How To Succeed On Medium

Ten Medium tips from the creators who know best

We learn so much from our creators, and we don’t just mean because of the great ideas you share on Medium (though yes, those too!). You all figure out things about writing and succeeding on Medium that we never could, and we appreciate your perspectives so much.

Here are a handful of Medium-specific tips from actual Medium creators, that range from getting started all the way to starting your own publication. Tell us yours in the responses!

1. Make connections with other Medium creators

If I could give one piece of advice to writers on the Medium platform, it would be to make connections. Find writers whose writing you admire. Pay special attention to writers who write about the topics you like and have bylines at publications you enjoy reading. Ultimately, finding your writing tribe can be exciting as long as you feel ready to learn and grow alongside your peers. — Allison Gaines, of WEOC Editors

2. Edit your drafts (and then edit them again)

The lesson for me is that editing is a feature of the writing process, not a bug. Now, I don’t begrudge editing. I realize that it is just part of the process of helping me think. I love the process of editing! Nothing that anyone sees from me on Medium has been edited less than a dozen times. Each time, it is a slightly better expression of what is in my head. — Roger Martin

3. Know who your reader is

My best work happens when I write for a single person instead of a mass of people. Like any writer, I want to be popular. I want to be read by as many people as possible. But the only way to do that is to connect with one person. Before I write anything — whether it’s a social media post for a brand or a first-person essay or a movie review — I ask myself, “Who am I writing for?”- John DeVore

4. Serve your reader

Once you’ve found your audience, you want to keep serving that same audience. If you jump from one audience to another, you’re not likely to build a large readership.

That means you have to enjoy what you write about. Otherwise, you’ll be one of those people who spends a year on Medium and gives up because readers can’t relate to your content.

It can be tempting to write for superficial ends, like views or money. But if you spend all your energy writing for those reasons, you’ll eventually burn out. And who wants that? — Darius Foroux

5. Read Medium posts

I say devote 15–30 minutes, a minimum of 3 times a week to read your comments, respond and then read a piece from a commenter — they’ve already shown an interest in your work. — Teressa P. of WEOC Editors

6. Use Medium’s list feature to organize your stories

Every time I publish a story, I add it to a list. I write many different types of articles on Medium — fiction, nonfiction, poetry — and having a way to collect similar stories together is a great way to organize my page. — Casey Lawrence

7. Use a unique image

Your article is only two-thirds of the final product. The other third is arguably more important — it’s the attention grabber. Alongside your title, it’s the best weapon you have to stop a reader scrolling right past your work. What I’m referring to is, of course, the feature image.

Many writers are guilty of getting sloppy at this stage in the excitement of getting their work published. Don’t get complacent and throw in the first stock image you find under a vague term like ‘writing’ or ‘work.’ If it’s in the first few results, you can bet your life it has been used to death. When you chose that all too common image, you’re undermining your hard work, and potentially turning the editor’s eye when they realize they will have to go and find a new one. Worse, you might leave reader feeling that same sense of deja-vu. — Stephen Moore, editor at Index

8. Add Alt-Text to your images

Writing alt-text allows me to see what I pay attention to first. It gives me time and space, in a relatively low-pressure environment, to notice these things. And I can put that knowledge to use in my life outside of alt-text later.

I’m just now beginning to understand how paying closer attention to accessibility benefits everything around me. But I don’t think I expected that being more aware of it would also help to benefit who I am as a writer. — Yi Shun Lai

9. Don’t try to go viral, just write your heart out

Do not chase algorithms. Do not read articles on how to “make it” on Medium. Do not create headlines that scare the living daylights out of people so they click on them, searching for some elusive answer to life’s unanswerable questions.

Instead, write a story in a huff while you’re crying. Crawl back under the sheets and workshop the story with your dog. Chase the flow-feeling. Be naive. — Adeline Dimond

10. Start a publication

I think the most important value we offer as a publication is our extensive and thorough editing process. Our editors are very hands-on and we work closely with writers to further developer their skills. I want to underscore the point that this isn’t just about ensuring we publish great work on SUPERJUMP itself; it’s also about leaving writers with something of lasting value well beyond their time with us. — James Burns, EIC of SUPERJUMP