Summary

A writer shares their success story of transforming their Medium articles into a profitable email course, achieving 245 signups within a week and earning $475 from a magazine editor.

Abstract

The author, who has amassed a significant following on Medium, details their strategy of leveraging popular content to create a targeted email course. They emphasize the importance of data analysis in selecting content, choosing the right format for the product, and crafting a persuasive landing page with clear benefits, social proof, and credibility indicators. The course was promoted through a newsletter and social media, particularly Twitter, resulting in substantial engagement and financial gain. The author also offers resources for other writers looking to monetize their content in similar ways.

Opinions

The author believes that many Medium writers underutilize their content's potential for monetization.
They advocate for a patient approach, suggesting writers build a substantial portfolio and wait for their work to gain traction before repurposing it into other products.
The author stresses the importance of focusing on a niche and solving specific problems for a target audience.
They argue that a well-crafted landing page with detailed descriptions, outcomes, and social proof is crucial for conversion.
The author values the impact of social media, especially Twitter, in promoting digital products and increasing reach.
They suggest that email courses can be more effective than one-off downloads due to the ongoing engagement they provide.
The author sees investing in email marketing tools like Convertkit as a worthwhile expense given the return on investment.
They offer their own experience as evidence of the effectiveness of their approach, including the number of signups and earnings as social proof.
The author provides additional resources and services, such as a writing clinic and hooks dissection, to help other writers improve their craft and marketing strategies.

How I Turned My Medium Content Into A Course (245 Signups in 7 Days)

And I was offered $475 from a magazine editor as a result

If you write on Medium you are sitting on a goldmine.

Most writers let this wealth go to waste. They don’t know how to access the gold and or what tools. I turned my Medium content into a course. It was so easy. And the results staggered me:

50% X growth in 24 hours
doubled my newsletter subscribers (250–499) in 7 days
got paid $475 to write for a national magazine (the editor did the course and liked my writing style)

I’m going to walk you exactly what I did so you can reap the same rewards.

How to choose your content

Your data tells you where the gold is. Look at what gets the most views, high read rates and tons of comments.

But wait until you have enough data. Don’t write 10 articles and then use 5 for a course. Write at least 100 articles and wait until your writing starts to take off. You need to test your content. Keep experimenting until you reach this stage.

A focused niche is essential. Make your content for a target reader and solve a specific problem. No-one signs up for a course full of random tips.

My course taught how to write compelling long-form posts. This appeals to my Medium readers. And X (Twitter), which is encouraging long-form writing. So I picked 5 popular articles to help people write long form.

What should your product be?

There are so many possibilities here. You need to decide:

written or video
course or ebook
instant access or drip-feed

All can work but I chose a written email course sent over 5 days. Here’s why:

The content was already written so this was quicker than recording videos
People download free pdfs and never read them. Five emails gave me many chances to remind people of my content
‘Course’ sounds more valuable than ebook or pdf download
My goal was to gain newsletter subscribers. Receiving 5 emails makes the transition to a weekly newsletter smooth. And gave me a higher retention rate.

I had to upgrade my Convertkit plan. Because no one offers automated emails for free. But my incredible results mean it was a great investment.

Craft a persuasive landing page

A landing page is where people sign up for your product.

It needs to be strong to persuade people to give you their details You can view mine here. Here’s how to make an effective landing page.

Be crystal clear

Include specific details of what people get. Phrases I used:

free email course
delivered over 5 days
5-step writing system
works with blogs, newsletters and Medium

Focus on outcomes for the reader

Showcase what people gain from your product. Here are all the ways I expressed this:

discover the 5 steps you can take to create compelling content
put them together and you’ve got a complete writing system
use these 5 steps to win on Medium or upgrade your newsletter content
follow these 5 steps to find writing success
learn to craft irresistible long-form content
grow your audience, enhance your credibility and make more money

Offer social proof

What others say is super powerful.

Include as much social proof as possible. Once your product launches add the number of signups. My button says ‘Join over 245 writers’. This is more persuasive than ‘sign up here’. Ask for testimonials from those who use your product. (I use Senja).

Then you can use comments to promote your product:

When you start you can use your Medium comments:

and article stats:

Showcase your credibility

Why should anyone listen to you?

This is hard to prove if you are new. But Medium gives you credibility:

Number of articles or words written (I’ve written 125,000 words in 2023)
Followers/views (I’ve grown to 3300 followers in 10 months)
Earnings (I earn $800/month on Medium)

A nice graphic will make your product look credible. I used Adazing for this or you can use Canva.

How to get sign-ups

You can promote your landing page over the next 12–24 months. There’s no panic.

But here’s how I got 245 signups in 7 days.

Email all your subscribers with a persuasive email.

Inspire them to sign up by focusing on what it offers them. Reveal how you learned these valuable insights. Share what they’ve done for you. Emphasise how quick and easy it is to do.

Put a link on the bottom of everything you write. Keep it light and not pushy. You can also include references within your writing. Here’s some tips on how to do that.

Twitter/X:

My biggest success came from Twitter. Being on social media increases your reach and is a valuable part of your writing strategy.

This is the tweet I used to promote my course on X:

I set up an auto-DM with Hyperfury to send the course link to those who commented. Posting links in X kills your post. But having 328 people comment to get the course sends the post viral. 47,300 views! My best ever tweet:

Digital products take your writing up a level. They bring you respect and enhanced credibility. And wins you new fans. Your portfolio of Medium content makes this super easy to do.

So what are you waiting for?

2 ways I can help you:

Writing Clinic — personal feedback to improve your writing
My 10 best X hooks dissected (free email course)