That’s life. A high is usually followed by a low. I’ve been noticing that right at this moment. After a few weeks of high and steadily increasing view counts, they went down. Cut in half within a week basically. Why is that? Let’s explore!
It’s not the algorithm
I could blame the algorithm. But it’s not that. Despite one change in my stats last week, everything else has stayed the same. The number of views most of my stories get, my posting schedule, my topics (more or less), and my engagement on and off the platform have been similar. What else could it be?
Is it my writing then
Well, I hope it’s not, but this could be the case. It’s always a possibility. However, since I haven’t changed much over the last few weeks, I don’t expect it to be the reason. Better yet, I know it’s not the reason.
I still get around the same number of comments, claps, fans, and reads on most of my stories that I had gotten the past couple of months prior to this downshift in views.
It was foreseeable
I’ll tell you the truth. I knew this would happen. It was foreseeable because it’s the result of an unexpected sensation. What was that?
It was my first real “viral” article on this platform. Just recently, I wrote a shortform story called “What’s viral” where I explored the definition of a viral post on this platform. I’ve heard from numerous writers that they consider 1000, 2000, or 3000 views a “viral” post. Until then, I didn’t. I had a number of posts with views in the lower thousands and hadn’t considered any of them viral.
Just before that post, however, I experienced what virality meant for me. A then-recent story of mine garnered 10,000 views within a week. After a slowish start, I wasn’t expecting that at all. Afterward, though, I immediately knew that this high view count would mean two things:
- Getting the June bonus.
- Inevitably lower views after the initial period of virality
Both of these things happened shortly after.
Closing
So, this is the reason my views were cut in half within the last 7 days. It’s nothing bad. If anything, it’s great because it’s the result of my first “viral” post. Or at least of what I would consider a viral post in relation to my usual stats. I’m freaking happy about that.
What’s next? Chasing another viral post? I don’t think so. I usually don’t write just for virality, although I would lie if I said it wasn’t on my mind. It will be even more often from now on. This won’t hold me back though. It’s motivating. You have to be patient and consistent to succeed on this site.
I’ll keep on writing.
