Curation: Why Your Story Never Stood a Chance
Some make it, others don’t — follow the rules
Medium is huge. There are thousands of writers on here. That means not everything you write will be selected for curation, and being OK with this fact will spare you a lot of frustration.
When I first started writing on Medium, I struggled to get my articles curated. I tried everything I could, but it wasn’t until I started paying attention to the rules and guidelines that I start to see most of my articles get selected.
And when I put all the pieces together, it actually made sense why some topics will get curated and others won't even stand a chance.
Thousands of articles are published on Medium every day. This means you have to be strategic for your articles to even stand a chance of landing in front of a human curator.
Humans and Algorithms
According to Medium, when a story is curated, it’s distributed to readers across Medium surfaces — on the homepage, on topic pages, in the app, in the Daily Digest newsletter, and in other emails.
An algorithm and human judgment are used to decide whether an article is selected for curation. The algorithm selects potential stories and then humans confirm the quality of the story.
The algorithm and human curators look for specific things in an article before selecting it for curation. They look for high-quality, error-free, and well-written content that readers can easily read and digest.
Because of the number of stories that are published every day, Medium curators are not able to review every story. And they can’t provide you with feedback as to why your story wasn't selected.
Your Article Won't Stand a Chance
For your article to stand a chance of getting selected, it has to be unique. It has to offer a different perspective on a topic. The algorithm looks for thought-provoking articles that offer readers a piece of meaningful advice they can implement to improve their life.
A concise, honest, and truthful article with all its claims supported and sources cited stands a chance. This is to ensure stories that are recommended to readers are not false or misleading in any way.
Stories that are not written in good faith — those filled with lies and inaccuracies — don't qualify. This means if you are not writing something from experience, perform scholarly research to ensure you’re providing accurate information.
The algorithms also consider the headline of a story. Your article doesn’t stand a chance if there’s a typo or error in the headline. Your headline must be clear and let readers know what they’re about to read. Clickbaity headlines are strongly advised against. Curators prefer headlines that deliver what they promise.
That makes sense as the goal is to provide high-quality content for readers across the platform. Stories with links in their titles aren't selected for curation either.
If your story isn’t selected for curation, it will still be read by your followers. It’s displayed on your profile page and will be discoverable by search engines.
Keep in Mind
Medium advises that writers promote themselves and their products or services in their bio. They want the story page to be just for the story. They aren’t totally against CTAs except it should be brief and under 40 words. This applies to publications as well. Make sure your CTA is short and simple.
Avoid putting your friend link in your stories or embedding them. These stories never get curated because platforms are able to operate and pay their writers from the fee they collect every month, and putting friend links in stories doesn’t serve this purpose.
Friend links are exactly what the name says — they’re for friends and family to read and support your work, not strangers reading your work on Google. Refrain from asking for donations in your articles. You can always put these types of links in your bio.
The images you use are super important when it comes to curation. Medium won’t curate articles where images aren’t properly cited or articles that use copyrighted images.
Be on the safe side and use free images from Unsplash, Pexels, or Pixabay. You can also indulge your creative side and take, draw, or paint your own pictures for your articles. Just remember to caption it as yours.
Remember to properly format your articles for the web and mobile usage.
You’re Automatically Disqualified
Your article must comply with Medium’s Rules and the curation standards to stand a chance. Complying with the standards alone won't guarantee curation. In addition to following those rules, your story must be of high quality.
Plagiarism and content that’s borrowed without proper citation doesn't stand a chance. The algorithm searches for original ideas and not duplicates of other work.
Stories that are intended to embarrass, bully, threaten, shame, or harass other people whether or not you identify them in the story don't stand a chance.
Conspiracy theories don't stand a chance. Controversial and extreme stories that are harmful and deceptive could get you and others into trouble, so avoid them.
This means being mindful of the health claims and advice you give. Advice that could harm a person if taken is against Medium's rules.
Stories that ask for claps don't stand a chance. Never request claps in your story. Claps don't mean a thing, and if you earn your claps, they will be given freely without you needing to ask. Let your readers decide whether or not you deserve them.
Violating those rules may result in your account getting restricted or suspended or limited distribution of your stories.
Why Should It Even Matter?
There are many reasons to want your story to be selected for curation. When a story is curated, it lives on forever. It’s distributed to readers through newsletters and emails, and it’s also recommended to readers all across the platform.
This is necessary if you don’t have ways to promote your own articles effectively every day. Curation does the work of promoting and putting your work in front of readers.
Does It Guarantee Success?
Curation doesn't determine your success, but it helps in distributing your story. While every story you write won't get selected for curation, following the rules and guidelines will ensure you at least stand the chance.
Sometimes your story is curated but it doesn't do very well. When your story is curated, it’s recommended to readers based on their interests and past behavior. It’s difficult to tell how your curated story will perform in the short or long term.
But once your story is curated, it continues to be presented to readers. So while you might not see the short-term effects of curation, the long-term results might exceed what the story would have gotten without being curated.
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