Everything I Did to Become a Top Writer on Medium in Under 4 Months

First steps, simple SEO, and a few resources to start with

A few days ago I woke up, did my morning routine, helped my kid, and waited for the babysitter to come, so I can start working. I opened the browser, opened Medium stats, and loved them. Then I went to my profile page, I wanted to change my description. And WOW! There it was: I became a top writer for the tag Startup.

I could not believe it. This happened in less than four months after publishing my first article. In this article, I’ll show you what I did and the tools I used.

What Did I Do?

• I selected topics I was interested in and had enough experience to write about,
• I made SEO research to target the right keywords (I’ll show you the tools later on),
• I researched how to be a better writer (link to courses are below),
• I researched how to succeed in Medium,
• I made it fun.

Guess which one on the list is the secret ingredient.

What Did I Start With?

Here is what I started with on January 3rd:

• I had no experience in writing,
• I had very little experience in marketing (I do Udemy courses, Udemy sells for me and customers find me somehow),
• I had a basic knowledge of SEO,
• English is a second language for me.

My purpose on Medium when I started was:

• build an audience,
• create extra resources (articles) for my students,
• inspire people,
• follow my passion to be a writer.

I always wanted to write. I love books. I’ve always loved books. I’ve learned so much from reading books. They open new worlds for me.

I never thought I had something to share. There is a song in my country: “Have all the best poems already been written?” I thought: “All the thoughts I have, have already been expressed by somebody else. I don’t want to be a copy cat!”

But you know what, something happens when you reach a certain age (after 40 in my case). You start caring less about limitations and you start looking more for things that inspire, fulfill your soul. My soul is looking for an expression, she loves to dance, she loves to sing, and she loves to write.

Selecting an Article Topic

At first, I wanted to give more to my online students, so I made articles about similar technology I teach in my courses.

Then I started a publication that will focus on readers who are just starting in web development. The publication is called U CAN learn to code. I wrote a few course reviews and technology guides.

Last month, I started to write about the topics I want to share in my next course. I want to get some following. I want to reach people who are interested in topics I want to teach.

SEO Research

For each article, I do research.

The tools I use are:

SeoMoz Keyword

The SeoMoz Keyword tool shows me how much search value a certain keyword has.

Google Trends

Google Trends show me trends for this keyword in a time frame.

AnswerThePublic

AnswerThePublic is a tool helping me analyze what people search on Google.

People share only good things on social media. To resolve a problem they go and ask Google.

Example:

When you search a social network (Instagram) for the term “my cat” you get this:

When you search Google for the term “my cat” you get this:

What people post on Social Media can be misleading. Searching Google can give you more insights on how you can help your readers. And cats are not only perfect, but cats also get ill and they can lick you all the time. Who would guess that from Instagram?

AnswerThePublic helps you find out what readers search on Google.

When I write an article I try to resolve my reader’s true problems.

StackoverFlow trends

StackOverflow trends show me how technologies have trended over time based on the use of their tags since 2008 when Stack Overflow was founded.

Basic SEO Technique I Use

1. I use the desired keyword at the beginning of the article title if possible. Because the keyword is at the beginning of the title, the URL of the article also starts with the targeted keyword.
2. I use the keyword in a text since it is the topic I write about.
3. I add Medium tags: all 5 of them.
4. I use a Kicker. The kicker is an additional title of your article. I usually add the desired keyword as a kicker. The kicker is less known feature of Medium articles. You can add a kicker after you have your first two titles set. To add a kicker go above the first title, click enter, add a kicker, select it, and choose the second title. Like this:

How to Be a Better Writer

The writing course I like the most is from Dr. Quentin at the University of Colorado. She explains ideas in a super simple manner and you can just see she LOVES what she teaches. I would recommend Dr. Quentin’s course on business writing to everyone.

Book “Contagious” from Johan Berger gave me some great insights. He talks about the motives of why people share content. He showed me how social currency, triggers, emotions, public content, practical value, and stories impact how people will share content. Super, super useful book.

How to Succeed on Medium

What I love about Medium is that it shows you content you are interested in. Stories that talk about tips on how to be a successful writer on Medium are what I like to read. I love to hear how others succeed, it makes me believe I could do it too. Casey Botichelo’s Blogging guide is also a treasure trove of knowledge.

Make It Fun

What do I do to make it fun? I play around with different article types, different writing styles, and formats. A few things I’ve tried:

• How-to tutorials
• Course reviews
• Technology trend guides
• Book reviews
• Lists
• Personal stories
• And more…

One of these articles went viral. This is what is happening to my stats:

Why Have the Stats Gone Wild?

One of the articles was created as a side effect of the research. I did the research for my new online course. What I wanted to know is:

• what developers think a good developer is,
• who they look up to,
• other general information.

I posted the survey in Facebook groups and sent it to my online students (20K from all over the world). I created a list of developers they admire. The list was created in an unordered fashion. The first one on the list is not the best developer, the first on the list is the first suggestion in the survey.

There were very few women so I added some. I felt sad that almost nobody thought of female developers. But then I posted it. The list unexpectedly became a hit. And the number of views went skyrocket high. I became a top writer in the Startup tag as the result of the views of the article.

My mission is to inspire people, shave valuable content, give back a little, and learn how to be a good writer along the way.

What to Take Away From This Article

• Write what you know about.
• Do SEO research.
• Learn how to be a better writer.
• Learn how Medium works and what to do to be successful.
• Have fun and try to inspire people.
• No matter how good your intentions are, some might interpret your intentions as bad. Breathe and remember your “why.”