Summary

The article outlines seven common mistakes to avoid on Medium for successful account growth and engagement.

Abstract

The author, Christina, shares insights on Medium etiquette and strategy by identifying seven frequent errors users make that can hinder their success on the platform. These include soliciting followers directly, misusing titles, overzealous affiliate marketing, self-promotion in comments, relying on AI for comments, spamming links, and posting incomprehensible content. The piece emphasizes the importance of organic engagement, relevance, and authenticity in content creation and interaction to foster a trustworthy presence and achieve growth and monetary rewards on Medium.

Opinions

Begging for followers is ineffective and annoying; users should earn followers by providing value.
Titles should be concise and not prefixed with "Title:" as it is unnecessary and redundant.
Affiliate marketing should be used sparingly and only when it adds value to the content, avoiding aggressive tactics that can appear scammy.
It is inappropriate to promote one's own articles in the comments section of another author's work.
Using AI to write comments is detectable and creates a disingenuous interaction that readers can easily identify and dismiss.
Inserting links in comments should be done judiciously to avoid being marked as spam and potentially removed from the platform.
Content should be clear and comprehensible; posting unintelligible content is strongly discouraged.
The author advocates for putting effort into creating quality content and engaging with the Medium community in a meaningful way to achieve long-term success.

I Was Poking Around Medium and Saw These 7 Mistakes

Avoid these and watch your account grow.

**Don’t make these no-nos.** | Image created by the author in Midjourney.

I was clicking on random Medium users to see if I could find new and interesting people to follow. That’s when I saw some major mistakes. Here are 7 you should avoid making.

1. Begging for followers.

I have seen a few accounts with something like this in the profile: “Stop by my account and give me a follow.”

No one is going to follow you if you ask. It annoys them. You have to give people a reason to follow you.

2. Using “Title:” in your title.

This is an easy fix. Just remove the word “Title:”. (I’m not so sure about that niche either, but I’m not here to judge that…lol)

3. Being too aggressive with affiliate marketing offers.

I love affiliate marketing. It’s one of my favorite side hustles. But you have to gently slide it into your articles when it makes sense and is relevant to what you’re talking about.

I’ve seen articles that are 100% an affiliate offer, and it’s way too aggressive.

If you do this type of thing, and you’re not making money, it’s because it turns people off. You don’t look trustworthy. You look scammy.

I’ve done this in the past too. But learn from my mistake. It doesn’t work.

4. Commenting on an article, then asking the author to read your work.

You know these ones. Sometimes they write an insightful comment. Sometimes (usually) it’s written by AI. (See the next mistake.) And then at the end, they say, “Read my latest article, please.”

I understand wanting to promote yourself, but this is not the time to do it. If you ask me to read your work on my work, it’s going to be a hard no.

I love reading other people’s articles! But only when I don’t feel obligated to do it.

5. Using AI to write your comments.

Using AI to write your articles without any editing is a big no-no, but so is using it to write your comments.

Everyone knows you used AI. It sounds like a bunch of gobbledygook.

No one is going to read this because our brains can’t easily comprehend it. It takes too much work to figure out what this says.

There’s another problem with this comment…

6. Promoting your links in your comments.

Every once in a while, it makes sense to add a link in a comment. But don’t do it if it’s blatant promoting like above. You’ll likely get tagged for spam and get kicked off the platform.

Here’s another example from my comments not too long ago.

This one was just 100% spam. And no one likes spam. (Not the marketing kind and not the stuff in a can, either.)

7. Whatever the hell this is, don’t do it.

I don’t even know what this is. (And I’m not about to find out.)

Final Thoughts

If you want to grow on Medium and earn some cash along the way, avoid making these 7 mistakes:

Begging for followers
Using “Title:” in your title
Being too aggressive with affiliate marketing offers
Commenting on an article, then asking the author to read your work.
Using AI to write your comments
Promoting your links in your comments
Whatever the hell that was up there, don’t do it

Medium is a fantastic place to connect with others, learn some stuff and make some money. But none of that will happen unless you learn to use it the right way.

Put a little effort into your work now, and you’ll reap the rewards later.

My Top 5 Stories (By Earnings)

About the Author

Hey! I’m Christina, an introverted book nerd on the outside, and a raging metalhead on the inside. 🤘 I’m a married mom to two teenagers (and 3 cats and a dog). I love Vegas 🎰, the band Chevelle 🎸, and murder mysteries 📖.

I also love creating short, daily lists of resources and ideas to help you boost your online income. 👈 Click that astonishingly long link to sign up for free.