5 Ways I Am Growing As A New Writer On Medium
And How You Can Too!
Can we just talk for a minute about how daunting Medium is?
If you are anything like me you have come to Medium because you are a writer or an aspiring one. You sit down with a fresh screen, type your heart out, pour over your article for grammar errors and sentence structures, search for the perfect Unsplash photo that tells the story of your article, and finally after a painstaking amount of time hit that publish button! and then?
Cricket Noise. Cricket Noise. Cricket Noise.
I get it. It’s Frustrating. With a capital F.
As writers on Medium, it seems we are all in this giant echo chamber that only circulates clickbaity headlines of other writers telling us how they make thousands on Medium.
Can we all stop pretending the reason we are in that echo chamber isn't that the algorithm knows that we devour those kinds of articles in massive quantities?
All of us are here for different reasons, money, fame, glory? My reason is that I have words that I need to get out on a page. I write what I feel, it's cathartic for me. I also would love to have my words read by people who relate.
Something I have never settled for is the status quo. I get that it’s tough to make it on Medium but I refuse to sit around and let my words die before they are seen.
I also recognize that I need to have a strategy to grow on this platform. I don’t want to just throw words at the wall and hope they stick. I need an approach. I am a brand new writer to the platform so going forward I’m going to document my journey and what I am focusing on to grow!
In developing this strategy I draw on my experience with content creation, design, and storytelling in visual and written mediums. I am not an expert and I am not going to pretend to have all the answers but here are the five things I am going to focus on.
1. Understand The medium of Medium.
Medium is a writing platform sure, but above all, it is built for people to read and consume content. Understanding that this isn’t a blogging platform as we are used to in a traditional sense is key. I can throw my heartfelt words out there but if I am not writing with an understanding of the medium I’m delivering the words, then I am doomed right from the start.
Humans by nature like content they can digest quickly and content they can learn something from. I’ve studied the articles that quickly go viral and often they boil down to these two ideas.
Medium is not a blogging platform. At its core, it is comprised of readers who want to take something away from what they read. I need to write based on that understanding and really understand the medium of Medium.
2. Write With An Avatar In Mind.
This might be a concept that you may have never heard of. I work in Radio for my day job and something that we do is define our audience by defining a person.
Let me explain.
Think about who you want your audience to be, and actually give them a name. Write out their likes and dislikes, What kind of content they enjoy reading, and what their lifestyle is like.
For example one of my avatars is Laura.
Laura is a married 28-year-old mother of 2. She is a stay-at-home Mom who loves planning activities for her kids. She meets up with other moms for fun activities with their pre-school children. They enjoy hands-on activities and going outside. Laura reads a book a month and is always looking for ways to make daily life easier. Laura and her husband love to travel and they are foodies.
Does this make sense? Now go ahead and write 3–4 avatars. When you have the avatars defined it makes creating content for them much easier and helps you define your niche.
3. Niche Down And Get Less General
You can’t be everything for everyone. Sit down and write an old-fashioned brainstorming session. Write out all of the things you can speak to with authority.
I am a Dad, creative, writer, photographer, radio personality, radio producer, boyfriend, reader, traveller, and Disney lover.
Once you have all of those items listed, niche them down. What can you talk about in detail and write articles on about being a Dad or a Photographer? How can I serve my avatars with this type of content?
You don’t want your writing to be a catch-all publication but rather a place where people who fit within your niche will come and hopefully create community.
4. Write, Write, And Write Some More.
Please do me a favour and forget about the Medium Partner Program.
I see so many writers on this platform hung up on gaining 100 followers so they can enter the partner program. They are so hyper-focused on it that they lose track of writing meaningful content for readers who want to connect with it.
Followers will come, but if you are concentrating on just getting them by any means necessary then you are missing out on developing your craft.
I am going to aim to write one article per day. This may seem like a lot but I’m convinced that with consistency and practising my craft every single day, the followers will come. If I worry about writing content for the avatar in a niche they are looking to read then I can only grow an audience who is interested in what I am saying.
What is the point of an audience if what they read and came for isn’t reflected in the writing? Who wants an unengaged audience that only followed you because you followed them?
It is a serious commitment to write an article a day but I believe that it is possible if I make it routine.
In my notes app, I have a note that contains all of my story ideas. Story ideas come to me throughout my day and when they hit I jot them down. If my story idea lines up with my avatars and the niche they are in, then I will write it.
You don’t have to be the best writer or use the biggest words! In fact, just be yourself and use Grammarly so your grammar doesn’t stink up the joint. Heaven knows Grammarly is my crutch.
The goal this month is to get words to paper. Forget the money, forget the stats, forget the engagement, and just write and learn how to tell a good story.
5. Engage In The Community
I am a consumer of content as much as I am a writer. I came to the Medium platform as a reader first. I love to read articles about the craft of writing, being a Dad, Love, and relationships.
I love reading thought-provoking work that teaches me something new. I consume content daily, so every day I am going to set aside 15–30 minutes and genuinely read the content. When I find something that interests me I write a thoughtful and well-defined comment on the piece I’ve read.
I am not doing this purely for other writers to come read my work and follow me (although that is certainly a nice by-product) but rather to become an engaged member of the community I want to be part of. Don’t write half-thought in-genuine comments because it is a waste of time. Being actively engaged shows your readers you care.
These are the 5 actionable items I am going to actively pursue in my first month on Medium.
I have a host of other ideas I want to explore but I am hoping to get into the groove during my first month and work on understanding the platform and honing my craft.
I will continue to update my progress in the first week of every month on my journey so make sure you follow along and let me know in the comments what you’re going to work on this month in your writing journey on Medium!
Happy writing!
Do you need the motivation to take more photo memories of your kids? Check out my article that tells you the ONLY reason you NEED to take more photos of your kids!
Justin is a Dad, Partner, Content Creator, and Radio guy who lives on the east coast of Canada. He loves to tell stories through visual and written mediums. He writes about content creation, love, and being a Dad.