Summary

Writing exclusively about growing on Medium can limit a writer's audience, stifle creativity, and reduce personal motivation.

Abstract

The article argues that focusing too much on writing about how to grow on Medium can be detrimental to a writer's success. It outlines three main reasons for this: firstly, such content quickly becomes monotonous and predictable, leading to a loss of reader interest. Secondly, it stunts the writer's development by not challenging them to explore new ideas and storytelling techniques. Lastly, the lack of variety can diminish the writer's passion and motivation for writing. The article encourages writers to diversify their content to maintain curiosity, improve their writing skills, and keep the creative spark alive.

Opinions

Writing repeatedly about Medium growth turns a writer into a "1 trick pony," which is unappealing and predictable.
A narrow focus on this topic can stunt a writer's skills and potentially lead to regression, especially if they are not genuinely exploring the craft of writing.
The novelty of a writer's content is crucial in a society driven by the search for new and exciting experiences.
Challenging oneself with a variety of topics and formats is essential for a writer's growth and ability to maintain an engaged audience.
Exploring new frontiers in writing, despite being initially harder, can reignite a writer's motivation and carry their audience along on a journey of discovery.
The article suggests that writers should consider reinventing themselves like visual artists do by exploring different genres to foster personal and professional growth.

Here’s Why Writing About Growing on Medium Is Hurting Your Growth

Don’t become a 1 trick pony

Photo by Suzanne D. Williams on Unsplash

It’s one thing to niche down, it’s a whole other thing to churn out articles again and again and again on the very same narrow issue.

Growing online is made easier when you find your target audience and produce content in that niche. That’s one sure way to get loyal fans.

And there’s no narrow issue that attracts traffic as much as telling other people how you made it big, even if you haven’t made it big yourself.

But here are 3 reasons why writing articles on how you grow on Medium is actually a disservice to you.

1. It becomes boring and predictable, fast.

Gaining loyal fans is good because they know what to expect from you, but you soon lose the curiosity factor that draws people to want to read your article.

People already know what to expect from you and considering we are a dopamine-driven society, we are always in search of the next novel experience.

You can craft the craftiest headline and pick the catchiest image, but the problem with preconceived ideas is that everyone already knows what to expect from you. And that might work for a while, but when the novelty is lost, people just scroll on by.

Writing about one thing repeatedly turns you into those poorly crafted 1-dimensional book characters.

2. Your writing skills become stunted.

Your writing skills become stunted, and in a worse care scenario, even regress.

Except you are just a marketer who is out to sell a gimmick and then attract more people by telling them how well your last gimmick did.

But if you love writing and the art of storytelling, then you need to challenge yourself. Even within your niche, you need to explore new ideas, new formats, and new ways of telling a story.

A varied range of topics helps you improve your writing as you learn how to work with different contexts.

Even if your niche is growing on Medium, there’s more to it than the gimmicky articles that don’t actually teach how to write titles, craft hooks, select images, or write a call to action that actually converts.

3. You lose the spark and desire.

There’s nothing as motivating as new mountains to climb. If you notice that you are slipping and your usual motivation to write is waning, it’s likely because your mind is growing numb to your routine topics.

Explore other topics, formats, and avenues of telling your story. These new frontiers might be harder and clunkier because it’s unfamiliar to you, but lean into the excitement of something new.

Most times, you are able to carry your existing audience with you as you go on this new journey because your audience is just as curious as you about where it all leads.

Don’t feel attacked, I come in peace.

I am not saying you must write about your personal life, or expose your anonymity if that’s not your cup of tea.

But just like visual artists tend to explore different genres, as writers, reinventing ourselves would lead to growth.

So consider switching things up, that might just be the push you need to break free from your cocoon.

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