Today Only — A Social Media Top Writer Mansplains You Medium
OK, true. I’ll do it again next week.
Credentials — I’m a Top Writer in social media (and satire). It doesn’t matter that I’m #50 out of 50; I made it to the list. Let’s not get too attached to the numbers!
Now, let me mansplain you Medium in three simple steps.
Lesson #1 — TAGS
It doesn’t matter that the number one story that made an impact (see screenshot above) is a humorous piece about the metaverse.
(Side note: I described my imaginary masturbating experience in the metaverse. It’s imaginary because all the functionalities aren’t there yet. But, trust me, we’ll all masturbate in the metaverse. We’re already masturbating with our phones …)
Where’s the social media part, you ask? In the tags, that’s where.
Don’t believe me? Pay attention to the humor tag, as used by the big writers on serious articles, and check who’s on top of the humor topic pyramid.
Lesson #2 — YEETING not editing for ages
Let’s have a closer look at the picture for the number 2 story that made an impact.
The photo collage is shit. I could have spent much longer making sure the faces fit the bodies and yadda yadda.
Not needed.
We are not writing books here. We’re writing articles that are forgotten in a few days max.
Lesson #3 — BRAGGING but not alone
Bragging is cool as long as you share the love with others. In this case, I’m sharing it with you! :D
The first thing I did when I became a top writer in satire was to write about it. (110 views — $2.6)
I learned from my mistake.
The first thing I did when I became a top writer in social media was to tweet about it with a link to my masturbating in the Metaverse story. (1k+ tweet views — 100+ engagements)
THEN only, I wrote this article.
The tweet was successful because I tagged other top writers in social media there; now I can tag them here too! Namely:
- Zara Everly, the famous Dick Hunter of Medium. She’s #21 in social media and #20 in Feminism.
- Yana Bostongirl, the Engagement Queen of Medium. She’s #13 in social media.
- Reuben Salsa. He’s whatever number. I just tag him everywhere.
Side note: Tagging people on Medium works — am I right, Jason? But not as well as on Twitter. Tagged people almost always read the tweets, much less the articles.
Bonus Lesson — CTAs in BIO
Always add a short bio at the end.
Even if people didn’t read the article, they’ll read your short bio.
It’s THE place to hook them again. In the best-case scenario, they’ll want to click and read your favorite article. Worst case, they’ll stay for a few seconds more of reading time.
With thanks to BichoDoMato for sharing with me his shameless self-promotional tactics.
Smillew is a Medium writer that writes mainly about Medium, his Medium newsletter, and his Medium referral link. No need to follow him; he’ll show up in your feed. Thanks for reading! Comments are now open.
