Write Net Positive Articles For Your Readers

Pro tips for creating the best articles

You’ve been writing on Medium for a while and you’re wondering why reader engagement isn’t there. Maybe your reads are lower than you’d like. Maybe, like me, you started with zero followers and zero knowledge of the platform and are having trouble gaining traction. If you’ve done a little research already, you’ve probably seen this advice:

Don’t post journal entries. You must write content that adds value for your reader.

That’s what I’m talking about when I say you must write net positive articles. In order to grow your following you must write quality content that gifts your readers with something they didn’t have before reading your article. You must not waste their time.

While journal entries don’t work, personal essays are absolutely fine to write, but you must have a net positive takeaway for your reader if you choose to write them. Did you learn a lesson? Great. How will you teach your reader the same lesson — you must make it pertinent to them.

This article is broken down into five categories to consider while you’re putting your articles together: Set Your Intentions; Heading and Image Basics; Formatting Your Article; Article Revision; and Niche Down or No?

Set Your Intentions

Knowing what you want to say to your readers and how you’re going to say it will create a clear set of expectations for your reader. It is your job to set the framework for these expectations and fulfill them. In order to do this, ask yourself these questions:

• What message am I going to communicate?
• Is my article’s message going to communicate knowledge, an opinion, a lesson, or an emotion?
• How am I going to communicate my message clearly to my readers?
• When my readers have finished my article what is their positive gain? New knowledge? Something to think about/form an opinion on, new skills, or an emotion such as encouragement or nostalgia?
• How will I format my article so the reader has the best possible experience while reading it? (more on this later)

How do you do this?

Following are 3 examples of my fairly popular articles and the message/communication/takeaway breakdown of each one:

When You’re Shy and You Want to Be Heard Message: This is how you can make yourself heard when you are shy. It’s okay to be shy. Here’s how to better navigate social situations when you’re shy. Message Communicates: Knowledge in the form of research and personal anecdotes. How my message is communicated: Through a mini-listicle — the 5 tips — and personal anecdotes. Positive Gain: Shy readers feel seen and encouraged to try new tips. If they already incorporate these tips, that feels good, too. The knowledge that there’s nothing wrong with being shy — in fact, there are some positive traits of shyness.

Adopting a Rescue Dog Takes a Special Breed Message: Rescue dogs aren’t always easy. Message Communicates: Knowledge in the form of animal education/anecdote. How my message is communicated: Research and research-backed anecdotes. Positive Gain: New research-backed knowledge. Transparency and honesty that sometimes you don’t an easy dog when rescuing a dog. This is important to take into consideration before beginning your search for a rescue dog.

There’s a Shitstorm Brewing in 2020 Message: This is the linguistic history of the phrase “shitstorm” and an etymological journey around the word “shit.” Message Communicates: Linguistic and etymological knowledge. How my message is communicated: With humor and research. Positive Gain: Laughter and knowledge — maybe even a trivia night win.

When you’ve answered these questions it’s time for the next step.

Heading and Image Basics

I like writing a working title, subtitle, and using a potential image before writing my content. These can be revised later on. Make sure your title and image are great. This is your only chance to convince your reader to open up your article. That means using coschedule and wordcounter for me. Your title + subtitle should be under 100 characters (this article’s title/subtitle came in at 92 characters).

Use Unsplash, Pexels, Pixaby, or other free-use image websites for your front image. Don’t limit yourself to one word when searching. I searched “writing,” “writing and plant,” and “blogging” when I was looking for this article’s image. Take your time — it’s worth it. Always use horizontal front images. They look much better on mobile devices. Recently, I started looking in Wikiart for free use art to use sometimes. It’s fun to use something unexpected.

You want a striking photo that grabs the reader’s attention.

Think about the tags you’d like to use. They can help you focus your point before you start writing. For this article I chose: Writing, Writing Tips, Productivity, Freelancing, and Blogging. They can also help you achieve top writer status.

As tempting as it can be to entice your reader with something along the lines of clickbait, it will result in a negative reading experience if you don’t follow through. To ensure you are adding value for your reader with your headline, subtitle and, image, make sure they each accurately reflect the content of your article.

Formatting Your Article

Make your words dance and sing on the page. White space is important. I like to leave an extra space after the last sentence in a section and before the three dot dividers. It looks better post-publication.

How will you organize your article? Is it informational, a story, a listicle, a review? Your page aesthetic will be different depending on the type of article you create. Here’s a review example of formatting.

Subheadings, white space and section dividers are important. Know your aesthetic on the page will either make your reader’s experience enjoyable or so aggravating that even when your words have net positive value, your reader will close the article because it flows so poorly.

Drop quotes are your friend.

Consider adding additional images to break up your text, especially if it adds to the piece. For example, I often break up satire pieces with images throughout the text. Do not overdo it though.

Two to three images in addition to your front image is the maximum I’d advise using. And, different pubs have different rules.

Here’s an article I wrote as a newbie and one I wrote last week. The first article is text-heavy with little division of text or white space. The article from last week uses white space, different length paragraphs, an image in the middle, and drop quotes. It’s more pleasant for the reader to read.

Learn by example! I turn to Sean Kernan and Sinem Günel articles almost exclusively when looking for lessons on how to make my articles sing and dance on the page.

There are many other well-known, successful Medium writers you can learn from. Who resonates with you? Who do you admire? Study their work. Learn from writers who have created proven strategies and emulate how they organize their essays while using your creative voice for your content.

Article Revision

You wrote your article? Great! Don’t submit it. I repeat: Don’t submit it. This is your first draft. What is that you’re saying to me? You already edited it? You’re convinced it’s good to go?

STOP! 🛑

It is not good to go.

Ask for specific feedback

Finding mentors and peers to offer you feedback is the only way you’ll grow your work and figure out if your intent is being clearly conveyed. Have one to three readers look over your work and leave you private notes. Do this by sharing a draft link.

Your reader can highlight text and click the lock icon to send you private messages in your draft. Wait until they are done commenting to look through their feedback. The platform will not let you both comment at the same time and one of you will lose your work if you don’t wait.

Only writers with growth mindsets who are ready to accept criticism and run with it will get anywhere with creative endeavors.

Now, revise your masterpiece! Woah! See how much better it is? Thank your peers for their time and offer to do the same. And be prepared to return the favor. Learning how to give and receive constructive criticism is a skill that will overflow positively into other areas of your life anyway.

You won’t always agree with the feedback. Go in with an open mind, set your defense mechanism down, and listen to what your readers are saying. Ultimately, listen to your gut — your intuition. Take what works for you and your readers and leave the rest.

Where do you find these peers? I’ve found all my wonderful writing buddies from Medium Facebook groups. Either I’ve messaged them or they’ve messaged me and friendships have even formed.

Strengthening your article through the revisions process assures you that you are doing your absolute best to provide your reader with the highest caliber net positive value when they read your work.

Niche Down or No?

Some writers create content specifically in one or two related areas such as Growth and Personal Developement or Maketing and Money. Others, like, Tim Denning, create content across multiple genres.

Writing in multiple niches is enjoyable for me. I’m not yet ready to sacrifice that enjoyment. Instead, I focus on knowing my audience, engaging with the right readers for the right pieces, and publishing in publications that are good matches for my content.

Sinem and Sean are writing for very different audiences. Knowing your audience is important. That means submitting the right content to the right publication. Which readers of which publication are most likely to resonate with the content you’re creating? Match your content to your preferred publication for readers who will benefit from your work.

You will add the most value to the most readers when you match your message to a publication that attracts the kind of readers who will resonate with your message.

And, a word on publications. Should you submit your articles to publications? Yes. It is much harder, if not impossible, to build a following and reader engagement without the help of publications to magnify your voice. Which publications do you enjoy reading and resonate with? Submit your pieces to these publications.

Niche down or no? It’s up to you. More writers have proven success when writing in certain niches, but other writers prove that multi-niche writing can lead to success. Your readers will get to know you and expect the net positive value from your work no matter which option you choose.

Takeaway

• Know your message and how you’ll communicate it clearly to your readers
• Create a catchy title and subtitle with a striking image and use appropriate tags.
• Don’t take formatting for granted. You are designing your words on the page. Make them dance and sing for the reader. Don’t wear out your reader’s eyes for goodness’ sake.
• Decide whether you will niche down or not.
• Make sure your article presents a net positive experience for your readers.

It takes work, dedication, and confidence to have a chance of succeeding on this platform. When you find success, share what you’ve learned. Don’t get a big head — it’s not appealing to your readers or your peers. Remain accessible and remember you’re writing for your reader first. Most importantly, be kind. Remember, you’re gifting your readers with something new — make their experience a net positive one.