The Benefits Of Publications

Don’t skip publications day!

Photo by Yoann Siloine on Unsplash

So, you’ve been hearing about publications, but either:

a) don’t know what they are, or

b) don’t know what the benefits of joining them are.

Or perhaps you’ve never heard of them before — that’s ok, too!

I didn’t know a whole lot about publications when I first started writing on here and only started seriously dipping my toes into them over the last few months. Today, I would like to share the benefits of joining publications and how they can take you to the next level in your writing.

#1: Your content reaches a wider range of people

Getting noticed on here is hard. That’s why you see so many articles on tips for growing an audience.

A big part of is luck, admittedly: being selected via the algorithm, and having your audience notice you.

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When you post outside of a publication on Medium and use a bunch of tags, you’re banking on the algorithm picking you up. If you do not have much traction, this is a losing bet for most of the articles you write, no matter how polished and useful they are.

Orestis Ps. told me about this after I wrote an article detailing my experiences of writing over 200 stories on Medium.

However; when you post to a publication, your work reaches those in the respective publication. You’re no longer competing for the attention of everyone on the site.

Whilst my audience growth has been steady, it picked up a little bit earlier last month following two posts I made in publications…and that was during my holiday to Germany over a week ago that resulted in my being inactive.

Maybe there was another variable at play, but it was definitely curious.

Still, the fact that publications get your work out there bears repeating. So, if you’re looking to expand your reader base, look into joining and posting in publications.

#2: …and a wide range of people reach you

If your content reaches a greater number of people, you can certainly expect the same in return.

In fact, most of the stories on my feed come from publications. When I noticed this fact, it was hard to shy away from posting in them myself.

Additionally, if you follow a publication that is of interest to you, then you will see articles that more suited to you. Neat, right? And you can bet that the writers who publish these articles are likeminded, so they are great for interacting with people whom have similar interests and values.

This leads brilliantly into the third point:

#3: They’re great for inspiration

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So, a little bit about me:

Philosophy is one of my favourite topics to write about on here. I like taking philosophical theories and applying them to self-improvement tips. Relatively recently, I wrote an article about how immersing yourself in advice might be counter-productive, and referenced the Taoist principles of wu-wei (“flow”) to explore my point.

Sometimes, I can struggle to come up with ideas to write about. If I find a publication on philosophy, however, I can read examples of others’ work that can spur me into writing articles of my own.

And it’s not just for philosophy and self-improvement. I discover topics I never thought I could write about.

Of course, you should never plagiarise. These articles should be used to inform, educate, and inspire (well, those three points form my writing ethos, anyway). Many authors and artists have their influences and inspirations, and you probably have yours, too.

Also, when I mention inspiration? You can encounter highly prolific creators through publications and see what they have done to get to the point they have. Their stories can instil hope for your own journey! I am inspired by those who used to be in the position I am currently in, who now have many articles and enormous audiences.

Certainly, I believe I can become at least somewhat noticeable on this platform if I keep at it — as can you.

#4: You learn how to write to a standard

Publications set forth standards that creators must meet with their articles before they go live. These rules can be as simple as minor alterations to article structure (e.g., images and titles in certain places), to restrictions on topics and writing style.

I bet there’s a publication out there that only allows paragraphs to be written in haiku form.

Photo by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash

Now, if you self-publish, then naturally you set your own standards.

However, if you’re interested in freelance writing and gig writing, then learning how to write to these standards can be useful when you write for clients, businesses, etc. Clients and businesses have a house style that writers (e.g., copywriters, ghostwriters, bid writers) must conform to, so why not get some practice in with publications?

Plus, I know that if I am writing for a publication, then I want my work to be of a good quality. I do anyway, but there’s something about writing for another’s community that makes me care about my quality of an article in a special way.

So, to sum up:

These are the four main reasons why publications on Medium are so beneficial:

1. Your content reaches more people — so you’re banking less on the algorithm to get noticed
2. More people reach you, as does their content — particularly that which is of specific interest
3. They’re great for inspiration — from forming new ideas, to feeling motivated about the progress you can make
4. They teach you to write to a standard, which has carryover to professional endeavours (e.g., copywriting, freelance writing)

If you haven’t started using publications, then in my opinion you are missing out on audience growth and a crucial part of the Medium experience. Why not give them a try?

Thanks for sticking around until the end of this article.

I write articles on the writing lifestyle, self-improvement, philosophy, psychology, and the weird and wonderful aspects of life that are not appreciated enough.

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