Who Has Been The Most Helpful Writer You’ve Followed On Medium In 2021?
Superstar Tim Denning asked this question on Twitter and here’s my answer. It’s not only one writer.
Legend Tim Denning asked via Twitter:
Who has been the most helpful writer you’ve followed on Medium.com in 2021?
I don’t have only one writer who has been helpful. By helpful I mean:
a kind person who’s willing to help others (and sparks inspiration)
I’m grateful for a lot of creatives on this platform — old, senior writers and legends, as well as new, junior writers.
Let’s start with the 4 more senior writers first.
My Top 4 Writers on Medium
Nicolas Cole
Where? I’ve found Cole via Twitter when he informed his followers about future rewards and upgrades on Medium, Twitter, Quora, LinkedIn, and Co.
Why? In my opinion, Cole belongs to the best writers on the internet. Moreover, he has the inside scoop of the creator's industry.
What? You can learn
- to be specific
- write a catchy headline with the curiosity gap
- a daily writing habit
- to own your niche and category
- how to promote your work online
I read his book: The Art and Business of Online Writing. It’s a game-changer.
❤️🔥 Thanks to Cole, I’ve started writing on Quora because I believe in the potential of this platform and that Cole and one of my favorite writers Sean Kernan will become millionaires on this platform.
Tim Denning
Where? My husband introduced me to Tim’s work.
Why? In my opinion, Tim isa legend and THE success story and THE brand ambassador of Medium.
Moreover, I love that he replies to mentions and tweets.
What? You can learn
- to format your articles and make them easily digestible
- to A/B test your newsletter headlines via ConvertKit
- to grow an online empire
- to build a brand
- to write newsletters — I love his newsletter
- to practice mindfulness when it comes to business
Do you know the Bad-Assery? Tim hosts a Medium blogging course on Teachable.
❤️🔥Tim reminded me of the importance of email lists. It’s all about list building to grow your online business.
Zulie Rane
Where? Yousuf Rafi and Jameson Steward mentioned her in their articles.
Why? I love that she is a young, female writer from the Netherlands who was gutsy enough to start writing online and grow her online empire.
What? You can learn
- to target bigger publications in her online course
- about Medium’s latest updates
- how to set up a successful YouTube channel
- how to write articles
Owner of New Writers Welcome Robert Ralph watched one of Zulie’s YouTube videos in which she introduced Medium.
Based on this video Ralph became a member. She’s the only Top Writer on Medium that has over 10K followers on YoutTube.
❤️🔥Zulie inspired me to target bigger publications. That’s my goal for 2022.
Sinem Günel
Where? I saw people mentioning her name on Medium.
Why? Sinem is from Austria. I’m from Germany. Hence, we both speak German and are non-native speakers. I love her growth mindset and power to build an online business from scratch.
In spring she made $100K in one single month together with her life and business partner.
What? You can learn
- to build momentum (you get her (pushy) newsletters on a daily basis)
- to promote your brand
- to grow your online business
- to think like an entrepreneur
- to think more rational than emotional, for instance in regard to Medium’s death
With her Medium Writing Academy (MWA) Sinem and her partner offer a powerful opportunity for new writers.
Writers such as Floyd Mori joined Medium because of her ‘How I Made $$$$ On Medium As A Native-Speaker’ articles.
❤️🔥Sinem reminded the marketer in me to think about Medium more rational than emotional and from a bird’s eye perspective. All the toxicity and speculations you read from other writers lead nowhere.
Here’s a List of 6 Indie or New Writers who has been truly helpful
Burk
Where? This summer, Burk wrote a beautiful tribute to my short form story successes and even went viral with his article.
Why? He has 5(!) kids. Works for Google Germany and somehow manages to carve out some time to write on Medium, NewsBreak, and Vocal.
Awesome, isn’t it? Tell me, is there any Top Writer on this platform who is a family manager, has a full-time job, is a dad, and has 5 children?
What? You can learn
- to focus on the most lucrative area in your side hustle, for instance Writing about Medium
- anything is possible — with a family and a full-time job
- the latest news and updates about Medium & Co.
- to get featured in bigger pubs
- to experiment with different platforms
- to improve your writing one step at a time, at the moment he’s improving his headlines
Writers such as Burk are the future of this platform. Whenever I write an article about Medium's latest upgrades, updates, rewards, acquisitions, Burk finds an issue, a different perspective.
He’s questioning this platform and all the others. We need more critical minds.
❤️🔥Burk shows that you can succeed as a non-native speaker from Germany. You can wear different hats, follow your dreams.
Don’t sacrifice your dreams for the family but to work for a brighter future with your loved ones.
He’s a new voice that inspires a lot of (new) writers.
Yana Bostongirl
Where? She commented on my first viral article and said I was an inspiration for her in regard to productivity.
Why? She’s an empath. She’s lovely. Yana writes from her heart and shares a lot of her past and present with her community.
What? You can learn
- to write personal essays
- to write from the heart
- to share your darkest moments
- to dare to be vulnerable
- to engage with your community
- to be bold
- to not write the same-old-same-old articles
During the Medium Writers Challenge I had some questions in regard to the publication Know Thyself, Heal Thyself where I wanted to submit a story to.
We became email friends and one day she even revealed that she got bullied by another writer and was thinking about quitting. Since Yana is bold and strong, she didn't quit.
Look where she’s now. She is an editor-at-large for Coffee Times by Winston together with Dr. Preeti Singh. She hosts her own column.
❤️🔥She’s a new voice that inspires many.
Tom Fenske
Where? He left a private note where he asked me to become a writer for The Shortform which had around 80 followers at this time in the past— now it has 2K+.
Why? Tom has a family, works full-time, and dared to open The Shortform after Medium announced to feature short form articles as well.
He saw an opportunity and he took it.
What? You can learn
- to open a pub
- to promote your pub
- to grow your pub organically
- to be bold and take opportunities
- to be successful as a non-native owner of a publication
- to run successful Writing Challenges
- to ask for help when you need it to grow your pub
A few weeks ago, Tom asked me to join his pub as a community manager. I’m very thankful for this opportunity and want to help The Shortform to grow.
I can still remember that there was a time when Tom wasn’t feeling good. He thought about quitting. I left a note telling him he should move on.
❤️🔥Writing isn’t all about sunshine and butterflies. It’s hard work. Especially when you own a publication, have to attract and add new writers, review their drafts etc. Thanks, Tom for everything you’ve done for me and the community (of short form writers)!
PS: The Shortform is open to new writers
Niharikaa Kaur Sodhi
Where? I read an article on Medium and then followed her on Twitter where she invited me to join her first cohort.
Why? Niharikaa is amazing. She’s a student of Ayodeji Awosika and managed to make 3K in June 2021.
She dared to be vulnerable and shared the before and after story of her surgery on LinkedIn where she managed to receive 4M+ of views.
What? You can learn
- to dare to be vulnerable
- go all in and quit your 9–5 job
- to be mindful and work only 4 hours for your side hustle
- to pump out tons of content without burnout
- to lean toward faith and go all in
- to grow your email list like fire
Niharikaa lives in India and when she reached out to Ayodeji Awosika she could barely afford his Medium blogging course. Only a few months later, she managed to earn $3K+ per month.
Moreover, she started her own newsletter, offers a free ebook and hosts her cohort called ‘Summit 21’ where she helps writers to climb the summit of building a daily writing habit within 21 days together.
❤️🔥Niharikaas cohort helped me to deepen my daily writing habit, connect me with a lot of inspiring creators like James Garside. This great writer and entrepreneur inspired me to write for bigger pubs as well as to dare to share more of my personal life experience.
Yousuf Rafi
Where? I once read an article by Yousuf about the power of handwriting.
Why? Yousuf is a great writer from Pakistan. He was also a fellow student of Niharikaa’s first cohort called Summit 21.
He constantly improves his writing. As soon as I saw he joined the $100 club he climbed the ladder to… $3K per month with around 3K followers.
That’s a true success story and shows you don’t need 10K+ followers to succeed.
What? You can learn
- consistency
- a daily writing habit
- improving by learning from the blueprints of Top Writers
- headlines people can’t help but click on
- write viral articles with over 10K views
- to be grateful
Yousuf offers new perspectives and his articles help side hustlers and freelance writers to grow their online businesses. He writes about what he loves and always tries to improve his craft.
❤️🔥Yousuf was one of my first email subscribers. I wondered why he would follow ME. Apparently, he believed in me and this felt so good. We’re constantly cheering each other on and learning from each other’s work.
Kristina Segarra
Where? Kristina was one of the first female writers I’ve followed as a newbie writer.
Why? Kristina is a powerful woman. She is a mother of two boys, wife of a musician, freelance writer, and editor of ILLUMINATION.
She experiments with Quora, Vocal, Substack, and Co. and shares her insights.
What? You can learn
- write consistently
- build a daily writing habit
- become a freelance writer
- where to get paid for your writing
- set up a writing group
- write for a variety of publications
- experiment with different platforms
- open your own Quora Space
Kristina’s health and well-being articles, like ‘The First Thing You Should Do When You Wake Up’ are memorable and her tips are easy to implement.
In her newsletter, she shares phenomenons I’ve never heard of like the paradise syndrome.
❤️🔥I never thought I would one day (temporarily) have more followers than Kristina because she was like a lighthouse at the beginning of my online writing journey.
She’s a true inspiration and I learned a lot from her lessons learned in regard to Medium.
To the people reading this, I encourage you to give these aspiring writers a read and boost.
Final Takeaways
That is my Top 10 list of junior as well as senior Medium writers who helped me in 2021.
In response to Tim Denning’s question, Vivek Naskar Yousuf Rafi Sarah Lyall-Neal tweeted:
Kristina God (me) would have been helpful for their writing journeys.
Thanks, guys! I feel honored and blessed.
Who has been the most helpful writer you’ve followed on Medium in 2021?
Are there writers missing?
I’m 100% sure there are. Who would you add?
Feel free to write an article as an answer to Tim Denning’s question.
PS: I will soon share a list of new rising writers you should watch out for!
👉 Join Kristina's 'Medium 101' email list for more 📨!👉 New to Medium? Become a Medium member now and earn decent money.