Use Toddler Logic to Grow Your Audience

Grab your blankets and juice boxes and gather around to learn how to think like a toddler and grow your audience.

The howls of protest are already starting to bubble up in the throats of the detractors.

“Ryan, you have really gone too far this time! You simply cannot think like a toddler and grow your audience. The work of Medium is serious business!”

Hang on just a minute.

I completely agree with you that this work is serious work, but that’s exactly why I think you have to use some outside-of-the-box thinking to make it work for you (sorry for the cliche!).

It turns out that there are actually some things that toddlers do and say that I think be leveraged to help anyone grow their audience.

Let’s explore what those things are.

1) Childlike Wonder

This work isn’t child’s play, but we can benefit from childlike wonder.

Those among us who have or have had a toddler in their life know the experience of answering some pretty difficult questions, like:

• Why is the sky blue?
• Why are elephants so big?
• What makes this food taste good?

The list goes on and on.

I don’t have any kids of my own, but even I know that this is a common experience for many parents.

Toddlers ask these types of questions because they have a boundless sense of curiosity and wonder. They want to know about the things that you take for granted.

Take that same logic and apply it to the way that you interact with your fellow users on Medium, and you just might be onto something.

I don’t mean to say that you should barrage every user with a mountain of questions.

What I do mean is that you shouldn’t be shy about asking the author of a piece you enjoyed to provide more information about their chosen topic.

Instead of JUST telling them how great they did at writing the piece, ask them about a specific aspect that you liked about it. Let your imagination carry you away.

2) Practice Good “Show and Tell” Behaviors

Make your fans so proud of your masterpiece that they want to hang it up on their refrigerator.

Think back to the days when you would proudly run up to your parent to show them your latest work of art as a toddler.

You created that piece of art with reckless abandon.

You could get away with it because you knew that your parent would be proud of what you had created no matter what it was.

I’m sorry to say that the same might not necessarily be true of everything that you write on Medium.

But…

Don’t let that be a deterrent to you.

You should still approach every piece with a sense of enthusiasm about what it can be.

Take your latest creation and pin it to the top of your profile.

That is often the first (and sometimes only!) stop that many users make to your account.

You want to WOW them with the latest thing you have to say.

This does NOT mean that you go around spamming about your most recent post.

No one likes it when a toddler screams and cries the loudest.

You might get some temporary attention, but it will be from a frustrated audience that is unlikely to be so responsive the next time you cry wolf.

Instead, make something of value to your readers and then go check out what they have been working on.

More often than not, showing interest in other’s works of art is the best way to get them interested in what you have to say as well.

At least, that is how it has been going for me.

• Just since the beginning of the year, 40 of you have said “sign me up!” to receive e-mails whenever I drop another story (bless you!).

I feel like I must be doing show and tell right!

3) Don’t Forget to Be Kind and Learn to Share

Sharing really is caring, and it is a muscle we all have to learn to exercise.

No child comes into this world as a natural born sharer.

We are all a bit selfish when we emerge into this world.

That being said, we all have to learn to share and cooperate to make the world keep spinning.

In this context, I don’t mean just literally sharing the pieces that you love with others (although that can also be helpful), but instead, sharing your perils of wisdom with your fellow writers.

I have tried to make it my mission to be transparent and share to the best of my ability with the community here. There is no doubt in my mind that I likely fall short of my goal sometimes.

However…

I always have the intention of sharing what I know with others.

Try to keep the equation in your mind that you should try to share as much as you take.

When I think about it this way, just how enormous the quantity of benefits, insights, inspiration, and knowledge that I have gained from the community here. That propels me to try to give back in equal portion.

Use that as your North Star when engaging with the community in any way (via writing or interacting), and you will be in good shape.

They may not know much yet and they are still just learning to explore their world, but there are a few things that we can all learn by using toddler logic.