7 Proven Methods to Get More Clicks on Your Medium Articles

They are easy to implement and have a huge impact on your success!

Introduction

In the last months, I started writing on Medium. While doing this I tried to improve my marketing to reach more people with my texts. In this article, I want to share with you my findings that helped me to increase my views and my following. I especially tried to follow my own rules in this article (at least most of them). So, let’s start with the fun!

Table of Contents

1. Find Matching Communities
2. Write Listicles
3. Clear Title
4. Interesting Preview Image
5. Post Regularly
6. Publications
7. The Boost

Conclusion

1. Find Matching Communities

Authors who promote their article through social media, through email, to their followers, and on publications are now more likely to get their article picked up for a boost. — Tony Stubblebine (Medium CEO)

For every subject on the internet, there is a community that would love to read more about this topic. If you think your topic is too special check out the Birds with Arms community which is a community that posts (as you have probably guessed) birds with arms that has over a million followers on Reddit. For my programming articles about Flutter, this is relatively easy. I normally promote them through Reddit (there is a Subreddit for everything), LinkedIn (good for everything that at least looks on the surface professional), and Facebook groups (which I thought would be dead).

There are lots of other groups available which make sense for other topics. Maybe Instagram, Twitter, or any other social media platform. I suggest trying different platforms and seeing what fits best for you because, as you can see from Tony Stubblebine’s post, Medium rewards external views with internal views. So if your article gets clicked more often from external links it will most often also get more internal links.

2. Write Listicles

From my personal experience, listicles perform extremely well. People love listicles which is also partly backed by science which is nicely covered in this article. You know what you get, you can easily overview the points that are important for you, you have a sense of progress, and much more. Very often you find listicles under the most popular articles on Medium. And while they click well and get added to reading lists more often, they are normally less work for the author as well. So try out some listicles to boost your clicks and your output!

3. Clear Title

I checked today's staff picks from Medium (24.05.2023):

• The Tricky Business of Leading Teams
• The Death of the Mid-Budget Movie
• A Tough Covid Challenge: Reinforcing Our Wall of Immunity

The topics are really diverse but what they all have in common is that their titles are really clear. You are interested in learning more about how to lead teams? Then the first one is clearly for you. You are interested in movies and especially non-Hollywood production? Then the second one sounds great. Try to find a convenient title that sounds interesting and directly shows the targeted audience. For more information about how to use magnet words and further tricks like directly speaking to the reader, I recommend this and this article.

4. Interesting Preview Image

The title and the preview image form a unit together when you post your article on social media. Most people do not even read your title but continue scrolling if the image does not interest them. Therefore, I recommend using interesting pictures that catch the reader’s attention so that you afterward have a chance to convince them with your content. I would recommend something extraordinary (birds with arms are always a great choice).

5. Post regularly

Regular posting keeps you on readers’ radars, expands your reach, and fosters a positive feedback loop of increased visibility and engagement. As you establish a consistent presence, your audience grows, allowing you to develop a loyal following. So, embrace the power of consistency, and watch as your click count climbs steadily upwards.

6. Publications

This is a thing I have down now for the first time. Joining a publication on Medium instantly expands your reach beyond your individual followers. Publications often have an established readership base, allowing your work to reach a broader audience and gain exposure to new readers who may not have discovered you otherwise. Furthermore, you increase your credibility because your content is recognized by a trusted source.

7. The Boost

There is another reason why it is good to get your article into a publication. Few publication editors have the privilege to propose your article to get boosted. They are called “community curators”. If the internal curation team confirms this choice your article gets distributed more often which is called “the boost”. You find more information about it here in the article from Medium CEO Tony Stubblebine.

Conclusion

Hopefully, some of these points help you to get your Medium articles to a larger audience. Do you have questions or see more ways to get more clicks? Please let me know in the comments. Any further feedback is highly appreciated!

Are you interested in a Medium membership? Then subscribe through my link which costs you nothing extra but would support me. Thanks!