Another AWESOME Way to Engage and Promote Other Writers!
Are you overwhelmed from trying to connect with readers and followers?
Are you among the many Medium writers who get overwhelmed from trying to keep up and stay engaged with the community?
If you are, allow me to tell you about another awesome way that I’ll be using in the future, so I can engage with other writers, and also help promote their stories.
Keep reading, and in a moment, I’ll share my plan on a great way to do that.
The two biggest Medium challenges for new and existing writers
One of the biggest challenges that I’ve faced since becoming a Medium writer in May 2021, is how to engage with the community on a regular basis.
Is it just me, or have you also found this kind of difficult to do?
I really like this online writing community, and I especially try to stay connected to those who follow my profile or my Daily Justiss publication.
This goal is second only to my determination to get the stories I write, in front of as many eyes as possible.
Between these two major objectives, things can sometimes become very overwhelming, as I brought out in my previous burnout story (which gained a lot of popularity).
No matter how long you’ve been writing on Medium, if you’re a full fledged Medium member with a monthly membership, you can relate to how challenging getting loyal followers and getting story views can be.
You recognize the importance of having followers, while at the same time, making your stories more visible.
I have more than 530 stories (to date), so I’m constantly looking for better and creative ways to help keep my stories relevant and easily accessible to readers.
The great thing about getting creative and trying different strategies and activities, is that you eventually come across methods that actually work.
This happened to me on several occasions, but just like life, there’s always a fly in the damn ointment!
Unfortunately, not long ago, while engaging with a few Medium readers — who I suspect may have been trolls — I actually made a difficult decision about reading and responding to comments that are left on my own stories.
But even as I continue to read and respond to the numerous stories written by other writers, it’s just impossible to do all your followers justice.
So what do you do? You do what you can…
Use the “list” feature to keep up with who you’re reading
As many of us already know, the “list” feature that Medium provides is super cool and very effective! If you haven’t found a good way to put it to use yet, you really don’t know what you’re missing.
Just ask any of the writers who shared the following related stories about lists:
Liz Porter wrote: This New List Feature is the Bomb — Are You Using it Yet?
Kristi Keller wrote: 5 Things Medium’s New List Feature Did For Me
Shreya Badonia wrote: How To Make The Most of Medium List Feature
Tom Fenske wrote: How the New Medium List Feature Will Benefit You
Burk wrote: 3 Ideas to Make Use Of Medium’s New List Feature
Brad Creech wrote: I Finally Decided to Try the List Feature
Marilyn Flower wrote: How I’m Using and Enjoying Medium’s New List Feature
I guess you can add the story you’re reading to the above list about lists. 😄
I’ve been taking advantage of this feature, and I often find myself inserting a link to one of my various lists, when I write and publish a related story.
In the future, I’ll be using this feature as a way to keep up with the stories I read on a weekly basis, specifically so I can write a weekly update and comment about what I’ve read.
The method of writing a story and giving a shout out to writers is nothing new to me, but instead of using it as a way of responding to comments about my own stories, I’ll be commenting on what I’ve read during the week.
I’ve actually tried this in the past as well, but I had to take multiple steps, to notate and remember the stories I read, and where they were located.
By using the list feature, all I need to do is:
- Create a folder called: “What I Read this Week — INCLUDE DATE”
- Read a story from one of my followers
- Click the “list” icon and save that story to “What I Read this Week”
- Write a story at the end of the week, using the list as an easy source and reminder to what I read and the necessary links
- Include the link list in the story update, so readers have access to the entire list of stories for that week
The following week, I just wash, rinse, and repeat!
Final Thoughts
It goes without saying, whether you have 50, 500, or 5000 followers, it’s impossible to keep up with them all, read all their writing and comment on what you read!
It is possible, however, to do the best you can, and be sincere in your efforts.
By sharing a list of all the stories I read during the week, I get a chance to help promote other writers, plus share some incredible writing with readers who might miss it otherwise.
Of course, I won’t be able to write about every single story I read, because I do a lot of reading in the course of a week. But I will be able to provide some meaningful comments and alert readers to some great stories, and the rest is on you; the Medium community.
Hopefully, as you become accustomed to seeing my new Daily Justiss publication feature called “What I Read this Week”, you’ll stop by and check out this awesome new way of staying engaged and promoting fellow writers.
NEW FIVERR GIGS CREATED IN 2024!
This story update is to provide access to my latest 5 Fiverr gigs, created long after this initial story.
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