Why I May Never Understand The Medium Stats
How you earn money is confusing
Thousands of views are good for some and routine for others
If you are fortunate enough to get what you consider to be a lot of views, it may be encouraging. When the stats go down and stay down, it can be discouraging. Pretty much everyone writing on Medium knows that reads and the amount of time others spend reading your work determine the payments you receive.
Views are an indication of how your articles and stories are doing. It seems that most reads are somewhere around half the number of views although that is not always the case.
Because the payment (however it is calculated on read time) varies so much for different stories, it is confusing and difficult to figure out how it is figured.
Here are some days with total views and the corresponding earnings:
8,506 views earned $3.02
6,635 views earned $22.54
1,399 views earned $18.37
1,068 views earned $13.30
891 views earned $6.75
689 views earned $2.22
466 views earned $1.67
338 views earned $5.06
276 views earned $1.29
198 views earned $2.28
145 views earned $1.35
More views and reads generally mean more money earned. That is not always the case. Views may be external views which would not earn anything. We would all be happy if we could get large numbers of views and reads. That could mean success.
The amounts earned for individual stories are confusing as well:
151 views, 101 reads (not curated) earned $.19
161 views, 95 reads (not curated) earned $3.95
474 views, 316 reads (curated) earned $.23
1K views, 529 reads (curated) earned $.15
2.1K views, 1.5K reads (not curated) earned $87.13
3.8K views, 2.6K reads (not curated) earned $.29
5.1K views, 3.3K reads (curated) earned $125.27
5.9K views, 3.1K reads (curated) earned $2.20
6.2K views, 3.6K reads (curated) earned $1.08
6.6K views, 4.6K reads (not curated) earned $.58
11.2K views, 5K reads (curated) earned $3.57
Why would a story with 11.2K views and 5K reads which was curated end up only earning $3.57? A story with 161 views and 95 reads which was not curated made more. Read time could be a factor, but the discrepancy is too large for that to be the explanation.
Many of my stats on Medium are quite dismal. If stories do not even approach the 100 mark on views and earn only pennies, it can be discouraging. The algorithm is figuring it out even if we do not understand what is happening. We need to accept it.
If we are struggling to earn $50, $100, or $200 a month with consistent effort, is it worth it to continue? That is not much money for the work that must be put in for most people.
It would be a fantastic feeling to check the stats and see a story with over 100K views that made possibly over $2,000. Some writers on Medium do have that experience.
Some people are making thousands of dollars a month on Medium. Some people became top earnings very quickly. It is possible to do well. Whether we are having success or not, there is hope. We might get lucky.
Is it worth it to continue to write on Medium or is it time to quit and try something new? Whether you need money immediately or not may be a determining factor. Only you can make that decision for yourself.
[Note: My stats are usually not that great, but I want to give a huge THANK YOU to those who read my pieces and help my stats. Good luck and success to ALL.]