Member-only story
I Lost 35 Followers on Medium Overnight
Am I Doing Something Wrong?
Before I went to bed last night, I had 390 followers on Medium, only to wake up to 355. Uh… what? Yes, I’m a small account trying to grow, and I know I’m not the only one who tracks their followers. Seeing that number go up — even by just one — makes me happy. Every new follower is a step closer to my goal. (I set a monthly follower goal to keep myself motivated.)
This isn’t the first time this has happened. In my early days on Medium, I noticed a huge drop in followers. At the time, I was just two weeks postpartum, so I assumed I had miscounted. I was dealing with a lot and wasn’t very active on the platform. But after that, I decided to keep better track of my numbers so I could notice any changes, whether positive or negative.
Two months later, I woke up to 35 fewer followers. Oh my! I was worried, upset, and confused. I also noticed that the number of accounts I followed had dropped from 820 to 804.
At first, I thought I had broken some Medium rule or that my writing no longer resonated with my audience. I can’t even count the number of times I reread my own articles, questioning their credibility and value. It was devastating.
Later, I learned that losing followers on Medium is common. However, there are a few reasons this happens — and ways…