Why Comments are Essential to Building Your Medium Tribe

Summary

The article emphasizes the importance of engaging with readers through comments to build a loyal audience on Medium.

Abstract

The article "Why Comments are Essential to Building Your Medium Tribe" discusses strategies for increasing visibility on Medium amidst intense competition. It outlines the significance of consistent engagement through comments, highlighting the necessity of responding to readers, showing appreciation, and intelligently interacting with feedback. The author advocates for active participation in the community by reading and commenting on other writers' work, linking to their content, and connecting offline. The piece also stresses the value of feedback, including critical comments, as a learning tool for writers and suggests that making it about the readers rather than oneself is key to success.

Opinions

The author believes that the Medium staff's algorithm changes have negatively impacted established writers by reducing their visibility.
Engagement is not just about commenting on one's own posts but also actively participating in the broader Medium community.
Responding to comments, especially negative ones, is crucial, but one should avoid taking the bait when comments are hostile or constitute harassment.
Thanking readers for their time is important, as their attention is valuable and should be acknowledged with respect.
Writers should not expect a quid pro quo when promoting others' work but should do so to add value for their readers.
The author values the importance of feedback, including negative comments, as they can be a significant source of learning and growth.
Building personal connections offline with other writers can contribute to a stronger writing community and personal growth.
Occasional failure in maintaining connections is part of the process, and it should be taken as constructive feedback.
The article suggests that writers who focus solely on their own success are thinking too small and should instead aim to contribute to the community and deliver value to their readers.
Highlights and feedback from readers on Medium are considered extremely valuable by the author, who emphasizes the platform's unique ability to provide direct reader engagement.

Not just what folks write on your stuff. What you write on theirs.

How on earth do you build visibility when there is so much competition for eyeballs?

Look. “How to make a million on Medium” is so tired and foolish that it really is about time we grew up and focused on what draws readers to us. If I may, please.

First, this is fifth time, maybe more, that I’ve had to rebuild readership. Suffice it to say that each time it’s worked, with the singular proviso that Medium’s friendly staff can, does, and has repeatedly thrown a very big wrench into the collective hard work of those of us who have been around for a few years. Most if not all of the higher-producing writers have lost a lot of eyeballs, not from what we did but from changes in design and algorithms. That said, I am once again climbing up the sand hill, with every expectation that if I dare to make a living wage then the Medium Mafia will find a way to undercut that progress.

Still, for those of you just starting out, here is what works. It DOES work, I’ve had to do over and over and over again. It still works. Here goes:

Pick a lane

Write about what you know

Write something that’s of value (kindly refrain from struggle porn, please)

Engage engage and engage.

That last is what this article is all about.

What engagement looks like in terms of comments:

If someone comments on your stuff, respond. If they’re ugly, do NOT take the bait. Rookie mistake. Delete, Block, and if necessary, Report if said comment is harassment. Disagreement with you is NOT harassment. Wikipedia: It is commonly understood as behavior that demeans, humiliates or embarrasses a person, and it is characteristically identified by its unlikelihood in terms of social and moral reasonableness. That’s harassment. Disagreement is NOT harassment. It’s where you grow and learn.

Take the time to thank people who gave you THEIR time and eyeballs. That pays you. They don’t get that time back. They chose to spend it with you. That is an honor and we need to treat it as such.

Respond intelligently, which allows them to see that you read to understand what they said. Don’t assume ill intent. If I’m having a rough day I will sometimes make that mistake, which is both unkind and unfair. The best people will call you on it. The VERY best of us own our shit, apologize, and by doing so, we earn a loyal reader. Why? Because what you said, if it’s public, reveals your character. If you are wrong, and then publicly OWN that you are wrong, that solidifies your character, earns you respect and people notice.

Read and comment on other people’s material. I have a number of folks I read regularly. Some of them are very popular. That means that if I comment on their favorite son’s material, or their favorite feminist’s rant, their readers want to know what others said. People read your comments. AND if you are funny, respectful, supportive, kind or whatever, that leads those people to be curious about you. I have gotten a load of new followers because I highlight, comment, acknowledge and compliment other writers whose work I love. I also regularly, and as a very consistent habit, link to, quote from and highlight their material in my stories. How consistent am I? Okay. A few weeks ago I put all my stories onto a spread sheet. Since Medium considers comments as stories, I was able to separate out all the comments from the articles. As of a few weeks ago I had made close to six thousand comments. SIX THOUSAND comments in under three years. That averages to about six comments Every. Single. Day. That is engagement.

Linking to and building up other people’s stuff demonstrates that you understand that first, you are NOT the be-all, end-all expert on whatever lane you chose. There will always and forever be people who are better writers, who have a different take, and who will appreciate the heck out of your including them in your work. Some return the favor. I do not expect a quid pro quo. Here is my bottom line: if a writer has penned something really good that has a place in an article I am doing, I include it. Why? Because it adds value for my readers. Other writers have found each other through those links, and that builds community. Share the wealth, build up other writer’s material, get their work in front of your followers’ eyeballs. If you see that as competition, you’re thinking too small. That kind of generosity makes you look good, because you are giving your readers more value.

Connect with people off line. If you are comfortable, you can invite a private conversation, share emails. Good writers discuss how they have build communities: Gillian Sisley, Benny Lim and many others have formed writing relationships and connections with other Medium writers. I’ve created deep and lasting friendships with people I have met here.

Accept occasional failure. On occasion I’ve screwed up royally and lost connections, even with a public and private apology. It happens. People misread something or you’re not careful enough (my hand is up) and folks can get mad, or over-react. Happens. Take it as feedback, feedback is a precious thing.

And let’s talk about feedback one more time. I have learned a great deal from people who took the time to write what might have been construed as negative comments. That is where you and I as writers learn the most. I don’t have to agree, and sometimes I end up agreeing when I get off my high horse ( fall off, more like it), but in any case, we do NOT learn if we stay in the “we love your stuff” bubble. Critique, when offered respectfully, is precious. To that, there are a few folks whose work I quietly edit but ONLY in a private message. Never ever ever ever call people out publicly on such things. Not only is this disrespectful, but I always put a question mark just in case the writer intended what they wrote. Sometimes they did, and I learn something new. But that discussion is private, as it should be.

Finally, this isn’t about you. It is never all about you. If you make it about YOU then you lose sight of your sacred responsibility to deliver value to your readers. Forget that, and ultimately they will desert you. Your readers are your reason for writing. They are often, if not always, a lot smarter than you and I are. When they speak, listen. When they highlight, pay attention. My god, as a prize winning journalist and author, as much as I like to bark about Medium, there is no other platform where people’s highlights have provided me with the best possible feedback about what matters to those who matter the most to me: my readers. That’s amazing. And it’s a gift. Let’s treat our readers as the gift they are to us, and keep returning the favor. That’s how we build readership.