Want to Stand Out on Medium? Here’s What it Takes

Everyone wants to get noticed on this platform, but how can you do that in practical, and tactical, ways?

I’m not the tooting-my-own-horn type of person.

That concept makes me just as wildly uncomfortable as accepting my own well-deserved success (thanks, impostor syndrome, you’re a gem).

That said, I promised my readers early on that I would be super transparent about my Medium experience. So, here’s some more transparency for you.

I’ve been told by several other writers on this platform that I’ve achieved growth fairly quickly, compared to the norm (their words, not mine).

What comes to mind when I hear this is that there are a lot of other Medium writers out there who are also hustling their butts off, and dreaming of bringing in another stream of income, or even bringing in a full-time income from this platform.

I love that you guys are dreaming of that possibility. I am, too. I’m working hard to make that dream a reality.

And I’d love to also see it happen for you as well!

So, with 50 days of rapid growth under my belt, I want to do all I can to offer my insights of what I did to achieve an additional stream of income for my business from Medium, which is equivalent to 1/3 of my current monthly income from my social media and copywriting company.

If these insights would be valuable to you, please keep on reading!

Enough chatter. Here’s the dirt you came for:

Support other writers, loud and proud.

Don’t just give 1 clap, or 5, or 10 — give a standing ovation to content, anywhere from 25–50 claps.

While Medium’s payout algorithm measures each reader’s behaviour, meaning that 1 clap for one person can weigh the exact same amount as 50 claps from another person (in terms of how their membership is distributed at the end of the month), there remains a psychology for writer’s behind how many claps an article gets.

Starting out, I began with 1 clap per article. Maybe 5, if I really like it.

But I soon realized that the big leagues were showing better sportsmanship than me.

While (speaking from a data analytics standpoint) the number of fans matters more in the grand scheme of an article’s success compared to claps, it’s still an incredibly deflating feeling when you’ve poured your heart into a piece, and someone gives only 1 clap.

Once you’ve experienced that feeling, it sheds some light on why the most active and top writers on this platform like Shannon Ashley and Michael K. Spencer give generous “standing ovations” to the content they engage with on Medium.

Shine brightly in the places where others are existing part-time.

For members of the Medium Partner Program, there are several fabulous Facebook groups out there with supportive and active members participating in daily discussions.

Even within those groups, however, there are many who do not engage regularly.

Be one of the people who does.

Get on that group every day. Support the content of other writers. Become familiar with who they are, and follow them on Medium.

If you’re an active and authentic participant, they will quickly become your Tribe and biggest support system on this platform.

However, be aware — building trust and loyalty online is exactly the same as in real-life relationships. You must participate honestly and generously, engaging with the content of others and supporting them along their journey as well, rather than just looking out for your own skin.

Within two weeks of being an active and enthusiastic participant on the Facebook group Medium Partner Program Friends, I was promoted to a Moderator of the group, and now act as a community manager with a weekly thread called #WednesdayWins. It is an additional responsibility, but I gladly take it on as a committed member of this community.

Medium is a community of dedicated writers. If community isn’t your thing, expect your growth to likely be stunted here.

Stay top-of-mind with regular content.

What do I mean by regular?

Well, remember those Medium writers I mentioned above? They’re not posting every day… they’re posting multiple times a day.

I started out two months ago with publishing 3 articles per day.

That became very overwhelming after my initial 3-week sprint on this platform. I’m down to 2 articles per day, and that’s a comfortable spot for me.

From a marketing perspective, it often takes more than just one initial encounter to become a fan. More likely, a reader will encounter your content numerous times, in a span of time short enough to remember you, to become a loyal fan.

Repetitive encounters with readers is key. Which means you have to be posting fairly regularly.

If not, you risk getting lost in the flurry of content being posted daily, online and on this platform. Don’t give readers a chance to forget you altogether.

Make it so that you can’t be forgotten.

Come to peace with the fact that you will NOT be every reader’s cup of tea.

At best you will just not appeal to some readers, whether it’s your writing voice or the topics you write about.

At worst, you will enrage internet trolls with your content, and they will leave nasty responses in your comment section.

At the end of the day, you just need to let the fact that you can’t please everyone roll off of your back.

This is the reality of the writing industry: it is stocked full of rejection and criticism.

Plus, from a business standpoint, it’s unwise to try and appeal to everyone. If you don’t have a focus, you’re basically throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping it sticks.

Know your niche, write what you know, and be authentically yourself in the content you put out there.

Medium is stocked full of readers hunting for your writing. You just need to give them the chance to find you.

Final word.

These are some of the more notable tactics and strategies you can use on Medium to stand out among the crowd and sea of other phenomenal writers. They certainly worked for me, and I still follow them true to form today.

The key to writing on this platform, and succeeding at doing it, is knowing who you are as a writer, and unapologetically speaking your truths.

Whether those truths exist in politics, technology, social media, humor, or feminism, whatever, you have to write what you’re passionate about, and do so with gumption.

I’ll warn you now — the journey on which you are embarking will be stocked full with disappointment and moments of feeling too deflated to move forward.

Work through the pain, keep picking yourself up, and stay determined on your course.

The best way to ensure that you fail on this platform is to stop writing entirely.

Be one of the few writers among the crowd who is brave enough to keep going, despite whichever odds or naysayers are standing in your way.

Don’t do this for them — do it for you.