The Only Way to Pick a Medium Publication

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Abstract

ll them an epic story. Make them the star of that story. Show them they too can be like Gandhi, Steve Jobs, or Maya Angelou. That’s what Personal Growth is for. You can give practical advice — but you better hang it on the largest tapestry you can find.When people read <a href="http://psiloveyou.xyz/">P.S. I Love You</a>, they want to know they’re not alone with their relationship problems. They’re looking for signs. They want to know their concerns are valid, and they want to know how to fix the problems they have in dealing with other people. Sometimes, a poem can provide this validation better than any piece of tactical advice. Sometimes, the tactics are exactly what unblocks the path they’re on. If your story doesn’t provide a new window through which I can look at how I interact with other people, it doesn’t belong in P.S. I Love You.When people read <a href="https://medium.com/better-marketing">Better Marketing</a>, they want whatever they need to be successful at their job that day. Sometimes, that’s a dose of inspiration to write. Sometimes, it’s an email script for reaching out to a company. It may also be an incredibly detailed guide to dissect their ads with data science, a crazy story from marketing history, or a tip about how to best pick a Medium publication. If your article won’t help marketers or writers do their job, it’s not a good fit for Better Marketing. There are many parts to those jobs, but if you send us HR advice, generic interviewing tips, or a tutorial on memorization, we’ll say no every single time.You want each of your stories to reach the biggest audience it can possibly find, but do you think about the audience at all? Or do you think about follower numbers, about marketing, and about what’s in it for you? “This publication will publish my article really fast! This one has many followers! This one makes good edits!” But who’s reading it?Instead of looking for benefits, you should put yourself in each of that publication’s follower

Options

’s shoes. The only way to really do this is to become a reader of that publication yourself.It’s always obvious to a publication editor if you’ve spent zero time reading their magazine. I don’t need to look at every word of your article. I can feel it. You can’t hack your way to that feeling. You actually have to develop it — and the only way to do so is to do what any publication’s audience at large does: read many articles. Read until you can feel it.“This article feels like it belongs in Personal Growth.” That’s how professional writers give advice — and other professional writers will understand it perfectly.The amateur always wants a hack. Without specifics, the amateur doesn’t know what to do. This is normal. We all start as amateurs. If you stay an amateur, however, that’s on you. If you never train your gut, you’ll never go beyond specifics. You’ll always need the recipe to cook the same meal.The pro is focused on building intuition — because pros know once they have intuition, they can skip the specifics. They don’t need a seven-step checklist or five reasons for every decision. They just know what word belongs where and which article goes to whom. Instead of justifying their actions, they take them. They’ll still be wrong most of the time, but instead of double-checking the specifics, they’re moving forward. That’s why pros leave amateurs in their dust. Intuition allows them to move faster.The only way to pick a publication for your article is to understand that publication’s audience to the point where you can intuitively tell if your article is right for them. This is the only criterion that matters.If your article and the audience are a perfect match, the audience will spread it to all the other people who are like them. That’s what going viral really is, and that’s why article-audience fit is the only point that counts — even though, unlike the many but not infinite moves in chess, it’s not something you can count at all.</article></body>

If your article doesn’t fit the audience, don’t submit

Picking a Medium publication is like chess: People think there are near-infinite options, but usually, there’s only one right move to make.

Most writers get confused by the many variables each publication offers. Which one has the most followers? Do they email new articles to their audience? Will they tack a CTA onto my post? Do they edit my work? Will I get any feedback? Which one has the highest chances of curation?

The truth is none of these things matter. The only thing that matters is if your article is the kind of post that publication’s audience wants to read. But who is this audience? Who are they? What do they want?

Medium is a data-driven platform. It offers many things you can count. It’s tempting to want to work several of these metrics into one coherent algorithm that’ll let you pick the perfect publication for your work. Consider the number of followers, the average views per article you’ve gotten there in the past, your curation ratio, and, and, and…

All of this is irrelevant because what matters in choosing a publication isn’t something you can count. It’s something you must feel.

When people read Personal Growth, they want to feel inspired. They want you to elevate them; help them examine their life from a 10,000-foot view. They don’t want inbox zero hacks or business advice. They want to feel like they matter. Tell them an epic story. Make them the star of that story. Show them they too can be like Gandhi, Steve Jobs, or Maya Angelou. That’s what Personal Growth is for. You can give practical advice — but you better hang it on the largest tapestry you can find.

When people read P.S. I Love You, they want to know they’re not alone with their relationship problems. They’re looking for signs. They want to know their concerns are valid, and they want to know how to fix the problems they have in dealing with other people. Sometimes, a poem can provide this validation better than any piece of tactical advice. Sometimes, the tactics are exactly what unblocks the path they’re on. If your story doesn’t provide a new window through which I can look at how I interact with other people, it doesn’t belong in P.S. I Love You.

When people read Better Marketing, they want whatever they need to be successful at their job that day. Sometimes, that’s a dose of inspiration to write. Sometimes, it’s an email script for reaching out to a company. It may also be an incredibly detailed guide to dissect their ads with data science, a crazy story from marketing history, or a tip about how to best pick a Medium publication. If your article won’t help marketers or writers do their job, it’s not a good fit for Better Marketing. There are many parts to those jobs, but if you send us HR advice, generic interviewing tips, or a tutorial on memorization, we’ll say no every single time.

You want each of your stories to reach the biggest audience it can possibly find, but do you think about the audience at all? Or do you think about follower numbers, about marketing, and about what’s in it for you? “This publication will publish my article really fast! This one has many followers! This one makes good edits!” But who’s reading it?

Instead of looking for benefits, you should put yourself in each of that publication’s follower’s shoes. The only way to really do this is to become a reader of that publication yourself.

It’s always obvious to a publication editor if you’ve spent zero time reading their magazine. I don’t need to look at every word of your article. I can feel it. You can’t hack your way to that feeling. You actually have to develop it — and the only way to do so is to do what any publication’s audience at large does: read many articles. Read until you can feel it.

“This article feels like it belongs in Personal Growth.” That’s how professional writers give advice — and other professional writers will understand it perfectly.

The amateur always wants a hack. Without specifics, the amateur doesn’t know what to do. This is normal. We all start as amateurs. If you stay an amateur, however, that’s on you. If you never train your gut, you’ll never go beyond specifics. You’ll always need the recipe to cook the same meal.

The pro is focused on building intuition — because pros know once they have intuition, they can skip the specifics. They don’t need a seven-step checklist or five reasons for every decision. They just know what word belongs where and which article goes to whom. Instead of justifying their actions, they take them. They’ll still be wrong most of the time, but instead of double-checking the specifics, they’re moving forward. That’s why pros leave amateurs in their dust. Intuition allows them to move faster.

The only way to pick a publication for your article is to understand that publication’s audience to the point where you can intuitively tell if your article is right for them. This is the only criterion that matters.

If your article and the audience are a perfect match, the audience will spread it to all the other people who are like them. That’s what going viral really is, and that’s why article-audience fit is the only point that counts — even though, unlike the many but not infinite moves in chess, it’s not something you can count at all.