5 Truths I’ve Learned After Writing 25 Articles On Medium In 1.5 Years
I started writing on Medium in April 2021.
When I first started, I wrote sporadically. About once a month. And when I stopped in July of that year, I had a grand total of 5 articles and 3 followers. One of whom was my cousin, lol.
When I first started writing, I barely saw any growth. And you know what? I’m ashamed to say I was surprised about that.
I thought to myself, “Why was I only getting between 0 – 3 views?”
But I guess that was my ego and entitlement talking. I guess I expected the views, reads and claps to pour in simply because I wrote and published something on the Internet.
Needless to say, I was in for a rude awakening.
It wasn’t until November 2022 that I started to write and publish a minimum of 1 article a week.
At the time of writing this article, it’s nearing the end of February 2023, so a little over 3 months since I started to write consistently. (Though, I did skip one week when I moved from Hungary to Taiwan.)
To date, I’ve written 25 articles on Medium. And here are 5 truths I’ve learned along the way.
1 – “The key to success is consistency.” – Zak Frazer
I know, I know. You’ve probably heard this a million times, but I had to include it because well… it’s the truth.
After I started writing 1 article a week, I started to get more views, reads, claps, and followers.
Why? Well, my hypothesis is that writing is like playing the lottery.
Theoretically, increasing your number of tickets in the lottery will increase your chances of winning.
Similarly, the more articles you write and publish, the higher the chance of your article being viewed and read by others.
2 – This was a huge factor in my growth.
I saw the biggest growth in followers when I started to engage with others writers after I set a goal to read and write 3 meaningful comments every day.
You can see my followers increased from a single-digit to a double-digit change.
Now, I know my growth is relatively slow in comparison to other writers on this platform, but I do my best to not feel discouraged by this.
Because as the saying goes, “Comparison is the thief of joy.”
So instead of feeling envious of other writers, I channel that emotion into inspiration. I tell myself, “If it’s possible for them, then, it’s possible for me.”
And I never forget to celebrate my small wins because even the little ones deserve to be recognized.
3 – Don’t overlook this.
So far, my articles have been accepted in 3 publications.
ILLUMINATION – This publication curates and disseminates outstanding articles from diverse domains and disciplines to create fusion and synergy.
SYNERGY – This publication accepts topics related to writing, including marketing, the business of writing, opportunities, and social media.
Practice In Public – This publication helps writers get off the sidelines and turn pro.
Whenever my articles are published in publications, they’re exposed to a wider audience which helps generate more views, reads, claps, and comments.
In the future, I’d like to create my own publication as well.
4 – Formatting matters.
Nowadays, most people read articles on their phones as mobile web traffic accounts for 54.8% of global web traffic.
So, it’s important you format your articles:
To look visually appealing
To make them easy to read and skim for mobile
Otherwise, readers might not stick around.
Here’s how you can optimize your content for mobile:
Use lots of whitespaces. I stick to 1-3 sentences before I hit the Enter key. Personally, I get overwhelmed when I see huge chunks of text.
Use subheadings H2 and H3.
Use bullets and lists.
Use a link break or divider to break up thoughts.
These are the 4 tools I generally stick to.
5 – Nothing beats this feeling.
Though I have more than 100 followers, I don’t get paid from the Medium Partner Program because I don’t live in an eligible country.
So why do I continue to write on Medium?
First, I enjoy writing. I didn’t even know about the MPP when I first started to write on this platform. At the time, I simply just wanted a place to document my insights and journey.
Second, it feels rewarding when people find value and meaning in your writing.
Wrapping Things Up
Here are the 5 truths I’ve learned after writing 25 articles on Medium.
The more articles you write and publish, the higher the chance of your article being viewed and read by others. In a nutshell, consistency matters.
Don’t post, and then ghost. Engage with fellow writers.
Submit your articles to publications to reach a wider audience.
Make your articles visually appealing and easy to digest.
People reading and caring about your work is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling feelings in the world.
Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash