I hope this includes more layout options and insights data for publishers. The current limitations are understandable, but they create a ceiling that publishers will hit at a certain size — at this point, it becomes necessary to explore other options.

I like the simplicity of publishing on Medium, and it would be a pain to change. But Medium could be more publisher-friendly; this includes making it easier to find and recruit writers. Once the “request story for your publication” option was removed, for example, a big benefit of Medium (for us) disappeared overnight. That was a shame. And because there is no private messaging system, avenues for connecting publishers to writers are limited to third-party integrations that are questionable in terms of quality.

My top two enhancements requests here would be:
1. Make it easier to for publishers to directly communicate with/recruit writers and;
2. Provide more layout options for publishers (including opening up your magazine-style options to all publishers).

You’ve directly addressed the fist point in terms of your future roadmap goal on collaboration tools, which is awesome. I’m excited to see that.

But layout configurability for publishers and publisher insights are in dire need of improvement in order to keep publishers committed to the platform.