This story: https://medium.com/new-writers-welcome/evie-the-perfect-rescue-dog-a3a1cbb7d4f2

has so far generated 42k views and 18.7k reads. Mostly external. I've made $3.62.

There should be a threshold that when met, they recognize the value in your having driven traffic to the platform.

Plus, there's no guarantee that any of the 42,000 people I drew to the platform will be reading one of my stories if/when they sign up.

On the plus side, I have gained 60-ish followers, 23 email subscribers, and 1 member, but ... $3.62?