Leadership Excellence
Celebrating 50,000 Followers
ILLUMINATION writers attracted 50,000+ readers in 9 months and manifested it in the top 100 list out of 14,414 publications on Medium.
It was around two months ago when I announced 40,000 followers for our fourth milestone. Today, ILLUMINATION reached another milestone.
50,000+ Medium readers follow our contributing writers.
Congratulations all writers on this signification achievement. I am grateful. Your contributions are remarkable.
We started with a small group of writers around nine months ago. ILLUMINATION was just an idea nine months ago.
Starting with only 80 writers around nine months ago, now 5,900+ writers are contributing to ILLUMINATION and serving 50,000+ readers on Medium.
We had a lot of challenges and still do.
Instead of perfection, we focus on progress and grow iteratively.
My goal for creating this publication is to bring a diverse range of writers to collaborate and create synergy. Despite challenges of the platform and adversity we get from a few jealous, mediocre, and idiotic people disguised as leaders, our followers increased substantially within the last three months.
I was confused yet grateful and thanked our opponents. The stats are transparent, on July 15, we had 20K, on October 23 — 40K, now on December 50K followers. Readers value engaging and informative content created by our contributing writers.
Our success depends on two key factors. ILLUMINATION value readers and support writers. Our readers are excited about the variety of content spanning over 100 topics. Readers find no dull moments on ILLUMINATION.
We support writers at all levels: aspiring, experienced, accomplished, and influential. These writers at various levels play an essential role in this platform. Our diligent and supportive editors relentlessly work across the globe for the success of our writers and create quality materials for our readers.
One of the key success factors is to cross-pollinate all types of writers from different professional backgrounds, skill levels, and writing goals. This unique and united group of writers is an attractive value proposition to our readers expecting stories from multiple topics.
To facilitate this cross-pollination, we established an initiative by curating a special collection. This collection manifested as a new publication called ILLUMINATION-Curated. Around 1,500 writers are now contributing to this unique collection. They delight thousands of discerning readers. We already experienced many viral stories and distributed 77 volumes: Stories on ILLUMINATION-Curated — All Volumes.
This collection is now followed by 10,500 followers.
We designed a clear transition plan for 80% of our writers to level up and become part of this unique initiative. You can learn about the initiative: “How to Benefit of ILLUMINATION-Curated”. ILLUMINATION will sustain as a gold mine of our curated collection. Our diligent editors are efficient to mine gold from our content repository and perform it efficiently to delight our readers.
Publications are essential tools for writers on Medium. Thousands of publications were created. According to Toppub, there are 14,414 publications on Medium. ILLUMINATION is on top 100 publications now showing on page 8.
Different publications have different goals, process, and procedures. We focus on our publications to add value to our contributing writers and supporting readers. We don’t envy and fight with other publications. We see them as our collaborators. Our writers can write for any publication. We encourage them to do so and don’t penalize them for writing for other publications.
Writing is the primary job of writers. Reading is essential, and a distinguishing success factor for writers. Writers are the best readers. Your most loyal readers are writers on Medium. This means that collaboration with other writers is important.
Writing and submitting your stories to publications and waiting for success is not possible. Writers must take responsibility to create visibility to their content. Medium is full of stories, thousands, perhaps even millions if we count the older ones. We cannot expect the readers to find our story in such a crowd.
Meaningful engagement with other writers and adding value to our readers matter. Writers must think and act like entrepreneurs to become successful. We create value but also make it visible in meaningful and creative ways. No shame in promoting your story! See it as a value to your readers.
New writers need to be aware of the Medium rules. Please check this official link describing Medium rules if you haven’t done so yet. Even though it is an essential resource, it is often overlooked by new writers. These rules may be forgotten by the experienced writers too.
ILLUMINATION encourage writers to cover a wide variety of content with no censorship; however, if your stories include items against Medium rules, our editorial team will reject your submission. Medium rules are not negotiable; every writer on this platform must adhere to them.
To become a successful writer, we need to focus on both quality and quantity. Quality is a subjective concept, but there are established rules. My definition of quality is producing acceptable content for our readers.
There are myriads of articles on Medium about improving quality. Some are confusing and conflicting. To help our writers, I created a checklist based on my experience. The points in this checklist were also validated by our editors.
Please use this checklist before submitting your stories to our publications.
The items in this checklist can guide you to increase the quality of your stories. They are not complex rules but can assist you to produce acceptable material by a majority of your readers on Medium.
One of the distinguishing factors between most read and least read writers is the importance of content for readers. We need to ask ourselves whether our content matter to the reader. In other words, we must write for the enjoyment of our readers, not for ourselves.
Let’s remember that Medium operates on collaboration rules. You need to engage with your readers and other writers on this platform meaningfully. Collaboration is necessary to create visibility of our content and to stay motivated to produce consistently.
The challenge for new writers is the fear of criticism. It is an inevitable fact of life. Keep in mind, even if you do everything right, you will be criticized, judged, and rejected multiple times. It is not feasible to make everyone happy. There is no point to try to make everyone happy. You cannot succeed. People have different goals, expectations, and aspirations.
In the big schema of things, opinions are opinions. They don’t matter. What matters is our behavior, reactions, and actions. As a new writer, you need to focus on your work. Please ignore the inevitable noise, stay away from toxic people who try to take you to their mediocre level. Spend your energy wisely to make your readers happy.
As writers, our goal is to express ourselves and share our thoughts with readers. Everyone makes mistakes. Without making mistakes, it is not possible to learn. By following Medium Rules and the checklist I created, you can reduce your writing errors and succeed on this platform.
Writers need to expose to new readers and expand their network. I created supportive platforms extending the reach out of our publications. You can review the guides and participate in these activities to reach out to a broader audience.
How to Get Started with Quora and Amplify Your Medium Stories
How to Get Started with Pinterest and Amplify Your Medium Stories
Learn about our Slack group compiled by Tree Langdon, CPA, CGA.
More importantly join us on Goodreads — paradise for readers and writers!
Let me finish by giving a few tips to leverage our publication.
Please introduce yourself to your fellow writers and supportive readers by submitting a writer bio.
If you have publications, please introduce them. I will promote them for you.
Our contributing writers are not exclusive to us. ILLUMINATION Writers Can Write For Other Publications.
Please check our publication Process & Procedures.
And review the recent publication conduct guidelines which shed lights on your success leveraging our platform.
What is next?
My next special project is to focus on technology domains on a massive scale.
By leveraging the power and capabilities of ILLUMINATION and ILLUMINATION-Curated, I want to contribute to the body of knowledge in the technology domains.
As a semi-retired technology professional, scholar, and educator after 37 years of contributions to the IT industry and academia globally, now is the time for me to share my knowledge and experience with young leaders who need them for a better future.
I want to help aspiring entrepreneurs to achieve their goals and realize their dreams. Who knows I can be a catalyst for the manifestation of another Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, or Elon Musk. Our society needs these types of leaders. Technology is the ideal domain to emerge these types of leaders.
I am not pointing out my aspirations and capabilities to brag or impress anyone but to show my capability and willingness to make a real difference for success of others.
To this end, I designed a bespoke and high impact publication as a tool to communicate. I will announce shortly.
It is called Technology Hits.
Yes, technology hits all of us from all angles. It is ubiquitous.
Technology is a domain which helped us create our civilization and will help us achieve our dreams on this planet. If you are reading my words now, it is the technology that makes this connection.
All writers who want to write about any aspect of technology can contribute.
This unique publication will grow even faster and more prominent than ILLUMINATION and ILLUMINATION-Curated because I want to use my 100K+ technology connections accumulated in the last four decades to extend and enhance it.
Join me on this exciting journey. Reach out, showing your interest.
Thank you for reading my perspectives and supporting my publications.
To join ILLUMINATION, ILLUMINATION-Curated, and Technology Hits, please send a request via this link. We will help you succeed. 11,000+ writers contribute to our publications.
Invititations to ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications
Purpose of Synergy: And how to publish your stories in this publication
ILLUMINATION Book Chapters: A publication giving voice to published authors on Medium
ILLUMINATION’S MIRROR: A publication created to address Medium constraints for editors
Useful Resources for Writers
The Beginner’s Guide to Write Viral Articles & Blogs: Learn 17 proven techniques and unique metrics
Publication Conduct Guidelines: Rules of engagement and cross-pollination at three levels
Process and Procedures: Anything you want to know about ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications
Copyright Matters: Zero tolerance to plagiarism on ILLUMINATION
Use Of Affiliate Links On Medium: Guidance to writers who need to use affiliate links in stories
How to Survive and Thrive on Medium: Essential guide to new writers
A Practical Guide for Writers: My collection for writing and writer performance on Medium
Essential Checklist for Writers: Improve quality and readability of your stories
100 Day Challenge For New Writers: How to grow and become a top writer on Medium in three months
Invitation To A Writing Challenge: Share your concerns and aspirations in a story
Storybooks and Indexing Publications: They work. Here is the evidence.
Short-Form Stories Not For Income But For Visibility. Think Of Them As A Tripwire
ILLUMINATION Poetry Club: An invitation to poets to collaborate for productive fun
Mentoring on ILLUMINATION: Peer support is essential for success.
Purpose of Synergy And how to publish your stories in this publication
SYNERGY on Medium Upon reader request, we renamed Passive Income for Writers publication
Introduction to Technology Hits Scope, overview, and participation methods
ILLUMINATION Book Chapters: A publication giving voice to published authors on Medium
Learn About ILLUMINATION-Curated Essential articles about ILLUMINATION-Curated publication
Paradigm Shift in Content Curation, Distribution, and Marketing
Stories on ILLUMINATION-Curated — All Volumes: Easy access to curated and outstanding stories
Reading List #3 — Technology Hits: Selected stories for enjoyment of tech readers
Sample Book Chapters: Discover 70+ published authors on ILLUMINATION Book Chapters
Testimonials for ILLUMINATION: Thoughts and sentiments of ILLUMINATION writers.
Topic Collections
Featured Stories About “Writing” From The Top Writers of SYNERGY
NFT Story Collection on ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications
Featured Stories by Editors
Sample collections from ILLUMINATION Book Chapters
Sample Book Chapters: Discover 70+ published authors on ILLUMINATION Book Chapters
Index of Published Book Chapters: Easy access to chapters for readers on Medium
Self-Presented Collections: Annotated stories by writers of ILLUMINATION-Curated
To join my vibrant publications supporting 11,400+ Medium writers, please send a request via this link.
