I Write About Vocal on Medium

I started my blogging journey in September 2020 on Medium. I like Medium because I'm learning a lot from my readings on the platform. I’m also free to share my thoughts. I gained virtual friend-followers. We support each other by giving claps and comments to each other's stories.

I'm happy on Medium but I felt like a lost newbie in a crowd of expert writers. When they begin to talk about their "curated" stories and their earnings, I felt like retreating to my cocoon.

For motivation, my self-talk consists of telling myself that I'm still in my "infancy" in blogging and I have to learn as much as I could. I then experimented with different writing techniques and I tried my best to write every day. Still, nothing changed and I still tag myself as a newbie.

In December, I learned about Vocal and I started sharing some of my Medium stories. I did get some reads. Hence, I have written this on Medium: If You Want More Exposure For Your Stories, Share It On Vocal. I got 5 thank you responses telling me that they'll go and check Vocal.

To make the story complete and give my friends quick information on how to go about with Vocal, I have written 8 Things You Need To Know When Sharing Your Medium Story On Vocal the day after I have written my first Vocal story.

I then went on with the routine of writing and sharing stories on Vocal. To my surprise, the stories that got measly views on Medium went on to garner more reads on Vocal. There was even one story that got only 21 reads and $0.58 earnings on Medium that was included on Vocal's top stories and earned me a tip.

It was 14 January 2021 when I was able to crack the code with Vocal. The number of reads on one of my stories on Vocal even surpassed my monthly views on Medium. On Medium, "views" is not equal to "reads".

Usually, my "reads" is only 50% of my "views". And on Medium, a story earn based on reads. But the paid reads are more restrictive, that is, reads from paying members only.

What do the pictures tell me?

They told me that I'm not a bad writer after all. Hence, I went on and wrote another story on Medium:

I told my friends on Medium not to get disheartened when we get low reads. The low reads do not always mean that our writings suck. It can be that we are just in the wrong place. It can be due to an audience mismatch.

I only said we are at the wrong place. Not "wrong place at the wrong time" because there is no wrong time for writing. The right time for writing is any time.

I told my friends not to give up. They have to keep writing because someone out there may be longing for their thoughts. Their stories are sure to inspire a soul in this wide world. The problem is, that person may not be on Medium.

Hence, they have to explore other sites. Medium is not the world. But it is a world composed of a lot of struggling writers. We write our heart out, research, give all our efforts at writing. Then it turns out we only get measly 10 to 20 reads, mostly from friends, and get paid around a 1/10 of a dollar. I'm still on that level on Medium.

Since, I was getting a better experience on Vocal, I told my friends about it. How I was accepted by the platform for who I am and what I write. I mentioned the tips and straightforward earnings computation.

On Vocal, I didn't have to pretend and blend into the crowd. My writings were welcome. They are reviewed by friendly moderators and put into appropriate "communities".

I didn't change anything about my writing. I am just me. I was the same Olivia Marlene from Medium. But on Vocal, I felt loved and accepted. my stories were given justice and dignity.

I realized that I was wrong in putting myself down because of the measly reads on Medium. I thought I suck. I thought I was no good. But the truth is I was good as how I am.

There are factors that affect reception to your writing. So keep writing. Give it time to grow. And EXPLORE.

Thank you Vocal for bringing back my confidence and more thank you's for connecting me to my true audience. In return, I will continue to spread the word. Let Vocal be known. Let Vocal shine better and brighter.

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The quoted stories are owned by the author and originally published on Medium.com