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Summary

Medium staffers provided feedback on creators' profile pages, emphasizing the importance of a clear bio, a detailed About page, compelling headlines, consistent publishing, and unique imagery to enhance a Medium profile's effectiveness.

Abstract

The Medium Creators Hub held a feedback session aimed at helping creators improve their profile pages. The session, led by Medium staffers Harris Sockel and Amy Shearn, focused on refining creators' bios to succinctly convey the type of content they offer and their credentials. It also highlighted the importance of a comprehensive About page that outlines a creator's background and work to establish credibility. The feedback included advice on crafting headlines that are both bold and clear, suggesting that they should assert the value readers will gain from the content. A regular publishing schedule was recommended to maintain a connection with followers, and the use of distinctive, non-generic stock images was encouraged to visually engage readers. The overwhelming response to the session, with over 300 participants, indicates a strong desire among Medium creators to enhance their online presence.

Opinions

  • A concise and informative bio is crucial for setting reader expectations.
  • The About page should be leveraged to build credibility by providing detailed information about the creator's background and other work.
  • Headlines play a significant role in attracting readers and should be clear and assertive, offering a preview of the content's value.
  • Establishing a consistent publishing cadence is seen as a way to serve followers better and maintain their interest.
  • The selection of stock images should go beyond the most obvious choices to find unique and engaging visuals that stand out.

FEEDBACK

An Easy 5-Step Plan for Improving Your Medium Profile

Highlights from our first feedback session

Photo: mikroman6 / Getty Images

Last week, we held our our first feedback session here at Creators Hub. Medium staffers Harris Sockel and Amy Shearn offered to review creators’ profile pages and provide personalized feedback on their bios, About pages, story titles, and post formatting. Maybe a couple people will be interested, we thought, and we can offer some useful input. Turns out, there was huge demand (over 300 responses and counting). It was exciting to see how many of you are looking to improve your Medium presence. And while each creator is unique, we did notice a couple themes we thought would be useful to share.

We may do this again, so stay tuned! But because we couldn’t get to everyone with individualized advice, we wanted to address five things that came up frequently. Maybe some of this advice will be relevant to your Medium profile, too:

Your bio introduces you to your reader

We’ve found that a bio (the short description that shows up near your profile picture across Medium) works best when it suggests what kind of content readers can expect from you, and offers information about who you are and some of your most salient credentials. Go ahead and fill yours out today — it only takes a minute.

Build your credibility on your About page

The About page offers more space than the bio, so you can tell your readers even more about yourself. When it comes to presenting yourself to your followers and potential followers, don’t be coy. Think about it this way: if a reader comes across one of your stories out of context, they will likely want to learn more about you. Don’t make them wonder why they should listen to your theories about crypto, or whatever you write about — tell them your credentials, background, and where they can find your other work. Here’s some more information on filling out your About page on Medium.

Headlines should be both bold and clear

Give your readers an incentive to click. We’ve found headlines to be very important on Medium — they can help establish your voice for the reader, and give your reader a quick sense of whether a story is for them. A good headline doesn’t have to be clever, but it should be clear. It also helps to make an assertion, giving readers a good idea of what they will get from your piece. More advice for writing great headlines can be found here.

A regular publishing cadence is a service to your followers

Especially if you’re new to writing on Medium, let your readers know how often they can expect to hear from you. Do you want to publish every week, month, few months? Be realistic about what works for you. This workshop about finding your writing “niche” might be helpful as you get started.

Find stock images that don’t look like stock images

Don’t forget to add images to your posts. A vibrant photograph can really draw in a reader scrolling through Medium. And while we love our Unsplash integration in the Medium editor, keep in mind that a lot of people use the first few results for any given search term, and it’s worthwhile to keep looking for something fresh and unusual. Here’s a guide to finding imagery to use in your stories.

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