My Read Ratio Increased 3 Times, but Yours Did Not — Here Is Why
The tactics are pretty simple, but very few follow them.
If you care about Medium or have been producing content for over a year now, then I do believe you might have an idea about the drop in views on this platform. Even if you were writing content last year at this same time, you could have expected your articles to get enough views on a monthly basis.
Last year, though I had a smaller audience, and I believe my writing was no good back then, getting 2000–3000 views on at least 2-3 blogs per month was not a big deal. But if I compare it right now, it barely touches the 500 mark.
Now, if you think that just because I am not getting enough views does not mean views dropped for everyone, I have an answer for that.
I have been reading 10–15 articles daily for more than 6 months now, and trust me; I have read enough articles by big writers saying the same thing. So I do believe it is not happening only to me.
So, even though viewers dropped on Medium, that does not mean there are no viewers. Every day I still come across articles generating thousands of claps and 50–60 comments. I believe there may be a smaller audience compared to the old days, but enough to keep you earning decently from this platform. You just need to maximize that.
You have to make sure that no matter how many viewers you are getting, most of them read your piece. You simply need to increase the “read ratio” in your articles. And to help you with that, I am sharing the tip that helped me improve my read ratio from 15% to 50%.
The hook
A hook, or, in simple words, the title, should be your main priority to attract your readers. If the title matches their curiosity, they will click. You can come up with a title that anyone can write or apply your unique strategy to make it more fascinating. For example:
- A common title that anyone can use: Top 5 Tools to Help You Write
- Adding your own magical touch: 5 Must-Have Tools for Growing as a Writer on Medium
You can see how I added my own touch to it, and I believe it will make it more clickable because I am not only providing solutions for writers but also giving them ways to grow.
Pro tip: Try adding suspense to your title. That suspense factor will encourage the reader to click and read what’s inside.
Example Title: Medium’s CEO Wrote This, and It Is Going to Change How We Use the Platform.
Educate with a personal touch.
It is very important that you educate readers with a personal touch. You might not get my point, so let me clarify it.
Except for the memoirs you are writing, it is always important to add something valuable to your post. I mean, you are living a different life, so you obviously have experiences completely different from anyone else's. Share that and add your learnings to it. Doing so will ensure that if your reader goes through the same thing someday, they will know how to act.
Example: See this post you are reading right now. I recently noticed a spike in my read ratio, which is why I am not only writing about how I achieved it but also educating you on how to apply it in your case.
Structure
This might be something that is hard to master at the beginning, but if you want me to share it in the simplest way possible, then I would say keep your paragraphs a bit short.
As most of us right now prefer reading blogs through our smartphones, reading short paragraphs makes them easier to read for smartphone users.
Also, learn from big authors here. They have been doing it for a long time, so there cannot be better teachers than them.
Lastly
If you keep these factors checked on your posts, then there are two things left for you to do to increase the read ratio, like me.
- Analyze which content works well on the platform.
- Engage more with writers.
The first one will help you write on the topics that have already been tested to see if they work. And secondly, when you engage regularly, you build a good relationship with others. So, your engagement with their content increases the probability of them engaging with yours too.
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