Stop using follow for follow — the new Medium writer should use this strategy today to get more reads!
Increase your follows, engagement, and reads
When you join Medium, it feels like there is huge pressure to become a member of the Medium Partner Program (MPP). This is because when you are accepted you can start to earn money — who doesn’t want some extra dollars!
However, this pressure can lead to using the follow-for-follow strategy. I am writing to urge you not to use this method. Yes, you can quickly gain 100 followers and, as a result, you may be accepted into the MPP. However, these followers may not be interested in what you write about. Therefore, they may not read your content. It is readers that earn you money, not followers!
I get it. I too was tempted by the follow-for-follow quick-win strategy. However, I wasn’t drawn in. Okay, it took me longer than 24 hours to join the MPP but does that really matter? Not to me, it doesn’t. I have 400 followers and a number of engaged readers.
A Three-Pronged Strategy
There are three elements to my strategy that helps me to gain readers and earn. Okay, I am only two months into my journey and my combined earnings are only $30, however, I think this is reasonable progress from an amateur. I have seen examples of Medium writers who haven’t made that amount over a period of months.
Consistency
If you read other articles about increasing followers, readers, and earnings then you will have no doubt had consistency rammed down your throat.
Consistency to me means how frequently you write, publish, clap, comment, and respond. It is important to be consistent with all of your actions on Medium.
At present, I publish on a daily basis. This means that anyone who visits my profile can see I am active and regularly post. In addition, it means my readers have content of mine to read on a daily basis.
Engage
Other writers will be your main readers and unless you are a celebrity or a well-established writer it is essential you engage with other writers. When you engage with other writers you will quickly come to realize how supportive the community at Medium is. I say this because you will find that they will often reciprocate by following, clapping, and commenting.
You must truly read the work of other writers when engaging and leave a meaningful comment. If you comment on an article of a writer with hundreds of comments don’t expect to hear a response.
Recently I have found that if I subscribe to a writer they may reciprocate this action too and subscribe. A subscriber is great as they will receive an email and sometimes a push notification to alert them to your new publication.
However, if you are using this as a strategy choose who you subscribe to carefully. You may want to consider new Medium writers who are active but have few followers and probably few subscribers. There are no guarantees your actions will be reciprocated, but it can’t hurt.
A great way to engage with the Medium community is through read-for-read clubs. Indigo has a read-for-read club and I have recently started a Facebook read-for-read club which you can join by clicking here.
Remember, don’t assume your actions will be reciprocated, and don’t be disheartened if they aren’t reciprocated.
Follow wisely
Finally, my third prong is to follow wisely. If you blindly follow for the following sake then you may gain followers quickly. However, you won’t necessarily gain engaged readers. Remember, 100 followers get you a place in the MPP (if you are accepted). However, it is engaged readers that get you earnings.
When I follow someone using this strategy there are a few things I look out for:
- What are their followers to following ratio? If someone has a lot of followers but doesn’t follow many writers themselves it is unlikely they are going to follow you back. Unless you are actually interested in their content I wouldn’t advise following if it is more engaged followers you are wanting.
- Use the 100 followers tag. This tag has a lot of new Medium writers looking for followers and who are happy to follow too. I take a look at their articles. There will be writers within this tag that state they like to engage with other writers. This is in keeping with my values and means there is an increased likelihood they will be an engaged reader. These are the types of writers I follow.
- Are they active? If you are looking for an engaged writer to read your content then they need to be active. Now, there is no way to know for sure (that I know of) to be certain they are active. However, I would expect writers who are active and engaged to have published within the last two weeks as a minimum. If they haven’t then I am unlikely to follow them. Most engaged writers I follow and engage with are publishing on a daily basis.
Summary
To gain more followers that will engage with your content you need to be consistent, engage with the Medium community, and follow wisely. This is my three-pronged approach. Do you have your own strategy?
Read for read at the ultimate Medium club
June finished with me starting a read for read club on Facebook. I have started this club with the aim of you sharing your stories, reading the work of others, and growing as a community.
If you would like to join the brand new Medium community click here.
Join Medium for just $5 a month and access unlimited stories — never worry about the three-story limit again! Your subscription supports amazing writers and me. You can join using my link. It won’t cost you any more but I will earn a referral commission — click here to join the Medium community I promise you won’t regret it.
This article is number 40 of the 60-day writing challenge inspired by Alain Polo. Thank you to Elvie Lins❤️, Gustavo Gallina, Indigo, Judy Derby, Frank Sarpong, Heather Cooper, Ashley Ashbee, Carmellita, and many others for participating in this challenge and supporting me.
Please feel free to join the challenge and tag me, Alain Polo and Elvie Lins❤️.