How I Wrote A Medium Post That Got 74% Read Ratio (Unbelievable?)
It seems hard to get a high read ratio these days on Medium.
Since Medium announced its new rule of “30-second read” it’s a bit hard for Medium writers to get a high read ratio. Agree?
Looking back to the old days of Medium it was possible to get a high read ratio because there was no such thing as a “30-second read.”
Meaning, now if the reader doesn’t read your story for 30 seconds it doesn’t count as a “Read ratio.”
It gets most challenging if you’re a writer who likes to write short stories.
Here’s why: if your story is simply short say, 400 to 700 words, chances are most readers aren’t even gonna spend 30 seconds reading the story.
The main reason for this is that on the internet, people skim, they don’t read. They look for headlines, subheadlines, bold, bullet points. And if they really find the story interesting, they start reading it from the start.
This is what I actually do.
So what if that’s the case? You won’t be able to grab their attention and say “Hey please read my story for more than 30 seconds.”
On the other hand, If you’re a writer who likes to write long, in-depth articles, chances are you can get a high read ratio if your content is top-notch and worth reading for the readers.
Enough talk, let’s come to the headline.
So the article I’m talking about is this Writing Tip. This story? It blows my mind how well it performed. I have many stories that went viral but not like this one. This article has everything you need.
- 6,500 views
- 5,700 claps
- 4,800 reads
- 74% Read Ratio
- 155 Comments
Pretty amazing right? I absolutely feel proud that I have written that story. But it doesn’t happen all the time. I have many stories with less than a 30% read ratio too. So don’t be surprised thinking I have cracked the code of the Medium algorithm. I don’t.
But I do know why that article performed way better than any other articles that I have written so far on Medium.
Here are the 5 reasons that made the article a masterpiece.
Reason 1: The Headline Itself
The headline makes or breaks your article.
And I think I have done a good job writing the headline of that article “This Is Why You Suck At Writing (11 Dumbest Mistakes)” Not a bad headline, right?
If you’re a writer and when you see this headline you definitely want to read the article because you can’t help but read. The headline makes you feel jealous. Right? You’ll say “Let me see what this headline offers.”
If you can get the reader to click on your headline — your first job is done.
Reason 2: To The Point
I didn’t waste a second of the reader.
When the reader clicks on the article they read some sentences and directly go to the point. And I think this is what a reader wants (they don’t want to waste their time reading the thing they don’t want to read)
If your introduction is too long it can bore the reader too.
Reason 3: Slippery Slope Writing
You may have heard about this technique.
In the article, I didn’t use any long paragraphs, it was just me writing one or two sentences paragraphs all over the article. And I think part of the reason it worked is because no one wants to read long paragraphs — it just bore the mind. Doesn’t it?
If you go and read that article, you know how well I have done it.
Reason 4: Giving Examples
Giving examples and metaphors is so important.
In each point, I have given an example to the reader to understand it better. Using the emoji of the cross and tick sign I think worked really well.
The reason it worked is because when you explain and give examples with each point then it makes sense to the reader and they go “Wow, this person really knows his stuff.”
Try it.
Reason 5: The Reader Preference
But it’s all about the reader’s experience.
The reader clicked on the headline and read the article. He found it unique, informative, and interesting enough. He saved it. He clapped. He commented. The algorithm liked it — and the algorithm showed the article to more people. Simple analogy, right?
So it all goes back to the reader experience.
If your article can’t deliver on the promise of what it says then your article isn’t going anywhere.
It has to be valuable, unique, and knowledgeable.
I hope you learned something from this article.
Thanks for reading — I appreciate you :)
