Second Month on Medium — How to Set Doable Writing Goals

A few useful tips after two months of writing on Medium.

Introduction

One of the best ways to measure the success of a new project that you are really passionate about is just to write down your goals at the beginning of each month and the final results at the end of it.

At least that’s how I approach my new goals over the last year — the pandemic is one of the main reasons that changed my mindset. That’s also the method that I follow to track my writing presence on Medium. I started doing it in January, which was my first month writing online as a freelancer, and I thought that it was a good idea to stick to this habit.

So, after being on this platform for two months now — I’m not an expert, I know — I’d like to share my stats (and my thoughts), in case you are also a beginner on writing and you’re trying to figure out how this blogging community works.

Revising My Content Strategy

Last month, I tried to set a specific content strategy for my stories on Medium. That means that I wanted to upload at least two pieces per week or 8 stories per month.

The results? I just failed!

I didn’t upload even half of them. I actually wrote 4 in February, but three of them got finally published. And I tried a lot for each one — not so much on writing them, but more on trying to persuade different publication owners that my stories are worthy and fit for their audience. And that’s always a time-consuming process, especially if you are absolutely a beginner.

So, if you want my advice, the best thing you have to do when you write is to be realistic with your targets. Each of us would like to publish one article per day, but is it possible? And for how long?

For me, it’s completely unachievable because I have a full-time job and I also do my Master's, so… you understand!

*My Tip: Quantity may give you faster results, but the quality will actually lead you where you want to go as a writer.

Views

In terms of views, my initial goal was just to overcome 100! But during the month, to be more precise when I published my most “viral story” till now, I realized I could double my initial expectations and reach 200 views.

Finally, I got 197 views, which is pretty close to 200 and of course, much better than my plans in the beginning.

Although views are an important metric for your writing success, Medium actually cares more for the time viewers spend reading your stuff. So, reads should be your main focus, because views are divided into two basic categories: external and internal.

But, if you want to make money from this platform, then you should try to find ways on how to get people’s attention who are already enrolled in Medium Partner Program and pay $5 per month to read quality stories here.

*My Tip: Blogging and writing are some topics that go well on Medium because there are many aspiring writers around here. So, if you like this type of content, go for it!

Followers

I’m not 100% sure if I should really care about the number of people that follow me on Medium. I mean, I do, but probably that’s one of the least important factors that contribute to someone’s successful journey in writing.

However, this month I doubled my following base; I went from 24 to 52! Followers are not actually any guarantee that they will read or engage with each one story that you publish, but they are crucial if you want to build a personal brand or an online business.

Most top writers on this platform say that followers have little importance, oh how much you’ll gain at the end of the month. And they are true! The relationship between followers and money is not proportional.

I’ve read many stories from writers who have less than 1,000 — or even 500 — followers who have overcome the $100 threshold, which only 7% of total writers on Medium have achieved. By the way, I know you’ve probably read this information a million times. It’s the same for me too.

Earnings

I wouldn’t be surprised at all if you told me you clicked on this story because you are curious enough to know how much I made my second month writing online. I’m equally curious, so I don’t judge you.

So, as you can see from the screenshot below, I made $3.42 this month and I’ll say the same thing: “I’m really proud of this!”.

Money speaking, my goal in early February was to make at least $1 because the previous month I made only $0.97. Yes, the challenge was not that huge; it was pretty doable, but Medium refuted me once again — positively this time!

*My Tip: Setting extreme earnings goals from the very beginning is an awful tactic to follow because you can’t predict Medium’s algorithm and if you don’t make the money that you wish for, then you’ll probably give up the effort before you actually start.

Tips for setting doable writing goals

I shared a couple of general writing tips above, but now I think it’s time to share some more on how to set doable goals and not get disappointed too early:

• Set a schedule: Yes, it seems cliché, but that’s the only way to be consistent with the content that you want to publish monthly. For example, I mostly write on weekends or late on weekdays because this time of the day is when I have free time and feel the necessity to be productive with something else — besides my job or my studies.
• Never self-publish The reason I’ve never self-published my articles till now, and I don’t think that it worth doing it, is because nobody is going to know me this way. Curation is a tough sport on Medium and you never know if or when it will arrive. So publications are one-way streets.
• Promote your work: When I published my first story, I had mixed feelings. On the one side, I was totally excited, but on the other, I was a bit scared that someone I know would discover it. This made me afraid of promoting my work. But this month, when I shared one of my pieces to a Facebook group for new writers, I realized that people are not always there to judge every single one of your steps. They probably have the same worries as yours, so sharing them is a great weapon to finally overcome them.
• Discover the “unknown” publications: Of course, I want to get my stories published in huge publications, like The StartUp or Towards Data Science, but this doesn’t mean that I underestimate the value of smaller pubs that have less than 50k or 10k followers. Find what your audience reads — that’s enough!
• Stop feeling guilty when you’re not about to write: It’s called writer’s block and it’s a fact. It’s absolutely ok not to be able to produce fresh and engaging titles for stories every day or as frequently as you wish. The ideas for my stories are pretty random and come into my mind at different hours of the day/week. But what has really helped me to organize them, is to write them down on my phone’s notes. It costs nothing and it gives you the motivation to keep being productive.

Summing Up

If I can give you one piece of advice after two months of writing on Medium that is to be patient.

The Internet is extremely full of content right now — both worthy and garbage — so the only way to stand out on this online chaos is to be consistent.

Most successful writers on this platform don’t necessarily upload one new story every day, but they are pretty consistent with the amount and above all the quality of them.

So if you try to balance between those two aspects of your writing, then your stories will get more and more views in the future — and you’ll earn more money on your bank account! 💸 💸

Thanks for reading! ❤️

• If you liked this story, follow me on Medium for more!