Summary

The author analyzes the metrics of their top two Medium posts to understand the relationship between reader engagement, specifically clap rate and commenting rate, and earnings.

Abstract

The author presents a comparative analysis of their two highest-earning Medium articles, focusing on the factors that contribute to the difference in earnings despite similar read ratios. The earnings per read vary by 19%, with the clap rate per person being a significant determinant, accounting for a 99.8% chance of affecting earning adjustments. The author introduces two metrics for engagement: Clap Rate, which is the number of claps divided by the number of people who clapped, and Commenting Rate, defined as the number of comments divided by the number of reads. These metrics are used to gauge the article's appeal and clarity of message delivery, respectively. The author emphasizes the importance of consistent quality in articles to sustain engagement and earnings, suggesting that comments contribute to visibility but that the quality of the article ultimately drives reads and claps.

Opinions

The author believes that the number of claps per person has a substantial impact on the earnings of a Medium article.
Engagement metrics such as Clap Rate and Commenting Rate are crucial for understanding reader interaction with the content.
High-quality content is essential for long-term success on Medium, as it leads to more reads and claps.
Comments are valuable for increasing visibility, but their direct effect on earnings is not clear-cut.
The author acknowledges the challenge of responding to all comments due to volume and emphasizes maintaining the quality of engagement over quantity.
The analysis provided is intended to be a helpful resource for other Medium writers looking to understand and improve their earnings and engagement on the platform.

What I Learn From My Top 2 Post’s Metrics in Relation to Earnings.

Breaking down 2 of my article's earnings and their relation.

Since both article has similar total earnings, I’ll do a short breakdown on what effects earning the most.

Image of my Top 2 performing post. 12/23/23

Image of calculation per read after adjustments for both articles.

0.168/0.207=0.81 or 19% in rate difference of 2 articles. (from this rate, I have use my own metric(clap rate) to see the correlation between the average # of claps per person)

In plain words, the read ratio is only 6%(75%-69%) apart but the earning per read is 19% difference. Base on the following calculation the different most likely comes from the # of claps per person.

Difference between The Clap Rate per person = 17.43/21.56 =0.808

0.81-0.808=0.002, which means that the Clap rate per person determine 99.8% chance that Clap rate affects the earning adjustments, so the # of claps matters.

The metrics I use.

Below are the 2 metrics that I found that we can better measure the engagement rate of an article for us to better understand the overall earning structure, so that we can know what to improve on.

Image of Claps and # of people that Clapped. For each article.

Clap Rate: # of claps/# of people clapped.

This information helps determine the overall likable of an article. (the higher the better)

Next metric I use is the Commenting Rate.

Image of 2 article highlight # of commenter.

Image of commenting rate for both article.

2. Commenting Rate: # of comments/# of reads.

This help us understand how clear is the post in terms of message delivery and how much it resonated. (also the higher the better)

I use this metric to see if I need to improve my writing for reach post or see what is working well and not. (good storytelling vs just info product)

From the commenting rate we can not tell if there is direct effect on earning base off commenting, or highlighting.

That does not mean you should not comment, just that your article is need to be likable in order to earn the extra claps.

After all comment is to get the view, which the quality of your article determines the reads and claps. (that is why I said only the one that build consistent quality post will last in this environment.

Hope this post was understandable in terms of the # and concepts.

Thanks for reading till the end.

This will be my Christmas gift for those that want this info.

Merry Christmas

Just an example of how I engage daily. (Please keep in mind that no one can keep up with all the comments, therefore once you hit your target or the amount that you can handle per day, please slow down and maintain the quality of your work)

Note to those who commented on my post and comments.

Currently, I getting more comments from the growth. I am working on replying to all my comments, if I have not response yet, please bear with me, thanks.

Some of my best performing post about My Progress and Growth on Medium.