How I Got 1,000+ Followers on Medium and How You Can Too!

AKA From Zero To Hero

· First, Some Context. · My Experience On The Table. · The Sea Of Obscurity. · The Steps. ∘ Step 1: Invest in a Paid Account ∘ Step 2: Trigger the Algorithm ∘ Step 3: Set the Tone ∘ Step 4: If You Want a Friend, Be a Friend ∘ Step 5: Consistent Attack ∘ Step 6: Reaction Articles ∘ Step 7: Schedule · Now What?

First, Some Context.

Are you struggling to gain followers on Medium?

Or even worse, are you just starting on Medium and don’t feel like taking “the scenic route?” lol.

I get that.

I started messing around on this platform back in May of 2022 with the goal of actually trying to build some kind of audience here. I had a profile before that, and I had posted a few articles…

…but I never really took it seriously and had no system or method for anything I did. The truth is I barely posted and forgot about it, mostly.

It was in May of 2022 that I decided to see what I could do on Medium.

My goal was simple.

Medium generated about 120 Million visitors a month, with about 700k registered paying subscribers. That seems like a valuable audience I would like to tap into if possible. Another benefit was the built-in monetization mechanism on the platform.

So I decided to see if I could tap into that audience. I figured I would get a case study from it to use as an asset, for a bonus, or to sell if it worked. The worst-case scenario was that even if it didn’t work, I would still get a case study I could use as free content for audience building.

Either way, I’m winning. That’s lesson number one. Always seek the win.

My Experience On The Table.

To be fair, this isn’t my first rodeo. I own an online business, and many would call me a professional marketer, so I know a few things about moving into a platform and building an audience.

That being said, I figured out early on I didn’t want to use my email list or other social media to build my Medium up. The reason why is that it’s a gated community. People from the outside can really only read three articles without joining and getting a paid account.

I was interested in seeing if I could build an audience with the existing Medium subscribers. Those who have already proven that they are okay with paying money for value. That’s a valuable group of people.

So anyways…

What I’m saying here is, don’t let any experience I might have, discourage you. Anyone can do the things I’m talking about here. Don’t look for excuses why you can’t get something done. I never made a dime from finding reasons or excuses for myself. Moving on…

I never doubted that I could build an audience here, but the real question was how to do it in an easy way that was energy efficient and gave me more than I put into it as far as time vs. money.

When you first start online, you don’t think about the whole time and money in vs. output thing. Cost analysis and all that. However, the longer you are here and the older you get…

…the more you start to realize you only get so long on this planet. You get what everyone else gets, right? You get a lifetime. So while success is always the goal, it must be a success on my own terms.

So…

The Sea Of Obscurity.

As a writer on the platform, I understand the frustration of putting your heart and soul into your writing only to have it go unnoticed. The fact of the matter is, it’s not just Medium. It’s pretty much everywhere on the internet.

In 2023, the Sea of Obscurity is alive and well, lol.

If you want to put your blood, sweat, and tears into your content and have it completely ignored by mostly everyone…

…you’ll find no shortage of places to do that online, lol.

The key is always to study the platform you want to grow on, create a plan for attack on said platform, and adjust as you go, figuring out what works and what doesn’t really work or matter.

Through simple trial and error, I devised a method that has helped me gain my first 1,000 followers on Medium fairly easily. I wanted to share it with you.

Hope it helps.

The Steps.

Here are the steps I took:

Step 1: Invest in a Paid Account

To get the most out of Medium, it’s important to have a paid account. It’s only $5 a month, and the benefits are worth it. With a paid account, you can access Medium’s partner program, which allows you to earn money from your writing.

But more importantly, the paid account will unlock your ability to read more than three articles monthly. That is critical for this to work.

If you are afraid to invest five bucks a month in this endeavor, then I don’t know what to tell you except that finding success online is way harder than that, and you don’t belong reading my article.

I’m here to give it to you straight, not coddle a bunch of cheapskate newbies who are afraid of losing five bucks. No offense. ;)

Okay, for those of you who are left…let’s move on…

Step 2: Trigger the Algorithm

To get the algorithm on Medium to work in your favor, it’s important to follow about 10 to 20 people in your niche right from the beginning. Try to follow people who write actively, and by actively, I mean posting at least a couple of times a month.

This will help give the algorithm a feel for the kind of content you want coming up in your feed. It will make your life easier as you won’t have to go looking for content that aligns with your niche all the time.

Step 3: Set the Tone

To set the tone for your profile, write five articles on polarizing subjects in your niche. Don’t be afraid to be contrarian. Make sure your titles are polarizing and that the articles deliver on what the title suggests. These articles will be the foundation of your account and will set the tone for anyone visiting your profile.

Here are a few tips on the kind of content that can help you when setting the tone:

One) Challenge conventional wisdom: One way to be contrarian is to challenge commonly held beliefs or conventional wisdom in your niche. For example, if you’re in the fitness niche, you could write an article challenging the idea that you need to work out for hours a day to see results.

Two) Take a controversial stance: Another way to be polarizing is to take a stance on a controversial topic within your niche. For example, if you’re in the marketing niche, you could write an article arguing that traditional marketing is dead and that social media marketing is the only way to go.

Three) Share unpopular opinions: You can also be polarizing by sharing unpopular opinions within your niche. For example, if you’re in the food and drink niche, you could write an article arguing that organic food is a scam and that there’s no real difference between organic and non-organic food.

Four) Use provocative language: Use provocative language in your titles and throughout your article to catch readers’ attention and make them more likely to engage with your content. This could mean using strong language or even profanity in your titles or using bold, opinionated statements throughout your article.

Five) Be authentic: Above all, it’s important to be authentic and true to yourself when writing polarizing content. Don’t write something just because you think it will be controversial or get a lot of clicks. Write about what you truly believe and are passionate about, and your polarizing content will be much more effective.

Step 4: If You Want a Friend, Be a Friend

Commit to writing five meaningful comments on others’ work in your niche daily on Medium. By meaningful comments, I mean actually adding something to the conversation. Pretend that the original article is the first part of the conversation and that you’re going to add the second part.

This will add value to the comment section and drive traffic to your profile. Remember that on Medium, your comments are viewed as content, and they can not only drive traffic but collect views.

But I get it.

When I say “leave a meaningful comment,” most people will say, “great, what the heck is a meaningful comment?” lol. So anyways, here are some tips on meaningful comments from my perspective:

One) Read the entire article: Before commenting on an article, make sure you have read the entire thing. This will help you understand the writer’s perspective and allow you to provide a more thoughtful and insightful comment.

Two) Be specific: Instead of writing a generic comment like “great article,” try to be more specific and point out what you liked about it. You could comment on a particular insight or piece of advice the writer shared, or share a personal experience that relates to the article.

Three) Ask questions: If there is something in the article you don’t fully understand, or if you want the writer’s opinion on something, don’t be afraid to ask questions. This can help start a dialogue and create more engagement around the article.

Four) Be respectful: Even if you disagree with the writer’s perspective, it’s important to be respectful and courteous in your comments. Avoid personal attacks and focus on the ideas presented in the article.

Five) Stay on topic: Make sure your comment is relevant to the article and the discussion at hand. Avoid going off on tangents or bringing up unrelated topics.

Six) Use examples: If you have personal experience or knowledge that relates to the article, use it to support your comment. This can help provide more depth and credibility to your comment.

The bottom line is to comment in a meaningful way; you want to add value to the discussion. Provide thoughtful insights, share personal experiences, and ask thoughtful questions. By doing so, you will not only contribute to the conversation but also attract more readers to your profile.

Step 5: Consistent Attack

To keep readers engaged and interested, commit to publishing one article on Medium every week. The length doesn’t matter, but the impact does. Make sure your articles are polarizing for success.

If you don’t know how to be polarizing, refer back to the tips I gave you in step 3, and let me tell you something. It’s important. If you don’t create impact with your titles and content, then you aren’t going to get readers or followers.

If you don’t know how to be consistent, you will have trouble seeing success with ANYTHING online, not just Medium. Let’s move on…

Step 6: Reaction Articles

To boost your content output, try to take a couple of your meaningful comments a week and turn them into “reaction posts” on your own account. You can use the title of the original article you were commenting on and put “REACTION” in front of it.

For example, you’re reading THIS article, which is entitled:

“From Zero to Hero: How I Got 1,000+ Followers on Medium and How You Can Too”

You could react to it and title yours:

“REACTION: From Zero to Hero: How I Got 1,000+ Followers on Medium and How You Can Too”

You then proceed to give a brief summary of what the original article was about, being sure to shout out the original writer, link to the original article, and then go ahead and paste your comment into your new article.

This is a great way to add to your content output, as well as lift up other content creators on Medium.

Step 7: Schedule

Time block your daily meaningful comment. An hour a day should be plenty of time to write five meaningful comments. Schedule a day a week to write your weekly Medium post. This consistency will attract new readers and help you gain traction on the platform.

Now What?

By following the strategies in these steps, I gained my first 1,000 followers on Medium. It takes time and effort to build a following, but by implementing these strategies, you’ll be well on your way to success.

You should start seeing results from this method within the first week of implementation. Measure your results. The road to success goes directly through the path of adjustment.

And remember this…

You have to be all in if you want to achieve anything worth a damn on the internet. There is no room for “half-assing” around here. If you just go halfway, then go ahead and take comfort in complaining with all the other people who like to go “halfway” and complain about how they can’t make anything happen.

That’s all I got. Good luck out there.

Kam