How to Win Friends and Support Writers On Medium

7 simple ideas to build a strong tribe on the platform

When I first started blogging, all I used to hear was crickets.

In the blogging days, you’d publish a post and no one would see your post for days. All you’d hear as the writer is radio silence.

Blogging can be a lonely activity if you have no established audience or tribe who reads your work and supports you.

It may feel the same way here on Medium. You’ve joined a few Facebook groups and follow some people on Twitter but you still don’t have the feeling that you belong to a community or have the support of other writers.

The good news is you don’t have to go it alone here.

You can take a less lonely road, engage with other writers and stick around on the platform without wanting to quit.

Oh, and you can definitely do this if you’re an introvert and not a people-person.

Show up for others first

The secret of being supported by other writers and having a tribe who will support your journey as a writer is to show up for other people first.

One thing that really irritates me on this platform is how the top writers always want to say that they went it alone, did it alone, and became successful by themselves.

They are likely not telling you that they have a tribe behind the scenes who they are sharing ideas, improving their writing with and strategizing with.

There is an unspoken tribe behind what you see on the screen. Of late, I consult with other people about my articles, my topics, and even my headlines and do the same for other writers.

My message to you today is that you don’t have to go it alone and you can walk your Medium journey with other people.

Having a tribe on Medium allows you to:

• Get feedback and ideas for your articles and your writing
• Helps you feel less lonely and more supported by other people
• Have more people reading and commenting on your work
• Gives you encouragement to keep going

If you are sold on the idea of having a tribe, you may be wondering how you create one? What if no one shows up on your page or reads your writing? What if no one is willing to be part of your tribe?

The simple answer to this is going out there and finding other writers to connect with. You build a tribe by connecting and supporting other writers and then allowing the power of reciprocation to support you.

7 Tips To Win Friends and Support Writers on Medium

1. Add insightful comments to their articles

The #1 way you can help another writer on the platform is to read their articles, highlight them and reflect on them. If you can add an insightful comment to support their point of view, help them think about it differently or spark a new idea, you are going to be in their good books for a long time to come.

Nothing excites a writer more than someone reading their work and appreciating it. Well, the only thing more is commenting on their post with your feedback and comments.

The general rule about life applies. If you have something good to say, say it to them in the comments. If you have criticism or disagree, keep it to yourself or better yet, write your personal opinion as your own blog post. If the goal is to make friends and build a tribe, positive and supportive comments are the way.

2. Share their articles on social media

Another way you can help fellow writers is to share their work on social media and other platforms. Writers are always trying to get their work out to readers so helping them with that task will be met with much gratitude.

Instead of sharing your work only, try to share pieces from fellow writers to your social media network. Ideally, focus on sharing pieces from writers who are writing in your same niche so your audience doesn’t get confused.

In addition to tweeting out articles from other writers, engage with other writers on social media. Many tweets aren’t seen and aren’t responded to. You can retweet tweets, respond to tweets or have a conversation via tweets. On other platforms, you can leave comments for writers on their posts and have a conversation with them.

3. Be willing to give feedback or edit articles for other writers

Of late, more people are sending me their posts to review or give them feedback on. You don’t have to be a top writer to provide feedback or constructive comments to others.

Many writers are doing their own editing and are too close to their writing. Providing an outside perspective and opinion can only help them improve their pieces.

I’ve found that helping people with their titles, subheadings and on the overall flow of their articles to be most helpful to people improving their writing.

4. Buy their books and contribute financially

Writers write blog posts. They write articles. They also write books. Many writers on Medium have books that they promote and sell. There’s no better way to a writer’s heart than buying one of their books.

The only better thing you can do after buying a writer’s book is reviewing their book online on Amazon and other platforms.

If you enjoy reading a writer, also consider donating to them by buying them a coffee, contributing to Patreon, or making a donation via Paypal. Each of these financial contributions to writers will go a far way as far as their appreciating the writer and building a stronger connection with them.

5. Leave notes of support and encouragement

You don’t get much support or know how much your articles influence people. Instead, you only hear about the negativity and mistakes that you make in your posts. Even if you don’t do it yourself, some readers get into the habit of being critical and negative.

You’d be surprised how much compliments, private notes of support and encouragement can make. You can do this by sending the writer encouraging notes on the platform or via email. Someone who still has the time to view your private notes will feel encouraged by them. If they appreciate it, they’ll reply.

If not in private notes, you can leave positive and uplifting encouragement in the comments section of the post.

6. Link to another writer’s writing in your post

If you mention another writer in your post, they will be thrilled. They will read your post, highlight your post and share your post. Every time I see my name mentioned in someone else’s post, I get excited and do all these things.

I’ve done roundup articles where I’ve mentioned and shared a group of writers on Medium. They each have commented and many of them shared my post. Medium allows you to mention people in your posts but the only problem is not everyone can see your @ mentions so you have to try to notify the writer in some way. I usually email, tweet at or comment to them that I have written an article mentioning them.

Give other writers shout-outs, mentions and promotions. The more you help your community, the more they will help you.

7. Offer suggestions or helpful tips

This one is tricky and isn’t meant for every writer. Just as I write this, I had some random person offer a couple grammar suggestions to my last post via private notes. I’m not against this idea but I’m also wondering who the heck this person is!

Imagine if you were talking to someone and someone came up to you and start telling you how to talk correctly. Ummm who the heck are you and how quickly do you want me to call the cops!?! This is seen as eavesdropping and being rude.

If you know the writer well and have a relationship with them, reach out to them with constructive comments. Ask them beforehand if you can offer a suggestion for improvement or help to correct a typo. They may want to hear it or they may not. Just by asking them, you get the opportunity to build a relationship with them.

Your tribe is your shortcut to success

You can go it alone in these parts or get the support and encouragement of friends. Going it alone is an uphill trek but doing it with a tribe makes the journey a little bit easier.

The stronger your tribe, the quicker you can succeed on this platform. The more people in your tribe, the more readers and supporters in your tribe. The stronger your tribe, the more feedback, and ideas you get. The more help and advice you receive. More resources and information are available to you.

To be a successful blogger is to have successful relationships with other bloggers. If you don’t know how to do it on this platform, try one of these 7 tips I offered above.

Now, if you want to build a relationship with me, leave a comment below :) with your feedback and thoughts.

Ready to write together and win? If so, join my newsletter here and join my tribe.