Are You Tagging Your Stories Like a Top Writer?
3 steps to becoming a top writer in multiple topics faster

Choosing tags for your Medium story has become an art form. I would almost go as far as to say that tagging properly is more important than getting curated. While curation is obviously valuable, I’ve noticed something fascinating over the years.
Sometimes pieces that get curated tank, while others soar. But it’s how the curation works hand in hand with the tags you choose that make a world of difference. (Plus, pubs vs. self-publishing + follower count. Remember, an algorithm has a lot at play.)
So much so that I have taken the time to revisit old stories and change the tags to align with the topic(s) they have been curated in. (Though, that is still technically a theory in process that requires further testing.)
Top Tags
In my Medium FAQS, I provided the Top Writer tags from 2021, organized alphabetically.
This list is important because you can see which topics you can become a top writer in, and the competition for each topic.
As a top writer in ‘writing,’ in 2021, there were 370k+ stories. In 2022, there are 419k+ stories. Whereas, ‘cooking’ had 27k+, and in 2022 has just 29k+.That’s something to think about. (And also makes me feel proud because to earn top writer status in writing is far more difficult.) Nonetheless, a top writer is a top writer!!
Curation + Tagging
What this means is, if you get curated in a certain tag + topic enough, you will eventually earn a Top Writer status in that category.
I have referenced the Chrome extension Medium Enhanced Stats, before, which provides a thorough breakdown of which of your stories actually get curated, and in what. The extension automatically populates on your screen on the stats page. It also tells you how long your piece sat before it was curated in said topic.
As you can see in the picture below, these articles of mine were all curated in the topic that’s boxed in black. Despite curation in ‘productivity,’ my article Rest is Productive’ wasn’t such a great hit, whereas my ‘writing’ articles typically perform well.

I have personally noticed that my pieces on writing get curated more quickly since I already hold a top writer badge in that topic.
More recently, I decided I wanted to work towards becoming a top writer in other categories like mental health or self. While I do get curated on those topics, it seems to take a bit longer for my work to be reviewed.
I assume that top writers earn priority of review within their topic. Fair? Not sure. But we have to work with what we got, right?
So How Do You Become a Top Writer Now?
- Niche down. What does that mean? Choose 2–4 topics you are passionate and knowledgeable about. It does not have to be narrowed down to one. Your writing will begin to feel stale as you long to discover untapped potential in other topics.
For me, I write about writing, relationships, mental health, nutrition, and veganism. While this seems like a lot, you would be surprised by how much these topics tend to overlap for me seamlessly in my writing.
I would recommend really sitting with yourself and digging deep. Decide what you love to write about and start writing on those topics a lot!
2. This may be an unpopular opinion, but everyone’s entitled to one, right? Well, I like to tackle one ‘Top Writer’ status at a time. I am currently only a top writer in ‘Writing,’ and since I have been diligently working on it, I have risen up the list. After the top 5, I am 3 away, just above Ayo.
I have come to believe that slow and steady win the race. I am in no rush to land top writer in multiple categories, just to lose them out of inability to maintain the status. Who knows, maybe I’ll eventually rise to the Top 5 top writers in writing.

I do believe that holding top writer status in writing encourages medium to show my ‘writing’ pieces more widely and give me more traction. This is just a theory, though.
3. This may be obvious, but pay attention to which tags are actually eligible for top writer. If you are a new writer here, shoot to earn top writer status in a topic that has overall fewer stories. This is something obvious that many folks often forget to focus on.
When you’re tagging, make sure you use all five tags(!!!) and tag in topics you could land top writer in.
Top Writer Tags 2022
and number of stories within each category
Advice: 77K stories
Architecture: 37K stories
Art: 180K stories
Artificial Intelligence: 168K stories
Bitcoin: 311K stories
BlackLivesMatter: 57K stories
Books: 160K stories
Business: 382K stories
Climate Change: 93K stories
Cooking: 29K stories
Creativity: 154K stories
Culture: 164K stories
Design: 287K stories
Diversity: 37K stories
Economics: 75K stories
Education: 370K stories
Energy: 39K stories
Entrepreneurship: 365K stories
Fashion: 104K stories
Feminism: 81K stories
Fiction: 172K stories
Finance: 177K stories
Food: 186K stories
Future: 58K stories
Gaming: 117K stories
Government: 61K stories
Health: 438K stories
History: 121K stories
Humor 171K stories
Ideas: 40K stories
Innovation: 120K stories
Inspiration: 167K stories
Internet of Things: 26K stories
Investing: 128K stories
Journalism: 63K stories
Leadership: 191K stories
LGBTQ: 65K stories
Life: 632K stories
Life Lessons: 531K stories
Love: 416K stories
Mental Health: 263K stories
Movies: 174K stories
Music: 256K stories
NBA: 38K stories
Parenting: 113K stories
Photography: 143K stories
Poetry: 548K stories
Politics: 433K stories
Privacy: 46K stories
Productivity: 213K stories
Psychology: 157K stories
Racism: 67K stories
Reading: 70K stories
Relationships: 273K stories
Satire: 54K stories
Science: 118K stories
Self-driving Cars: 19K stories
Self Improvement: 405K stories |
Short Story: 167K stories
Social Media: 271K stories
Space: 31K stories
Sports: 229K stories
Startup: 524K stories
Sustainability: 56K stories
Technology: 426K stories
Television: 76K stories
This Happened To Me: 36K stories
Transportation: 25K stories
Travel: 363K stories
Venture Capital: 66K stories
Virtual Reality: 44K stories
Women in Tech: 33K stories
Writing: 410K stories Found 2 or more you like and could talk + write forever on? Get to it!
Things to remember:
- The tags you use should always be relevant to your story
- Visit the tag page you want to earn top writer in to see what performs the best. The best writers read a lot. Plus, you’ll be sure to learn more in your area of expertise that way. Just go to the home page and search the tag in the search bar. Start studying!


- Reserve one tag for the publication you are publishing with if you are unsure what to tag. This will help you rank in search results for that pub. eg: the orange journal

Being a top writer doesn’t just feel and look good. I have reason to believe that the algorithm favors pieces written by top writers within their category. At least, that is the case for me in ‘writing.’
Did I miss anything? What is something other writers should know about tagging properly? Share the wealth!
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