Gain the Advantage!

This New List Feature is the Bomb — Are You Using it Yet?

If not, you’re missing out on reading time and more earnings

Yes, ladies and gents — I’ve had another Medium epiphany!

*Updated today 10/16/21 — see notes below :)

So once again, I’m doing that face-palm thing (thanks to you guys, I know the correct term for slamming my palm into my forehead while saying bad words) because I should have started using this new tool the minute Medium made it available.

I did have the ‘new list’ thingy on my list for quite some time but hadn’t tackled it because I didn’t think there would be much value in it — wrong again, Liz!

I’m a Virgo — duh! I love freakin’ lists — no, I worship them — hell, I make lists of my lists! And if you like lists as much as I do, you’ll understand when I say the best part of making lists is scratching things off!

And then I take it to a new level of weirdness…

If I accomplish something that wasn’t initially on my list, I’ll add it to the bottom just to feel that heady sense of accomplishment by scratching it off.

OMG…I just read that last part again; something is seriously wrong with me!

Am I the only one? Is it just me…? Should I delete that part…? Are they laughing at me?

Nah! My peeps get me…it’s ok…it’s ok…

So you can see why I’m dumbfounded as to why it took me so long to dig into this super-duper handy feature and make use of the damn thing!

But enough about my mental health and the dent in my forehead — let’s use my misfortune to boost your success here on the platform.

The new “list feature” is incredibly straightforward to set up, and it oozes benefits. That’s why I decided the topic was worthy of being added to my ever-growing Medium Toolbox Series, and of course, sharing it with my fellow writers ASAP!

• If you’re already making use of it — good for you — you’re so amazing and on the ball. No dents in your head — yay!
• If you saw the new feature and ignored it like me — this will be all the inspiration you need to start using it, and then of course, to love me forever and ever.
• If you don’t have a clue what I’m talking about — crawl out from under that proverbial boulder and prepare to have your brain stretched!

Where Do You Find the New List Feature?

Your readers can access it from the top of your profile page next to your number of followers.

And you can manage it by clicking your profile picture; you’ll see “lists” in the drop-down menu about halfway down.

And here’s a quick link to the Medium tutorial to save you about 30 seconds.

Now hang on; before you go running off half-cocked to add it to your “to-do” list, read about the benefits and my exquisite ideas so that you’re inspired into action!

The Many Benefits

• Make it super easy for your readers to take a deep dive into your work and find your best stories (much better than scrolling for ages).
• Be sure your stories earn as much as possible by keeping them easily accessible to your readers no matter how old they get.
• You can title your story lists so your readers can cut right to the stuff that interests them most.
• Save stories you plan to read later — these can be locked for privacy and titled by type.
• Keep all your favourite articles by other writers in one place — makes it super handy to pull a recap story together down the road.
• Keep all your Medium reference material and tips from other writers at your fingertips (and this one better make the cut!).
• Pull all your curated, viral or best-performing articles together on one list to review in one spot — patterns may emerge that could help recreate that magic.

Ideas to Maximize Those Benefits

Get creative when labelling (or titling) your lists. Insert your personality and make your readers want to look inside. Make ’em curious!

Here are a few examples you can steal — I guess — if you need to and can still sleep at night…

• This Story Went Viral — Stories That Nobody Read — These One’s Will Make You Laugh — My Top Performing Articles — Humourous Rants
• My Zero Clap Stories — Stories My Mom Loved but Need More Attention
• Oh, here’s a good one — My Cricket Collection — My Latest Flops — I’d so open those last two!

Ok — back to the serious stuff…

• Definitely make a shortlist (or maybe it’s long) of your best performing stories to showcase
• Organize your existing stories in groups using your story tags as the title
• Group stories together that are part of a series — Like parts 1 & 2 or chapters from your books.
• Break your stories out by topic — if you write in more than one niche
• Set up your lists with your readers in mind; what makes sense to list at the top?
• Do check the lists other writers have already set up to get more ideas
• There’s even a spot to write a note or description of your list. I still need to do that part — oops!

Another little tippy poo or two

1. You aren’t able to change the order of your lists once created. So think it through and do a little planning before you start so they end up in the order you prefer.
2. A story can be added to more than one list if it fits in more than one category.

Updated 10/16/21 *Breaking News — these three brilliant writers reached out to help us and it’s obvious their foreheads are intact! They’re doing great things with their lists, so visit their profiles and check out their lists :)

Both Glenn Stok and Barbara Radisavljevic explained that you can indeed change the order of your lists. If you go to an existing list and edit it (ie change the order of stories within the list) it sends that list to the top!

Then there’s John Welford, who has a professional background as a librarian and indexer. He reached out with another bomb! He makes extensive use of his lists and had the brilliant idea of linking them to his “About Me” story!

Thanks to the “undented” for all their help and suggestions — check ’em out!

Wrapping Up This Little Gift

Take the time required to set up your lists; it’s a great way to keep your older archived work easily accessible to your readers and earning money.

Don’t wait — the more stories you’ve published, the longer the initial setup will take. And stay on top of it once you’ve set it up by linking new stories weekly or monthly, depending on your output.

Be sure to lock your private lists (reading and reference material) and unlock the ones you’re setting up for your readers.

Oh, and if you’re one of the writers I mentioned above (the ones without the forehead dents) and you can further enlighten the rest of us about this new tool, please feel free to make me look bad and share them in comments.

I’ll happily add them to my list and hopefully scratch them off before too long!

And hey, once we’ve all set them up, think how easy it will be to check out work from other writers! We can drill down to the topics we’re most interested in and save some serious scrolling time.

Boom — You’re done! And now you’re the Bomb!

Heres’ another from my Medium Toolbox Series…

Not a Medium member yet? Go ahead and use my referral link below so you don’t miss out on my best stories and all the other amazing writers on the platform! Yes, I’ll make $2.27, but hey — help a starving writer :)