There appears to be an assumption here - that there are a relatively even flow of readers moving across the Medium pages looking for articles to read. So, that in the initial few seconds your article has as good a chance of being read as a nearby one. I wonder about this. I believe those authors with high numbers have "direct access" readers, meaning readers looking for them already and not just randomly strolling through pages.

Don't get me wrong, I liked all 15 of your points very much - just feel that the starting point is different for many writers within Medium.

Sometimes my read ration to views is quite good - others times, not so much. So, improvement is needed. But views is the starting point. If I get 98% of 76 views that's pretty good. But it's still only 76 views. That number too will ultimately impact read times and earnings.

Appreciate your thoughts here. 👍