I Gained Over 100 Followers In 25 Days
For December, I thought it would be fun to do an Advent Calendar challenge! I wrote consistently from December 1st to December 25th, and the results were shocking!
I didn’t know what to expect throughout this journey, and I faced many unmotivating days. But, I discovered a well of untapped potential, and I realized my most significant obstacle is my listlessness.
What did you learn?
Getting up to write every day is exhausting; I’m still somewhat exhausted from the challenge. But, writing every day doesn’t necessarily mean publishing every day. Having an abundance of drafts is a writer's most significant advantage. On the days I found my ideas were lacking or I faced listlessness, it was easy to reach into my tiny archive of drafts and make an old idea new again. Despite the draft's lacklusterness, it was a resourceful base to bring an old idea to light. But, when my archive began to dwindle, I struggled to conjure ideas to push for the day. From now on, I want to continue writing every day to build my archive of drafts.
The challenge also helped me appreciate the writers' process. Before the challenge, I wasn’t too fond of the writers' process; it felt tedious. The challenge forced me to skip a lot of necessary steps, such as drafting and editing. I missed having a draft, and I missed letting my draft marinate for a few days. I missed revisiting my articles and reorganizing my thoughts. In short, I learned to love the writers’ process in the absence of it.
Furthermore, the challenge helped uncover my insecurities as a novice. During the challenge, I felt ashamed I had so many grammatical errors even though I spent an entire day revising. I wrote drafts between 12 am and 3 am, then went to sleep, and then woke up to revise it a million times. However, even after publishing, I found a lot more mistakes.
I felt like a tiny fish in a sea of brilliant talent, and I wanted to prove myself as so much more. I thought great writers wrote a draft, and within a few hours, the draft became a perfected piece of work. I was so wrong! After joining a few Medium Facebook groups, I realized even brilliant writers still make mistakes.
Don’t write to be perfect. Write to be heard. Write with clarity so your audience can learn something or understand something better.
Statistics
Most Well-Received Article
The article that received the most views, reads, fans, and earnings over 25 days.
Before the shocking reception, I was most proud of this piece because it compiled all my learnings of a tool I spent weeks learning and utilizing at work. For the first time in my career, I felt this article illustrated my capabilities as a Software Engineer. And, I was so happy and slightly shocked at its reception a day later.
On day 7, this article had 1.8k views, with 72% (1.2k) of those views from external referrals. If I recall correctly, a majority of those referrals were sourced from Google. I have no idea what I wrote in my SEO title and description that triggered so much traffic, but I will take SEO a lot more seriously in the future.
To date, most of this article's traffic comes from external referrals, as shown below.
To date, this article has 5.7k views, 1.7k reads, and 47 fans. Its total earnings are $53.34.
Thank you to everyone who continues to distribute this article. It means so much to me, and I’m enthralled so many people found it resourceful.
Article with Most Interactions
The article with the most claps and comments over 25 days.
This article's reception continues to shock me. I never thought people would find interest in reading about an absolute stranger. A small part of me feels like I clicked baited readers with my subtitle.
I’m so touched people enjoyed reading this little snippet about who I am and why I joined Medium. It wasn't easy to write because there are so many untold aspects of my life that I think people might feel drawn towards. However, many of those aspects are still very touchy subjects, and I didn’t want to be a Debbie-downer.
This piece goes to show that people are drawn to untold stories. It doesn’t matter who the person is, but it’s the story they have to tell that’s compelling. If people are drawn to fictional tales of romance, fantasy, and growth, they’ll be drawn to real people's untold truths. So if you have a story to tell that you’re comfortable telling, then write it.
Furthermore, the publication that requested this piece, About Me Stories, is brilliant. I ended up reading so many autobiographies from people across the world. These stories are what make Medium amazing, and I’m so happy to be part of this community! Please check out and support the publication.
To date, this article received 369 claps and 7 comments. It has a total of 71 views, 42 reads, and 21 fans. Its total earnings are $1.75.
Best Read Ratio
The article with the second most views and reads to the most popular article, but with the best read ratio.
Read ratio is a strange stat to evaluate an article, but this article has done exceptionally well in views, reads, and read ratio.
This piece was inspired by a conversation with a friend about our time in university. Back in those days, I was a teaching assistant in a 100-level programming course. I reminisced the days helping young, curious minds dive into the mysterious world of programming. So I wrote this piece to help individuals find a programming language that appeals to their interests in technology, whether it’s game development, web development, or graphic design.
This is my second piece published in The Startup. I tried all year long to think of a worthy piece for The Startup, and the article I least expected was published. This speaks volumes to what constitutes an innovative piece of work. An idea doesn’t need to be ground-breaking for it to be helpful to other people. It’s sometimes the simplest ideas that help the most people.
To date, this article has a 53% read ratio with 335 views, 179 reads, and 8 fans. It is the second most popular article written in 25 days, and it’s total earnings are $4.28.
Totals
The total earnings on day 25 was $65.50. Today (December 30th), my total earnings are $74.27. This is the most I’ve earned on Medium since starting, but it wouldn’t have been possible without the community members reading and distributing my work.
I acquired over 100 new followers, 107 new fans, 2.9k reads, and 7.8k views (and I’m still counting!).
Day 25 Closing
In the spirit of the holidays, I donated all my earnings to the Parkdale Community Foodbank. Parkdale is a neighborhood in Toronto, ON, Canada, that holds a special place in my heart. It will forever be my home, and I hold all my fondest and most painful memories there. But, without those experiences, I wouldn’t be who I am today. I also donated an extra 4 dollars to CanadaHelps. Please donate what you can to these organizations or donate directly to individuals in mutual aid funds.
Thank you to everyone who has supported me on this journey. I can’t wait to see what the new year brings and the growth that’s awaiting me. And I look forward to sharing more great content in the new year.
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year❤
