Medium Formatting

Medium Block Quotes and Pull Quotes

A guide to creating quotes in your Medium articles

Medium offers many sleek article formatting features. One of the most useful is the addition of stylized quotes to an article. There are two types of Medium quotes — block quotes and pull quotes.

Block Quotes

Block quotes are typically used on Medium for longer direct quotes. These are especially useful if you are quoting a longer excerpt from another article. Below is an example of block quote usage:

Tip #1 — Don’t Lose Your Sense of Wonder

This sentiment is articulated well by author, Shaunta Grimes, in her piece, You’re Never Too Old for a Gold-Star Chart:

Yes, a literal gold star. I buy myself the same kind of foil stickers that kindergarten teachers have used to motivate six-year-olds for decades and stick them on my calendar so I can visualize my progress. Somehow, seeing those tiny rewards — and watching them accumulate day after day — can be a thrill, even for grown adults. The stars are a visual reminder of how far I’ve gotten. They motivate me to keep going.

You can use the gold-star system for whatever it is you’re trying to achieve. The trick is to keep your daily goal very small so that skipping the task is psychologically more painful than just doing it. I tell myself that I must spend just 10 minutes making forward motion on my most important project, whatever that may be. There have been nights when I’ve gotten into bed only to toss and turn and finally get up again at 11:45 p.m. so I can write, exercise, or build my email list for 10 minutes to get my damn star. I don’t want to break the chain.

Pull Quotes

Pull quotes are typically used for short direct quotes. Clicking the Pull quotes can also be used to emphasize key points in an article. Below is an example of block quote usage:

Essentially, you are paid per clap on Medium. Generally speaking, the more claps you receive, the more money you will typically make.

— Medium Blogging Guide

How to Create Medium Quotes

To create a block quote, click the “ (quotation mark) icon from pop-up menu once. To create a pull quote, select the text and click “ (quotation mark) icon twice from pop-up menu. You can remove quote formatting by selecting the text and clicking the “ (quotation mark) icon until text returns to default, or three times.

Notes About Medium Quotes

• The text in pull quotes can contain a hyperlink but cannot be bold or italicized.
• Block quotes can be Un-itlaicized, bold, or hyperlinked.
• You cannot increase the font size of either type of quote.

— Casey Botticello

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Casey Botticello is a partner at Black Edge Consulting. Black Edge Consulting is a strategic communications firm, specializing in online reputation management, digital marketing, and crisis management. Prior to founding Black Edge Consulting, he worked for BGR Group, a bipartisan lobbying and strategic communications firm.

Casey is the founder of the Cryptocurrency Alliance, a Super PAC dedicated to cryptocurrency and blockchain advocacy. He is a graduate of The University of Pennsylvania, where he received his B.A. in Urban Studies.

You can connect with him on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or by visiting his website, Blogging Guide.