ve taken the time to evaluate things, including the subject of having thousands of followers.

I concluded that I already find it hard enough to genuinely interact with followers on a regular basis.

It doesn’t make sense to try and connect with thousands of people who don’t really care about connecting in a real way.

In some cases, all those followers don’t even read the stories being published. Or what’s worse, they may even give an applaud, without even reading the story. That’s not a good look for your story’s stats.

If given a choice, which would you rather have?

A) A follower giving an applaud for everyone to see, but not bothering to read your story.

B) A follower not bothering to applaud, but taking the time to read the entire story.

If you chose “B” you’d be correct, especially since you don’t earn money for empty applauds, you earn money for stories that get read.

Final Thoughts

With these considerations to think about when you evaluate your stories, you’ll come to appreciate whatever responses your stories have earned.

You’ll see that there’s no point in worrying or comparing your progress to someone else’s because you don’t really and truly know what their progress is or isn’t. The claps are not necessarily what they seem, and the followers may be followers in name only.

Whatever progress another writer may or may not be making should not be your concern, nor should it be a source of discouragement.

Remember the two important benefits that can result from this information.
Keep in mind a common misconception about the claps we typically see.
Reflect on the number of applauds that typically make a story noticeable.
Remember the math and why you shouldn’t be discouraged.

If you’d like to learn about the other important revelations and discoveries I made when evaluating my 220 stories, please be sure to look for the entire 5 story series.

Here are the titles, so be on the look out in the next couple of days, in case the links aren’t provided.

Dear Readers: Would you like to read more informative, valuable, and entertaining Justiss Goode stories? Just click this Directory link: choose from my OVER 220 titles (by category)