The only use for the views count is to compare it to the reads count. If you have a high view count in relation to your read count, it means your title is better than your story or that your story fails to live up to the promise of your title. The number of followers (unless it's huge), the publication, the number of stories you've published, and number of views has little impact on earnings. Comments help, because the more people engage, the better the story does. At the end of the day, you only make money if people want to read what you've written. I've made over $2,600 on one story. Others make only pennies. You can't game this system. It's a combination of skill, intuition, and luck, with skill taking a backseat.