Summary

An author on Medium shares their journey of achieving over 100,000 views in less than three months by adhering to a daily writing routine, testing various writing strategies, focusing on resonant content, optimizing distribution channels, and maintaining originality despite fear.

Abstract

The author of the article began the year with a resolution to improve their writing by publishing a post on Medium every day, except weekends. Despite initial doubts, they managed to keep up with this commitment, resulting in a significant increase in viewership from 477 views in January to over 100,000 views in March. The article outlines five key takeaways from this success: the importance of consistency, the need for continuous testing of writing processes, the distinction between resonance and relevance in topic selection, the strategic use of distribution channels, and the courage to share original thoughts without succumbing to fear. The author emphasizes that while the journey was challenging, the growth in readership underscores the value of persistence and a well-rounded approach to content creation and dissemination.

Opinions

The author believes that consistency is crucial and acknowledges the difficulty in maintaining a daily writing practice, especially when facing personal challenges or a lack of immediate feedback.
They advocate for a rigorous process of self-testing to refine one's writing and content creation approach, suggesting that this is a key factor in their increased viewership.
The author distinguishes between content that is merely relevant and content that resonates deeply with readers, arguing for the latter's importance in engaging an audience.
They stress the significance of effective content distribution, highlighting the benefits of publishing through aligned Medium publications and promoting content across social media platforms, particularly LinkedIn.
The author encourages writers to overcome the fear of not being the most knowledgeable on a topic, asserting that each individual's unique perspective has inherent value and can contribute fresh insights to readers.
They conclude with the overarching advice to never give up on one's goals, framing persistence as a fundamental element of success in writing and content creation.

How I Hit 100,000+ Views On Medium In Less Than 3 Months

In past years, my New Year’s resolutions haven’t amounted to much. Like many of your’s out there, mine normally fall completely flat (no offense—they’re just hard!). If I’m being honest with you, I didn’t exactly expect this year’s to be any different. Often a new diet or workout goal, it’s a nice motivator for a week or two and then tends to fade.

In any case, my resolution for 2019 was to get better at writing by practicing it publicly. Specifically, the goal was to write a post here on Medium every single day—well, excluding the weekends.

My resolution was to get better at writing by practicing it publicly. My approach? Write a daily post on Medium.

The angel on my shoulder was rooting me on, determined to watch me succeed and shouting “How hard can it be? You’ve got this!” Meanwhile, the devil on the other shoulder had equal fervor, albeit negative: “No f*cking way, man. You already tried this last August and failed miserably. Good luck.”

So, almost three months since I resolved to take this on, what’s happened? Which side prevailed? I’m happy to say that I’ve actually kept it up! I’ve written a post every single day since January 2nd—58 posts, but who’s counting. 😉

But you’re not here for my witty intro or wink emojis, are you? You want to get down to brass tacks and hear what did I do to go from 477 total views in January to over 100,000+ views in March.

Well, after a bit of reflection, here are my five key takeaways for what’s contributed to the expansive growth over the past few months:

1. Above all else, stay consistent.

It sounds obvious, but if there is one reason why I’ve achieved any sort of success on Medium so far, it’s because I simply have not quit. I’m here every damn day. It’s not easy, believe me. Take today, for example, I had a really crappy day and I very easily could’ve made up some excuse to tell myself and to tell you sitting on the other side of this screen, but we both know it would’ve been my famous last words.

Consistency is often in direct conflict with flexibility.

Consistency in any aspect of life is hard—shit happens, circumstances arise that naturally make us desire flexibility. Consistency is often in direct conflict with flexibility. Here on Medium, even if you’re posting every day, you need to prepare yourself for the very likely chance that you’ll be posting into void for sometime before you hear any sign of life back from the darkness. But that’s ok, don’t let that crush your spirit. Keep on going, day in and day out.

2. Test, test, test. Then test some more.

What I mean by testing is less focused on your audience and more for yourself. Test what types of posts really unlock your creativity. Test what times of day make the most sense for you to write. Test where you gain inspiration from. Test how you store your ideas and how you take them from ideation to execution. Constantly testing your own process helps you refine it to the best version of itself.

I firmly believe that this has been one of the leading factors in my viewership growth. If you’re interested in hearing more about my specific process, drop a note in the comments and I may write a separate post about a day-in-the-life of a daily post.

3. Seek resonance, not relevance.

When I think of topics to write about, the first place I start is with my own curiosity. But the very next step is thinking about the level of resonance these ideas have with the people who may read it. There is a very clear distinction I want to make: resonance ≠ relevance.

Resonance ≠ relevance

Relevance relates to whether the idea is top-of-mind for someone, it implies a time sensitivity. Resonance simply means that this may be a topic that, regardless of timing, hits home with an individual.

4. Be smart about distribution.

Distribution is often the most underappreciated aspect of any content strategy. You spend all this time and effort into the creation, but very little into how you’ll share that content.

I’ve found that the perfect balance of distribution is a combination of the following: (1) finding Medium publications that align with the content who are willing to have you post as a writer for them (for me, that’s been The Ascent, Noteworthy, Startup Growth, and a few others). And (2) cross-platform promotion on social media channels. LinkedIn has been the most successful from a per post engagement standpoint.

5. Don’t let originality succumb to fear.

The final takeaway from the growth I’ve seen is that the worst case scenario is that you let your fear overcome your desire to put your thoughts onto paper.

You might think that someone else knows more about the topic you’re writing on, and guess what, someone probably does! But not everyone. In fact, the vast majority of people will have never seen that idea articulated through your specific perspective—don’t underestimate the value of your own lens on the world.

All in all, when you find a great combination of these takeaway tips, you set yourself up for success. It might take a month, six months, or even longer, but at the end of the day, the most important lesson is to never give up. It sounds cliché, but heck, it’s damn true.

Cover art via Unsplash