How to Get Started on Medium

Tricks and resources to help get you up to speed

I’ve been getting a lot of emails lately on how to get the most out of Medium. So, I decided to write this article rather than answer each message independently.

Medium is more than just a blogging platform, it’s a community. It’s one of the best ways I’ve found to participate in discussions on a wide variety of topics, and it’s also a lucrative way to monetize your writing.

Like any new platform, it can feel intimidating when you start. However, if you are diligent and you stick to good practices, you’ll find your interaction with Medium will be very rewarding.

Start an account

All you have to do to get started is sign up for a free account. The process is similar to any other online platform, and you have the opportunity to add a profile picture and write a brief biography.

You can write articles and even sign up for the Medium partnership program with a free account. However, a free account limits the number of articles you read each month.

I would highly recommend signing up to become a member. It’s only $5 per month or $50 per year and it allows you to interact with all the other writers on the platform. Medium is just as much about reading as it is about writing, and you’ll be impressed by the quality of the articles available. The thing that makes Medium unique is that there’s no corporate agenda. It’s just interesting people with stories to tell.

Medium partnership program

The moment you have an account, you need to sign up for the medium partnership program. This is how you get paid for your articles. Medium allows you to earn a passive income through your writing. As you become more adept at promoting your work, you’ll start to see earnings. The earnings will be small at first, but if you are committed to the platform they are likely to grow over time.

All you need is a Stripe account and a bank account to sign up for the program. If you are concerned about connecting to your regular bank account, then start up an online bank account and connect through that.

Article format

It’s a good practice to follow the Medium curation guidelines for all your articles. If you write quality articles, Medium will select them for further distribution. Although distribution doesn’t guarantee the article will make you money, distribution always helps to bring your article greater visibility.

It’s important to choose a high-quality image either of your own or from a page like Unsplash. I find that I have the best success if I use a landscape orientation rather than portrait. When you’re searching for images on Unsplash, you can select which orientation you prefer.

Always attribute your images. Unsplash provides an attribution link you can just copy and paste. If it’s your image, just put “Image courtesy of Your Name.”

Always follow the formatting guidelines of publications. Here is a good resource for learning how to format.

Publications

Publications are what make Medium really interesting. There are many publications that exist as individual communities within the larger Medium community. Some of these publications are followed by hundreds of thousands of people and can therefore bring a lot of visibility to your work.

To contribute to a publication requires getting added as a writer. I’ve written an article on that process which you can find here:

Unless you’re a seasoned writer, I wouldn’t recommend submitting to publications right away. Instead, self-publish some articles, promote them yourself, and see how it works out.

Self-publishing

Having an article accepted to a major publication can help your article get selected for curation. However, it’s good practice to self-publish some articles in addition to submitting articles to publications. I find that articles that are in big publications get curated immediately, and articles that are self-published sometimes are accepted after a few weeks.

In addition to independently operated publications, there are also internal publications operated by Medium. The editors for these publications are on the lookout for new writers, and they discover you through self-published articles. Therefore, you should self-publish a couple of articles a week just for the opportunity to get added to the bigger publications.

How to grow your followers

As you get started, you’ll want to grow your list of followers. Again, this is like any other social media platform. The more visible you are, the faster your list of followers will grow.

As a general rule, I like to follow back anyone who follows me. I also follow anyone who leaves a positive comment on one of my articles, or claps for one of my articles. If someone leaves a comment, it’s a good practice to read one of their articles and comment as well. Here’s an article on gaining followers:

Medium allows you to follow 125 people per day (subject to change) before it tells you that you’ve reached your daily limit. There is no penalty for reaching your limit. Follow relevant people, interact, and watch your own list grow.

Make writing a habit

Persistence is the virtue that will really pay off on Medium. You have to make writing a habit. Knock those articles out, and put your butt in a chair to write every day. This article might help:

In addition to writing articles, don’t be stingy with comments or claps. The more you interact, the quicker you will become an integral part of the community.

Leverage social media

You should get in the habit of promoting your articles. Social media management tools are a great way to schedule posts and ensure that all of your social media platforms are working for you. Read more about that here:

You can also do a search and join various Medium promotional groups on Facebook. Posting your links to relevant Facebook groups can be very useful, but it can also be time-consuming. As a general rule, I spend almost all of my time on Medium and I’m rarely on Facebook these days (even to promote). To tell you the truth, quitting Facebook has been a lifesaver!

Welcome to a wonderful community

I’ve found that people who interact and contribute to Medium tend to represent the best that the internet has to offer. You’ll get a lot of interaction on your articles and receive many insightful comments. Occasionally you’ll get a negative or unreasonable comment, but these are usually from individuals with only a few followers. I see that most with my political articles, so I kind of expect there to be some heated discussion.

Medium allows you to follow the writers and publications you enjoy and block the writers you don’t. When you check the app on your phone, you’ll find there are always dozens of high-quality articles that will get you thinking.

If you write quality articles, you will get interesting responses and you might even start seeing some decent income. In the 20 years, I’ve spent working as a writer, I’ve found Medium to be one of the most enjoyable and lucrative publication platforms on the internet. Don’t hesitate to comment with questions or comments.

Good luck!