Dear future traveler
Validating the Journey. The roadblocks you need to know
Dear future traveler, if you are reading this post is because you are wandering the roads, I wandered time before you got to this point of your journey. I decided to leave behind this note so fellows like you could find some guidance to properly walk the path to the most wanted target set in this platform. This is a story, that isn’t short, do not try to skip anything. Just enjoy it and take your own decisions.
Let me tell you, my story. As much of new medium explorers, just like you, I joined Medium with a lot of expectations on creating a community of readers but while doing the journey, I set the target to learn from this experience. I joined Medium on January 23, 2022, impregned of enthusiasm I spent time setting up my profile properly before any other activity. My next step was a reach on the web on how to be successful as a medium writer, from which I filled my pack with a diversity of great tips that will ease my race to conquer the platform.
As my journey experience is focused on learning and experimentation, I have decided to validate all those good tips found on Medium and other content media. To make the long story short, those tips brought me here. By when I wrote this note I only had 29 followers while I was following 74. That represents a conversion rate of 38%. Not good enough right, let me tell you how I got to this point.
Validating the first recommended strategy — Write Content
Despite starting the blog on January 23, I launched my first article (Bluehost Review: The Best Host for Your Site?) by January the 30th followed by 4 additional posts shot on January the 1st and then 5 other topics posted daily to get my first 10 pos on February the 6th. By that time, I have collected valuable information to confirm that Posting content only was not the right approach for a quick start-up. By that time none of the posts have received a single attempt of a visit. That was perfect for me, so much information to infer that Posting keyword-formatted content won’t get you to meet the target of either getting 100 followers in 24 hours or in a week. Dude, get focused, in your start creating lots of content won’t get you anywhere in the short term. for the short term, this strategy conversion rate is 0%.
Validating second recommended strategy — Follows, Comment and Clap.
Well, well, well kind of tricky strat. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of this combined strategy, I decided to test each action separately and as a combo. Time is running, I am on February the 15th, with no evidence of a living soul or curious sniffing into my posts. Seriously, I have 13 articles posted, I could use all that time to focus on validating other strategies.
Scenario 1 — Clap+Coment+Follow. Feb. 15, 15min to midnight, I decided to randomly choose writers offering help to get the golden target of 100 followers and started to clap, comment, and follow the first 5 prospects. This time my comments were formatted following a great post recommendation from Ayoub Bouamri, a great writer I found on this platform. I recommend you to follow him, you will find many great articles in his blog.
Ups, my next day morning surprise, first follower hit in my blog. Set my road to work, and 4 new followers garnishing my profile pic. Too soon to get a judgment on this strategy. Feb. 16 to Feb. 18 at a rate of 10 Clap, Comment, and Follow my new follower audience rate 28 out of 34 attempts. This is fair, I can for a sure state that this strategy works. following this strat you can get conversion rates of approximately 80%. I am amazed, my blog shows a performance of 82% (28 followers / 34 follows).
Scenario 2 — Clap+Follow. Feb. 19, 5:00 AM, as no comment will be added, the number of followers-catch attempts was increased, but this time following the recommendation of inviting the followers of our target candidate — Only Clap+Follow. Disappointing results, by noon my blog performance was 39%, (29 followers / 74 follows). Dear traveler, I guess there is no need to tell you this is a bad strategy, right? The day is over, I went overnight waiting for this score to change with no success. Tomorrow will be another day, no rush.
Scenario 3 — Clap+Comment. Dear traveler, if your journey is powered by the fuel of urgency, this strategy is not for you. Don’t waste your time trying. My experience so far. By Feb 19, 15 out of 54 followers conversion attempts under this strategy yielded 1 conversion out of 15, for short-term effectiveness of 6%. Take away from this strategy “follow request will yield follow request” Make sure you always give the first step.
Scenario 4 — Clap+Comment writers under and over the targetted 100. Dear readers, today Saturday (Feb. 20) I Woke up early morning and set the baseline for the test. A balanced 20X20 trial is sent to two target groups. The day was young and I had no rush my main objective is learning from what would come out. It’s Saturday is my day with so this computer must be shut down.
When things don't work, having an app is like paying your sins on earth. I got a taste of the frustrations many of you express all around the platform. It was a long day to double confirm that the strategy performance in scenario 3 is a fact. Don’t waste your time trying. My experience so far. By Jan 19, 15 out of 54 followers conversion attempts under this strategy yielded 1 conversion out of 40 attempts in a 16hrs timeframe. Disappointing but need to move on.
I decided to extend the test to the next day 7:00 am exactly 9hrs, valid for the other face of the glove proving the initial test is wrong. Amazingly I enjoyed receiving amazing, unbelievable, and astonishing 0% conversion efficiency — No clap, no follows, no views. That is when I decided is time for the big move. Lets fuel strategy #2 (scenario 2).
Scenario 5— The secret sauce is in the way and order you execute the steps.
It is a short Monday, with many activities with friends and family. It is early morning 6:00 am, and I count on just two hours to set the strategy and moved forward. After planning and recording the baseline (My stats at Feb 20, 6:30 AM — 30 followers/143 following, 93 views, 17 reads, 25 fans, only two posts with views). My day with family and friends was long, times to turn off my cellphone was needed to stop the continuous buzzing of entry notifications. found some time to interact with many of the new people coming to my radar that day.
Sunday is dying and the count down to make it to the 100 was set. My blog was, now, scoring over the baseline (My stats at Feb 20, 6:30 AM — 91 followers/186 following, 187 views, 68 reads, 52 fans, 14 out of 16 posts now in the spotlight). I cannot complain about the results, but the tic-toc count down to meet the goal that would be defined by those where the sun was rising to shine a new day.
Deare reader, if you are at this line of the reading you are now aware of what works what doesn’t. of course, you still have not the secret sauce details but is something you get soon. Please, just focus on what added value from this post. If these posts hit you clap and follow me (EffiMedia).
Takeaways
We all start this journey with a lot of expectations but phew with a clear plan. The light at the end of the tunnel is not really bright for every on. Rushing the process is not the right way and enclosing dangers hidden to our eyes. through this journey, I have met many people, great writers, and countless valuable content that struggles to break through, but also numerous stories of deception and frustrations when realizing that when the 100 is made, the journey just begins.
My highly valued reader, this post does not stop here, I am writing a new post describing how to run the route to the 100 followers, smartly within the norms, and the right way to build over your foundations.
EffiMedia (Just follow me if you like this post)
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EffiMedia is a full-service and content management solution’s provider that helps entrepreneurs in the digital transformation journey.
