Social Media|Content Creation
Medium Wants Your Stories. You Can Keep Your Soul.
Write Stories People Want to Read, and You Won’t Have to Sell Your Soul to the Algorithm.
I love new writers on this platform. New writers have fresh eyes. And sometimes complain after being on the platform for about three months or less.
Most seasoned writers who have given this platform blood, sweat, and tears for years can’t stand it. Rightfully so!
I’ve seen so many comments about “You’ve only been here two months, and you’re complaining?” They don’t want to hear it! 🤐
Yet and still, what seasoned writers forget is after about 2 to 3 months of writing on Medium, you discover the platform isn’t quite what you think it is. New writers join Medium thinking it is a platform for writing, blogging, and getting followers. In a roundabout way, it is, but then it isn’t.
As a new writer, when you click publish for the first time, it feels as if you have written a piece for the whole world to see. You come back 4 to 5 times a day to discover maybe one person saw your “article,” and you don’t even know if they read it. Crickets! 😒
So, you think to yourself. Maybe I should write a better “article” and get curated. You write your top-notch article and, yes, curation!
Hey, do this once a week, and surely in 30 days, I will have 100 followers and at least a few hundred dollars a month for my work.
After 30 days of consistent writing, you gather your 100 followers, and the $4.00 Stripe is transferred to your bank account. What! All those “articles” I wrote and all I earned was $4.00. You do the same the following month and get a whopping $22.00.
Your bubble burst, and now you are ready to write your first “Medium is dead in the water” article. And when you do, the seasoned writers on this platform rip you a new one! How dare you!
I get it, as I shared in my article…
I joined Medium in April of 2020 and left in May 2020. Kept my membership and just read and watched things. Then, I returned on September 19, 2021. Yep, nearly 18 months later. I had about 42 followers and four articles, but I was starting from scratch.
I don’t want other writers to make the same mistake because they're frustrated and disillusioned.
Now, here’s the truth. Medium asked you to write stories, insightful stories — not articles. Why? Medium has asked you to write stories for the platform because people love a good story, and audiences are willing to pay a monthly subscription for good stories.
You can read articles everywhere and all over the web for free.
But your story — your story is personal, new, fresh, unique, funny, inspiring, and relatable. And you can share your stories without losing your soul to the Medium algorithm.
Yes, I know all the Top-Earning Creators are writing Listicles. They gained their following on the old algorithm and when Medium had a bunch of big pubs. Of course, the Top Earners have good content, but some of them have been on this platform for half a decade. Let’s make it clear…
They already have their following.
And yes, people love five great ways, four hacks, and top 10 reasons. I write them. I read them. But after I discovered Medium wants stories, my listicles are a part of a story.
Now, with a little bit of effort and care, I envelop information I want to share in a story. This makes it unique because I am sharing my perspective and my story. Just as I would on any social media platform.
For example, on a social media platform, you may share a product review, and hundreds of others have reviewed that same product. So why would anyone watch, listen to, or read your review? Others will watch, listen, or read your review because they want to know your experience with the product.
Yes, this is a social media platform; yep, sure is. 😯
Because this is a social media platform, your story needs promotion, and you can do that through engagement marketing strategies. And you can learn more about engagement marketing — I have a mini library here:
You will discover. It’s a building process. You have to do it over and over again. And that’s how it works on social media. I have had a time of it on Instagram because I rarely post content no matter how many times I say I’m going to improve on posting content for Instagram, I still slowpoke around. And guess what? It shows. I have about 9 followers and 4 posts.
Here’s a strong dose of reality, when you, I, and the rest joined the partner program, we didn’t just sign up as writers. We signed up as creators — content creators who write, blog, and read.
Now here’s where writers have the advantage. If you can write good stories, you are already ahead.
But, but, but…wait.
Do you know why some creators on this platform are doing well with lesser writing skills (because I am not about to judge someone’s content and call it crap)?
Many of these creators do well with lesser writing skills because their content is relatable, entertaining, and engaging. In other words, they write for engagement.
Most writers get on the platform as I did and write articles we believe will be helpful. Stuff folks can get all over the web. Good information, oh yes. Helpful and well cited, got it, but boring as hell. No one cared.
My best advice to new writers who are frustrated…
Tip # 1 Stop Writing Articles
Stop writing articles and start writing relatable and engaging stories. Engaging stories make you want to clap, head to the comments, and leave a response. Why? Because you connected with the story.
You can still get into top writer categories (which is important. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s not.)
Here are four Writers I read who know how to write engaging content…
Amanda Laughtland became a top writer in the “Movies” category when she self-published a story (no big publication) about Kermit the Frog on Christmas Eve. She hasn’t written a lot of stories about movies. But she’s written stories that are topics related to movies — such as her story about meeting Ginger Rogers. She’s a master at nostalgia and can transport you to a time, even if it was before you were born. She’s a soft rock jam playing on your radio during a Saturday morning drive.
Natasha Nichole Lake publishes weekly but is growing similar to creators who publish daily. How? She’s got rhythm 😎! She reads, highlights, and comments regularly. And her comments are thoughtful. Plus, her stories are relatable. Her stories have a pace that makes them easy to digest, process, and want to share with others. She’s a Bada55 writer who will wrap you up in a story so fast it make your head spin! And yes, she self-publishes. Her stories on Introspection and Introversion are remarkable.
Yana Bostongirl, an editor for Reciprocal (a community and publication on Medium), taught me the power of engagement. Her stories feel like a conversation with your best friend. She can make you laugh and warm your heart in one story. She can also teach marketing techniques through her stories and make it make sense! You’ve got to check out her article on how to write emotional headlines.
Sara Burdick is another self-publisher on Medium. She’s brave and it shows in her writing. She writes personal essays that keep audiences coming back for more. Why? Because each one she pens is her authentic story. In fact, I just read her story about her dog making friends with a pig down the street. It’s so sweet.
What’s amazing about these four writers? They haven’t been writing on Medium for a full year —one barely six months at the time of this story! So yes, you can grow. You can build a community with your story.
And you build that community by transforming your stories into forums. These forums become conversations and discussions. To learn how to transform your stories into forums, check out this deep dive…
Tip #2 Followers are Still Important, but not most Important
Followers are still important. Followers are your potential audience. Your audience is your potential community.
But don’t ask for followers unless you do it “Uwem style,” huh? Uwem Daniels, a new writer, and creator on the Medium platform, wrote a story in which he lists reasons why you would want to connect with him on Medium:
I believe every write-up has some content I can learn.
I appreciate style and creativity.
Support is key to growing the Medium community.
I want to read and comment so I can put a smile on someone else’s face.
I think that was quite clever. And it worked. Uwem wrote this story on November 19, 2021. Today, Uwem Daniels, a Nigerian educator, has over 700 followers. The incredible thing about Uwem is he isn’t eligible for the partner program but still knows the value of having followers. Most importantly, he keeps his word. He reads.
Tip #3 You are a Creator and, yes, A Writer
Take a deep breath and realize you are a Content Creator in Partnership with Medium, a social media platform for writing, blogging, and reading. Don’t panic. You’re still a writer, but you are a content creator too.
A content creator creates the content, submits the content, and promotes the content. That’s a lot of hats. We don’t get to write and walk away.
Tip # 4 Don’t Fret if You are a Poet or a Shortform Writer — Short Stories are Still Stories
Shortform stories are becoming more and more popular on Medium. People want fun-size pieces of content that inspire and provoke thought. Yes, poetry too.
And the poets on this platform who understand the power of community will blow your mind. You just have to engage with them.
With Shortform, quantity matters, and with quality work and your unique voice, you are more likely to succeed over time.
Tip #5 Going Viral Can Help, but It’s not a Guarantee
Yes, it is true. A viral article can catapult you. And still, it doesn’t guarantee you will suddenly make much money. Going viral is like having a hit song. Now, more people know you, but you can easily become a one-hit-wonder.
The best thing you can do is to pin the story if you go viral. Then, after you pin it, write a few more stories on a topic similar to the viral story and reference it. Especially a story about how this story went viral. I’ve seen it work.
Tip #6 Passion is Making a Comeback thanks to the Passion Economy
But what about passion, Carmellita? If you are passionate about writing, gear up. Yes, gear up, the Passion Economy is rising to meet the Creator Economy, and this is great news. This means you don’t have to have a huge following.
A small community with whom you share a common passion is far greater than a bunch of followers who follow you because you have a bunch of followers and they want to figure out how you got so many followers. Now, this is great if you want to write a course about how to get a lot of followers.
Even as you create and write stories, lead with passion. Through social networks, we are all connected through our passions. Passionate about fashion, write about it and connect with others who are writing about it.
Tip #7 Medium is Thriving, Don’t Let the Grave Diggers Fool You
And please stay away from the “Medium is dead” stories written by people who are still writing on Medium months after they wrote the story. Why are they hanging out in the graveyard if it's so dead? I’m just saying, I mean, really, why?
Friends, I write about Audience Development and Engagement because of how much it has helped me. Had I not learned some tips, tricks, and hacks, I probably would have given up on Medium again. I write about these subjects because I don’t want really good writers to leave this platform. Medium is one of a kind.
Stay and live to write another day!