The Definitive Guide to Getting Your Medium Stories Chosen for Further Distribution

Five simple steps getting straight to the point

I know you’ve read a lot about how to get your stories distributed by Medium. I’ve read them too, and I know some can be contradicting.

Since my first curated article was published in the Ascent, I’ve written a further 28 stories, with 25 of them being chosen for further distribution, so I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t.

I’ve consolidated my learnings into five simple steps, and although they won’t guarantee your work gets distributed, they’ll put you on the right track.

But before we dive into them, I wanted to go through a few misconceptions first:

• Chosen for further distribution and curation are the same thing — curation’s just the old terminology.
• There is no ‘curation jail’. The algorithm will always reject stories that don’t meet distribution standards.
• You can have stories chosen for further distribution in any tag. This story got distributed in Philosophy, Religion, Mythology, Culture and Hell. (You can check this by searching for the tag yourself)
• Some publications like the Ascent and Mind Cafe have partnerships with Medium that mean all published stories get automatically distributed.
• Some publications go a step further by telling Medium to recommend your story to a broader network of readers.

With that out of the way, let’s get into the five steps:

1. Clear Headline, Cover Image and Subtitle

I cannot stress the importance of having a clear, capitalised heading. It doesn’t need to be incredibly catchy; it just needs to convey what your story is about.

If you’re struggling with a title, use a headline analyser site. Not only will it rate your choice of words, but it will also rate it from an SEO perspective.

Always add a subtitle, and make sure it’s correctly set. Medium displays both your title and subtitle in its feed, so not adding one will harm your chances of getting your story distributed.

Having a cover image below your headline and subtitle is a rule in most publications, and for good reason.

Medium has a particular style across its stories. You need to follow this style by having a cited cover image — not citing will instantly disqualify your story, no matter how good it is.

2. No Obvious Grammar Mistakes

Medium will never distribute your content if it’s riddled with errors, and the most obvious reason this would happen is that you didn’t check your work.

After you finish writing, re-read your work and check for errors. Use Grammarly in all stories. It’s free, so you have no excuse.

If you don’t edit your work before publishing, you won’t get chosen for distribution. It’s as simple as that.

3. Follow A Structure — Have an Intro, Body and Conclusion

Whenever you write, you should always have a plan.

By simply creating a skeleton structure of what your story will be about, your story will be consistent and not arbitrarily jump from one point to the next. And as a bonus?

Having a draft will motivate you to finish it.

Almost every news article you read online follows this approach. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Create a skeleton draft, write, edit and make sure your content flows.

If the algorithm can’t work out whether your story is good quality, at least make it easy for the human curator.

4. Insert Useful Backlinks, Quotes or References

Search engines love authoritative backlinks, and so do Medium publications. But don’t fill your stories with fluff if it’s not meaningful.

If your piece is personal, is there a quote from a famous figure that can emphasise your point further?

And if you’re referencing a historical event, is there a reputable source you could link back to?

We’re already in the middle of a fake news crisis, so don’t worsen it by having your readers question the authenticity of your work!

When it comes to CTAs, be careful as Medium will disqualify your work from being distributed if your story contains too many, and yes, that includes links to your own work as well.

Remember that the reader has to take away something from your story. Enlighten them.

5. Write Meaningful, But More Importantly, Readable Content

You may have noticed that this story follows a specific pattern. There are dividers between each heading, and I’ve made sure to use actual headers.

Use bold text to highlight important points, don’t use them as headers!

Your work needs to be readable. If it isn’t, then you’re not only turning away the curators; you’re also turning away readers.

As for the story itself, Medium isn’t only looking for unique topics; it’s looking for unique perspectives.

For example, I’ve written a story about the origins of humans and googling that phrase returns 270,000 results. So it’s not unique, but my philosophical take on it is unique, and that’s why it got chosen for further distribution.

If there are only two things you need to remember, it’s making sure your work is readable, but also meaningful.

Once you’ve grasped the fundamentals of what Medium is looking for, getting your articles chosen for further distribution becomes easy. You don’t need to overthink it; you just need to follow these five steps.

And if you’re still not getting curated? Re-read and re-edit since that’s what the issue will come down to.

I want to make it clear that distribution will not give you hundreds or thousands of views, but what it will do is extend the shelf life of your story.

If Medium changes its algorithm in the future, those stories will continue to benefit from distribution, so it’s in your best interest to work towards that goal.

Be the writer that does, not the writer that did.

I’m not a writing guru, but I have found these techniques helpful. Perhaps you will too.