He Has a Rapidly-Growing Account on Medium. How?

Let’s poke around and find out.

I’ve noticed a couple of people on Medium who have grown really, really fast. It’s like their accounts had rocket fuel in them and they just zoomed into outer space.

I’m going to take a look at one of these accounts today and see if I can figure out exactly what they’re doing to grow and earn so quickly.

I’m happy with my own growth and Medium earnings, but I am always looking for ways to improve.

(Plus, I am still on the hunt for my next $100 article, and I’m hoping I’ll get more clues!)

His name is Ryan Canady

Looks like Ryan hopped on the Medium train in June 2021. So maybe you’re thinking:

“Hey! He’s been here a while. No wonder he's grown so much.”

Not so fast.

He only wrote 3 articles in 2021.

He only wrote 7 articles in 2022, all in November. (Seems he had an idea to post often, then fell off schedule.)

Then he began writing again in December 2023, almost a full year later! But now we have our first clue.

He started writing regularly in December.

On December 31, he wrote this article about reaching 300 followers. (At the time I’m writing this, Ryan has 2.6k followers. That’s huge growth in just a couple of months.)

In his article about reaching 300 followers, Ryan gives some sound advice.

I encourage you to read his article in its entirety (also give him some claps and highlights!), but in summary, he says in order to get people to care about you:

1. You have to have something unique to say. (I always say you have to write things people are interested in, usually falling into the buckets of money, relationships, or health.)
2. You have to contribute to the community. (Yes! Medium is a social media platform as much as a writing platform.)
3. You have to build a following and a reputation. (Which you do by #1, #2, and by consistently showing up here.)

Ryan did something that I learned people on this platform love…

He set an ambitious goal.

He has set out to add 5,000 followers in 2024. I love this one, and I may use it as inspiration and add it to my other goal of reaching $5,000 in a month by the end of the year.

After scrolling through his account, here are some notes on Ryan’s stories:

• His titles are awesome. Almost all of them make me curious and want to click on them. (Note to self…work on your titles!)
• He writes and publishes almost daily. (Consistency, consistency, consistency!)
• Most of his stories are 3–6 minutes long.
• A lot of his stories are about Medium. (Not just earnings and stats, but also about engaging, mistakes, and growing your followers.)

In the video below, Ryan explains how he’s been able to grow so fast, and how he keeps his read ratio up. (Read ratio is an important number for earning in the Partner Program.)

Here’s something Ryan does well, and I’m sure contributes to his read ratio:

He breaks up his text with:

• bullet points
• screenshots
• images
• quotes
• videos

All of these make an article easier to read, thus boosting your read ratio.

One more note on Ryan…

He has been a freelance writer for 14 years. So, he knows a thing or two about writing. Definitely give him a follow if you haven’t!

To Sum It Up…

It was fun checking out Ryan’s account and seeing how he grew so fast.

Here are the most important things I took away from doing this:

• His titles seriously rock. Just about every single one creates curiosity.
• He’s consistent. He writes a lot.
• His articles offer a lot of tips and information pertinent to people who want to grow and earn an income on Medium.
• Read ratio is important and he shows us how to improve it.
• Engaging with other writers is extremely important in growing and earning a good reputation.
• He set an ambitious goal, which readers love!
• Ryan also has experience under his belt. He’s spent 14 years as a freelance writer.

Thank you, Ryan, for allowing me to poke around your account. (Well, I guess you didn’t allow me. I just did it. Hope you don’t mind! lol)

If this article does well, I would love to check out some other fast-growing and popular accounts and poke around some more!

Let me know in the comments if this was helpful for you.

My main goal is to help people boost their online income with some simple side hustles. One of those simple side hustles is writing on Medium.

The better you can get at writing on Medium, the more you can boost your income.

And you never know. You might just be the next rocket-fueled account that gets blasted into space!

About the Author

Hey! I’m Christina, an introverted book nerd on the outside, and a raging metalhead on the inside. 🤘 I’m a married mom to two teenagers (and 3 cats and a dog). I love Vegas 🎰, the band Chevelle 🎸, and murder mysteries 📖.

I also love creating short, daily lists of resources and ideas to help you boost your online income. 👈 Click that astonishingly long link to sign up for free.