I noticed an interesting thing in my Medium stats. Most of the stories that paid best have some element of negativity or controversy in the title. For example, here’s some of my top stories, in random order...
I think the majority of my top ones aren't negative. Many are humor, some are just curious. Like "Undeniable Evidence of Angels" and "No One Knew I was Married for 13 Years."
My top read story of all time is "Never Write Wash Me on a Dusty Vehicle."
I think with all those titles people were just curious.
Well, I've had four Medium posts published in the past week-and-a-half (a record for me) and one post is getting more views & member read time than the other three combined, lol.
Here are the headlines. I wonder if you can figure out which one is dominating the views and the member reading time:
"Publishers (Including Self-Published Authors) Need This Book’s Message"
"Even This Book’s Mistakes Show You How to Write Better Blurbs"
"This Book Flopped. Seize Its Bestseller Insights Anyway."
"The Reader Is the Main Character"
(In retrospect, one of these headlines feels weak... but that one has only the 2nd worst stats, not ~the~ worst, lol)
Before retiring, I was a publicist for the arts...and I was always pitching editors stories about my clients. The key was the email subject line. If the subject line lost them - they'd hit the delete key in less than a heartbeat! Ditto, titles on Medium.
Have you ever read Viktor Frankl's book, Man's Search For Meaning? He talks in depth about the one trait that told him who was most likely to survive Auschwitz. It was fascinating. :)
I think the majority of my top ones aren't negative. Many are humor, some are just curious. Like "Undeniable Evidence of Angels" and "No One Knew I was Married for 13 Years."
My top read story of all time is "Never Write Wash Me on a Dusty Vehicle."
I think with all those titles people were just curious.
So the top one starts with "never" which pushes that hot button. The rest are curiosity for sure. You do curiosity well, for sure. :)
I did scroll through my Medium list of heavy hitters and about 50% of them could be considered negative leaning titles.
lol. I clearly need to do more of that. Too many duds lately. Though I've only posted 3 times in May and it's the 20th, so that doesn't help.
You're not alone!!! I've also only posted 3 times in May.
Well, I've had four Medium posts published in the past week-and-a-half (a record for me) and one post is getting more views & member read time than the other three combined, lol.
Here are the headlines. I wonder if you can figure out which one is dominating the views and the member reading time:
"Publishers (Including Self-Published Authors) Need This Book’s Message"
"Even This Book’s Mistakes Show You How to Write Better Blurbs"
"This Book Flopped. Seize Its Bestseller Insights Anyway."
"The Reader Is the Main Character"
(In retrospect, one of these headlines feels weak... but that one has only the 2nd worst stats, not ~the~ worst, lol)
Before retiring, I was a publicist for the arts...and I was always pitching editors stories about my clients. The key was the email subject line. If the subject line lost them - they'd hit the delete key in less than a heartbeat! Ditto, titles on Medium.
I read somewhere that pessimists survive captivity better than optimists do.
Have you ever read Viktor Frankl's book, Man's Search For Meaning? He talks in depth about the one trait that told him who was most likely to survive Auschwitz. It was fascinating. :)
That book is likely the source of my information. I’ll check it out. 🙏🏻