Inspiration
How to Become a Top Writer in Three Months on Medium
An experience-based practical guide for new writers on Medium
“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” — Stephen King.
Introduction and Context of the Story
As demonstrated by recent bonus schemes, Medium rewards top writers. Being a top writer means many of your stories are being read by a large group of readers consistently. According to Medium, the criteria reflect “receiving high member engagement.”
Here is an indication from Medium on how writers get bonuses.
So, according to this chart, the top 2,000 writers get a bonus.
For example, those who are in the first 1,000 got $500.
Based on my experience and observations, this post provides practical guidance to increase your chance of being among the top 2,000 writers. Using my publications, I helped over 16,000 writers get visibility on Medium. My goal is to help as many writers as possible to become successful on this platform.
Let’s get started focusing on the critical points. I know your time is valuable, and I believe that you want to become a top writer among these 2,000 engaging writers and increase your chance of getting a potential bonus soon.
Critical points
The first critical point is knowing about the tags because Medium algorithms use the tags to determine top writers. If you visit tag pages, you can see the trending stories on the top ten of each page. When your story hits the top of a tag, it has more chance of gaining visibility. For example, this article about the good news on Medium that I posted yesterday is now trending in the #writing tag.
From my observations, stories chosen for distribution and high engagement rates hit the top of a specific tag page. The more frequently your stories show on the tag pages, the higher they are discovered by readers. This is because readers follow tags.
There are around 70 tags. You can find the list in the final section of this story.
The common question is how to gain top writer status in the shortest possible time.
There are many factors. However, the fastest way to become a top writer on a specific topic is to have a viral story on those topics. So if your story goes viral and if you use five tags for that particular story qualifying for being a top writer, your chance of being a top writer in these five tags substantially increases.
Tip: always use your five tags from the qualifying tags mapped to top writers pages. For example, I used to tag some of my stories using #IoT tag and did not get top writer status despite many well performing stories related to this topic. However, recently I discovered the qualifying tag #internetofthings and now I am a top writer in this tag.
By the way, Medium introduced a new feature for readers to sort stories on each tag using three categories.
Now, let’s delve into viral stories.
The key point is that we can increase the chance even though viral stories are not within our control.
1 — How can we increase the chance of virality?
I shared my findings in this story titled “This Is My Simple Formula To Creating Viral Stories”.
I categorized them under seven points in my previous article. Here is a summary of the key points:
1 — Your story needs an enticing title, a subtitle, and a cover photo. Your first and second paragraphs are critical to creating visibility for your stories.
2 — You need to have a first paragraph to hook your reader.
3 — Your last paragraph must be conclusive and entice the reader to read the full story if they only check your conclusion. Yes, many readers only check the conclusion to get some quick tips about their interest areas.
4 — Your reading times come from the main body of the story. So your first and last paragraphs entice the readers to spend time on your main content.
5 — Readers prefer credible writers in their topics. You need to find smart and subtle ways to depict your expertise in a chosen field.
6 — Engagement is an essential factor for gaining visibility. Not only engaging in stories of other writers but also engaging in comments left on your stories. Responding to comments encourages your readers to read your future articles.
7 — Sharing your stories on multiple social media platforms may not bring you desired reading times, but they help your stories to be discovered by search engines. The more backlinks your stories create, the more chance they get indexed by search engines.
Here is an article depicting my experience and observation of viral stories in 2021.
2 — The next point is writing consistently.
You need to write almost every day. If you write a story daily, you generate around 30 stories a month. Suppose you post two stories, and the amount doubles. Sixty stories make more impact on the visibility of your profile. I know some prolific writers post three stories a day.
Writing every day has two key benefits to achieving top writer status.
Firstly each story you write notifies your readers and keeps your readers engaged with your stories.
Secondly, the more engagement in your stories, the higher your stories get on the tag pages.
3 — Increase your followers.
Even though followers do not make a huge difference, you still need some followers because you cannot have regular readers without having followers.
Increasing your followers is a good start but not the primary goal. The critical point is to convert your followers to your regular readers. Your engagement with your readers can increase your chance of influencing them to be your regular readers.
You can ask a few questions like: Does my story solve a problem for my readers? Does it entertain them? Does it inform them?
Here is an article to guide on how to increase followers
This article provides insights on building your reading audience.
And subscribers are critical to increasing reading times.
4 — Amplify your stories using short-form stories frequently.
Short-form stories are easy and effective. Many readers prefer short forms. The purpose of short-form stories is not to earn income. They hardly bring any reading times.
However, the goal is to create a hook for your new readers. The short-form story should entice your new reader to read your long-form stories by giving teasers.
They can include questions and key points from your long-form stories. You can learn more about short-form stories in this article.
To prevent duplication, always handcraft your short-form stories refraining from copying and paste of your long-form stories.
Medium does not allow duplicate content. It is against the policy, so your account can have the risk of suspension if the monitoring algorithm detects duplication. Unfortunately, it has happened to many writers.
Always remember to add a link to your long-form story in the short form. It is obvious, but sometimes writers forget to add links.
Without a link, it can be challenging for your readers to find your stories. Readers don’t have much time. There are thousands of writers and millions of stories. You need to make it easy for your readers to find your content.
5 — Join writing prompts and challenges.
Even better, you might create prompts and challenges. You can invite writers with whom you collaborate on specific topics and genres.
I noticed that many poets use prompts, and they build a good network using this technique. It is also fun. It can motivate and help you overcome writer’s block.
Here are four common writing challenges many writers participated in and enjoyed.
For the last one, you can copy and paste questions from the story to your draft and answer each question. Readers enjoy knowing more about the writers they follow. This is an excellent opportunity for you to provide more information about yourself.
No one gets anywhere by being shy. Introduce yourself with confidence.
If you are a new writer, you need to create a writer bio introducing yourself and your writing practice to your readers. “About me” stories get lots of readers. Such a story is an excellent opportunity for you to gain new readers.
Besides, you can give a taste of your stories by introducing a few links to your important stories. You can find sample writer bios in this collection. I always share this story with new contributors joining my publications.
6 — Writing for publications requires following specific rules.
These rules aim to increase the quality and readability of your stories. I don’t know about other publications, but it is my goal to contribute to our publications.
I want them to gain more readers and more reading times. Therefore, I created a simple checklist to help them meet the quality requirements. You can also check the guidelines for my publications if you are just joining them.
More information about my publications is in this process and procedures article.
7 — Last but not least, always share links to your stories on multiple social media sites.
They don’t bring immediate income, but they may get more traffic to your content and account in the long term.
I know we are busy and don’t have much time for social media. However, my recommendation is to use social media intelligently.
Using practical techniques, my social media posts now get over three million impressions per month and bring substantial traffic to Medium.
I shared practical ways to use social media in this story. Based on feedback, many writers use this approach, and they gain benefits.
Conclusions and Takeaways
These are not just theoretical points.
I tried these techniques and found them helpful to be a top writer in multiple tags. Many other writers with whom I collaborate also use these techniques and become top writers. So can you!
I hope you can reach the top 2,000 writers and get your bonus soon.
Writing consistently seems to be the best approach in my experience. I shared my perspective in an interview with Illumination Writers.
I also provided guidance on How Writers and Bloggers Transition to Become Published Authors.
Please enjoy this guide on tripling your income methodically on Medium and other platforms.
You might check out guiding stories in this collection. I document my experience and share them publicly in story format.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
Here are some tips to improve your views and reading times.
Thanks to Aiden (Illumination Gaming) for creating a YouTube video of this important article.
You can meet some top writers contributing to my publications on Medium in the attached link.
Here are links to my publications on Medium. You are welcome to join them. You may send a request to join us via this web link. My editorial team will help you build your audience.
ILLUMINATION ILLUMINATION-Curated ILLUMINATION’ S MIRROR ILLUMINATION Book Chapters Technology Hits SYNERGY Readers Hope Illumination Videos and Podcasts Illumination Gaming ILLUMINATION’s Blog Euphoria
You can meet some of our editors in the attached collection.
Other Guiding Stories for Freelance Writers
The Joy of Selling 1,000+ Books In A Month With Minimal Investment
What I Learned After Publishing 1,010 And Reading 100,000 Stories
Samples Stories for New Readers
Besides aiming to increase the hormonal intelligence of my readers and writing about neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, GABA, acetylcholine, and norepinephrine, one of my goals as a writer is to raise awareness about the causes and risk factors of prevalent diseases that can lead to suffering and death for a large portion of the population.
I aim to educate, create awareness, and empower my readers to take control of their health and well-being.
To raise awareness about health issues, I have written several articles that present my holistic health findings from research, personal observations, and unique experiences. Below are links to these articles for easy access.
Metabolic Syndrome, Type II Diabetes, Fatty Liver Disease, Heart Disease, Strokes, Obesity, Liver Cancer, Autoimmune Disorders, Homocysteine, Lungs Health, Pancreas Health, Kidneys Health, NCDs, Infectious Diseases, Brain Health, Dementia, Depression, Brain Atrophy, Neonatal Disorders, Skin Health, Dental Health, Bone Health, Leaky Gut, Leaky Brain, Brain Fog, Chronic Inflammation, Insulin Resistance, Elevated Cortisol, Leptin Resistance, Anabolic Resistance, Cholesterol, High Triglycerides, Metabolic Disorders, Gastrointestinal Disorders, and Major Diseases.
I also wrote about valuable nutrients. Here are the links for easy access:
Boron, Urolithin, taurine, citrulline malate, biotin, lithium orotate, alpha-lipoic acid, n-acetyl-cysteine, acetyl-l-carnitine, CoQ10, PQQ, NADH, TMG, creatine, choline, digestive enzymes, magnesium, zinc, hydrolyzed collagen, nootropics, pure nicotine, activated charcoal, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B1, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine, and other nutrients to improve metabolism and mental health.
Disclaimer: Please note that my posts do not include professional or health advice. I document my reviews, observations, experience, and perspectives only to provide information and create awareness.
I publish my lifestyle, health, and well-being stories on EUPHORIA. My focus is on metabolic, cellular, mitochondrial, and mental health. Here is my collection of Insightful Life Lessons from Personal Stories.
If you enjoy writing and storytelling, you can join Medium, NewsBreak, and Vocal as a creator to find your voice, reach out to a broad audience, and monetize your content.
You may also check my blog posts about my articles and articles of other writers contributing to my publications on Medium. I share them on my website digitalmehmet.com. Here is my professional bio. You can contact me via weblink.
If you are a writer, you can join Medium, Vocal Media, and NewsBreak as a writer using my referral links and monetizing your content while inspiring a large audience.
You might join my six publications on Medium as a writer by sending a request via this link. 21K+ writers contribute to my publications. You might find more information about my professional background.
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