This Is My 100th Article On Medium. Wow!
The journey began with the first article
I started writing on Medium in December 2020. So it has been just over a year. When I thought of having a blog, I was scared and excited at the same time. I did not know what I was going to write about. But as they say,
“Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”
I decided to publish my first article. I did not think about what my second article would be. And after a year later, I am here writing my 100th article. I don’t know how I did it but it happened.
After writing for just over a year, I have gained 350+ followers and made close to $500. Am I satisfied with my progress? I would say no. But, am I happy? Definitely, yes!
I would have liked to gain more followers and earn more money but I know that I did not put in the effort required to gain 1000 followers. I should have published 200 articles instead of 100.
I am still happy that I believed in myself. Things were bleak after 5–6 months. I thought that I would not go anywhere. Somehow, things changed and I am excited to publish more and more articles this year.
These are the lessons I learned over the last year:
1. It’s not about money, it’s about writing
You can’t start a blog thinking about money only. If you do, you would quit soon. I did not earn any money for the first 6–7 months. Had it been about money, I would have quit way before.
You have to fall in love with writing. If you don’t love writing, then writing is not for you. I am sorry to say that but it’s true.
Start writing about the topics you like. The more you write, the more you start liking writing.
2. Blogging is harder than you think
Building an audience is harder than you think. If you think you will publish a blog and people start reading it, you are wrong. I struggled to get even 10 views on my article for the first 5–6 months.
I am still struggling to build an audience. I want to gain 1000 followers but I am far away from that goal.
However, I am loving this struggle. It makes you want to work hard and achieve something you think is impossible.
“If you want to become a blogger, fall in love with the struggle”
3. Read often
If you want to become a writer, you have to become a reader first. For writing, you need ideas and you get ideas by reading great books. Commit to reading 2–3 books a month. Read blog posts of your favorite writers.
To summarize, these are the 3big lessons I learned:
- Fall in love with the writing
- Blogging is harder than you think
- Become a voracious reader