If you're on Medium but not Substack, you really need to see this...
Sorry, I have to start with a screencap, because you have to see this to believe it.
Y’all, this was on my Medium homepage yesterday.
Look at the date.
It’s a 5 year old post. But it’s not just that it’s a 5 year old post.
I have no idea who the writer is. I didn’t follow her when she *was* on Medium. Because she’s not anymore. She left in 2019. And she didn’t write much when she was there. 5 posts in total. One post in 2017. One in 2018. Three more in 2019.
Then poof. Gone. She left Medium. Over 3 years ago. I checked.
But that’s what belongs on the homepage, right? Instead of all the people busting their butts writing fresh posts a couple times a week, or maybe every day.
Not even done.
These were also on my Medium homepage yesterday….
And again. Same thing. That’s what Medium “selected” for me. Posts that are almost 7 years old. Because heaven forbid I might want to read the people who are actually doing the work to create fresh content right now.
Nope. Those are invisible.
Here’s the top 20 posts on my Medium homepage yesterday…
Not the posts themselves. Hah. Just the dates of them. Wtf? Are all the live writers dead? Did everyone leave? This doesn’t scream current, does it? No.
Here’s what I want to know…
Where are the posts by Kelly, Jen, Denise, David, Holly, Amy, Sarah, James, Margie, Joe and the other Joe, Jessica and all the people I actually go there to read?
Because they sure as heck aren’t on my home page.
(And I’m sorry, I know I missed names there. If I missed you, I’m sorry.)
You know where else the people I read aren’t?
They aren’t on my “Following” tab, either. Because it’s choked to death with posts by the few publications I still follow. I’ve unfollowed a LOT of publications. Especially the ones that publish high volume. Because they choke my “following” page.
I was tempted to unfollow ALL publications except the few I write for, just to get publications out of my feed. But should I have to? And how would I feel if all my readers at Book Café and History of Women unfollowed for the same reason?
It would suck. Really, really suck.
Here’s the real problem.
Writers are dying for views…
My homepage is loaded with old posts while the writers I actually want to read are dying for views. Some writers have left because they can’t justify the time when their views and income keep dropping lower and lower.
Can you imagine if Reuters or CNN did this? What about Mashable or Product Hunt? What about Twitter or YouTube or Facebook or Instagram? Can you imagine going to any other site and seeing 6 month old posts and five year old posts on the homepage while new content is buried and not even seen?
Then the CEO says if you want a “boost” you need to drive external traffic to your posts because if you’re not promoting your own posts, why should they?
I’m not asking for a boost. I’d just like the people who FOLLOWED me to actually see my posts. If my posts went into 18K feeds, I’d be quite content with that.
But that’s not how it works at Medium.
It does, however, work that way at Substack.
Here’s what Substack does different.
When a reader signs up to follow your writing on Substack, they see every post. There’s no boosting or distribution hoops to jump through and no editors or algorithms choosing who sees your content.
If 500 people follow you, 500 people see your posts. Simple as that.
That does not happen at Medium.
At Medium, your follower count doesn’t matter anymore. I have 18K followers. I promise you 18K people do not see my posts in their feed. People who read everything I write have to go to my profile to find my posts.
At Medium, your followers are not your followers.
They are Medium’s followers.
At Substack, your followers are your followers. Once they follow, they see everything you publish. They get your posts by email and they see them in their feed. Every. Single. Follower.
Yes. There’s a bit of a learning curve to getting on Substack. But everyone who follows you sees your posts. Simple. As. That. If you’re serious about building an audience, maybe it’s time to give it a whirl?
Plus, the Substack Network will help you find readers. If you’d like help getting started, let me know in comments and I’ll posts some tips to get you started.
Beats the hell out of crossing your fingers and hoping for views.
On Medium…
If you’re on Medium, please click to read. Not like I’m on your homepage. lol.
Scroll down a bit and click the heart, okay? You don’t even have to click 50 times. Once is great. lol. Hearts are how you say thanks around here.
Thanks! :)
xo
Linda
This is why you have to subscribe to writers by e-mail if you want to read them, because Medium's homepage reflects their interests and not ours. Typical corporate stuff.
I'm on Substack but my followers are mostly friends or people I picked up via Medium. I'd love tips on how to grow my list.