I Interviewed 10 Medium Top Writers: There’s One Simple Thing They Do
We all want to know the path to success on Medium
There are many of us on this platform trying to reach a wider audience. We endlessly submit to publications in an attempt to increase the amount of reads we receive. Often, we think so much about how to ‘make it’ on Medium that we face analysis paralysis:
“the inability to make a decision due to over-thinking a problem.”
As I was scrolling through articles to spot a common habit among successful writers, I became suspicious that a certain simple yet effective method was predominant. Curious about whether this hypothesis was true, I reached out to 10 top writers who were all, surprisingly, kind enough to share their ‘trade secret’. It’s either clear that I should have more faith in others, or Medium is just a breeding ground for friendly people.
With countless professional and amateur writers on Medium, it is now more important than ever to learn how to market yourself. However, that is not what the top writers had in common. Sure, they presented themselves well, but not necessarily because of good design or social proof. They knew how to tell their story. That, in combination with an (in hindsight) obvious secret.
The funny thing is that we all know how to tell our story. We write a couple of articles and then focus on the statistics. If you keep looking at your numbers, you’ll be hypnotized by the craving of success. This common phenomenon continuously overcame me until I realised that there had to be a common factor. As a social media strategist, I always try to find a link between variables with the hope that I’ll find connections which help me decode the system and achieve results; both faster and easier.
It turns out that there is a crucial link: showing up every day, or at least extremely consistently. Ten out of ten writers shared that once they started making a habit out of writing on Medium, they saw their numbers skyrocket. Not just views and reads, but also member viewing time, and therefore more earnings through the partner program.
They write on medium almost on a daily basis. That’s something. However, they did not hesitate to share their personal experiences in an interesting manner. It is clear that the more you write, the more shots at success you get. At times, I suffer from imposter syndrome, and I know that many of you do too. A writer that can be found on the homepage of Medium every day had a reminder for me though: take into account that you’ll automatically get better at concise writing. My writing is nowhere near what it could be, but I realise that in order to get to where I strive to be, I just need to write more.
Another writer disagreed with this simple analysis, pointing out that while in essence it was true, we need to provide a unique insight into the topics we write about. I often struggle with this, but multiple people mentioned that I should learn to put myself and my ideas out there. It reminded me of a helpful book: “Show Your Work” by Austin Kleon. If you’re struggling to build the habit of writing on Medium, it’s a great read.
So, let’s share our ideas and the processes behind them. Let’s connect and be open to each other’s perspectives. After all, isn’t that what the internet was made for?
