My Medium Stats Says: You Can Grow On Medium Without Publications

This has worked for me and will work for you too

Photo by Diggity Marketing on Unsplash

My interest in publications is as empty as a vacuum!

I never published a single story on Medium publications. Not because I hate publishing in publications but because it doesn’t align with my core values as a writer.

This doesn’t mean I’m forcing you to not publish in publications. That’s not the scene. I’m just telling you the reality.

Publication has its place though.

Publications can be a good choice if you’re just starting on Medium and have no followers — consider publishing in publications. It can help you gain visibility because they already have followers.

But if you’re a writer with 1k, 2k, 5k, 10k followers, or more followers, then you shouldn’t be thinking, “I’m not growing because publications keep rejecting me.”

As I said…I’ve never published a single piece of content in publications and still managed to get 5,000 followers.

Because I’m a firm believer that self-publishing works.

But, how can I prove it to you? Because I can’t just say it in words — I need to prove it, right?

Well, I can do this by showing you my stats and the results of recent stories that are all self-published.

See the below pictures:

These are just my recent articles.

If I show you my old articles it can punch in your gut. Wanna see?

There you go…

All are self-published.

My friend, you’re living under an illusion. You have this mindset that “Only publications can help me grow on Medium.”

You need to understand this. It’s not about where you publish your stories, but it’s about the quality of your stories.

So you might ask: Okay Har, I get it. I can self-publish but how do I create stories that get views? Good question.

So let me start with this…

The only thing that truly matters is your CONTENT.

When a reader comes across your story, they go through five steps:

Step 1: The reader reads the headline. If it promises benefits — the story gets clicked. If not, goodbye.

Step 2: Next, the reader opens the story and reads the first one or two sentences.

Step 3: Then, the reader scrolls and skim way up to the end of the story and decides whether it’s worth reading or not.

Step 4: If the initial impression is positive, the reader starts reading from the beginning. On the internet, people tend to skim before they read. Remember.

Step 5: This is the stage where the reader reacts. If the story is educational, informative, inspirational, or at least teaches the reader something — you get claps, comments, shares, and bookmarks from the reader.

Want to understand it better? See the below picture.

This cycle repeats infinitely.

And the reader I’m talking about?

It’s not your fellow creators or the writers who clap, comment, and highlight so you can do the same for them. This isn’t the case.

But these are genuine readers who may not even know you, or if they do, they read your content genuinely.

I’ll explain how the Medium algorithm works in a second, but first, let me give you a short tips on how you can create compelling content.

Here are a few suggestions I can give you:

1. Create benefit-driven headlines.
2. Begin with a concise one-line introduction.
3. Use short sentences and paragraphs.
4. Get straight to the point — don’t waste the reader’s time.
5. Use H1, H2, H3, and bullet points to improve readability.

Now here comes the interesting part.

Do you want to know the psychology behind how some stories get flopped and some stories get viral?

Great. Let me explain.

To be clear. You don’t need 10k or 30k followers to go viral. The algorithm doesn’t work that way. If this were the case, all the top writers on Medium would be going viral seven times a week. Are they?”

Instead, it operates in the form of a “Snowball Effect.”

So let me tell you how the Medium algorithm works. Because the algorithm is what makes or breaks the content, right?

Here’s a simplified explanation:

The algorithm functions as a box model, which I can illustrate using boxes as an example. These are not actual boxes but a metaphor to help you understand.

Imagine the Medium algorithm has many boxes and in each box there are people in ascending order.

Let me give you an example:

• Box 1: 100 people
• Box 2: 500 people
• Box 3: 1,000 people
• Box 4: 10,000 people
• Box 5: 50,000 people

Etc.

Now assume, you have 1,000 followers. Let’s just assume. Don’t think when you post a new story, the algorithm will immediately show it to all 1,000 of your followers. That’s not how it works.

Instead, it will initially show it to the first 50-100 people. In case, you have no followers, it will target random people within your niche who might be interested in your story.

Here’s What Happens Next:

Scenario 1 — How a story gets flopped:

So you have 1000 followers. You post a story. The algorithm shows it to the first 100 people. Meaning, 100 people see (not click) your headline. Now assume, of those 100 people only 3 people would click the headline (3% conversion ratio.) And finally, of those 3 people only 1 person reads the content and drops a clap.

Bad signal for the algorithm.

This signals to the algorithm that your story and headline aren’t engaging. Therefore, it will push your content back and limit its exposure.

The story gets flopped!

Scenario 2 — How a story gets viral:

You post a story. The algorithm shows it to the first 100 people. Out of these 100 people, 20 people click on the headline (20% conversion ratio). Further of those 20 people, 10 people read the entire content and take action by clapping and leaving comments.

Good signal for the algorithm.

As a result, your story goes to box 2 and reaches the next 500 people. If the positive engagement continues, it moves on to boxes 3, 4, and 5, and so forth until it doesn’t touch the “Losing Point” or “Saturation Level.” I’ll discuss those terms another time.

In this scenario, your story goes viral because your headline and content are compelling, and people take action.

Remember, it’s not about the followers count, it’s about creating content that evokes people’s emotions.

And that’s why sometimes you see a random account with 56 followers get 10k claps and 400 comments in a post. (arbitrary number)

Now you understand?

To understand the concept better — reference this picture that I made for you:

But don’t think once you understand this concept you’ll always go viral — if that were the case, I would have 1M followers on Medium right now lol.

We think our story is good — but when we publish it — we get a different result.

Your job is to publish the idea — people’s job is to validate the idea.

I find this picture so fascinating. It’s damn true.

This is what you need to understand.

Want to know the tactics and strategies behind how I got 5,000+ followers on Medium without publications & made my first $1,000 without Medium Partner Program?

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