My Medium Journey: Episode 2
Have I peaked already?
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This is a monthly feature in which I document my solopreneur journey from start to … uh … whatever comes after the start. Fail or flop, I hope we can all learn something from my experience.
Well, my first full month in the partnership program went very well, I think. I earned over $300 which far exceeded my expectations. So well, in fact, that I am worried I lucked out and will never see that level of earnings again.
Let’s take a look at what when well and not so well this month to see if there is anything to learn here.
What I seemed to do right
The number one factor in my success thus far has been writing for a publication with a well connected editor. Stories like the one you are reading now get hardly any traction at all. But stories published in the publication typically do quite well indeed. Around 1K views and a few hundred reads is typical.
The second thing I am trying to do right is learn to write well. I take every suggestion from my editor without question. I have read most of Steven Pinker’s A Sense Of Style (disclosure: that’s an affiliate link). That book is excellent and I think about something in its pages most times I sit down to write. It does (in my unlearned opinion) occasionally beat a dead horse.
I found Chip Heath’s Making Numbers Count (again, affiliate link) immediately actionable. This is in part because its subject matter is far more circumscribed that Pinker’s work (how to make numbers compelling and intuitive in your writing vs. the entire water front of grammar and style).
I had one story picked up (curated?) by the Medium Gods and sent out on some of their email marketing, leading to a large spike in readership for that article. I do not know how that happens, and I worry it will never happen again. It was certainly about a topic that is broadly popular (staying hydrated), so that is one clue.
What I did wrong
What is most worrisome to me at this point is I seem to have made some mistakes but I have no idea what they are.
I had one story absolutely flop, but I am not sure why. Perhaps that is not knowable. I will file it away…