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Abstract

ting is a different beast. It’s driven by the need to keep attention. Readers are impatient. They skim your content. Your writing style needs to adapt to this new world.</p><p id="65bf">3 tips that have worked for me:</p><h2 id="c3c3">Be more concise</h2><p id="274a">When we speak we include filler and repetition to provide space for the listener. Writing is the opposite. It needs to be concise. And not waste time.</p><p id="b8dc">So look for words you can remove. Delete sentences that add nothing. Say what you mean with fewer words.</p><h2 id="fe80">Power up your words</h2><p id="e357">All words aren’t equal.</p><p id="8e93">Some words evoke a reaction. Others are barely noticed. Swap weak words for stronger ones. Use ChatGPT or a thesaurus to find upgrades.</p><p id="7f1c">Check out these examples:</p><p id="8540">steal > use</p><p id="89fc">inject > add</p><p id="9a92">kill > remove</p><p id="f8cf">reveal > explain</p><p id="98a9">explode > increase</p><p id="fce3">upgrade > improve</p><h2 id="0393">Help readers skim</h2><p id="6df0">If it’s hard to skim readers will leave the page.</p><p id="778f">So avoid big blocks of text. Provide plenty of white space. Break your content into sections with clear headings. Use bullets. And steal my favourite trick. A single sentence at the beginning and end of sections.</p><p id="1748">Don’t try everything at once. Pick one idea. Focus on using it for a month. Then integrate a second idea. Do this for 6 months and your growth will rocket.</p><h1 id="94ae">3. Learn to promote your content</h1><p id="4f9a">Writing isn’t enough.</p><p id="bba7">You’ll need a bag of tricks. If you want eyes on your writing.</p><h2 id="6d61">Use publications correctly</h2><p id="cf5f">If you don’t use publications well. You’ll make less money on Medium.</p><p id="3f94">I’ve wasted time crafting articles for ‘better’ publications. It slowed my writing because I was researching what the publication wanted. And I was writing for them rather than readers. And when I finally got into a larger publication my story didn’t perform any better.</p><p id="86a7">Here’s what you should do.</p><p id="d731">You won’t go viral by getting into the right publication. So don’t waste endless energy on this. Find 4 publications that’ll quickly publish your stuff. Rotate your submissions around them. And focus on writing content.</p><p id="4418">It’s more important to publish regularly. And focus on what readers want.</p><h2 id="6fb3">Be a shrewd commenter</h2><p id="b3a3">If you struggle for readers. It’s time to go and find some.</p><p id="e9a1">You’ll find your target reader lurking in the comments of similar writers. Make a brilliant comment and you’ll get noticed. When you start every extra view matters. So invest time into comments. You are sowing seeds now. For a future harvest.</p><p id="edba">Choose 10 similar writers (7 slightly bigger & 3 top writers). Spent 15 minutes a day speed-reading their content. And making meaningful comments. Don’t write essays. But don’t be bland either. <i>Thanks for this</i> or <i>nice tips </i>won’t get you noticed.</p><p id="a1ca

Options

">How to comment well:</p><ul><li>drop in an achievement —<i> when I adopted X exercise I lost 10 lbs. I doubled my income when I started a newsletter. I brought joy back to my relationship by doing Y every day</i></li><li>add a useful point to the article —<i> I loved point Y and an easy way to do this is Z</i></li><li>share your article as a resource — do this rarely and only when it’s helpful. <i>Totally agree stretches prevent injury. I’ve started a new routine that has helped me. You can read more about it here.</i></li></ul><p id="aaf3">These tactics will get people looking at your stuff. But will your headline get them to click?</p><h1 id="d093">4. Nail your headline</h1><p id="3c23">The headline is the most important sentence you write.</p><p id="4e23">So give it the time and attention it needs. A tiny tweak can make a massive difference. I recently noticed a friend had a typo in his headline so I sent him a message. I also mentioned a little change he could make.</p><p id="0f71">His earnings jumped from $2 to$ 84.</p><p id="9728">The two mistakes I see writers making are:</p><h2 id="fd80">Lack of clarity</h2><p id="f45d">A confused reader never clicks.</p><p id="fc96">People need to know:</p><ul><li>who it’s for</li><li>what it’s about</li><li>what problem it solves</li><li>what they will gain from reading it</li></ul><p id="46a2">Be clear to get clicks.</p><h2 id="eb12">No curiosity</h2><p id="1290">Why is this headline so bad?</p><p id="519a"><i>Eat more vegetables to prevent cancer</i></p><p id="2d98">Awful. You’ve given the answer away! Removing any urge to read it. Be clear about everything. Except for the solution.</p><p id="dacf">Why is this a terrible headline?</p><p id="01b2"><i>You’ll never guess what crazy thing happened at work today?</i></p><p id="6c0e">It triggers curiosity by teasing the reader. But lacks clarity. Who is it for? What’s it about? Curiosity without clarity destroys your read rate and ruins your growth.</p><p id="ced9">For every headline ask yourself:</p><ul><li>Is it clear?</li><li>does it trigger curiousity?</li></ul><p id="b8bd">Here’s the 4 steps. Keep doing them. Don’t give up. And you’ll find the growth you crave:</p><ol><li>Write about pain points</li></ol><p id="03b8">2. Master the art of writing</p><p id="c3b9">3. Promote your content</p><p id="aaa2">4. Nail your headline</p><p id="a285"><i>If you want the writing system that took me from 500–5000 followers in 6 months. Join 804 writers and sign up for my free email course:</i></p><div id="3f54" class="link-block"> <a href="https://www.derekhughes.biz"> <div> <div> <h2>Free email course</h2> <div><h3>Three minutes a day puts the tools you need in your hands. Use them to become a compelling writer and raise your game.</h3></div> <div><p>www.derekhughes.biz</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*XyMo6xbTqN608ST0)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

How To Earn Your First $1000 On Medium

4 strategies I used to earn $800/month (with no writing experience)

You need the truth about Medium.

Anyone can make $1000. I’ve no writing background (I studied Accountancy), I’m an old man (50+), with a busy 9–5.

Yet here’s my recent earnings:

Jan $552

Dec $716

Nov $638

Oct $946

So if I can do this. Anyone can. But most writers won’t. Only the top 5% earn $1000+. The problem is not how to grow. (I’m going to show you how simple it is). The challenge is it takes time. And it takes work.

Look at what my first 7 months looked like:

July $26.21

June $21.34

May $24.03

Apr $10.07

March $0

Feb $0

Jan $0

Seven months work. 1–2 hours a day. To earn a paltry $80. It’s hard to keep writing when you feel like a failure. But if you’re someone who will put in the work. And keep going. You can hit $1000. (And much more than that).

This is how to do it.

1. Write about a pain point

It’s tough getting people to read your stuff.

One of the best changes I made was to stop writing about topics. And start writing about problems. This added serious traction to my growth. Don’t assume readers care about your writing. You need to show them why it matters. Show the impact it will have. Focus on how you can help them. Tell your stories. But serve your reader.

We’re overwhelmed with information.

But desperate for transformation. This simple truth is your entry ticket to $1000. Sift content and make it digestible for readers. Show how it has worked for you. Don’t deliver platitudes. Tell stories to earth insights into normal life. Help people live well and you’ll win fans.

For example, this article earned me $600. Anyone can steal its tactics:

Short introduction to raise the issue
5 points that offer a solution
A simple explanation of each point
Examples to show the solution in practice

Locate your reader’s problems. And give them help.

2. Master the art of writing

The biggest shock when writing online is how the rules have changed.

Forget everything you’ve been taught at school or college. Online writing is a different beast. It’s driven by the need to keep attention. Readers are impatient. They skim your content. Your writing style needs to adapt to this new world.

3 tips that have worked for me:

Be more concise

When we speak we include filler and repetition to provide space for the listener. Writing is the opposite. It needs to be concise. And not waste time.

So look for words you can remove. Delete sentences that add nothing. Say what you mean with fewer words.

Power up your words

All words aren’t equal.

Some words evoke a reaction. Others are barely noticed. Swap weak words for stronger ones. Use ChatGPT or a thesaurus to find upgrades.

Check out these examples:

steal > use

inject > add

kill > remove

reveal > explain

explode > increase

upgrade > improve

Help readers skim

If it’s hard to skim readers will leave the page.

So avoid big blocks of text. Provide plenty of white space. Break your content into sections with clear headings. Use bullets. And steal my favourite trick. A single sentence at the beginning and end of sections.

Don’t try everything at once. Pick one idea. Focus on using it for a month. Then integrate a second idea. Do this for 6 months and your growth will rocket.

3. Learn to promote your content

Writing isn’t enough.

You’ll need a bag of tricks. If you want eyes on your writing.

Use publications correctly

If you don’t use publications well. You’ll make less money on Medium.

I’ve wasted time crafting articles for ‘better’ publications. It slowed my writing because I was researching what the publication wanted. And I was writing for them rather than readers. And when I finally got into a larger publication my story didn’t perform any better.

Here’s what you should do.

You won’t go viral by getting into the right publication. So don’t waste endless energy on this. Find 4 publications that’ll quickly publish your stuff. Rotate your submissions around them. And focus on writing content.

It’s more important to publish regularly. And focus on what readers want.

Be a shrewd commenter

If you struggle for readers. It’s time to go and find some.

You’ll find your target reader lurking in the comments of similar writers. Make a brilliant comment and you’ll get noticed. When you start every extra view matters. So invest time into comments. You are sowing seeds now. For a future harvest.

Choose 10 similar writers (7 slightly bigger & 3 top writers). Spent 15 minutes a day speed-reading their content. And making meaningful comments. Don’t write essays. But don’t be bland either. Thanks for this or nice tips won’t get you noticed.

How to comment well:

drop in an achievement — when I adopted X exercise I lost 10 lbs. I doubled my income when I started a newsletter. I brought joy back to my relationship by doing Y every day
add a useful point to the article — I loved point Y and an easy way to do this is Z
share your article as a resource — do this rarely and only when it’s helpful. Totally agree stretches prevent injury. I’ve started a new routine that has helped me. You can read more about it here.

These tactics will get people looking at your stuff. But will your headline get them to click?

4. Nail your headline

The headline is the most important sentence you write.

So give it the time and attention it needs. A tiny tweak can make a massive difference. I recently noticed a friend had a typo in his headline so I sent him a message. I also mentioned a little change he could make.

His earnings jumped from $2 to $84.

The two mistakes I see writers making are:

Lack of clarity

A confused reader never clicks.

People need to know:

who it’s for
what it’s about
what problem it solves
what they will gain from reading it

Be clear to get clicks.

No curiosity

Why is this headline so bad?

Eat more vegetables to prevent cancer

Awful. You’ve given the answer away! Removing any urge to read it. Be clear about everything. Except for the solution.

Why is this a terrible headline?

You’ll never guess what crazy thing happened at work today?

It triggers curiosity by teasing the reader. But lacks clarity. Who is it for? What’s it about? Curiosity without clarity destroys your read rate and ruins your growth.

For every headline ask yourself:

Is it clear?
does it trigger curiousity?

Here’s the 4 steps. Keep doing them. Don’t give up. And you’ll find the growth you crave:

Write about pain points

2. Master the art of writing

3. Promote your content

4. Nail your headline

If you want the writing system that took me from 500–5000 followers in 6 months. Join 804 writers and sign up for my free email course: