7 Things You Should Know to Become a Great Medium Writer
Lessons I’ve learnt after spending a year writing on Medium
A year ago, I began my journey as a Medium writer, thinking that my experience as a blogger would mean that my transition into Medium would be an easy one.
Spoiler alert: It wasn’t.
I started my first month with a grand total monthly earning of $0.01. That woke me up. Unlike in a personal blog, writing on Medium meant that I was competing with thousands of other talented writers for the attention of readers. I realised that I had to learn. And I had to learn quickly if I wanted to succeed on this platform.
And today, after 84 stories published, I am still in the process of learning. That’s the beauty of writing on Medium (actually the same goes for many of the other platforms we writers share our work on). And to help those who are just starting out, here are some of the lessons I have learnt (in no order of importance as you’d need everything and more in order to succeed here):
1. Be ready to pour in lots of work
When it comes to Medium, many of us join thinking that we wouldn’t have to put in much work. After all, the audience is already here. What else would I have to do other than show up occasionally to post a random article?
However, with so many writers here sharing articles that are absolutely golden, why would anyone pay any attention to you if all you do is publish a few articles whenever you felt like it? Unless you happen to already be a famous writer with a strong following, the chances of you succeeding with minimal work is abysmally low.
Instead of treating Medium as a platform to dump your articles and run, treat it like your personal blog. Build a following. Write frequently. Share things that matter. And with the new update, customise your profile page a little and pin the posts you want people to see on the top so that more people can see them.
On Medium, there are 2 ways to succeed. You could either be really lucky and end up with an article that goes viral. Or you can write consistently to build up your success. And I’d like to believe that consistency is the more reliable route to take.
2. Write about your passion
As a writer, burnout is common. Especially on a platform where there are others posting every day, we might begin to feel as if we have to match their writing speed while focusing all our writing energies on popular topics.
However, this pressure forces you to work in an unsustainable routine. Sure, you might see successes with daily stories about the most popular topics. But chances are that you’ll also tire quickly and become unmotivated to write any further.
Instead of chasing after this Medium writer ‘ideal’, find a sustainable rhythm and focus more on topics you feel passionately about. That way, you’ll find that writing becomes more of a joy, placing you into a positive writing cycle where you become more motivated the more you write. And because you are writing about topics you care deeply about, you may also be encouraged to do more research, equipping you with new ideas and data that bring your work to the next level.
For me, after challenging myself to focus more and ponder about possible solutions to the climate issue, I found that I was able to write more easily and after writing numerous articles on the topic, I’m proud to share that I am now a Top Writer in Climate Change.
3. Publish on publications
On Medium, curation matters. Curation ensures that your article is recommended to readers interested in that particular topic. That means more views.
After experimenting with self-publishing stories and publishing my stories on publications, I’ve found that those I’ve shared through publications are much more likely to be curated (and are processed much faster as well).
Furthermore, by publishing through a publication, your articles will be exposed to readers who are following the publication, greatly increasing the visibility of your work. And if you’ve just started out, don’t be afraid of pitching to any of the publications you come across (as long as they are accepting new writers). Here, as long as your work is good, most publications are not afraid of publishing the work of new Medium writers.
Make use of all the different publications to be heard. And once you’ve built a small following, you might even want to create your own publication.
4. Good writing pays — but not equally
On Medium, there are a ton of articles where writers share their earnings. And after reading some of these articles, you might begin to think about earning as much as these writers for your writing. Who doesn’t like being paid well for your hard work?
Yet, here on Medium, good writing doesn’t pay equally. Maybe after pouring all of the effort into writing a great article, you find that you’ve only managed to attract a few readers (and as such, only earn a really small amount for your work). Other times, an article you haphazardly throw together might end up getting lots of attention.
But although that might be the case, I’m not implying that quality doesn’t matter here. In fact, quality is king (or queen) on Medium. At the start of your Medium journey, quality writing helps you build up an audience. And as your audience begins to grow, your continued quality writing ensures that you are able to attract a constant (and hopefully growing!) amount of attention. Rather than throwing together a large number of low-effort posts and hoping for a one-hit wonder, constant quality writing will help ensure your success.
5. Read what others have written
As many other writers have rightly pointed out, the process of becoming a good writer requires one to read voraciously. Read what others have written, read how they have written and find out why they write about a certain topic in a particular way.
And when you read, don’t simply focus on what you like to read. Go out of your comfort zone. Read to find out what that new scientific discovery means for all of us, read to understand how an ancient way of thinking might help you improve on your writing, read to find out more about a certain issue that you didn’t know existed. Read. As you read, you’ll find yourself becoming a more critical thinker, helping to elevate your writing as well.
6. Learn to format and make your post stand out
Apart from reading to further your knowledge, read on Medium to find out how others format their posts. With titles, subtitles, headings, bullet lists, kickers, quotes, blockquotes and the ability to split a single article into different sections (just press ctrl + enter), there is really lots to learn with respect to formatting your article beautifully.
It is also important to note that every publication will have its own stylistic guide. If you are hoping to be published on a certain publication, it is of utmost importance to understand how they like their stories formatted.
Additionally, with so much content up here on Medium, an article that is badly formatted with a terrible cover picture (or worse, no cover image!) isn’t likely to gain many views (even if it’s written really well).
7. Expect changes and be open to learning
Unlike your personal blog, Medium doesn’t truly belong to you (yes, I know that I told you to treat Medium like a personal blog in order to succeed). This means that Medium is free to make any changes at any time they fancy. And Medium is known for constantly making changes.
While most of the changes serve to help the platform improve, it also means that we have to constantly adapt in order to take advantage of these changes. Keep your eye out for upcoming changes and update your content strategy to ensure that it will continue to work even after the changes are applied.
The final word
In the year I have spent on Medium, I’ve found it to be a perfectly splendid place to write on. But to write here requires constant learning and effort. Medium isn’t a place for you to get rich quick. But with your effort, I’m sure that Medium can become a place where you are rewarded for your hard work.
