What To Do When Your Medium Article Doesn’t Blow Up
A message to those who haven’t gone viral yet
This article is still being improved.
This is a message of motivation to the writers who want to do well on Medium.
I am not an “accomplished” Medium writer yet but have spent much time researching what it takes to be amazing on this platform.
Here are 10 tips based on what I have learned so far:
1. Keep Swinging
Sometimes you hit a single and sometimes you hit a double or a triple. If you keep swinging you will eventually hit one out of the park.
It requires learning the ropes. Looking at all your work and forming a study on why something is doing better than the others. I found that my numbers tend to go up on the weekends.
Write to hit your production goal. I do not know if I will ever go viral although I have been trying to engineer content based on trending topics and my results. Even when you used the same formula as last time. Your resilience. Monitoring what is trending on the first page.
Enjoy the process. Enjoy trying new things and getting feedback. As your account grows you will grow in compensation and skill and speed.
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” — Nelson Mandela
This is how I felt about publications at first.
2. Grow your Following with Daily Habits
Every day I follow a few new people, like their content, and leave sincere comments on their work after reading. I also use Medium’s highlight feature.
I found that commenting on a few profiles of people who are most engaging is helpful.
Being grateful for your progress so far. Some of these you’ve probably heard before while some will be new. Tell me which ones you resonate with the most. It’s kind of like the challenge of trying to figure it out. You make more as you build your audience, deliver great content, and connect with others.
3. Become a Better Curator
Just my opinion. Some of the ideas I have are already written online. Plagiarism is bad but citing your sources brings credibility to your work.
4. Engage Before You Post and Submit to Publications
The process: At first I went to major publications and replied but found that these people did not return the engagement. Over time, I connected with a solid group of people who at least try to return the favor and I consistently leave comments on their work.
Which type of people to target: I am looking for people who have great content and a lively comment section. But also I target people with great content and no comments because I know my comment will make them feel special and get the party started.
5. Use Blog Post Title articles to help you craft a more catchy title
I spend time on the Medium front page for topic ideas and blog title ideas. I also look at the current articles in my favorite publications that I want to publish to see which article names intrigue me the most, and who is getting the most engagement in that publication now.
I usually draft my first title and then review blog title articles to improve what I have. My goal is not to create clickbait that makes my readers unsatisfied.
Instead, I focus on titles that pique interest or talk directly to a problem my reader may be facing. The blog posts I write are unusually solution-oriented.
6. Write what other people aren’t really writing about
Scan around on Medium
Check other websites that post trending blog articles.
And you may be able to write something that’s already trending on another site. Or you can spin-off from a popular subject. Or you can notice the gap — what others aren’t writing about and fill that.
7. Fuel Your Own Platform
Have a plan that’s bigger than Medium.
The danger of building an audience and income dependency on one platform is that they can change the rules at any time.
Sometimes these changes are not in the best interest of you but for the corporation that owns the platform. So I believe the best way to earn a return from Medium is to have your own platform and an email list (with a landing page) to capture leads from this platform.
8. Write to Solve Problems or Open Someone’s Mind
When someone has a problem and your post speaks directly to the pain they are experiencing then your article will more than likely be well received. It may not go viral but know that you are certainly making a difference in someone’s life.
9. Think About Your Career as an Author
This story did not go viral. So what?
It is not just the last piece in your collection. You will be writing for a while and you will get better at a song as you keep practicing.
10. Appreciate that you Documented an Idea Successfully
This is a huge win in itself. So many thoughts and ideas get lost in our head so you should be happy that you successfully got this message out of your head.
I believe it is important to think about how much time is invested. From what I see, Medium will not pay you what a part-time job would.
Or can it?
I have not found Medium to produce sufficient income immediately. If you are working age or can start a business, there is much more of you making consistent income from those endeavors.
Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think!
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Build an audience
What to do when you are tired of spinning in circles
But I like Medium.
