Summary

The article discusses the effectiveness of using "Shoutouts" in Medium articles to enhance reader experience, expand networks, increase views, and establish authority.

Abstract

The author, a new writer on Medium, shares their positive experience with the "Shoutout" strategy, which involves tagging individuals in articles. This approach has significantly boosted the author's article views, engagement, and network growth. The article outlines several benefits of shoutouts, including enriching the reader's experience by providing additional resources, strengthening connections within the writing community, increasing article visibility through the Medium algorithm, and quickly establishing the writer's authority by associating with other reputable writers. The author emphasizes the importance of thoughtful and purposeful tagging to avoid spamming and suggests that shoutouts can lead to mutual support and cross-pollination of engagement across Medium.

Opinions

Shoutouts are attributed as the primary reason for the success of the author's article, which gained over 1K views and 2.4K claps.
The author believes that shoutouts should be meaningful and not spammy, with a clear reason for tagging individuals.
Tagging other writers can lead to genuine appreciation and increased interaction, as exemplified by the author's experience of being tagged and subsequently engaging with the tagger's content.
Shoutouts can selfishly boost views, but when combined with quality content and a good headline, they can significantly increase article visibility.
The author suggests that incorporating shoutouts can enhance a writer's style and credibility, making it a valuable technique for new online writers.
By tagging more established writers, new authors can gain instant validation and increase their authority in the field.
The author advocates for the cross-pollination of Medium engagement through shoutouts, which can introduce readers to new writers and publications, fostering a more interactive writing community.

Shoutouts: Yay or Nay?

Let me just start by saying I am a new writer on Medium. I was an active writer for two and a half weeks (publishing once a day to my personal page) when I published an article here in New Writers Welcome that received over 1K views, over 2.4k claps, and 88 comments at the time I’m publishing this a couple of weeks later. I attribute any success of that article purely to using a Shoutout strategy.

If you aren’t familiar, a Shoutout is just tagging one or multiple people in your post for any number of reasons.

This could be to mention them for writing a particular article or to simply let them know you wrote about them in your piece.

Other times, you may tag multiple people in your post, such as thanking the editors to a publication or thanking your first 100 followers.

I think the key is to show there is a reason you are tagging one or more people. Otherwise, it can look like you are making a half-assed attempt at attention-grabbing spam. Don’t be that person.

If done right, I feel there are many benefits to using a Shoutout strategy in your writing. Here are a few:

1) You enrich your reader’s experience

How many articles have you read where the writer includes links or embedded articles to further your reading on a particular topic and tags the author? And then you click on the link to the article or the author’s page and read a couple more articles, and they also have linked articles or tags to more authors. You find yourself spiraling down an amazing rabbit hole of new writers and knowledge you wouldn’t have come across had there not been additional links that were thoughtfully compiled with your interest in a topic in mind.

2) You expand and strengthen your network

When you tag another writer to promote and appreciate them for their work, they are usually happy, flattered, and excited to hear what you have to say. I was tagged recently for something I wrote, and I was so happy to read her entire article, clap, comment, and share.

Send Some Compassion Toward New Writers

Getting our first 100 followers might be causing more stress than you realize.

medium.com

Additionally, I now recognize her as a writer, and I follow her. I enjoyed what she wrote (selfishness aside), and I want to read more of her thoughts. I also interacted with more of Libby Walkup’s writing, and I may not have found her had she not tagged me in the first place.

3) It helps catapult your views

Ok fine. This one is a little selfish. But if you write a good-quality article with a decent headline, chances are when you do a larger Shoutout, it will help skyrocket your views. You are deliberately bringing more eyeballs to your writing soon after hitting publish, and the Almighty Medium Algorithm will think it must be good quality stuff and push the article out to even more people.

4) You get to push your writing style

If you’re newer to writing for an online audience, it can feel a little weird trying to work in additional resources from outside your own thoughts. And it can be even harder figuring out the best ways to work them in naturally, so they don’t disrupt the reader’s experience.

There are endless examples of great ways to incorporate tags, Shoutouts, links, embedded articles, etc. more naturally into the flow of your piece without detracting from your reader’s attention span or patience. I hope you find this article is a good reference point.

When you read other writers’ work, try to slow down and notice how they work these into their own articles. Note ideas you really like. Try to model some of them in your own writing.

5) It’s a quick boost in your authority

How many articles have you read where the author cites several well-placed mentions and article links, and you think, “Wow. This person knows their stuff!” They’ve thoughtfully compiled some resources for you to continue on your learning journey, and they are boosting their credibility by using others’ work to corroborate or expand on their points.

Sometimes you see that they tagged a far more popular writer, and the article is so well done that the more popular writer takes the time to read and comment on it! Instant validation for the author and anyone who notices. (Those VIP comments tend to be listed as “most relevant” because more people clap for them when they recognize that person’s name. They usually float to the top for everyone to see. Whoo hoo!)

6) It is cross-pollinating Medium engagement

This approach brings each writer’s audience to new publications, and we can more intimately interact with writers’ work that is new to us. He even suggested we form our own small writers’ groups to further drive engagement. I definitely plan to try that out and write more on it soon.

Compiling this article and engaging in this challenge has introduced me to multiple writers I have never read before, and it reaffirms how amazing the community and talent are here on Medium. ❤