Meaningful Engagement
Beginners: Increase Followers on Medium In Six Easy and Proven Steps
Followers matter to new writers who need 100 to qualify for the Medium Partner Program. Here’s how to gain more followers meaningfully without stressing too much.
Introduction and Context
This article is context-sensitive. It aims at a particular audience, so I want to emphasize it upfront. It is different than previous articles about followers. I am inspired to write this piece based on feedback from many new writers who desire to become writing partners on this platform.
I wrote a few articles about followers versus regular readers. In those posts, I compared followers with readers and subscribers. My emphasis was on the importance of regular readers. My audience for those articles was experienced writers. In this story, I address the needs of beginners.
First, I want to highlight the importance of flexibility and adaptability for freelance writers. For example, even though one of the titles of my previous stories said, “followers don’t matter”, in fact, it does for the new writers, especially noticing new requirements for the partner program of this platform.
Keeping this requirement as the basis, I want to share my experience by guiding new writers who have under 100 followers to gain followers quickly and easily. Thus, the audience for this post is new writers who need to gain more followers and be eligible for the partner program.
These pragmatic points might be helpful for other writers who want to increase their followers meaningfully without stressing. I emphasize the term “meaningfully” because, on social media, there is a trend to follow people, which looks to be meaningless and produces adverse outcomes.
Six Easy and Effective Ways to Increase Followers
When I started on this platform in 2019, it took me around three months to gain 100 followers.
However, I had no idea of these points I suggest, so your journey can be much faster than mine if you follow these steps.
These are proven methods by many successful writers. As they are all common sense and straightforward techniques, I only highlight the key points in the following sections.
1 — Posting regularly on a variety of topics
Posting content regularly is the most important item in my experience. And posting on various topics is the next critical item to attract more readers. Thus, diversification is an excellent content marketing strategy.
When you post regularly and on various topics, your chance of finding new readers can significantly increase. So, the frequency and intensity of our posts is a critical success factors.
Furthermore, while trying multiple topics, you can also find a niche to attract a unique audience for your specialized content. In the long run, this can be a distinguishing factor for a sustainable and prosperous writing journey.
2 — Writing reasonably quality content
Readers expect quality content. You need to meet their requirements and expectations. Even though the quality is a relative term, acceptable content is common sense. For example, not many readers enjoy content full of language errors.
Structuring your ideas logically and formatting your content can make a difference too. In addition to a good description, an attractive first paragraph and a conclusive last paragraph are fundamental quality requirements.
We know that readers dislike clickbait. Perhaps they open a clickbait post once, but after that, your profile can get block-listed. In other words, most likely, that reader will not open your stories again.
I shared my perspective on the effects of clickbait in this story: I Don’t Do Clickbait & Don’t Endorse It Either.: No one enjoys deceptive, misinterpreted, sensationalized, and misleading titles.
Here is a checklist before submitting your articles to publications. You can use it before self-publishing too. Essential Checklist for Writers: Improve quality and readability of your stories.
3 — Engaging with readers and writers meaningfully
While quality, quantity, and variety of our content matter, we need to create serendipity through synergistic activities. This goal requires giving back meaningfully and generously. Giving first and expecting later is a proven growth approach.
Engaging with readers and other writers is essential on any writing and blogging platform. Understanding reader expectations requires trial and error. Your meaningful engagement can help you experiment safely.
Responding to comments in your stories in a constructive manner and leaving supportive comments in other writers’ stories can bring you serendipitous encounters. Both readers and writers appreciate acknowledgment and recognition.
Another meaningful engagement could be participating in writing prompts and challenges
4 — Using social media and blogging productively
Social media is a double-edged sword. It can create both positive and negative effects. Careless and random use of social media wastes your valuable time. In addition, they repel your followers.
However, meaningful use of social media can be beneficial to gain new followers and converting them to subscribers and regular readers.
I provide practical guidance for the effective use of social media by writers in this story: How Can Writers Use Social Media Productively? A six minute investment to productivity and desired outcomes using social media mindfully and meaningfully.
5 — Leveraging various publications
Publications bring writers and readers to one place. Many readers follow publications. Since many writers contribute to publications, their followers and readers can discover you.
Each publication has different writers and readers. Therefore, contributing to various publications can increase the chance of discovery by new readers.
You may also consider creating your own publication to showcase your expertise in your field.
6 — Using tags carefully
Content platforms use tags to distribute content to the readers.
Tags also help you gain top writer status if you keep using the same tags frequently and when your stories gain significant readers. Here is a guide showing how to become a top writer in a short time: How To Become A Top Writer In Three Months: An experience-based practical guide for new writers on Medium.
I highlighted the importance of tags in this article, so I will not repeat them. Smart Use of Tags for Better Content Findability, Visibility, & Readability “Tags are replacing topic pages”: Tips to writers and readers to get best out of new features.
These techniques not only increase your followers but also can help you gain more readers and subscribers. With regular readers, you can earn more income from your content.
Medium now has a new distribution approach called BOOSTING. If you want to learn more about it, I documented my initial findings, perspectives, and personal experiences in an article presenting it in a checklist format for new writers.
New Writers: Enhance the Chance of Boosting via This Quality Checklist
Conclusions
A concerted effort on these six items can help you gain new followers. When you get your 100 followers, it is time to transform these followers into your regular readers. I guided you with these stories.
The best method to keep your regular readers is the subscription model. This approach can help you find ways to attract your followers and occasional readers to become subscribers. As a writer, our ultimate goal is to find loyal readers who can advocate our profiles and content.
Here is the story to provide you with guidance on this. 8 Proven Tips to Build a Rock-Solid Reading Audience: A game-changing strategy for freelance writers to turn loyal readers into advocates for sustainable business outcomes.
We might be writing about exciting and important topics with high-quality and stylish content. However, if we don’t have loyal readers, our content does not mean much. In other words, unless we transform our regular readers into our advocates, it is not possible to scale and grow sustainably.
A crucial factor in gaining regular readers is to satisfy their requirements and expectations. With this strategic approach, we can retain our readers and establish a sustainable reader base.
What can we do to satisfy our readers? First, we must accept that readers are humans. They have requirements and expectations. They want to get the value of our content. So we need to keep in mind what value our content can produce for the reader.
Our growth mindset as a writer means being open and adaptable by tolerating uncertainty can bring excellent value propositions for our growth in the writing journey. Freelance writers need to think and act like entrepreneurs. Let’s keep in mind that manifestation starts with uncertainty and ambiguity.
Additional Guiding Stories for Freelance Writers
Sample Health Improvement Articles for New Readers
I aim to increase the hormonal intelligence of my readers and write about various hormones and neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, GABA, acetylcholine, norepinephrine, adrenaline, glutamate, and histamine.
One of my goals as a writer is to raise awareness about the causes and risk factors of prevalent diseases that can lead to suffering and death for a large portion of the population.
To raise awareness about health issues, I have written several articles that present my holistic health findings from research, personal observations, and unique experiences. Below are links to these articles for easy access.
Metabolic Syndrome, Type II Diabetes, Fatty Liver Disease, Heart Disease, Strokes, Obesity, Liver Cancer, Autoimmune Disorders, Homocysteine, Lungs Health, Pancreas Health, Kidneys Health, NCDs, Infectious Diseases, Brain Health, Dementia, Depression, Brain Atrophy, Neonatal Disorders, Skin Health, Dental Health, Bone Health, Leaky Gut, Leaky Brain, Brain Fog, Chronic Inflammation, Insulin Resistance, Elevated Cortisol, Leptin Resistance, Anabolic Resistance, Cholesterol, High Triglycerides, Metabolic Disorders, Gastrointestinal Disorders, and Major Diseases.
I also wrote about valuable nutrients. Here are the links for easy access:
Lutein/Zeaxanthin, Phosphatidylserine, Boron, Urolithin, taurine, citrulline malate, biotin, lithium orotate, alpha-lipoic acid, n-acetyl-cysteine, acetyl-l-carnitine, CoQ10, PQQ, NADH, TMG, creatine, choline, digestive enzymes, magnesium, zinc, hydrolyzed collagen, nootropics, pure nicotine, activated charcoal, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B1, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine, and other nutrients to improve metabolism and mental health.
Disclaimer: Please note that my posts do not include professional or health advice. I document my reviews, observations, experience, and perspectives only to provide information and create awareness.
I publish my lifestyle, health, and well-being stories on EUPHORIA. My focus is on metabolic, cellular, mitochondrial, and mental health. Here is my collection of Insightful Life Lessons from Personal Stories.
If you enjoy writing and storytelling, you can join Medium, NewsBreak, and Vocal as a creator to find your voice, reach out to a broad audience, and monetize your content.
You may also check my blog posts about my articles and articles of other writers contributing to my publications on Medium. I share them on my website digitalmehmet.com. Here is my professional bio. You can contact me via weblink.
As a writer, blogger, content developer, and reader, you might join Medium, Vocal Media, NewsBreak, Medium Writing Superstars, Writing Paychecks, WordPress, and Thinkers360 with my referral links. This post includes affiliate links.
You might join my six publications on Medium as a writer by sending a request via this link. 21K+ writers contribute to my publications. You might find more information about my professional background.
If you enjoy reading, you may join Medium with my referral link for limitless access to my stories and other writers.
