My Story, My Movie

I Definitely Misjudged the Difficulty of Writing on Medium.

This is a whole different beast.

Sure, I led a multi-million-dollar company for three years. Yup, I built it from scratch, too. I had worn every type of hat imaginable: accountant, salesman, manager, customer service rep… but none of that mattered. Nothing could have prepared me for the experience of writing on Medium.

Running a successful business was one thing. Keeping someone entertained with only words was almost impossible (I was clueless). So, what happens when a seasoned entrepreneur meets the unexpected challenges of becoming a writer? Well…

I thought it would be easy.

Before my Medium journey, I had launched my business and ran it for three years with moderate success. This introduction to entrepreneurship forced me to better my communication, self-awareness, and empathy. My experiences morphed me into a different person. I no longer saw a benefit to my business and made the decision to move on.

Not long after I called it quits, I finally felt I had discovered my purpose. And I made the decision to align my entire life with it in hopes that it would lead to endless fulfillment (so far, so good).

The first thing I did was look for careers and hobbies that aligned with my purpose.

After some binging the internet for answers, I found it! I am going to become a business consultant. This way, I can help new entrepreneurs achieve their dreams! I began formulating my business strategy as I sank further down the rabbit hole.

“Who’s going to listen to a 26-year-old college dropout?” — I thought

I needed a place to establish my credibility. It had to be a place filled with potential clients and give me a space to be unique.

I found LinkedIn to be oversaturated, and I didn’t really appreciate the audience there. I noticed a uniqueness in Medium’s content and community; I liked what I saw. Everyone was so supportive and well-versed. It was exactly what I needed.

Medium was the perfect clean slate.

As an experienced entrepreneur, the long game was nothing new.

• The endless days of hard work.
• Not seeing any results for months.
• The constant formation of obstacles from thin air.

“If I can run a company, then Medium should be a piece of cake.” — I thought with an ignorant swagger

I think you can see where this is going…

Let’s just say I am 14 days in and have already considered taking a vacation TWICE!

Medium is not a cakewalk, and I think it’s time that I admit it to the void.

I thought I knew how to write.

“I’ve written emails, LinkedIn posts, and manuals. I know how to write, I just need to be patient and build my audience.” — I thought to myself

Starting something new is always going to be a hike through a barren wasteland, so I expected no different from Medium.

I was prepared for this!

What I was not prepared for… was the number of skilled writers I’d have to compete with on this platform.

Medium has so many gifted writers, and it’s insane. I get engulfed in every article, and sometimes I don’t even realize it (it’s a dangerous app).

The more I read, the more I noticed how massive the gap was.

It’s not that I am helpless as a writer. My content is readable, I promise. The problem is that, to get paid, writers have to fight for 30 seconds of a reader’s attention.

I have to write better than everyone else.

One reader might read five articles a day… mayybee. Medium doesn’t have enough foot traffic for everyone to win; readers aren’t going to sit on an article for 30 seconds as a courtesy (no matter how many times I beg).

As a writer, it is my job to trap them in a minefield of value and passion.

I have to earn that 30 seconds.

Readers want to feel, learn, and grow, not help me hit a metric.

Which presents another obstacle… I am not good at being wea — vulnerable. I was the CEO of my company for three years, and being a leader has definitely hardened me.

As the leader, I had to be the calm before, during, and after the storm (even if I was panicking too). Any leak in your armor and you risk panic, or worse… loss of credibility.

A vulnerable leader won’t make it to lunch, but a hardened writer won’t eat lunch.

Truthfully, I am no Shakespeare ( — duh), but I aspire to be, and that is why I am going to get better. I see no way I can grow without being vulnerable in my writing. It is a skill I must learn.

I thought I’d have more to say.

I had all these ideas and plans at the beginning of this journey.

What I was going to write about. How fast I was going to grow. What my niche was going to be. I was so inspired to make content that I created draft after draft.

Now, they are in the trash.

It’s easy to be creative when you don’t understand the rules.

This is nothing like LinkedIn, where I can type out a random thought-provoking paragraph and secure a couple of impressions. Writing good content here takes a level of care and precision I wasn’t aware of initially.

Medium is a game unlike any other.

There are the rules you must abide by (i.e., anything in terms of service), and then there are the rules you should abide by (i.e., post in publications, stick to a niche, etc.) — so many variables to consider at all times.

This game combines the dog-eat-dog world of journalism with the like-my-post nature of social media. 50 claps seems a bit excessive — are we allowed to talk about this?

The more I learn about the rules, the narrower the content I can create.

There’s a formula for Medium, like any other platform, and I’m going to find it. — Don’t forget to follow me to keep up with my journey. I’ll be sharing updates along the way.

I thought people wanted summaries.

Much of what I wrote early on attempted to explain concepts in a quick and gratifying way.

It’s the instant gratification era; people want to get in and get out.

— I thought to myself

Not on Medium.

I was publishing stories on a daily basis. Some would get views and claps. Others would receive no love. I took a moment to compare the articles that performed well and then it hit me.

This is a different place, an oasis uncorrupted by the feeble minds of Gen Z (it’s a joke… kinda) — a place where it’s okay to take your time and slow it down. My content was hit or miss because I failed to do one thing consistently…

Add depth.

I was going wide to provide as much diverse information as possible when I should have gone deeper with a skinnier focus (niche). I should have told my story or given my proof.

I was scared that I would bore people to death if I went further into detail. I was once again missing a step because of my reliance on my past experiences.

As a manager, I was forced into speaking in a general sense to avoid confusion and always had to make sure my message resonated on a universal level.

Now, I understand that Medium itself is a niche filled with people who like long-form content. People here want to know — what you know — as well as you do. They want to know why, what, who, and how. Each piece should be thorough, valuable, and filled with passion.

They love detail, and giving more detail is one thing I actually do well (+1).

I thought I had to publish every day.

I read so many articles for advice in the beginning, and virtually every single one said post daily. Posting daily is exactly what I did.

I had come up with a system to craft my posts in under an hour. I was spinning out articles like a madman. I must admit it definitely helped me write better, but I don’t think I needed to publish them to get that effect.

While I plan to post as frequently as possible, I don’t think forcing out content daily is necessary anymore.

People love depth. Those are the articles that do the best here, and most people aren’t reading my articles the same day I post them.

How can I add depth or passion to an article that was a draft not even 30 minutes ago?

I think it should be “I have to write every day.”

I notice my writing getting better each day, but it’s only at its best when I’m patient.

• I have to actually go back and edit
• I have to put more effort into my headlines
• I have to make my outlines more thorough.
• I have to insert my voice where applicable.
• I have to add flavor to my words.

Now, I have a couple of incomplete stories in my drafts that I work on every day. Bit by bit, I improve my drafts, and I don’t feel rushed or pressured. These aren’t things I have to file before a deadline or presentations for a meeting. These are living, breathing bodies of work.

It’s ok to stop and come back to things.

Writing isn’t like running a business. Just “grinding” it out will only further you from your goal. One lousy article may not be that big of a deal (unless you are already known), but one good article can make your career.

I have to hold the quality of my articles to a certain standard, even if I’m pumping them out as fast as I can.

I’ve learned it’s quality THEN quantity.

I thought people wanted to read about themselves.

Every great salesman will tell you, “People like talking about themselves.”

I was using some of my expertise to gain an edge; I just knew it would work. My articles had an er of superiority. I was talking at my readers like they had the problem, and I knew all the solutions.

Why you won’t X

What you need to do for X

What you need to know if X

I thought I had to be an expert to win them over, but I didn’t have that credibility yet. They didn’t know me, and I obviously didn’t know them. I was emphasizing the wrong skill here.

I should have used empathy instead.

Why would anyone want to be criticized by someone they don’t know?

I learned it’s much more beneficial to talk about yourself. My writing speed has increased, I can come up with more focused content, and now my stories have a better feel. It even makes coming up with content instantaneous.

I’m going to leverage the uniqueness of my life and speak from a place of empathy.

People don’t want to feel understood by you…

they want to feel understood through you.

Reflection

I definitely had it all wrong.

My writing wasn’t entirely the problem, nor was it my content. My problem was that I failed to understand my audience and this platform. In arrogance, I assumed that because I used to run a company, I could succeed at something as simple as writing.

That arrogance I had coming into this venture was eliminated in ten days flat.

I needed to take a different approach to using the skills I gained as a founder. Adding value with only words is difficult. Getting people’s attention is difficult. Writing well is difficult. Being a good writer requires an abundance of emotional intelligence and expertise.

Thankfully, my past experiences have helped me remain aware of what I need to work on. I’m not scared of the grind. I like being challenged, and becoming a writer is like nothing I’ve faced before — I know I have a long way to go, but I’ll get there.

I feel like I have been talking about myself for hours…

Did you have any misconceptions about Medium? Let me know in the comments :)

Thank you for reading!

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