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How to Grow a Following on Medium: Our Best Tips

How to Grow a Following on Medium: Our Best Tips

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If you are a blogger, you may already be familiar with Medium, and if you’re not you ought to be. In most cases people who like to write also like to read, and if nothing else the platform is a good place to do that. But has also become a good place for bloggers to promote their work, grow their readership, and create a following. And more readers can lead to money-making opportunities if that’s what you’re after, which is why you want to grow a following on Medium. 

Medium is an online publishing platform that debuted in 2012. It was developed in part by Evan Williams, a co-founder of Twitter. As Twitter originally limited posters to 140 characters (it’s 280 now), Williams had in mind a platform for people who had a little more to say.

Anyone can become a contributor to Medium, and this had led to a broad range of perspectives, stories, and ideas. Popular topics range from productivity, social media, mental health, and more.

While you can find a lot of content from paid journalists who share content from their own publications, a recent change at the site has shifted the focus from that to more support from independent writers. 

So what does all of this mean to you as a blogger, and how can you benefit? Here are some tips that can help you grow a following on Medium.

Be consistent  

From writing to cooking and everywhere in between, to get better at doing anything you’ve got to consistently do that thing. Why is it the most important thing that seems to be the hardest?

A blank page is the biggest thing between real writers and people who just want to have already written something. But it is the key. Successful writers write every day. Even writing brilliant content randomly will never get you as far as writing daily.

Readers can love your content, but if they can’t find more of it they will search for other writers. And consistency is even more important for beginning writers.

Read consistently too  

Medium is full of great content, so find other writers in your niche and dig in. Aside from learning more about what it takes to get more attention on the platform, reading others’ writing also helps refresh your mind and lead you to new ideas.

Join publications  

It’s easier to reach bigger audiences if you submit to publications on the site. Not all publications will approve your work, but you can start with smaller publications. Some of these smaller “pubs” still have large followings. Do a little digging around the site and you’ll find some that fit.

Interact with other writers  

The easiest way to engage with other writers on Medium is by “clapping” for them. Claps are Medium’s versions of “thumbs up,” “hearts,” or “likes.” And you can clap up to 50 times per article.

It’s also possible to share your thoughts with authors on full articles, or even specific passages. You can also share full articles or specific passages on Twitter as well. 

Promote your work

Using social media to promote your work is important. Another important step to grow a following on Medium because even though it’s a popular platform with writers and bloggers it’s not as well known outside of those circles. 

Tag your work appropriately

With Medium, you can add up to five tags to your article. As you are looking around Medium and reading other articles, pay attention to tags. Notice which ones are more popular and use them for your articles.

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Some popular tags on Medium include motivation, productivity, self-improvement, writing, writing tips, life lessons, and more. Pay particular attention to the tags that are being used in your niche and use those.

Ask for followers

Sometimes the simplest things are the most overlooked. A polite message at the end of an article asking readers to follow you can increase your following.

If you’ve kept a reader all the way to the end of your article, they obviously have seen something that they like or at least intrigues them. A simple message asking them to follow you is absolutely appropriate.

In the message, be sure and let them know what’s in it for them. Something like “If you enjoyed this please follow me on Medium for more information about _______.” Or even ask if there is a similar topic to the one you just wrote that the reader would like to see explored.

Conclusion

As with any new platform, the better you understand the platform, the better you will become at utilizing it, and the more you can grow a following on Medium. So spend some time looking around the site, finding related topics, and seeing how others are using the site.

Even if blogging is just a hobby and you’re not interested in a huge following or making money with it, Medium is a great place just to do a little reading, or even find a great idea for your next blog.

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