Medium, Your Five Dollar a Month University
New to writing? You’re in the right spot.
Why are you here? The simple answer for most is because you want to write. Medium is a fantastic platform for new writers.
Square one when you want to produce content but don’t know where to start, and things like SEO are a foreign concept.
Five dollars a month is a small price to pay for the opportunities that Medium provides. But are you taking full advantage of those five dollars?
I ask again because I had to get brutally honest with myself, why are you here? If your answer is to have a place to upload your work and get a few reads, there is certainly nothing wrong with that.
For most of us, that’s not the case. Publishing an article into the void and getting one or two claps isn’t what any of us desire.
We envision that A-Ha moment. Finally, the opportunity to bless people with the gift that is your writing.
Delusions of that first article hitting the right person, going viral, propelling you to Steven King status, Joe Rogan appearances, book deals, Hollywood hills.
Then you wake up. You open the stat screen to see your 25 views, one clap, and “Great Read!” response from your Aunt Genevieve.
I’m willing to bet this exaggerated scenario has at least some truth to it. Most of us have experienced the sting of articles falling short.
Putting in that kind of effort and getting little in return is extremely frustrating. You’re frustrated, I’m frustrated.
Lucky for us, we are in the perfect place to do something about it. Its time to take full advantage of those five bucks!
The Blueprint is Right in Front of You
Your number one objective here should be to learn, plain and simple. I failed to understand this until recently and paid the price.
Medium has experts in almost every field imaginable. This being a writing platform, there are naturally a TON of writing experts giving out gems every day.
These aren’t just people who talk the talk, but ones that walk the walk — accomplishing what you and I dream of, making a living out of their writing. All of them have the stats, metrics, and proof to back it up.
There are articles on headlines, structure, topic choices and style, SEO, marketing, you name it. No stone is left unturned, every roadblock or question of mine has been answered or addressed; all it took was a few searches and some reading.
If your goal is taking your writing to the next level, you’re insane if you don’t take advantage of this content.
Many articles describe the familiar position you and I are in this very moment, desperately wanting to grow and improve.
They share their pitfalls, challenges they ran into, and knowledge they’ve picked up along their journey. That alone is a tremendous gift. They spent the time struggling so you can struggle less.
You can cut the learning curve in half if you put in the work.
Treat It Just Like School
I started not knowing where to begin. The sheer amount of content can be overwhelming, so I broke things down the way I would for any college class.
Adjust the preferences in your medium profile to reflect what you want to learn. Mine is almost exclusively writing, social media, and marketing based.
Start saving articles every time you see a headline that piques your interest (the little tag looking icon).
At any point, I have a solid 50–60 articles in my saved section. I set a daily quota of 5 a day.
I like breaking things that overwhelm me down into small, achievable goals. It makes them more digestible for my erratic monkey brain.
I take the best bits from each article and transfer them to a word document. What started as a little cheat sheet has grown into a full-on study guide several pages long.
I keep it open whenever I write, referring to it regularly, evaluating my work at each stage, ensuring I’m putting what I’ve learned to practice.
A Few Names to Get the Ball Rolling
I’ve gotten value out of writers with all different levels of popularity. From beginners with virtually zero following to the heaviest hitters on the platform.
Even bestselling authors like Ryan Holliday will occasionally pop in to drop some knowledge.
There’s no shortage of big names on Medium that provide great content. These are a few I seek out regularly and are always chock full of info. Again, all for the whopping price of five dollars a month.
They all upload frequently, and most of them have email lists, even paid coaching programs if you so choose.
This list is in no particular order. If you have been here a while, chances are you’ve already read a bunch of their work. If you are new, you can’t go wrong with any of them.
Learn to Trust the Process
Consistency is everything. I haven’t been at it very long, but I already see an improvement in my writing. If you use the resources at your disposal and put in the work every day, you will see results.
A few articles read and a few hundred words written daily. It doesn’t have to be overly complicated.
I’m still very much a work in progress, and certainly no expert on Medium or writing. But I use this system of consistent, incremental goal setting for every new pursuit in my life, from losing 180 pounds to career milestones and overcoming mental health issues. Now I apply it to writing.
There is no reason it shouldn’t yield similar results for both of us.
I’m right here with you trying to make it work on Medium. Even though my pieces are health and self-help based, my entire purpose on this platform is to improve my writing.
If you intend to build a following, you should have the same mindset, regardless of specialization.
So, if your new around here like I am, I urge you to become a part of the community.
Mostly everyone I have encountered is welcoming and willing to help. Don’t be shy, comment, clap, read, digest as much as you can, and get to writing!
Make those five bucks work for you!
