4 Easy Things You’re Neglecting That Will Attract Readers

A quick few extra steps will give you a huge increase.

I analyzed 16 articles, including one from a writer with over 100 million views, and I found four simple things that will turn your writing around and attract tons more readers. This isn’t clickbait; I’m about to offer you proof.

But, first, I have two things that will help promote your stories:

• A contest. We’re looking for 100 different stories from 100 different writers — the hook: all based on the same tale.
• Free promotion. I want to look at your articles, and then talk about them. Here. YouTube. Facebook. Hell, maybe I’ll get a Netflix special. Doubtful, but let’s shoot for the moon.

No need to scroll — here’s your takeaways

If you benefit from this, scroll down, drop some comments or claps, or join my mailing list. It’s all love, friends.

I’ll talk nuances below and include some fantastic illustrations and printable tools, but if you only get these things from this article, it is worth your time:

1. Reply to comments on your posts. Most important. Hardly anyone does it.
2. Set up your About Me story and pin it to your profile.
3. Include more of yourself in your articles. Not just in your writing, but with pictures and art.
4. Don’t stop writing — also the most important.

There are a LOT more tips in this article, which I’ll summarize at the end, including a YouTube video. In the meantime, did someone say infographic?

Breaking Down Articles — More Advice

Publications

If you have 13 followers, I highly encourage you to submit to some publications. What publication to submit to? Easy, follow Casey Botticello’s publication list.

Speaking of 13 followers, everyone here should follow Dylan Hackett. Let’s get that follower count above 13. I love Dylan’s use of art. Who would imagine garlic could be so mesmerizing?

There are no hard and fast rules to self-publishing or sending your work to a publisher. I’ve seen articles go viral and show up in trending from self-published authors with under 500 followers.

Some prominent publications automatically distribute (curate) your article. They also have many readers (but don’t be deceived by follower count or subscribers; you should aim for engagement to increase read time).

In someone like Charlifestyle, I suggest partnering with a publication that matches the niche. In this case, cinema and entertainment. (I LOVE Queen’s Gambit!)

Sidenote/tip: Always attribute your photo; include SEO details.

If you want to see some writers that got it right with the big publications, check out these:

• Reo, in The Ascent, regarding learning to care for herself while caring for her sick parent. She made it personal, had a great headline, and a great opening hook.
• Michael Burg, MD, in MuddUm, a hilarious piece about sending a Tweet to Michelle Obama.
• Josef Cruz, in In Fitness and Health, talking about 5 habits that helped him drop 20 pounds. (I would have loved pictures!)

I’ve seen articles go viral and trend in all three of those publications (meaning articles that made over $1,000). Keep posting to those publications.

Formatting

A lot of what you do is an art. I’ve seen great writers that would flourish if they added a little extra pizzaz to their work.

Consider Louisa Oliveros, who wrote this 17-minute-read with a ton of excellent life applications and insights. A few subheadings would make it all pop.

Speaking of subheadings, Justin Jones Li wrote this article about buying his first home at 25. Congrats, Justin! Notice on the subtitles, they are bold, but you can select those titles, right-click, and choose “T” while in draft mode. Make it pop!

Rabia Zulfqar wrote a self-help piece about stopping being worried about anything. A few formatting notes here:

1. Run headlines through an analyzer. Here’s one that looks at engagement, SEO, and capitalizations.
2. If you provide advice in lengthy sections, put a quick application summary at the end of each one.
3. Summarize with the takeaways at the end.

If you want to look at someone that has pizzaz with formatting, check out Aimée Gramblin. Her piece is real art, in both writing and style. She mixes narrative and poetry and uses an assortment of formatting.

Sidenote/tip: If you don’t want extra space between your lines, hold “shift” and hit “enter.” This keeps things single space.

A Little Finesse

This next sentence is key to understanding Medium:

Medium is a social network for artists who like to tell stories.

K.B. Hubbard realizes this. Aside from sharing his struggles to make a decent cup of Joe, he includes images of weaponized coffee cups. But it is more than that. He replies to comments and comments on other artists’ works.

That’s where I think someone like Shamar M can shine because I see there’s an artist ready to explode. Like this article about her getting a Kindle for her birthday…tell us more about you, Shamar. Who got it for you? What books spark your fire?

Tyler Zimmerman has the right idea, calling out another writer on Medium for an article that made him think. The only issue is that Niklas Göke will NEVER respond to Tyler (besides Nikos not replying to comments on his own articles, you can tell his engagement by looking at his 84,000 followers compared to the 64 people he is following).

And do you know who is killing it in the community? PlainTalkBadManners. She is continually engaging with other writers. You’ll often see her in the comments section of many articles. Give her some love.

The MOST, MOST, MOST Important thing

When you realize that Medium is a social network for artists that enjoy telling stories, you will remain writing here. If you are chasing followers or money, your throat will run dry, and you’ll quit.

Tim Denning has over 100,000 million views on his work, and as far as I can tell, makes over $30,000/mo on writing here on Medium. He’s been writing since 2012. His advice: keep writing. He talks about this in his recent article, where almost every other writer stops.

How do you keep writing? Look at Kevin Alexander, who tried several times before getting into the habit. Do something every day to keep the juices flowing. He talks about a cool tool: authorcise.

Write because you want to write, and then share because you want to connect. Keep sharing, and you’ll eventually connect. You’ll speed up the process by reaching out and connecting with others.

Summary Video — 5 Minutes

Things for Your Toolbox

Here’s the summary of everything, plus a bonus. To start you have the 4 essentials:

1. Reply to comments.
2. Do an About Me story.
3. Include more of yourself.
4. Don’t stop.

Here’s the bonus, from Sean Kernan, whose articles never get less than 1k claps or 10 comments: make the audience curious. I even ripped off (with his permission) cheat sheet for you:

Even with 32,000 followers, Sean often replies to his comments. Good job, Sean! If you don’t have 32,000 followers are aren’t replying to comments…do it!

Here are the other helpful things I discussed in this article:

• Use a headline analyzer, such as this one.
• Keep writing. Do it as a social thing. Make it a game. Whatever it takes. Don’t do it for money or views.
• If you are starting out, submit to pubs to build traction. Otherwise, you can go “viral” with or without them.

I DARE YOU!

Here are four things that I would love to see from you:

• Submit a story to the 100 Stories challenge.
• Go here and link an article I can promote for you.
• Connect with me on Twitter: @LifeIsPresence.
• Join my mailing list (I promise — no selling!!)

Thanks for reading. I appreciate you!