The Best Publications to Write for on Medium
The publications where your writing is most likely to be seen.
Ultimately, we all want people to read our writing.
That’s why we write, right?
Sure, you can write journal entries to read to your cat, but this is Medium.
The problem is that most articles are lost in obscurity, lucky to make a couple of dollars.
Time is money. It takes time to write articles. Therefore, the bang for your buck is because you’re paying with your time.
Mind you, it’s harder to be published when publications accept few articles. But if you are, it’s like the holy grail of writing—instant audience.
Hence this article and reach. I was interested in knowing how many articles a day the significant publications publish to give me a fair idea of the chances of my post being seen or lost amongst the clutter.
Many of us remember the excitement of being accepted by a major publication, just to be dismayed as we realise the number of additional views isn’t as substantial as we thought.
That said, some additional views are better than none!
How was the list compiled?
The formula to calculate the publications where your articles are most likely to be read was simple.
Total followers for a Publication, divided by the number of articles a day they publish. Thus giving an average follower count per daily article.
I counted the number of articles published over five days and calculated the daily average.
For example, say a publication has 200,000 followers.
If they publish 50 articles a day, your story is less likely to be seen than if they only publish five a day.
Moreover, a publication with 75,000 followers publishing five articles a day would give you a more considerable audience potential than a publication with 200,000 followers publishing 50 articles a day.
Make sense?
A slight bias is always possible with compilation lists. But I did try to be as objective as possible.
There’s potential for human error, and there may be some publications I have missed. To find the publications with the largest followings, I found lists via Google, such as Smedian.
Then, I chose publications that have a simple process for writers to apply.
What publications don’t make the cut?
I have submitted three articles to separate Medium-owned Publications, waiting the standard two-week period they tell you to wait, to assume your article wasn’t accepted.
Recently, Medium shared that the experiment of funding their Publications hasn’t worked. Essentially, the following and readership of the publications didn’t outweigh the investment.
I don’t know if they gave up on any communication as this became apparent or if this was always the case. It’s a very poor customer experience.
We have to wait two weeks after writing this excellent article, and the editors can’t be bothered sending a 1-minute email that they could easily automate?
No sympathy here for their demise…
Anyway.
The List
I’m not saying disregard publishing in anything down the bottom of the list if you have a relationship with that pub. But to maximise your audience potential, the top of the list is where you should be aiming.
This list of compiled publications is all open to submissions from new writers and provides an easy process.
These numbers are accurate as of late April 2021.
I have calculated the numbers for twenty publications, all with over 30,000 followers.
Better Humans is out in front, followed by UX Collective and The Startup, all with over 100,000 followers per daily article. Illumination is down the bottom, with less than 1000 followers per article.
Next, I go through a quick rundown of the publications, what topics they publish, and how to apply to write.
I list the publications in descending order, based on the most significant audience potential per article.
Write for the publications with the most readers per article
Do you want your writing to be seen by more people but don’t know where to start?
Use this guide to understand better what publications accept submissions and what topics or niches they publish.
Better Humans
The publication with the largest average audience per daily article is Better Humans. With just under 400k followers, they only published three articles a day over the five days.
They must decline a lot of articles! Better Humans are particular about their guidelines.
Better Humans publish a “vast and growing collection of diverse, well-tested advice on every aspect of self-improvement.” Their niche is human potential and self-improvement.
Writers must share realistic advice that works from their own in-depth experiences. Share insider tips, warn of potential pitfalls and help solve potential problems that may arise.
We especially want to hear from writers who are from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds.
Submit an article to Better Humans here.
UX Collective
The publication with the second-best following per article ratio on Medium is UX Collective. Short for User Experience, it is a “publication made by designers for designers”.
Content for UX Collective must be UX, Product, or Visual Design focused.
We define our audience as ‘people who make products’ (designers, researchers, developers, and product managers), not Startup entrepreneurs or businesspeople.
Write for the UX Collective here.
The Startup
The biggest publication on Medium with nearly 800,000 followers, The Startup recently rebranded to “Start it up — Get smarter at building your thing”.
The Startup publishes content to help entrepreneurs and creators, such as:
- self-help
- informative essays
- first-hand lessons
No matter what form our stories take, we want our audience to walk away with eye-opening insights.
The Startup is also one of the easier publications to submit content to for novice writers.
I was self-publishing my first articles to an audience of 3 or 4 people until The Startup left a private note, asking if they could publish my article.
I didn’t know anything about Medium at that point; I just thought it was a saturated market, and I’d never make money. I was only half right.
The Startup is not afraid to give new writers an audience, which is fantastic.
Become a writer for The Startup here.
Entrepreneur’s Handbook
Dedicated to “helping entrepreneurs succeed”, the Entrepreneur’s Handbook publishes business articles, such as:
- Founder stories
- Design
- Startup deep dives
- Hard life experiences
- Advice
- Creative thinking
Have an interesting launch story, design commentary, or lessons learned from a startup success or failure? Discover a productivity routine, or grow a side project into a business?
Write for Entrepreneur’s Handbook here.
Be Yourself
A publication for people, being themselves. “Don’t instruct, share.”
Aptly titled, Be Yourself. And apparently, that’s the only criteria?
The world is a shit place.
It will want you to be a lot of things but not yourself.
Become a writer here.
Note — the page provides a form to leave your email address. It added me to a mailing list, but details are vague on how you actually become a writer from that point. Maybe I missed it.
Slackjaw
Slackjaw is the home for humour on Medium. They only publish a few articles a day, so articles should get a good boost from this publication. Pieces MUST fall under 1,000 words. “Less is better. But not too less — most pieces are 300–800 words.”
I submitted an article at about 1300 words (I tried to squeeze it down), but they rejected it. They were prompt in doing so, however!
The #1 destination on Medium for all-things humour, and think-pieces on cats…
Submit your writing to Slackjaw here.
The Writing Cooperative
A home for writers, The Writing Cooperative is “here to support, encourage, and help you write better!”
They aim to help writers improve their craft through content such as Essays exploring different writing career paths.
- editing and publishing tips, tools, and methods
- advice on developing writing ideas
- in-depth explanations of different writing formats and styles
- unique language and grammar guides
- first-person accounts of getting a book published
- interviews with experienced writers.
We publish unique, high-quality articles that focus on creativity, writing, editing, publishing, and everything in between.
Submit an article to the Writing Cooperative here.
The Ascent
The Ascent is “a community of storytellers documenting the journey to happiness & fulfilment.”
They publish content to inspire and educate others to lead better lives, no matter the individual goal.
We believe in authentic, personal storytelling. The stories that perform best for us are rooted in firsthand experience and packed with tons of value, in the form of personal lessons and profound takeaways for the end reader.
We want readers to walk away feeling empowered, ready to conquer any challenges they may face.
The Ascent is no longer accepting publications.
PS I love you
A Medium partner publication, PS I love you publish love stories.
Topics vary from being new parents to the excitement of a first kiss to co-exist with an ex-lover.
All we ask is that your piece is, on some level, about love. Love as family and history, fear and rage, healing, transformation. Love as pain and triumph, sex and intimacy. Love as the thing that keeps us alive.
PS I love you is no longer accepting publications.
Towards Data Science
Expanding understanding of data science is the objective of Towards Data Science. They publish content about:
- data science
- machine learning
- artificial intelligence
- programming
They aim to “strike a balance between innovating, informing and philosophising.”
Share your concepts, ideas, and codes with a broader audience.
Become a writer for Towards Data Science here.
Publishous
It’s delicious; it’s PubLishous!
Pronounced “Pub-LISH-ous”, articles must “motivate and entertain people.”
On its homepage, PubLishous breakdown its content into:
- spirituality
- better living
- writing
They want writers to “Bring your personality with you” but “leave your snark behind”.
Fresh content to help people live healthier lives, help writers, improve productivity, increase faith, and entertain people through creative output all while helping you get published.
Submit your content to Publishous here.
Mind Cafe
Publishing content to help readers “lead a happier life”, Mind Cafe is about self-improvement and happiness.
Mind Cafe articles require high quality, grounded in research or experience.
Some prominent writers publish here. They seem to publish quite a high volume of content, too, so you can too!
The truth is, we all want to be happy. A desire for contentment and satisfaction underpins just about every single one of our decisions.
Write for Mind Cafe here.
Better Marketing
As you might expect, Better Marketing publishes marketing articles.
“A publication by and for marketers.”
They give a good overview of what types of articles they are looking for, which include:
- tutorials
- case studies
- how-tos
- inspiration
- writing advice
- industry trends
- tool reviews
- tips from industry experts
- advice on how to manage other aspects of your life as a marketer
Become a writer for Better Marketing here.
I have published several articles with Better Marketing — the article below is my biggest to date with over 80,000 views.
Post-Grad Survival Guide
PGSG is a publication for Millennials, with content about work, freelancing, money and life advice.
Articles published by PGSG require personal insight/context and actionable takeaways/lessons.
Life in your 20s and beyond. A Medium publication focused on Work, Freelancing, Money and Life Advice.
Apply to write for PGSG here.
Curious
The younger sibling to Medium’s largest publication, The Startup, Curious accepts personal stories and research pieces about self-improvement.
Curious is a self-improvement publication, for those who are eager to find out what others have already figured out.
You can write articles from first-hand experience about what you have figured out or second-hand research pieces with eye-opening insights.
Submit an article to Curious here
Making of a Millionaire
Publishing “all things related to money” is Making of a Millionaire. Topics are varied, including:
- Personal Finance
- Economics
- the Journey to Financial Independence
- the anxiety caused by lack of money
- the thrill of making money
- the fear of losing money
- the responsibility of managing money
We all have a “money story.” Money impacts our lives every day in both positive and negative ways… We all have a story to tell about how money impacts our lives.
Write for Making of a Millionaire here.
DataDrivenInvestor
Data-Driven Investor aims to “empower you with data, knowledge, and expertise.” by connecting readers with resources and opportunities.
Content is business-related, focusing on tech, finance and entrepreneurship.
Develop a guide from confusion to clarity in the age of information, knowledge, and complexity.
Become a writer for DDI here.
ILLUMINATION-Curated
Publishing content across countless genres and aiming for advanced readers, Illumination's “curated” version has a smaller writer pool.
The publication started with top writers from Illumination that are curated frequently, and engagement with other writers is encouraged.
Some readers of ILLUMINATION prefers only content written in simple language. In comparison, the audience for ILLUMINATION-Curated may prefer sophisticated language and complex topics.
Become a writer for ILLUMINATION-Curated here.
In Fitness And In Health
As the title suggests, In Fitness And In Health publishes health and fitness content. Storytelling is encouraged, home for writers “dedicated to living happy, healthy lives and inspiring others to do the same”.
Share your stories, anecdotes, tips, tricks, and suggestions on living a healthier life.
The content that performs best for us comes from firsthand experience in the form of personal lessons, thoughts, ideas, opinions and profound takeaways. We want to provide as much value as possible for the reader.
Write for In Fitness And In Health here.
ILLUMINATION
Illumination publishes a lot of articles. It is the easiest of the larger publication to submit your writing. They seem to accept anything, averaging over 100 articles a day.
It is an excellent place to start to gain some confidence early in your writing.
Illumination aims to give a voice to as many people as possible and embraces diversity.
We value diversity, freshness, originality, and authenticity from new voices. We strive to empower our writers and support our readers.
Write for Illumination here.
Conclusion
That concludes the list of the publications where you can submit your writing to maximise its number of potential views.
Publications are ordered from the largest following per daily article to the smallest — from Better Humans with 132,000 followers per daily article to Illumination with just 853.
By submitting our articles to publications with a large following, but few articles published per day, our articles are theoretically more likely to be read.
It’s not a perfect science, but hopefully, this list provides a good summary of the publications that give writers the best chance of success on Medium.
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