I know your pain. Thomas. My top story viewed ever has nearly 2,000 views over about a 3 month period and it hasn't even earned $1 yet. As you mention, this particular story got external views when I paid a $5 Fiverr gig provider to drop a link on their blog. The story is about healthy smoothies and the blog is a food blog with a large audience. Apparently they're not Medium members though :-(