How To Gain More Readers on Medium By Spending an Extra 5 Minutes on Three Simple Steps

Writing and editing aren’t the most time consuming steps.

If you ask a writer what they spend most of their time on, you’d expect them to say editing or writing drafts. They write a lot because they are writers. That must take up most of their time.

Since I’ve been writing consistently, I realized this wasn’t the case.

Sure, I spend time throwing ideas on a piece of paper. Then I re-read it and edit. But this isn’t the most time-consuming part of the process.

The longest part comes as I’m uploading the story onto Medium.

First, I copy and paste the text. Then the headlines, pictures, and formatting.

Don’t Overlook the Importance of a Great Headline

I used to spend a couple of minutes writing a headline. I’d just toss in any headline that described my story without much strategy.

Looking at my first stories on Medium, the headlines were straightforward and not engaging. Looking back, I probably wouldn’t click on them either!

In hopes of getting more reads and clicks, I started to spend more time on headlines. Instead of writing one and running with that, I wrote 5–10 possible headlines. Then I’d choose the best one.

For inspiration, I’d observe headlines on other articles. I’d also check random online headline generators to see if they could generate additional inspiration.

If I compare my newer stories to my older stories, I can see a marked difference. My recent articles are gaining more attention.

I used more strategies to create headlines. I noted the use of powerful words to capture attention, such as astonishing, revolutionary, and conquer.

I also used more numbers and statistics. If you compare the headlines below, can you see the difference?

Simple Headline: Looking to Increase Your Productivity?

One of my older articles has this headline. It appears to try to grab the reader’s attention, but it’s not quite there. It lacks some oomph.

Revised Headline: 5 Proven Tips to Increase Your Productivity by 50% In A Week

Let’s revise the headline. Now it includes numbers and contains an action for the reader. The important part of this, is that the action results in something of value to the reader, which would make them more likely to read the story.

Of course the reader would love to increase their productivity by 50% in a week! That’s something which holds a lot of value to the reader.

Do you feel that it’s more clickable and appealing?

A Great Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

If you’ve read articles on Medium, you’ll notice that more than a few writers have mentioned the importance of adding visuals to stories.

But many images from Pexels or Unsplash have been used over and over again. Readers are bored of seeing the same pictures. I get it.

When I choose photos, I scroll through many pages to find something unique to accompany my story. It’s incredible how a good picture can add depth to your story.

Sometimes I’ll also use personal photos I’ve taken as well. It actually takes me a lot of time to go through all my photos to find the perfect one. And then sometimes I get sidetracked and just start looking at my album collection!

My next step might be to create images from Canva to make sure it’s a special one! I can fully customize it and make sure that it goes well with my story.

Whatever the case, make sure you don’t use generic photos.

Increase Readability for Your Audience By Formatting Properly

As I’ve written in a previous story (see below link if you’re interested to read), walls of text don’t generally sit well with readers.

It’s just hard to read and absorb the information.

When I read an article, I click away in a minute or two if I see paragraphs of words. The absence of pictures and breaks in the story tends to bore the reader quickly.

To avoid tiring the reader in the opening sentences, I include a lot of strategic intervals scattered throughout the story.

After delivering some information to the reader, I insert a small break, such as a URL or a photo.

These crucial gaps allow the reader to digest the information and then read on. It helps to retain interest and engagement.

Takeaways

Here are the 3 simple steps to take away from this article.

1. Don’t overlook the importance of a great headline. Use attention grabbing words and bring value to your reader.

2. A great picture is worth a thousand words. Use a unique photo to supplement your stories.

3. Use formatting to increase readability for your audience.

Combining these steps takes me just as long, maybe even longer, than just writing and editing an article. The story needs to be aesthetically pleasing.

It’s easy to overlook the importance of readability. Don’t make this mistake!

Imagine a movie without sound effects or music. How boring!

You’d probably walk out of the theatre in less than 5 minutes.

There’s no harm in trying these steps out in your next story. Let me know how it goes!

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