A-Culturated Joins the Boost Nomination Pilot Program!
Become a writer and increase your chances of getting boosted
Hi everyone,
I’m thrilled to announce that A-Culturated is now part of Medium’s Boost Nomination Pilot program! Wohoo!
In a nutshell, this means that we’ll be actively searching for high-quality articles to recommend for wider distribution across the Medium platform.
What is the Boost Program?
In case you are new to all this, the Boost program is a new Medium initiative that started in February 2023. The goal is to elevate high-quality, human-written content beyond algorithmic filtering.
This pilot, or beta program, is still in its early days, but for now, it consists of 100-something publication editors who act as “community curators,” identifying quality articles within their area of expertise. These articles are then suggested to Medium’s internal curation team for potential “Boosting.”
So basically, it’s part of a two-step human curation process.
What does “Boosted” even mean?
Getting boosted is exactly what it sounds like — getting a little extra help, or push.
A “Boosted” article receives a significant boost in distribution, helping you reach a wider audience on Medium. On average, Boosted articles gain around 500 more views in the first week, with some achieving impressive numbers exceeding 100,000 views over time.
“Boosts (range) between 500 views and 100,000 views. Our goal is that every Boosted story should get at least 500 extra views within the first week. In practice, that’s usually enough to tip a story over to a much, much wider audience.” — Tony Stubblebine
So, if you’re a writer enrolled in the Medium Partner Program (MPP), getting boosted also means increased views and potentially higher earnings. Good stuff.
What’s the point of all of this?
At the end of the day, Medium’s goal with all of this is to promote more human stories that create an impact on their readers.
Stories that contain personal experience or some degree of expertise on the matters discussed, and not just generic, spammy, AI-generated content.
As writers, we write for many reasons, but we can’t lose sight of the reader as one of those reasons. And readers want to have their lives impacted or transformed in some way by what they read. Otherwise, what’s the point?
So getting boosted is great because recognition and money are nice. But the bigger picture is where it’s at.
Why are we writing, and why are we reading if not to share stories about our human-lived experiences?
And in this specific case, our shared intercultural stories.
Ultimately, I’m letting you know about this whole Boost thing in A-Culturated because I want to incentivize current and new writers to join in on the conversation. To share their stories and engage in this community, that now more than ever needs to be heard.
Our world has become progressively polarized and violence and discrimination are widespread. By opening up a safe space for open communication and dialogue, I hope that we can begin to reframe our cultural differences as bridges and not walls.
How can I increase my chances of getting nominated by A-Culturated for a Boost?
So just to be clear, nominators like myself find and nominate stories across the Medium platform, but at the end of the day, Medium’s curators decide whether or not to accept a nominated story to be boosted.
So my nomination doesn’t guarantee a boost. I’m more of a servant than a God here, so don’t ask me to boost your story because I have no real power to do so.
Also, remember that not every submission will be nominated, however, that doesn’t mean the story isn’t a) awesome, and b) going to be successful on the platform anyway.
Being boosted is just one way to increase your reach on Medium. You may not even care about distribution. So take what you need and leave out all the rest.
General Things To Consider:
- Is my story impactful and transformative? How am I contributing to the reader’s life? Is it thought-provoking and constructive?
- Does my story bring a fresh and original take on the matter I’m discussing? Is it insightful?
- Is my story well-written (i.e. thoughtful craftsmanship, free of grammatical errors, well-structured, etc)?
- Does my story adhere to the Medium policies and guidelines? (i.e. not AI-generated, not plagiarised, no violent or sexually explicit content, etc)
- Is my story authentic, and does it honor my personal experience or area of expertise?
- (For A-Culturated nominations) Is my article related to an intercultural experience or insight?
*You’ll know if your article has been accepted for Boosting via e-mail from Medium, but not if you haven’t been successful.
You can read more about Medium’s Boost criteria here.
General Things To Avoid:
- Stories that have nothing to do with intercultural anything. This is not the home for them, I’m afraid.
- Stories spammed with affiliate and self-promotional links. The focus should be on the value of your writing and message to the readers, not on you. (It’s okay to add a link to another story if relevant).
- Stories written by AI. (They won’t even be considered for this publication, much less for a boost. That means no tapestries, whirlwinds, symphonies, or the likes thereof)…
- Distasteful profanity
- Explicit sex & violence
- Previously published stories (specifically those 6 months or older). To increase your chances of getting boosted, and the success of your story even if it isn’t boosted, we are accepting only unpublished drafts at this time.
Ready to submit your articles?
Either send us your submissions if you’re already a writer, or check out our submission guidelines and fill in this form to become a writer.
Note: I add new writers every Friday, so if I haven’t responded or added you yet, wait until Friday. If I still haven’t added you, you probably have not met the submission guidelines criteria.
As writers and readers, we all need each other’s support, and that’s what I hope to give to you.
So keep creating high-quality content, and staying true to your creative voice, and I hope to increase your chances of getting nominated and reaching a wider audience on Medium.
With love, Maria A-Culturated
Extra reading in case you’re extra curious…
