5 Crucial Steps To Take After You Hit Publish - Don’t Forget These! 👀
You have dedicated time and effort into your Medium story.
It has taken dedication and patience to edit.
You think it can go. You can finally press publish.
You do so. PUBLISH! 💻
Congratulations!🥳🥳🥳
📎 But wait!
Before you do your dance of victory and keep refreshing the page for claps, highlights and comments.
Hold on a minute; there is still work to be done.
Here are five essential steps to take after you press publish:
✅Pin to the Top of Your Profile
First things first, I head to my Medium profile. I pin my new story to the top of my profile. This ensures it will be the first thing visitors see on my page.
Leaving one space open for this is a good idea.
I always forget to do this. Oh dear!!
I also have to put it in my hub. I have a hub with my last ten stories in it.
I always forget to do this! Oh dear!
Important: If you haven’t used all five pins, your MOST RECENT story will automatically appear at the top of your profile.
✅Do Remember to Do Your Mentions
These are individuals, writers who have a close connection with your article, either seeking information, or whose work you want to show case. No spamming — please! 😏
Just drop their story into your work and state why you are mentioning it!
You do not have to do mentions. But if you want to — this is a reminder.
✅Read and Engage
After you publish, Visit others remind people you still exist!
Go and seek out others’ work.
This nudges them to know that you are still in town and they may read your work.
If possible, try and do a before and after you publish your story. But do one or the other is still okay.
✅Get Someone Else to Read
Even though you have published your work, press the AI voice player and listen to it again.
Plus, asked a trusted friend or fellow writer to read your story.
They could give you valuable feedback and spot any errors or areas for improvement we may have missed.
Another fresh pair of eyes can make all the difference.
✅Submit to a publication if you want to /
Many do not require a draft. Unless you are asking for it to be boosted.
But many do not mind if you publish it and then give it to them within a day.
📌Bonus — Time x 3!
📎If it is a short story make sure it is at least 3 to 5 minutes long. This seems a good length and seems to do well in search engines on Medium. This is not an exact science.
I frequently forget to check this.
Oh dear — I see some of my stories are two minutes! Need to fix this!
📎It is easy to adjust a story from 2 to 3 minutes. 2 seems a little too short. But only you can judge!
📎Have you credited your picture/s and
📎Give PICTURES an ALT TEXT — THIS IS GOOD FOR SEARCH ENGINES.
I hope these five steps help you.
So next time after I hit publish , I will come here to check I have done what I need to do!
📎About why I, Sophia, write about writing:
Some people think that unless they are experts, they have nothing to share. We all have lived experiences, and each one of those is a learning process for all. Like the time I tried to make a vegan birthday cake, and it looked more like a pancake!
The children I tutor often share many experiences with me — things I did not know. Many of the skills and talents they possess, I do not have. Some of them are as young as 6.
So, no matter where you are in life, someone can enjoy your experiences and what you’ve learned.
If you are doing it and trying it, why not share it? That’s why I write about writing, even though I’m still figuring it out myself.
It helps to say what I am learning. It helps me to think about what I am doing. Hopefully, it can help you if you too.
I want to share my journey.
