How To Retain The Balance Between Views-Driven Vs Sales-Driven Stories
The art of being not “Too Salesy”
Let alone other writers, sometimes, and more than oftentimes I find myself juggling, struggling, and thinking through: “How should I maintain the ratio between views-driven stories and sales-driven stories?”
You may find the question confusing if you don’t have a business on Medium. But worry not, I’ll show you what I’m talking about in just a few minutes.
But if you do have a business on Medium, you can definitely relate to the point I’m trying to make. If you only write “Sales-Driven Stories,” People think you’re doing nothing but just trying to make money on Medium.
Just another guru!
If you only write “Views-Driven Stories,” on the other hand, your guts will say: What’s the point of getting views on your stories, if you can’t convert them into something valuable like subscribers, money, or leads?
This is the situation I struggle with — a lot.
If you feel confused. Let me first explain what actually those two types of stories are, how they work, what effects they have, and how to use them effectively to your advantage.
Let’s dive in!
1. Views-Driven Stories
This a story-type where the sole purpose of writing the story is to get more views. So to write this type of story, you try to appeal to a broader audience.
In this type, the story shouldn’t have any strong call to action for buying or subscribing to any of your products or “Paid stuff.” The reader shouldn’t feel like you’re trying to make them buy or do something for your benefit.
You get the point.
Want some examples to understand what I’m actually trying to say? Let me give you a few examples of this type of story that I have personally written.
Here you go:
If you read these stories, you’ll realize that I try not to sell or want anything from the reader, but just their views and attention. Keep in mind if you see a “Sales” call to action at the end of any of these stories, I might have added them after they went viral.
But in the beginning, when I first published them on Medium, they had no call to action. So this makes the reader think: “This is something valuable.”
2. Sales-Driven Stories
Now there comes the second type of story.
The sole purpose of writing this type of story is to make money, generate sales, get new subscribers, or get leads. The story focuses on conversion, rather than views, comments, and likes.
So to get a conversion, you can either do it throughout your story or, you first explain the point in your story, and then at the end of the story, you give a call to action related to the “Conversion” You want from the reader.
Want some examples? Let me show you some of the stories I’ve written:
Oftentimes, this type of story doesn’t get lots of views, likes, or comments.
But what they DO get is the conversions. Some of the above stories, singlehandedly have made me 100s of dollars while having <100 claps.
And this is why they are powerful.
Okay, so you now understand both. But the real question is: What should be the ratio, or how you should maintain the level of quantity between both types of story?
Because let’s be honest, if you have a business or if you sell something on Medium, you can’t just write “Views-Driven Stories” Also, you can’t just write “Sales-Driven Stories.”
The first one hurts your bank account, the second one hurts your followers or audience. This is why having a balance between both is so, so important.
Here’s how to maintain the ratio between both:
The first ratio should be 5:1. Well, what do I mean by this? Let’s say you publish 6 stories a week. So the first five stories should be “Views-Driven Stories” and the last “One” should be “Sales-Driven Story.”
Ok, let’s take another scenario:
Let’s say you publish twice a week. This means, the “Sales-Driven Story” will come in the third week (if you follow the above ratio), which makes it like “It’s too late.” Right?
To avoid that, you can change the ratio to 3:1. So you publish 3 “Views-Driven Stories” and “One” “Sales-Driven Story” after that. The reason you should do it? Because the timeframe is longer — you’re publishing twice a week, which is not a lot on Medium, in my opinion.
The less the timeframe, the higher the ratio.
The higher the timeframe, the lower the ratio.
So basically there are two ratios you can follow.
First, 5:1 if you’re publishing six times a week (skipping Sunday) Second 3:1 if you’re publishing twice a week. This is the way to go about this approach!
Although, you don’t necessarily need to follow any ratio, as I always say “There are no rules to writing on Medium. There is only good and bad work, the type of work decides your growth and progress.”
So act accordingly!
But just for an example, look at this story. This story is a form of “Views-Driven Stories” The reason is simple: I’m not trying to sell you something or asking you to buy my product or service, but instead I just want your views and attention. This is how it works.
This story is sponsored by Medium Masterclass.
