YANA & YOU | BOOSTER CLUB COACHING CORNER | SQUAD GOALS

Can You Build An Audience On Medium By Tagging?

Helpful Insights and Tips Based on My Experience

Team: Everyone is tagged on the first “Official Coaching Corner” post. Yana specifically wrote it to help everyone strengthen their engagement game. Toni Greathouse ←🆘Sista Offering Support

I think most writers whom I engage with on this platform are kind and respectful. Of course, there are outliers but I think most of us are happy to have this space to be able to express our thoughts and opinions, share experiences and hopefully make some money while doing so.

However, something that I find baffling is when I get blanket tagged with a million other writers in a post so weighed down by the sheer number of writers tagged that it takes forever to load!

Unfortunately, this has been an ongoing thing from when I started writing here. Right up there with the advice to newbies to churn out as much content as possible in order to gain traction.

The reasoning behind the ‘turn yourself into a human content mill’ strategy was to quickly get yourself on the radar and once you achieved that, then you switched to writing high-quality stuff.

I disagreed with that line of thinking mainly because:

🎈I hate wasting people’s valuable time including mine.

🎈How can you establish a loyal audience by churning out subpar content?

🎈This mindset of mine is probably because I always think long-term. I’ve never been the one for jumping in, trying to ride a wave, and then quitting when it goes flat.

That is why when I started writing I paid little attention to my stats and more to learning:

✅How to write engaging articles

✅How the platform works

✅How to write emotional titles to create high-performing articles👇

And it worked because, within a few months, my audience discovered me, and am fortunate enough to say we have stuck together for two years.

I have been told that it is easy for me to say since I seem to have established myself on this platform but the more important question that people tend to overlook is that I too started from zero.

The second thing is I work just as hard now as I did when I was starting, if not harder 👇

That means I not only strive to improve my craft but I read at least 50 articles for every one I publish.

Perhaps this is what inspired my good friend Kristina God to say this to me in the light of the August algorithm change: “It’s an overnight success 2+ years in the making. Right? You built your audience and spent a lot of time on this platform.”

And if you look at my body of work, I have never resorted to tagging (except for writing prompts and challenges or when relevant to my post) and certainly not mass tagging.

Again, I have heard people say if they wish to tag and attract readers to their posts, who are the rest of us to judge?

I also hear newbies complain about how can they expect to benefit from the new changes if nobody is reading them. Hence they tag.

That is valid too. But my answer would always be if you want to reap the benefits, then you have to put in the work. Shortcuts can only take you so far.

Since I personally don’t tag-bomb other writers, I like it even less when I receive an email notification only to find my name buried amidst a million others.

At that point, I would send a private message telling them to kindly take my name out.

On the other hand, I am flattered when writers tag me with regard to something meaningful in their posts. I also appreciate it when writers mention my stories in their articles.

In other words, there is a big difference between blanket tagging and a kind mention or tag.

❓Think of it this way, if you need to mass tag, isn’t there something missing from your writing that you need to nag someone to read it?

I mean, I get everyone has different reasons for doing that — could be because they genuinely don’t realize how annoying it is, or as an editor once said, it is a ruse for you to click and when you, the gullible writer does, their mission is accomplished.

👉In such a situation, wouldn’t it be more apt for the mass tagger to ask themselves the question of whether they would need to resort to tagging if they had a loyal readership/subscribers who show up whenever they publish? And if not, what could they do to entice readers to read their content?

Here is how I do it:👇

How to cater to 4 different types of audiences

🏆The Loyalists: Those readers who not only read your articles but who read them in their entirety.

🐠The Skimmers and Scanners: Pretty self-explanatory, I think.

Know any?

🐠The Fireballers: Those who are visually stimulated and will likely skip your post if it’s not visually appealing.

The Lurkers👀: Lurkers are those who read your content but don’t actively engage perhaps due to social fear or because they are not motivated enough or because they don’t know how exactly.

As you may have noticed I have written this post with all 4 types of audiences in mind.

So, what can you do in lieu of mass tagging?

I would suggest my friend Toni the Talker’s advice: “For the Record here’s my take: I tag with permission.”

🎈What do you think about tagging other writers in your posts? Do share your thoughts!

Many thanks to Toni for inviting me to be part of this group.

I also write on Substack and hope you can come by and say hi to Yana’s World!

B4 U Go | To Tag Responsibly | Please Read

𝓣𝓸𝓷𝓲 → 🆂🅾🆂 ←❤️️𝓢𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓬𝓮 𝓞𝓯 𝓢𝓾𝓹𝓹𝓸𝓻𝓽

Do Tag If: You’ve asked the writer for permission. What you are saying directly benefits/pertains to the reader.

Never: Cut & paste another writers tag list. Tag someone more than one (1) time per day.

When: A writer asks to be removed from your list. Respond immediately and remove them. Do NOT comment defensively.

Think About It: Question why you are tagging each writer on your list. If it’s to help them… that’s the best reason of all! If it’s all about you (just to get more eyes on your post) think again. Once you turn someone off, they are not likely to return.

Respectfully Shared with Booster Club Members

Maribelle Az【1】Katherine Myrestad【2】Rodrigo S-C【3】 Dawn Ulmer【4】Michele Maize 【5】Lu Skerdoo 【6】The Sturg【7】 Aleena G 【8】Britt H.【9】Henery X【10】Toya Qualls-Barnette 【12】 Prasanna Srinath Subhasinghe【11】Gerald Washington【13】 Writer【14】B.R. Shenoy【15】 Paul Gardner【16】Elvira Yuzbay 【17】 C. Elyse【18】Bee Wild【19】Deb Palmer 【20】Annelise Lords【21】 Scarlet Ibis James 🦩 【22】Indirah Ambrose【23】Katy Lin 【32】 Neera Handa Dr【24】Kendra Sparkles【25】Grace Bianco【26】 Dr. Preeti Singh【27】Patricia Hamlett 【28】Shanti C K 【29】 Trisha Faye【30】Theodore McDowell【31】Mike Butler【34】 A Shayens Abran【35】Pamela Oglesby 【36】Benighted【40】 Susan Nicolai, writer, artist, your guide inside【37】 Malky McEwan【38】Jessey Anthony【39】George J. Ziogas【41】 Sherry Atkinson【42】OCTAVIA EVER AFTER【43】Anna V 【44】Ashllyn T.【46】Tovah Rainsong【47】John Whye 【48】 Gentry Bronson 【49】Charles McDonald 【50】Jacquline Dacres【51】FranMorelandJohns【52】Sue S.A【53】Douglas Lim【54】 Natalie【56】Ted Czukor【57】Eiman Fatima【58】Maria Rattray【60】 Julia A. Keirns【61】Bruce Coulter【62】Srini【64】Shanté Nixon【67】 Autistic Widower (“AJ”)【65】Jimwebster【66】Devette Lindsay 【69】