It Is Possible to Achieve ‘Selected for Further Distribution’ as a New Writer

My article that got selected broke all the rules and it massively increased my daily viewing figures

I started writing on Medium at the beginning of February 2021 and like many new writers, I was fascinated by the enigma of further distribution.

First of all, I didn’t have a clue what it meant. I knew it was good because there were 100’s of articles giving you tips on how to achieve it, and like everyone else, I soaked these up, hoping it would soon be me.

I have since learned that further distribution simply means Medium will make your piece of writing more visible to members who have those interests that you have tagged the article to.

Further distribution sounded like something I desperately needed and even when I read posts from other writers, such as, Michael Burg, MD who said that it didn’t guarantee more views, I still wanted it.

Who doesn’t want Medium to say ‘hey we know that you exist and we really liked your story.’

I have read how established, successful writers such as Elizabeth Dawber, Jessica Lynn, and others had their articles selected for further distribution in their first month on this platform and how the majority of their articles are now always selected.

This all seemed very far away to me.

However, finally, on my one-month anniversary of writing on Medium, I checked my stats to see one of my articles had actually been selected. This gave me a tiny glimmer of hope.

I was completely surprised that this article had actually been selected though. Here’s why…

The title had a low score on Sharethrough.

I have seen many writers recommend reworking your title through analyzing software such as Sharethrough until you get a score in the 70’s. However, this article had a very low score. I thought about playing around with it further but I didn't have time.

It was not well edited.

This was not one of those articles that I had been working through for a while. I wrote and published it on the same day. I had been thinking of it for a while but I hadn’t put a figurative pen to paper until that morning.

It didn't have an introduction.

Many writers advise that you need to give an introduction to entice readers. In fact, many of the big publications demand it. Well, I didn't on this one.

It had no quotes.

I have seen many articles advising that using quotes will help, such as this one from Paul Ryburn, M.Sc. but mine didn’t have any quotes.

It wasn’t peppered with links to sources either.

I used one link to a source.

It was with a small publication.

Does this matter? Are newer writers more likely to get their work curated if it’s with a publication? Well if you write with one of the larger publications, such as Better Humans or Curious then they have the power to actually select work for further distribution. But that’s not the case with the smaller ones. I do know however that new writers are considerably more likely to get views if they publish through a publication, large or small.

If you manage to get your work accepted by a larger publication it is more likely to be curated, however, it is clearly still possible to achieve recognition with smaller publications.

Here’s why I think the article achieved further distribution:

It had an unusual and aesthetically appealing picture.

I’ve read that spending time selecting an infrequently used and appealing picture is one of the best decisions in getting curated. And I totally agree. I have moved away from the well-beaten track of Unsplash and now I search Pexels, Pixabay, Dreamstime, or other free image sites that pop up and try to find something that I haven't seen before.

In order to find an unusual picture, I will try multiple search terms or a wide search term such as a ‘red’ or ‘portraits’, look for a photographer I like and then search their other work for a suitable image. Sometimes it takes a couple of minutes, sometimes it takes hours of searching before I find the picture that I know will work.

The title was clear and short.

Longer titles get higher scores on the blog title analyzer software, however, this was probably the shortest title I have ever published.

I didn’t use any of the power words recommended by Sharethrough. The title clearly explained what the article was about. There was no ambiguity or fluff and not even a whiff of clickbait. This also echoes Paul Ryburn, M.Sc.’s discovery on the mystery of curation.

The background work was done.

I selected as many tags as possible that corresponded with Medium’s Curation possible topics, (Psychology/ Mental Health/ Addiction). Without at least one from this list you have no chance of getting selected, the more you can use the better.

I completed the SEO settings with the title information and description, under the ‘more settings’ tab.

The blog was short and to the point.

The article was only a 3-minute read. I think this can increase reads because it’s less of a commitment. My writing style wasn’t long-winded or complicated and all paragraphs were under three lines.

Is this why it got curated? It’s hard to say, but this article was noticeably more concise than previous articles that I have published.

A nice numbered listicle.

Listicles do better on Medium. Although some publications, such as Better Humans, won’t accept them, I think that anything that can make your blog post more user-friendly and easier to read is worth trying.

The listicle had under 10 points.

I have also read that listicles with under 10 points are more successful. So far I have found this to be true. My articles that have under 10 points are much more likely to be read than those that have 10 or over 10. This also supports the previous point, the shorter the list, the easier it is to read.

I have no idea if listicles improve your chances of curation, but this was one, so if you haven’t been curated and you’re yet to try listicles then it’s absolutely worth giving it a shot.

The result of further distribution.

So how did getting selected impact my viewing figures?

Here are my stats pages, for the story and overall:

As you can see before having an article curated by Medium I wasn’t getting many views per day, however as soon as my article was curated, my views shot up. I had 2 days of amazing views, and then it dropped back down again.

And even though views have subsided, I have gained followers and I actually earned some money from the article. Of course, the only downside to writing a shorter article is that as we are paid for viewing time on Medium, a shorter article=less money. But I think as a new writer, views are more important than money.

Having one article curated opened the floodgates for more articles to be distributed and the next article I published also got selected for further distribution.

But as you can see, as soon as this one got selected for further distribution, views dropped.

So, I guess Michael Burg, MD is right, further distribution is not always the magic ticket to thousands of views. However, I’m delighted that I managed to get one article out there. It’s meant that many more people have had the chance to view my work and some have chosen to follow me.

I hope that this article has given you some insight into the enigma of further distribution and how it’s possible to achieve this as a new writer who hasn't yet been accepted by the big publications.

As other writers have mentioned sometimes further distribution can generate thousands of views and sometimes it doesn’t make a difference. As much as I think there’s no way of predicting which will get selected, there are some things you can do to increase your chances.

I think my article definitely had a massive boost from being distributed, but I also think that it was very reader-friendly. Whether this was why it was selected, I don’t know. However, the combination of being an easy read and achieving further distribution has equaled a vast increase in views.

Every article that you publish on Medium has the potential to be read by thousands, you just never know which one it’s going to be. This possibility is kind of exciting and it’s definitely got me hooked on the platform.

Good luck with getting your work selected.

Nearly forgot. Here was my winning ticket:

8 Rarely Mentioned Benefits Of Sobriety

Doran Lamb is a freelance writer on addiction and mental health. She writes to challenge the stigma that exists as a result of mental health and through her writing wants the world to know that individual difference makes the world dynamic, sexy and beautiful. She is proudly an addict in recovery, a mother, and an opinionated woman, who has learned not to give a f**k what anyone thinks.