9 Mistakes Almost All Medium Writers Make

Read this if you’re serious about growing your audience in 2023

I’ve been writing online since 2018, am reaching millions of readers per year, have grown a community of 10k writers, and can confidently say Medium is the go-to platform for sharing long-form writing, growing an audience, and eventually monetizing your work.

That’s due to various benefits, such as a huge existing audience, a clean and ad-free reader experience, discoverability, and many more.

I’m not saying the platform is perfect. Neither do I say you’ll get rich quickly after publishing a few random blog posts.

But the truth is, Medium is an underrated opportunity for anyone who doesn’t shy away from studying the rules and showing up consistently.

Yet, most writers end up stuck and don’t know why they fail to grow their audience or income.

Here are some of the most common mistakes I’ve seen after working with thousands of writers:

You’re Trying Too Hard.

My writing connects with people because it’s simple.

I share simple yet practical ideas. And I use stupidly simple language.

As a non-native, I probably wouldn’t be able to compete with native English writers. Luckily, I don’t have to because most online readers aren’t looking for fancy language. They’re looking for interesting, helpful stories.

Instead of trying to sound smart, make an effort to be concise.

Respect the time of your readers and communicate your idea clearly and briefly. Use as many words as you need but never cram your stories with extra sentences just to make them longer.

Most readers don’t have time to read through long, drawn-out paragraphs. They want information that is straight to the point yet entertaining.

You’re Ignoring Your Audience.

If you’re writing to monetize, your writing isn’t about you. It’s about your (potential) readers.

If you don’t know who you’re writing for and what the purpose of your work is, you’ll likely struggle to stand out and provide value in the long run.

Even though there’s a massive opportunity to grow your audience and income by writing online, the space is crowded and noisy.

Millions of pieces of content are being published daily, and thousands of creators are fighting for attention.

If you want to compete and build a strong foundation, you must do what most won’t: Go the extra mile for your audience and craft stories they want and need.

Most writers believe they’ll miss out on potential readers if they narrow down their message and write for a specific audience. The truth, however, is that you’ll only miss out if you’re too broad and generic.

Nobody wants to follow someone who’s talking about anything and everything. We want to learn from people who know what they’re talking about and create tailored content to satisfy our needs.

If you know who you’re writing for and what problem you’re solving for your audience, you’ll be able to craft relevant, useful, and unique stories.

You’re Not Paying Attention to Details.

Writing on the internet isn’t just about words but also about creating a positive reader experience.

You don’t just want to write stories that make sense, inspire, educate, and create value. You also want your content to be worth sharing and nice to look at.

Many writers skip these steps to publish more quickly. But the truth is, the formatting of your story can matter as much as the story itself.

You want to have proper subheadings, use compelling images, and create stories that look good.

If I open your story and face an overwhelming wall of text, I’ll lose interest before reading the first sentence.

Sometimes, details that may seem small make all the difference.

You Skip the Most Important Part.

I don’t have any formal education or professional experience in writing. And I’m not a native speaker.

So when I started to write online, my work sucked.

Yet, here I am — writing for millions of readers and teaching beginners how to do the same.

And I still don’t believe I’m a talented writer. Instead, I learned how to turn a sloppy first draft into a clean, clear, and compelling story by editing thoroughly.

Most new writers believe the work is done once the piece is written. The truth is, that’s when the most crucial part of the work starts.

An effective editing process ensures your story flows smoothly and makes sense.

Don’t be afraid to cut out superfluous sentences and rework paragraphs that aren’t hitting the mark.

Spending (more) time on editing helps you go from writing a post to creating a piece worth reading.

Use tools like Grammarly or the Hemingway Editor to support your editing process.

Read your article aloud to catch confusing sentence structures.

Ask peers, friends, or family members for their honest feedback.

Proofreading and editing aren’t necessarily fun, but they’re as crucial as writing.

You Don’t Have a Strategic Idea Generation System.

Over the last few years, I’ve coached thousands of writers, and one common struggle of students who join my Medium Writing Academy is that they don’t know what to write.

Another side of this mistake is writing whatever you want.

Successful writers usually have a proper idea generation and planning system.

Instead of starting your writing sessions by asking yourself what to write, you want a system that almost creates ideas for you.

I started saving my content ideas on a Trello Board four years ago. Over time, I ended up with lists of thousands of stories I could write.

You want to detach your idea generation and research time from your writing time. When you write, you just want to write, so you can use your time effectively.

Create a system that helps you capture ideas or even just snippets of inspiration with ease. Ideally, it’s digital, so you can’t lose it and access your ideas on various tools, such as your phone and computer.

For me, it’s a Trello board synced across all my devices, but you can also use any other tool.

You’re Promoting Your Work to the Wrong Audience.

Wanna know how most beginners waste ridiculous amounts of time that they could better invest in writing compelling stories?

By sharing their links in communities for writers, e.g., in Facebook groups.

Now don’t get me wrong: Communities for writers are wonderful. They make the journey easier, more rewarding, and more fun.

But there’s no point in using those communities to promote your work unless your work is helpful to writers.

Yet, many writers copy-paste their links, hoping to get a few clicks and claps. But those are worthless.

There’s no point in getting five extra clicks on your stories. Or in exchanging claps.

If you’re serious about writing for a living and building a loyal audience, you need to attract readers who actually care about your work.

If you’re writing for first-time moms, you need to promote your work to them, not to writers.

If you’re writing for mid-aged men struggling with weight loss, you need to find out where they hang out and promote your work there.

There’s no point in collecting “fake” clicks and claps for the sake of them.

You’re Not Building a Sustainable Foundation.

Writing is only half the battle.

To build an audience and income online, you need to think ahead and do a few things that might feel uncomfortable.

The most crucial step is building an email newsletter for your readers.

With a newsletter, you can build deeper relationships, share updates, ask for feedback, create (paid) offers, and eventually monetize your audience.

An email list is a wonderful opportunity to interact with readers and show your human side.

You don’t want your work to be a one-way conversation. Instead, you want to interact, respond to comments, and create a sense of community — those are easier when you can contact your readers via email.

The most successful online writers are those who get comfortable with marketing, even if they don’t like it.

If you want to write for a living, you don’t want to rely on external monetization features such as Medium’s Partner Program.

Look at those as a bonus and build a writing business that can stand on its own, even if platforms or monetization programs disappear.

You Come and Go As You Want.

Building an audience and a reliable income online is about gaining trust.

And guess what?

Trust is built through consistency.

If you only show up when you feel like it, you’ll struggle to build a loyal audience and a consistent income.

This isn’t about writing or publishing every single day but about creating a consistent schedule that works for you.

I failed for the first 1.5 years of my journey because I had no idea what I was doing and only wrote when I had time.

Once I decided to write for a living, I went all in and wrote daily. This helped me quickly gain experience, improve my skills, and gather data to make informed decisions.

After getting the results I desired, I was able to slow down. Now, I usually publish 5–10 pieces per month.

Your Stories Might Not Be As Interesting As You Think.

When we create something (e.g., a blog post), we feel emotionally attached to it. We know how much work and time we’ve put into it, so we believe it deserves attention and love, regardless of the final output.

Sadly, that’s not how the creator economy works.

The amount of time and effort you’ve put into a story doesn’t translate into its success.

The internet is crowded, and millions of individuals want attention.

To stand out, you need to create something new, better, or different.

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel, but you also can’t expect a generic piece to attract readers if there’s nothing new or exciting about it.

That’s why you want to add your edge, dig deep to find interesting facts and stats, go the extra mile, be actionable, or get a little more personal and compassionate than others.

Keep in mind that information alone isn’t enough. Most readers want infotainment. They want to learn something new while also being entertained.

Plus, most of us are busy. We consume content on the go. When we open a story, we expect value and insights right away. Otherwise, we’ll hop over to the next one.

Final thoughts

Writing is an endless journey. There’s always something to learn and improve.

When I look at stories I published months or years ago, I usually find at least a dozen mistakes or ways to improve them.

Yet, avoiding mistakes isn’t about perfectionism.

It’s about ensuring we use our time wisely instead of producing content that isn’t seen and appreciated. And avoiding some of the mistakes above is certainly a good place to start.

Happy writing!

📝 Wanna stay up to date on Trends for the Online Writing Industry in 2023? Grab my free report.

📈 Wanna grow your audience on Medium but don’t know how? Join my free email course.

✅ Want to write online but don’t know how to get started? Download my Complete Beginner’s Guide.