How to Get the Following by Publishing on Medium
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You want to try publishing on Medium or try other strategies, but you’re overwhelmed.
Every day, you come across blog post after blog post preaching the hottest tip, trick, or tactic for growing your blog.
You’d think so many options would be helpful, but you end up with nothing more than an endless reading list, and the information overload makes you indecisive.
You know you need to find a strategy that works and stick with it, but which one is best?
Is it social media?
Is it SlideShare presentations, blogger outreach, or SEO?
All of these strategies work in and of themselves, but I’ve found one that goes above and beyond the rest. It’s even helped me receive more traffic than guest posting.
Publishing on Medium helps you generate traffic for your blog and build your email list, but most people fail to find success on Medium because they don’t have the right mindset.
The Publishing on Medium Trap – Why Most Bloggers Fail to Succeed on a Thriving Platform
Each and every year, thousands of actors come to Hollywood to become the next big star. Most of them come to find out the competition is too stiff. They give up and move back to their hometowns with their tails between their legs.
I’ve seen the same situation occur with bloggers on Medium.
Most people publish a few posts on the site — without following the right techniques — then get frustrated and quit because their posts get few or no reads. Afterward, they blame the platform and make excuses for why it doesn’t work.
Medium works if you work Medium.
I felt frustrated with Medium when I first published on the website. After some reflection, I realized my strategy was wrong and observed what bloggers who were successful on the platform did to grow their readership.
Had I done the same thing the majority of would-be Medium bloggers do, I would have continued to get the same results. Zero. Zip. Nada.
The saddest part?
The mistakes most writers make are so easy to fix.
By changing a few strategies and committing myself to finding success on Medium, I went from a writer nobody knew to gaining hundreds of thousands of views on my posts and adding 1,000 + subscribers to my email list directly from Medium.
The same can happen for you if you create a smart game plan.
The Quick and Simple Strategy to 10X Your Reach on Medium
Once I discovered this simple tweak the views on my posts skyrocketed.
See, most people publish their posts on Medium and leave it at that, but smart bloggers know this little trick to get exposure.
In order to get tons of views on Medium, you need to submit your post to a publication.
You know that publishing your work on “guest blogs,” is a great way to build traffic for your own blog.
Publications act as a “guest blog,” of sorts within Medium itself.
These publications have their own group of followers, with top publications having one hundred thousand or more.
When you publish a post on someone’s publication, it shows up on the timeline of every reader who follows that publication.
The strategies you use to pitch a potential publication are identical to sound strategies for guest blogging.
Some publications will have pitch guidelines like this:
In those instances, if you follow the submission guidelines to the letter, you’ll have an excellent shot at being accepted. Others will require you to find the email of the publication owner and pitch them, just like you would an owner of a guest blog.
How to Pitch Publication Owners Like a Pro
Just like guest blog owners, editors who run publications on Medium are inundated with pitches sent to their inbox, most of which are bad or downright awful. The best way to set yourself apart from the competition is to first familiarize yourself with the publication owner and the content they publish.
You can follow these sound strategies to build a relationship with editors of Medium publications and pitch them properly:
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Never pitch strangers by email or any other way. Build a relationship with them first on Twitter or by putting a few comments on their blog. Unless you have some connection with them before you write your pitch, your email will be deleted straight away.
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Be sincere and personal.
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Get your facts right and show them you’ve read their blog. Most bloggers love to support and help the readers who support them.
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Mention something you’ve done for them – linked to their blog, left comments, shared it on Facebook, subscribed to their newsletter, or bought their latest product.
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At the very least find out the person’s name and spell it right.
These strategies take time and effort to execute, but success in blogging happens when you do what other bloggers won’t. The time you spend will pay major dividends.
If you’re new to the Medium terrain, take some time to read through posts of respective publications and know their content like the back of your hand.
How to Find Top Publications to Pitch
Here are some of the most popular publications on Medium who regularly allow contributors:
- Be Yourself – Submission guidelines here.
- The Coffeelicious – Submission guidelines here.
- The Writing Cooperative – Submission guidelines here.
There are dozens of others just like these who accept contributors. You can check the “Top Stories,” and “Editor’s Picks,” sections to find posts from top publications as well.
Here are more useful links on finding publications to follow.
Once you find a publication and build a relationship with the Publication editor you can pitch them.
Some publications will entertain a pitch, but others will ask for a full post.
Either way, you’re going to have to write an excellent post to be featured in the publication.
Here’s how you write a post that will knock both the editor’s and readers’ socks off.
Elements of a Successful Medium Post
The rules for writing a successful Medium post are the same as writing a successful post on any blog.
You’ll want to follow these tried and true blogging techniques to write captivating posts your readers will love:
- Write excellent headlines – The headline is the most important piece of real estate for your blog post. Use elements of curiosity, intrigue, and “you language,” in your headline to draw readers in.
- Provide a strong introduction – You have a few short seconds to keep readers engaged with your content. Write an intro that speaks to their desires and goals or pains and frustrations.
- End with a motivational close – Your goal is always to inspire your readers to take action. Use an emotionally arousing conclusion to leave your readers energized.
- Add a call to action – You want Medium readers to sign up for your email list. Make sure to add a compelling call to action with a link to your landing page and free incentive/lead magnet.
Elements of Style
In addition to these techniques, you’ll want to take advantage of Medium’s stylistic capabilities by using the following strategies:
- Keep sentences short – Medium uses a crisp interface and short spaced out paragraphs make for eye-catching content.
- Add a large photograph to your post – Posts with photos perform better than posts without them.
- Make your words shine – Use headings, bold, and italics to give your content an extra visual edge.
- Use the embed feature to link to other blog posts – Medium has an excellent visual feature which allows you to embed blog teasers into your post. See below:
Once you’ve learned how to write excellent posts for Medium, you can begin to build momentum and grow your influence on the platform.
How to Build a Loyal Medium Following to Skyrocket Page Views and Rapidly Grow Your Email List
Winning on Medium requires a marathon mentality. You won’t go viral with your first blog post. Your follower count will build with each new post, which gives you further reach with each new post.
You also want to build a relationship with the readers of the community. Medium has a feature that allows readers to “recommend,” your posts. When readers recommend your post it shows up on the feeds of their followers. You want to encourage readers to recommend your posts, and you also want to engage with them when they comment on and share your posts.
I usually respond to every reader who shares my post on twitter personally with a thank you reply. I reply to people who provide thoughtful comments and engage in dialogue with them. I share and recommend posts from fellow writers who I enjoy.
Relationships on Medium work the same as they do in the blogosphere. Connection is just important as promotion.
Speaking of promotion, you also need to take extra steps to get as many eyes on your posts as possible.
- Promote Medium posts to your email list
- Share Medium posts on social media
- Retweet people who share your posts on Twitter
- Add a teaser of your Medium post to your personal blog
I didn’t hit pay dirt on Medium until after I’d published more than a dozen posts. It takes perseverance, but these smart marketing strategies will work given enough time.
Use Medium to Take the Blogosphere by Storm
As a fellow blogger, I know how tough it can be to stand out.
The most important thing I’ve learned is that patience, effort, and commitment lead to blogging success.
There are lots of “shiny objects,” tips, and tricks to wade through, but the most successful bloggers focus on being excellent at a few strategies. Bloggers who fail spread themselves thin by trying a bit of everything.
I had zero followers on Medium and zero reads on my posts until I got out of my way and took smart advice.
Success is out there for you, but you’ll never find it until you get out of your own way and follow proven methods that work.
I’ve just laid out the blueprint for success on Medium. If you follow it to the letter, it will work.
You have a focused community of millions of readers dying to read excellent content.
Immerse yourself in Medium’s landscape, write your heart out, and watch the traffic and subscribers roll in.
