Why Does My Seventh Month on Medium Feel like The First?
Despite building up a following, posting regularly, and sticking religiously to the editorial guidelines, I’m back to square one.
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past few weeks, you’ll be more than familiar with the outcry over a serious decline in views for writers across the board. I don’t usually feed into this discourse, as on multiple occasions, it has never impacted me (selfish, I know), but it has now.
When I look at my stats, I wince as I see my views go down each day, and my articles are barely reaching 50 people, as opposed to the 1K I’ve more recently become accustomed to.
And I’m not the only one who has noticed. Huge writers on the platform, such as Zulie Rane, Shannon Ashley, and Tom Kuegler, have all been vocal about it. But it’s somewhat okay for them, isn’t it? As they still rake in the megabucks even when these changes happen. That may come across as slightly bitter, but maybe it should, as these changes can impact smaller writers' confidence on this platform, and people may give up altogether.
That being said, it isn’t nice for anyone. Especially when you’re feeling like you’re sticking to all the editorial rules, posting quality content, but aren’t getting rewarded for it.
Medium is still the best platform for writers who want to start earning money for their content. It’s simple, easy to use, has an abundance of topics that readers are interested in, and is a great way to get your name out there. That being said, I, like many writers on the platform, think it has a lot to answer for.
As March is ticking on, every day feels like I’m getting closer to how my first few months on Medium used to look like. And it’s downright depressing. This will be a more downbeat overview of my seventh month on the platform and what I think might be happening.
After February, My Views Dropped off a Cliff — Anyone Else?
February was great for me in terms of money; I earned $504.73, the second-highest amount I’ve earned during my 7 months here on the platform.
But even at that point, my views were declining significantly. Also, I had one article go semi-viral in a small publication which gave me over $100 immediately, which caused a big jump in my views and earnings. But I could still sense that things were going to go downhill after receiving February's paycheck in March.
After I had basked in the glory of earning over $500 from writing, I turned to look at my stats in early March and was shocked.
Despite still posting regularly, writing to a high standard, and having a following of 1.3K (which isn’t a lot, but still decent), my views were gradually declining, but the way I was writing on the platform has never changed. In that respect, I’ve been doing the same since day one, which is:
- Posting nearly every other day
- Being active within the Medium community (commenting, clapping, following new writers)
- Making sure the formating of my articles were to Medium’s standards
- Using popular tags that correspond to topic pages
- Publishing in publications
- Getting distributed on nearly every article
So you can see why disappointment is slowly but surely starting to creep in, right? I know it’s not all about stats and money; that’s never why I came to Medium in the first place. But it’s frustrating when you’re doing everything ‘right’ and getting little reward.
I’ve worked my butt off to get this many followers within just over 6 months, and I do everything I can to make sure my writing is of a high standard — always. This leads me (and many others on the platform) to believe that something is changing within Medium itself. But what?
A New Homepage That Gets Stuck on Regurgitating the Same stories
Every time I go to my homepage, I’m shown the same stories that I don’t want to read. And even when I click on them and pretend to read them, they don’t go away. I’ve noticed they stay here for about a week.
This wouldn’t be too much of a problem, but it’s preventing me from a) seeing stories I’m interested in reading and b) seeing stories by the publications and writers I follow.
Yes, you can go directly to the sidebar and read from who you’re following, but it’s far less convenient. And ultimately, I think this has a lot to explain for the general fall in views across the platform for all writers.
How is this impacting writers?
This homepage layout means that not only are you shown the same content over and over again, which doesn’t allow new stuff to be featured, but it is preventing readers from seeing stories posted within the topics they follow.
It emphasizes what is trending and stories the algorithm thinks you will like, but it is far from focused on sharing content that is new and related to the topics you choose to follow. In my experience, I’m continually shown articles that I’ve seen for the past week and those that I’m not interested in.
Even if you follow a writer and love their work, chances are, you’re going to have to hunt them out with this homepage. And it shouldn't be like that. Medium is prized on its algorithm and distributing your work, so readers shouldn’t have to work hard to find the content they want to read.
Evidently, this is mere speculation, but if it’s preventing me from reading stories from the writers I follow and is happening to others too, surely it’s creating an impact?
All this could mean that ultimately, writers of all sizes are paying the price.
Being Published in ‘big’ Publications, but Seeing Little Difference
Being published in any sized publication was supposed to make a difference to your views and earnings and is what we are conditioned to believe when we first start on this platform. But it’s not crucial, as some writers have huge success just whilst self-publishing or being picked up by another publication in the process.
In my first 5–6 months, I managed to be published in some of the ‘big’ publications, with between 80,000–200,000 followers, which felt great. But did it make a difference to my earnings and views? Not entirely.
In my 6 month review of the platform, I wrote about how despite loving the publication Mind Cafe, it was giving me very little in terms of income and views compared to a smaller publication which I’ve had the most success in, Books Are Our Superpower (which I also love very much.)
I’ve also been published in The Writing Cooperative and The Post-Grad Survival Guide more than once, but neither effort has correlated in many views. It makes me think that maybe my writing is the problem, but on the other hand, if we’re all experiencing this, surely it’s to do with Medium itself?
These big publications are supposed to have a good relationship with Medium, so why does my latest Mind Cafe article not even scrape 50 views? Is it because it’s boring? Poorly written? Or something else?
Yes, I know it’s not about the views, but when you pour your heart and soul into everything you write (like I do) and work hard to get into publications, it feels like such a disappointment to be back to square one.
Even in my first month on Medium, I was able to break 100 views on a single story. In March 2021 alone, that hasn’t been possible for me. So what am I doing about it?
Keep Ploughing Through and Hope That Medium Sorts Itself out
I’m not one to give up easily. Despite being frustrated this month with Medium, I’m lucky as it’s been my first challenging month in many ways. I’m privileged enough to break well over $100 every month since September 2020, and that isn’t something to complain about.
But there is something frustrating about being distributed with nearly every article, publishing in publications, writing consistently and to a high standard, and having a significant amount of readers — but experiencing a month that feels like you’re back to square one.
We can take some comfort in the fact that every writer seems to be feeling the same. In her recent YouTube video, Zulie Rane speculates about what could be wrong inside Medium, and the structural changes that could be happening, which are impacting our views. Despite these frustrations, Zulie has said she would carry on writing regardless, which is what I’m going to do as well.
My Medium action plan
- Not dwelling on poor stats and earnings
- Changing the format of my writing to include — longer but snappier listicles, shorter posts, longer posts, posts with more space
- To be published in a different publication every month
- Write on a range of topics & not stick to a ‘niche’
- Remain active within the Medium community — one meaningful comment every few days, claps, new follows
- Experiment with self-publication
The most important thing is that I will try my hardest to produce honest, quality work that readers can benefit from. Because after all (not to sound cocky), but I must have 1,300 followers on here for a reason, right? If Medium doesn’t like my work and doesn’t want it to do well, then at least I’ve got a readership to look back on.
I used to be one of those people that never took all the Medium changes seriously. In my first few months, I didn’t understand them or know how they could impact me. And in truth, until this point, they never have.
Like any platform, there’s going to be a change. But it’s up to us as writers and readers to keep doing what we are doing. Despite my frustrations, I still believe Medium is a wonderful place full of loyal readers, talented writers, and a real sense of community.
And that’s what will push me through to keep on writing.
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