Does Top Writer Status on Medium Actually Mean Anything?

5 reasons why it does and 16 easy ways to help you achieve one

I’ve spent the majority of this week exploring different aspects of Medium, and today I decided to read up on the Top Writer achievements. I’ve come across many authors referring to it in my Medium research during the last month, and of course, I wanted to achieve one for myself.

I’ll keep this article straight to the point; what is Top Writer status, why do we want it, and what does it take to attain it?

Main points about Top Writer status

• Each category has only 50 top writers, so people can lose the status if they’re replaced by another writer (ex. if you stop writing about that subject permanently, you’ll likely be replaced at some point)
• Top Writer status is meant to help the most influential writers on that subject stand out from the crowd
• The lists update daily
• If you’re named a Top Writer, you’ll receive an email from Medium
• The Top Writer status will also appear in your profile automatically
• The more readers that find your stories and read them, the more it helps get you towards the Top Writer status

Why Top Writer awards are good to have

1. Its a badge of honor — we can all be a little vain at times, n’est pas?
2. It helps define you — and why someone should follow you/read your work
3. It’s proof of social authority — and gives further reason for people to trust your work
4. It means you’re active on the platform (sometimes) — since spots in the top 50 writers of a topic can be usurped, users that stopped posting are likely to be slowly pushed out, leaving only active ones behind
5. It can help you get a featured profile — under the ‘Top Writers’ sections of topics
6. It can help expand your following — due to all of the above points

How to achieve Top Writer status (the official way)?

1. Quality — as measured by significant reader time spent on your stories
2. Frequency — as measured by how often and consistently you publish about the same subject (through the use of the same tags)
3. Audience — as measured by repeated and new readers to your stories

Other ways to get there

1. Choose your tags carefully — there are likely 50–100 Top Writer eligible tags, some with more and some with less competition
2. Consistent style and personality — write for yourself first and then choose tags that suit your writing topics. Unique style and personality that consistently comes across will bring back the most readers
3. Invest time — don’t produce quantity for the sake of quantity, try to ensure your stories are well thought out, grammatically correct, and a good read
4. Find tags that don’t have 50 top writers — it’s likely much easier to get into the top 50 writers of a tag if there are not 50 top writers, right? (‘Innovation’ is a good example, it only has 31 writers)
5. Get published in your niche — research and apply to publications in the tag niche that you’re chasing for easy exposure to a lot of targeted readers
6. Expand your following — the more readers you can attract, the more it helps to attain a Top Writer status
7. Get visually pleasing — make sure your articles are easy to read and visually pleasant
8. Fantastic titles and cover images — the usual basic advice here, ensure your titles and images can easily attract new readers
9. Create a publication — by creating a publication around a niche that you want to pursue, you are showing you’re serious about the subject and can attract more readers and writers to it
10. Select multiple tags — you don’t need to focus on just one tag, instead, try adding one or two highly related ones. It multiplies your chances and helps widen the audience slightly.
11. Focus on newer and smaller niches — it’s easier to get your head above the sand by focusing on areas with less competition
12. Follow and read the top writers in your niche — learn from the best and the rest will follow
13. Try writing challenges — to help with your consistency on a subject, try out a 7-day challenge. I’m doing one myself at the moment about Medium (you’re reading post 6/7)

Good luck!

I myself haven’t achieved the Top Writer status yet, but I’m now armed with the above tools to try to do so! If you feel like you need any inspiration for what a truly successful Top Writer looks like, just go check out Shaunta Grimes — at the time of this writing she has Top Writer status in 13 topics!

Many thanks to the below writers and their posts on the subject:

1. Top Writer Status On Medium by Jun Wu
2. How To Attain Top Writer Status On Medium by Louis Chew
3. How I became a Top Writer with only Three Articles by Max Frenzel
4. 5 Hacks I Used to Become a Top Writer in 7 Categories on Medium by Chris Herd
5. 4 Lesser-Known Steps to Becoming a Medium Top Writer by Anthony Vicino
6. Introducing Top Writers in Tags by Joe Polastre
7. I Bet I Can Make You A Top Writer on Medium in 7 Days by Steve Campbell
8. Tags with Top Writer Status by Stevie Adler

Feel free to check out my other stuff on Medium and follow me here. — J.J. Pryor