Medium Writing Tips For Beginners!
Medium Writing Is Where Beginner Writers Grow!
Medium Non-Members Can Read The Full Story HERE!
What you will learn from this article.
Medium writing tips and the featured image.
Understanding Medium headings as a beginner writer.
Beginner article body tips with Medium writing.
GEO location and interest targeting for beginners.
Medium writing tips and the featured image.
Your Medium story featured image is your opportunity to create curiosity, especially for beginner writers on Medium. You want to focus attention on your work because your primary goal must be to build recognition and gain your reader’s trust.
Not generating sales, because it must never be about the money. You’re a writer, not a salesman. Your Medium story presentation image is the first image you share in your post. So, I suggest you create a “post featured image” and include it just beneath the title and subheading.
The Medium story featured image must aim at doing 3 things. This is how you attract more attention with the Medium post featured image. It must create enough curiosity, so a scroll turns into a visitor. That visitor will most probably be a reader.
Why? Because your featured image explained precisely what the content is about (first impression). If your visitor is curious about that, then they are also interested. Your Medium story featured image should do the following.
Addressing A Need.
Present A Solution.
Point Out The Benefits.
As illustrated below, in my best attempt to try and demonstrate this strategy. What is the need that is addressed by the image? Well, the need is focused on people struggling to generate sales, and there are thousands.
The solution to this problem or need is “10 Ways To Generate Sales With Free Tools!”. The fact that it is for “beginners” sends the message that it might not be that hard to do.
What are the benefits? Well, as the featured image states, it is about free tools. And that is one of the main reasons most people search the internet. Because people (in my opinion and experience) search the internet mainly for.
Solutions To Problems.
Answers To Questions.
How To Guides.
Free Stuff.
The above image clearly indicates that it is a guide with 10 different ways to generate sales. And the free stuff is mentioned, of course. This should give you a pretty good idea of a featured image.
For the image design, you can just use Canva. A free image and video design and editing software tool. If you’re not using it already. Create a featured image for your Medium story as a beginner writer by using the “presentation” template (1920 x 1080) inside Canva.
But also download and upload the image as a PNG file from within Canva. I believe PNG image files make for a better balance between clarity and faster load speed.
But lastly, when you use text in your Medium story featured image, then you must focus the text to the centre of the image. Because in medium feed, and search engine feeds on mobile devices the image is used as a thumbnail.
This means the image will get cropped from the sides to form a square thumbnail. When your message to created, curiosity is focused on the side of the image. Your ability to create curiosity might be lost.
Understanding Medium headings as a beginner writer.
Along with your Medium story as a beginner writer, the title and subheading also play an important part in the “first impression”. Here too, your title and subheading, like the image, must give a clear description of the content.
With Medium, your title, subheading, and first few sentences show in the feed. Therefore, you must also focus on the same strategy used thus far to best describe the content within the first 2 to 4 sentences.
Personally, I like to use Medium story subheadings as the first sentences of each article. That way the Medium story content is better understood by both readers and search engines.
But the same first few sentences can also be chosen by search engines when displaying your Medium story on search result pages. Yes, your Medium story is indexable in search engines, therefore it will be.
As illustrated below, you can see how one of my Medium stories displays in my profile home page feed. It includes the Medium story title and the first subheading. First few sentences (subheadings), and the cropped featured image (thumbnail).
But for your Medium story tags, you must choose carefully too. Preferably the keywords you wish to target in your title and subheadings. See how the keyword “Medium” is the first word in the title and first subheading?
That is why it is also the first Medium story tag chosen when I published this story to Medium. Because I am targeting a topic related to Medium, Medium publications, and top writing topics.
That way, my readers know exactly what the content of the Medium story is about. Making it easier to target a more interested audience, and in doing so increase the reads ratio.
Beginner article body tips with Medium writing.
We start with keyword research, but more importantly, keyword search volume prediction. However, I have covered the topic and procedure in much more detail in the article included at the end of this subheading.
Keyword search volume prediction is actually (in my opinion) more important than keyword research and the competition itself. It helps you find the keywords that will likely still be in demand in months and years to come. Making your content “evergreen”.
It is also long-term planning because it takes time to rank in search engines. Although your Medium story is indexed in search engines rather fast. The actual ranking will take time, a lot of time. That is the most difficult part of SEO. The waiting!
Below you can see the results for the keyword “Medium” I am primarily targeting for the purpose of this demonstration. Clearly, Medium is a topic that is on the rise, and more people are searching “Medium” every year, and every month.
You can use a simple free browser extension called “Keywords Everywhere”, to check on keyword search volume prediction. But that too is mentioned in the Medium story included below.
Place your target keywords and search phrases strategically. Where possible (because it will not always be) right at the beginning of the title or first subheading. If not, as close as possible to the beginning.
Another challenge with target keyword and search phrase placement is to be able to place it within the context of the title, subheading, or sentence. You cannot just cram a bunch of keywords together that make no sense. Not only will you confuse search engines, but also your readers.
But your target keywords and search phrases must also populate the body text of your Medium story. Take your time with keyword research. And focus on 3 areas.
Keyword Search Volume.
Keyword Competition.
Keyword Search Volume Prediction.
Remember that SEO is basically the art of telling search engines (and readers) what your content is about. So, just place your keywords and search phrases in such a way as to make your content easier to understand.
GEO location and interest targeting for beginners.
Now we have covered the basic tips for beginner writers on Medium, but there is also a final part to this strategy. The kind of audience and readers you build up along the way on your Medium journey.
Therefore, especially with other activities outside just writing optimized Medium stories. You want to focus on GEO location, if possible, along with topics and interests. This goes for the following.
Followers.
Comments.
Medium Publications.
When you start receiving followers, be careful not to just blindly fall into this “follow for follow” business. Many writers on Medium just follow in an attempt to get more followers. Which unfortunately is a complete waste of time.
Pay attention to the profiles, topics, and interests with followers, comments, and Medium publications. If you want to build up a targeted reader audience, followers, and subscribers, then be selective.
Respond and comment on Medium stories and Medium profiles with the same interests and topics as yours. Focusing on GEO location works well with affiliate marketing and establishing affordability. Especially with high-ticket affiliate offers.
Yes, that means you will have to thoroughly check Medium profiles before following, commenting, and responding. Even with Medium publications, be sure the publication targets the same topics you do.
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