There are many metrics on Medium
What’s More Important-Views, Reads, Fans, Claps or Replies?
It depends on who you ask
You can call them vanity metrics all you want, but there’s something to be said for the statistics page that tabulates your articles’ activity.
When I first started writing on Medium in August, I wasn’t getting NO Love! It’s funny, because I was still thrilled that two people had read my article. I wrote two articles in August and made a whopping $0.22. Believe me, I was as happy as a lark. This phrase is thought to have been around for a long time and it alludes to the song of the lark, which supposedly sounds quite beautiful to human ears. Either way, I was as happy as a lark.
The next month, I made $0.24. Again, I was thrilled. I attribute this to the fact that I love writing. And there wasn’t a captive audience. These people actually read my work and had no affiliation with me. At work, people read what I write because it’s my job. This is what’s expected of me and many times, they are featured in my writing. I create a lot of personality features, news articles, and articles that center around our workforce. I also write a lot of letters, notes of recognition, ceremonial celebrations notes, etc.
In several Medium articles, I have explained multiple times the journey I have traveled in my writing adventures — and what adventures they have been. But this is different.
There’s something to be said for creating something and someone else pays you for it. We don’t exactly exchange money for articles on this platform, but payment is the best form of flattery. They say mimicking is the best form but ask that question to other writers. See what they say. I imagine they might agree with me. But the question still remains — which Medium metric is most important?
It’s always nice to see that your material is being Viewed. The more the merrier. But many will tell you that views aren’t important. It is the original vanity metric. Reading time by internal members is a key metric because that directly correlates to what Medium pays you. If you are generating material that Medium members read, you will be justly rewarded. But I was happy with $0.22. Reads are important, but let’s continue to explore the question.
Fans is another of the vanity metrics. I love my fans. I sometimes like to see more fans than views. However, they don’t directly impact the bottom line unless you convert them to subscribers. You want your fans to be the organic audience members who will spend time reading your material regardless.
Claps have something to do with the algorithms. When I first joined Medium, I would click on the clap hands once for everything I read. Then I read an article in which the author was upset that some people only clapped once. Then, Jan Sebastian told me that I could clap 50 times for every article. From that point on, I have been clapping 50 times for everything. So, I don’t really know how the claps influence a person’s articles. I believe the more claps you get, the better your article will be distributed on the platform. But you have no influence over how many times a person will clap. Let’s hope everyone reads this and starts clapping 50 times each time they read your material.
Replies — this is my favorite metric of them all. Here, readers reply directly to me and tell me exactly what they liked or didn’t like about my article. We actually get to carry on a conversation about what I wrote, and I engage with them about it. I have developed many lasting relationships, if you will, over the articles that I have written and the readers’ comments.
So, there you have it sports fan. I laid out my metrics and their importance to me. You may see things differently, but that’s ok. I hope I have shared with you an article that was informative and entertaining. Please feel free to engage with me through your favorite metric.
About the Author
Julius Evans has a Master of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College, Newport, RI; a Master of Arts degree in Strategic Communication and Leadership from Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ; a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from City University, Bellevue, WA, and an Associate of Arts Degree in Liberal Studies from Central Texas College, Killeen, Texas. He is a 1985 graduate of the Defense Information School (DINFOS) of Print and Electronic Journalism and Advanced Public Affairs. DINFOS was relocated from Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indianapolis, IN, to its current location at Fort George Meade, MD.
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