Why I’m Growing My Medium Like A YouTube Channel

My Strategy For Growth That’s Not Centered On Curation

Whenever someone asks me to describe Medium, I tell them it’s like YouTube for writers.

Medium is a platform that allows anyone to use their freedom of expression through words. If you do well enough, you’ll be rewarded in cash and with a loyal following that can take your voice and brand anywhere.

People often give me puzzled looks when I make the YouTube/Medium analogy. After all, YouTube is audio-visual and Medium is a literary platform. These days, more persons prefer to watch rather than read, and that makes success on Medium even more difficult and significantly less comparable to YouTube.

But like every relatively new app and platform, I believe that once the general public discovers its value creators will be significantly rewarded. And that’s why I see Medium being the door for writers, just like YouTube was the pathway for many visual and audio creators.

I see Medium as the gatekeeper of a niche that has been underrepresented. Creatives and creators already have a difficult time marketing their work. It’s even more challenging for writers. They might as well not try. At least, that’s what close friends and family have told me for years.

Before YouTube “blew up,” persons who needed a home for their voice gravitated to YouTube. There was no reward in uploading content. Creators made videos because they had something to say, and YouTube provided an audience willing to listen.

This is how I feel about Medium.

Although I want to be compensated for my work — like any worker bee in any industry — my greatest desire is for my voice to be heard. If someone’s life could be positively impacted because of information I upload to Medium, then my greatest mission as a writer would be accomplished.

I have watched numerous videos and read countless articles on how to understand YouTube’s algorithm. The rat race to succeed on the platform currently supersedes the supply of genuine content.

I don’t have this concern with Medium because this space is relatively new.

My ultimate goal is to do two things: write in an authentic voice and be rewarded for my consistency. Isn’t that what every creative wants?

My strategy for authentic and continuous growth on Medium includes:

1. Sharing Outside Of Medium I’ve noticed that writers focus heavily on curation and being picked up by major publications. My game plan includes sharing my stories with as many off-platform sites as possible. Even if the views don’t equal a grand payday, it will push traffic to my article. Somewhere in that buzz of engagement lies a Medium reader who will share the article with another Medium reader. The wait for the snowball effect will be intense. But I have THAT much confidence in my content
2. Google SEO Before hitting publish I know that playing around with Advanced Settings is the best way to get noticed not just on Medium, but also on the google search engine. Again, solely relying on Medium to get my stories to gain traction isn’t the best long-term plan of action. Tags, titles and subtitles all have to correspond with trending key terms. I ask myself, “what questions are people asking?” Then, I provide that answer within my story and in my tags.
3. Collaborating With Small Medium Writers There are new, unheard of Medium writers who have yet to be discovered. Their stories are fresh. They have the quality content that many readers are searching for. While many writers try to emulate larger Medium writers, tag them in stories and attempt to get their attention, it’s best to try a new strategy. Smaller Medium writers with followings of 1000 and less can meet and strategize to find genius ways of growing a responsive and robust base.
4. Writing Whatever The Hell I Feel Like I wrote a well-researched story that has barely caught traction. I thought that if I wrote the best-researched story with zero grammatical errors that it was sure to get curated. It didn’t. The article did not get picked up by any publication either. I poured weeks of research and hours of writing into the story. Based on my research of what it took to get curated on Medium, I was sure it was going to be picked up and go viral. Instead, my first and only story to be picked up is about switching careers from Finance to Content Creation. That being said, I’ve chosen to ignore all the articles that dictate what makes a quality article in curators’ eyes. Any, and I mean any, article can go viral on Medium. A large group of people just have to take interest in it and see its value. Because this method is tried and true, I’ve decided to write whatever I feel. The only things that matter in a Medium story are authenticity and relatability.

As a new writer, I’m playing it all by ear. I’m hoping by some sliver of luck that my words — my authentic, witty, and consistent words — will catch someone’s eye.

When I first debated joining Medium, all my friends tried to dissuade me. They said it would be futile, that Medium was young and slow. But my desire to connect with an audience who struggle with similar issues as me is stronger than my fear of failure.

My goal is to treat Medium like a budding YouTuber would. To invest in every way so that Medium can grow, and I — in turn — can grow with it.