My Medium Journey So Far — Month One Update
What I’ve learned in my first month
I wasn’t sure about documenting this journey as so many have done this already, but I guess each journey is unique and you may find something useful in mine. But then again you may not. It’s up to you if you want to read on. I suggest you do, cos not only will that help me, but it may also help you.
I got this idea from Winston , who spoke of how he documented his first two months on Medium, the goals, and the steps he took. He did this week by week in more detail, but I’ve already let that slip, so I will start at where I am at.
I liked this idea, firstly as it will help in those early days to keep focused.
Secondly, I think it will keep you motivated to be able to look back on your early steps and see how far you get. Let’s hope it’s further than the first week.
Let’s start at the beginning.
Why I Joined Medium.
I had taken a Freelance Writing course and one of the lessons was about the pros of joining Medium.
The reasons were of course to write more but to also help in gaining more exposure as a freelance writer.
I dallied over this. Procrastinating and coming up with no end of excuses about why I was not yet ready to start. When I could come up with no more, I eventually signed up for a Medium account.
At first, this was just a Free Account.
I wanted to just take a look and see what was behind the wall.
This is what happened.
I began to get daily emails from Medium teasing me with titles of stories that had been written. Inviting me to read them.
But there was a catch.
I was only allowed to read 3 locked stories per month for free.
That was my quota and I had to choose wisely.
I would see a title and be intrigued. That’s why headlines are so important. I had to decide whether I wanted to use my allocation to read that story.
Sometimes I forgot that I was over my quota and would see a title. And I really wanted to read that story. You know like the toddler in the supermarket really wanting that toy real bad?
But I couldn’t.
This prompted me to join as a paid-up member.
After all, $5 a month that’s just a bit more than a coffee right.
Being a coffee lover, I wondered if could forgo a coffee for a membership.
It was a sacrifice, but I was willing to make it.
I became paid member on the 12th of November 2021.
What Were My Goals?
It was to read. And to write.
· To try out writing in as many niches in my areas of interest as I could.
· To find the niche or niches that I wanted to spend more time writing about.
· To learn to capture that elusive writing voice.
You see, I like to write on many topics. I like to write about parenting, family and relationships, grief and loss, yoga, coffee, walking, travel, personal development, life lessons and I could go on. As you can see, when it came to my niche, I was all over the show.
I wanted to write but wanted to also refine and define my niche and my writing style.
And of course, to earn some money along the way.
My First Week Results
I didn’t get started writing and publishing till 20th November 2021.
I published my first post
Stats for that week 20 November — 26th November 2021
No of followers: 0
No of views: 0
Number of Comments: 0
We all have to start somewhere.
If you are like me, then you probably spent ages deciding whether to publish that first post. Only to hear deafening silence when you hit that green publish button. (Glad to say that has changed since then, read on and I will share more about that).
If you’ve reached that point of despair, don’t give up!
You probably start to get filled with overwhelm and self-doubt. At least I know I do.
I get drowned by the noise and judge myself and think I can’t do it.
I hope that documenting the first two months will at least keep me focused.
What I’ve Learned in My First Month — Week Two
It was still rather quiet out there.
I knew that I needed to get noticed somehow. This was not me I was the eternal introvert when it came to speaking out and preferred to work alone rather than in a group.
But this had not served me well and I knew I needed to make changes to the way I conducted myself here.
I knew that I needed to be part of the community.
So, I joined three publications to write for.
New Writers Welcome. Because the publication sounded inviting
The Orange Journal. Conjured up thoughts of peeling back an orange as a child and the juices flowing over. I hoped it would help my writing flow too.
24 Hours… To help hone my writing skills to write topics that I may not have tackled.
Here are some of the articles I published with publications.
Stats for week 27 November — 2 December 2021
No of followers: <50
No of views: <50
Number of Comments: 0
Results were still slow and disheartening, to say the least.
I knew I need to step it up a notch.
I have to admit I was beginning to despair fuelled by the pressure to gain 100 followers before you can really start to grow your writing.
As I was scrolling, I kept getting lots of stories about 100 Followers.
People begging and asking for follow-for-follow. I had almost fallen into this camp.
But then I stood back and thought heh what am I doing.
I am not sure what came over me. I was only at just over 50 followers at the time.
But I wrote this post
That’s when it all changed after I wrote that post.
My Journey on Medium — Week Three
Seeing Some Results.
I was writing daily. Admittedly I was not publishing daily as each article was taking time. Also coming up with content ideas is not always easy.
My post on Stop Asking For Followers began to receive comments, claps, and highlights. To date over 1000 claps and 39 comments.
Views: 314
Earnings from that story: $1.45
It might not seem like a lot but it brought a smile and the realization of the potential on this platform.
I suggest you take a look at that post, but to summarise what I said was stop asking for follow-for-follow.
Instead, start to engage with writers who write stories you want to read. Read their stuff and comment, clap, and highlight.
And of course, write. Then write for publications, this will help you to get some traction.
I’m not going to lie, all this takes time, energy, and focus.
But spending that time was well worth it because things started to grow.
I reached the 100 followers requirement quicker than I expected.
I reflected on my mid-way journey and wrote
I was able to join the MPP on the 11th of December 2021.
My Journey on Medium — Week Four
I feel that this is where my journey actually starts. I am starting to learn how this platform works. There is so much I don’t know.
I came here with the goal of reading and writing.
I have written 11 stories so far. (Not much I know, but I’ve started).
This week I published.
Entered a winter competition in Evolve with this story
And submitted a story that I have held onto for a while as it is emotional to me.
I was humbled when it was mentioned in The Orange Journal’s Let’s Celebrate One Another’s weekly round-up.
I have read and read. I wish I had kept a track of the articles I have read as sometimes I have wanted to refer back to them but hadn’t pinned them. Something I will be doing from now on.
Here is How I Have Done in my First Month on Medium.
My followers have continued to grow. This is more organic now. If you follow me. I check you out. I read your story. If I like what I read and am interested in your topics I will follow you back.
I will not follow you when your profile says something like this and you have no stories.
You are welcome to read but I won’t be following you back. Sorry, that is not me.
I gained 235 followers.
My 11 stories had a total of 724 views.
And the final thing you probably want to know is how much did I earn in my first month.
I earned a whopping total of $4.18.
That is not much I know, but I am thrilled by my first month here.
Goals for next month:
To keep on Writing. Reading. Commenting. Clapping. Highlighting.
Simples.
If you are not a member, then join me on this journey.
