3 Questions All Medium Writers Should Answer

Skip the confusion and build your audience with confidence.

Just like most writers, I started my writing journey without a proper plan or specific goals. I discovered that I could easily share my thoughts by publishing articles online, and so I did.

Luckily, my persistence allowed me to reach millions of readers over the last few years. Yet, it didn’t start that way.

I published my first article on Medium in 2018 and wrote over 150 posts without seeing the results I desired.

Looking back, I know why I struggled so much: I had no idea how to write, I didn’t understand the dynamics of the platform, and I didn’t know how to properly communicate my ideas.

But on top of that, there are three questions I wish I had answered before I started to write on Medium:

What do I bring to the table?

This question could be the solution to one of Medium’s biggest problems: Low-quality content.

I see SO many writers who join Medium and the Partner Program just because it’s easy.

They’re not passionate about writing and don’t even know what to write about. They just show up, publish stories, and expect to get paid for their work.

But here’s the harsh truth: If you don’t know what value you bring to the table (aka to the platform and its readers), it’ll be hard for anyone else to understand why they should follow, read, and appreciate your work.

To build a significant audience, you need to be crystal clear about the value you provide through each of your stories.

There are two different approaches to answering this question:

• You can have a value proposition that’s valid for everything you publish.
• Or you think about the value of each piece you publish separately.

The more specific you are, the larger your audience can be because you’ll be able to speak directly to someone you can actually help (or entertain).

And trust me, I know how scary this might sound.

Most online writers don’t want to be specific because they think it’s going to limit their reach.

Yet, the truth is the opposite.

If you try to speak to everyone, you’ll end up reaching no one.

The more specific you are, the easier it is to serve your readers.

And that’s what successful online writing is all about: You’re either educating or entertaining your audience. Both approaches are based on providing value.

So here are a few questions that might help you figure out what you’re bringing to the table/to Medium:

• What are your past experiences?
• Why are you qualified to write about a certain topic/subject?
• Why is your work worth reading?

Sometimes, answering these questions might be simple. Other times, you might need to spend a little more time thinking about the answers.

You don’t necessarily need to be an “expert” to write about a topic, but you do need a valid reason to write what you write.

Otherwise, it’ll be hard to convince readers that your work is worth their time and attention.

When I started to write on Medium, I was summarizing the content of my workshops.

I was hosting live events for students to teach important life skills we usually don’t learn at school.

I’m a certified trainer and have worked with hundreds of people before I started to write.

When I write an article about habits, I don’t just summarize what I’ve read elsewhere. I know what the biggest struggles of most people are because I’ve spent hundreds of hours engaging in real conversations and providing solutions to achieve tangible results.

Once I reached significant success as a writer, I started to write about writing too.

And again, I was able to provide first-hand information and data because I was a successful writer myself.

Yet, my content is specific because I can’t help all writers.

I can’t help you write a bestselling book.

Or start your own blog.

Or drive traffic through SEO.

I can’t help you because I haven’t done any of that myself.

But I’m reaching millions of readers by writing on Medium and have made over $100,000 through the Partner Program. So if that sounds sexy to you, I can help because I know how.

You get the point, right?

So once again, what do you bring to the table?

Are you an expert on a specific topic?

Are you an emotional and sensitive person who’s able to communicate clearly?

Are you a funny writer who’s able to make readers laugh?

Are you providing clear and simple instructions on a topic a lot of people struggle with?

Be clear about it. Answer the question for yourself. And once you have the answer ready, share it with the world.

What do I expect?

The second question is at least as important as the first one and equally underrated.

Over the last two years, I supported hundreds of writers in growing their audience on Medium.

And I found that most of them fall into one of two categories: Some writers have ridiculous expectations while others have no expectations at all.

So here’s the truth: If you write on Medium because you’ve seen a bunch of articles or videos about how to make a lot of money here, you’ll be disappointed.

Medium isn’t (and has never been) a place to quickly make some extra money.

You could theoretically hit a home run, and one of your first articles could go viral and generate thousands of dollars, but it’s unlikely.

Instead, Medium is a platform that allows you to gradually build a sustainable audience and get paid for your work.

It’s a long-term game and requires you to do the work before you can make a significant amount of money.

And it frustrates me how so many people think that’s “unfair” and how they want to make more money faster.

Nobody would pay you to do something you suck at.

As a new writer, the odds are high that your writing sucks.

I’m not saying that to discourage you but to help you see the truth.

My first pieces sucked because I had no idea how to write.

Over time, I became better because I spent hundreds of hours studying how to write better articles.

There are very few people who spent as much time figuring out “how Medium works” as I did. And there are even fewer people who made more money through the Partner Program over the last 2.5 years than I did.

When I first started to write on Medium, I didn’t have any expectations at all.

I just liked the idea of sharing my knowledge with the world without any extra work like setting up a website or doing SEO.

But when I decided to write for a living, I did have expectations.

I knew I wanted to make a living by writing online, but contrary to most writers, I was also willing to do whatever it takes, which brings me to the third question:

What am I willing to give? (And how?)

When I decided to write for a living, I was clear about what I was willing to give: I was ready to write every single day.

I stopped all other projects and made sure I had time to write an article per day until I reached my desired level of success.

So I wrote every day and spent the remaining time learning how to be a better writer.

And trust me, massive action paired with intentional action is a solid foundation for achieving great things quickly.

So here’s how my plan played out:

Within four months, I went from being a frustrated writer to making almost five figures per month.

After February, I slowed down and started to write less because I now had a solid foundation and proof that my strategy was working.

When I start a new project and honestly believe in it, I’m willing to go all-in because I know that’s the most effective way to get feedback quickly.

I don’t just want to “give it a try” and “see how it goes.”

Nope.

I want to go all-in and see how far I can take it. By doing that, one of two things happens:

• My plan works out.
• Or I find out it doesn’t work the way I expected, and I need to consider whether it’s worth continuing or if I want to quit and move on.

Final thoughts

Even though I wish I had answered these questions before starting to write on Medium, I strongly believe they can be useful to writers at any stage.

If you’re not where you want to be yet, you might still be missing a proper answer to at least one of the three questions:

• What do you bring to the table? What’s the value you create for your readers? Why should anyone spend time reading your stories?
• What do you expect? If you want specific results, be clear about your expectations. That’s the only way to measure results and draw meaningful conclusions.
• What are you willing to give? How often/how much are you willing to write? How much time are you willing to invest in improving your writing?

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