If Medium actually cared about its writers, it would pay a sliding flat fee for engagement, and not key it to things like exposure and follower count. But clearly that's too much to ask of them.
I think they constantly adjust that, but part of the problem is that people come along to start gaming the system. Compensation is always a tough topic, particularly in writing... but for the whole world when you think about it.
It's more sustainable now. I'm getting good earnings both from boosted and non-boosted articles. A few months ago, I was making huge money on the ones that got boosted. Yes, add a bit more of a narrative element and reduce the number of ideas. That's a good strategy. I look forward to reading what you come up with!
I think it's important to add a personal element to every story. Medium is moving towards a kind of article/narrative hybrid. You can use your storytelling abilities in the beginning, but then you have to guide the narrative towards some relevant takeaway. As long as you have a personal element and a good observation, you increase your chances of getting a boost.
I've been injecting personal elements in my tutorials for months, but my views have dropped.
Recently, I started an article with a long personal story. The read ratio was about 20%. After 2 days I replaced it with less than 100 words that explained what to expect from the article and a briefly mentioned how I struggled with the problem touched in the article.
Read ratio jumped to 70% and stayed there.
But no Boost in sight for me. I'm really confused.
Gosh, if you got that published in Better Humans you should be in great shape. My only thought was that the paragraphs are a little too short. I understand that readability (readers are on phones) is key, but I think if you take another half of a beat to develop your ideas just a touch more, then it would help you. This is a really well optimized article for what Medium has looked for in the past, but they're moving more towards a kind of narrative style that allows you to spread your wings a little more. That's about the only advice I can give, it's a good article.
If Medium actually cared about its writers, it would pay a sliding flat fee for engagement, and not key it to things like exposure and follower count. But clearly that's too much to ask of them.
I think they constantly adjust that, but part of the problem is that people come along to start gaming the system. Compensation is always a tough topic, particularly in writing... but for the whole world when you think about it.
They just reintroduced "read time" in their earnings formula and reduced the disproportionate weight of the Boost on the earnings.
So, now they take into account both engagement in general, how much of it comes from followers, and read time.
It seems a step ahead.
It's more sustainable now. I'm getting good earnings both from boosted and non-boosted articles. A few months ago, I was making huge money on the ones that got boosted. Yes, add a bit more of a narrative element and reduce the number of ideas. That's a good strategy. I look forward to reading what you come up with!
Thanks for sharing the behind the scenes.
And congratulations for your incredible Boost streak. In your opinion, is it harder now to get Boosted if you write tutorials?
I see many reports from Boosted authors that write personal essays or opinion pieces.
I think it's important to add a personal element to every story. Medium is moving towards a kind of article/narrative hybrid. You can use your storytelling abilities in the beginning, but then you have to guide the narrative towards some relevant takeaway. As long as you have a personal element and a good observation, you increase your chances of getting a boost.
Yes, this is what I reading.
I've been injecting personal elements in my tutorials for months, but my views have dropped.
Recently, I started an article with a long personal story. The read ratio was about 20%. After 2 days I replaced it with less than 100 words that explained what to expect from the article and a briefly mentioned how I struggled with the problem touched in the article.
Read ratio jumped to 70% and stayed there.
But no Boost in sight for me. I'm really confused.
Feel free to post a link here, I'll offer you some feedback (later this afternoon, I'm about to take off for a bit).
Wow, thanks! Didn't expect it.
Here's a recent article https://betterhumans.pub/how-to-overcome-self-doubt-even-when-its-been-controlling-your-perception-and-decisions-for-years-fddec128cd0f
It was published on Oct 29th. It has 44% read ratio and just 122 views.
Gosh, if you got that published in Better Humans you should be in great shape. My only thought was that the paragraphs are a little too short. I understand that readability (readers are on phones) is key, but I think if you take another half of a beat to develop your ideas just a touch more, then it would help you. This is a really well optimized article for what Medium has looked for in the past, but they're moving more towards a kind of narrative style that allows you to spread your wings a little more. That's about the only advice I can give, it's a good article.
Thanks.
I've had many articles published on Better Humans. But they stopped working in the last few months.
You are the third established author telling me "that's a good article" after I ask for feedback on a disappointing article.
So, what you're suggesting is to spend more time explaining the ideas?
In that case, maybe I'd have to reduce the "number of ideas" in a single article, otherwise it gets too long.
Thank you so much for taking the time to look at the article.