Speaking from experience, don’t assume that low engagement is bad. Compared to many here, I have low engagement stories, yet when compared to those with high engagement, my returns from stories are double or triple to theirs. Not saying this to brag, rather to highlight that many subscribers who just come to read and don’t care about the community aspect, will just read and move on. I have minimal interaction with other writers here too, and it has never hurt my visibility on the platform. I also see some new writers do well here with minimal interaction with others. I don’t dispute that there is a category of Medium writers who find a strong correlation between engagement and success, but I feel it’s a red herring path.