3 Months on Medium
Establishing an Identity
I don’t want to rehash the introduction I do for these types of articles.
If you want you can check out my background, my intentions as a writer, and why this isn’t actually my third month on Medium from my previous articles.
The main thing you got to know is that I’m not a top writer in any way.
This isn’t my full focus and I’m not as lucky or talented as some of the other writers on Medium.
This is a look at an average writer and what new writers can potentially expect
But without further ado, let’s get into what you are here for. The stats.
Statistics
The number of articles I wrote during August ramped up!
- 2 Articles in June
- 6 Articles in July
- 9 Articles in August
Of course with more articles, the views would also be greater overall.
Here are the stats for this month.
And here are the stats for each story in August
I also want you to keep in mind that 99% of all my views are internal. Meaning that almost all my views were from readers on Medium stumbling into my stories.
Writers will generally get the majority of their views externally from promoting it through social media, their blogs, or appearing as search results.
So if you are promoting your articles, expect to see higher numbers than this.
Overall, I think this shows growth, I have roughly double the views from last month while writing 33% more articles. I would attribute this to the more followers and email subscribers I have now.
For new writers, if you write consistently and are constantly improving, this is what I would assume to be average. You might see more growth if you write more days or more frequently and if you get lucky with the algorithm.
What I Learned
Murder Your Darlings
For those who don’t know, murdering your darlings is a phrase by the Noble prize laureate William Faulkner.
It’s a phrase for writers and tells them that to improve, you must get comfortable with getting rid of information that doesn’t serve a purpose, even if you worked hard on it.
Some topics would cause me to go on tangents about things loosely related, even though they were interesting, I had to get rid of it.
Not everything I wrote was published
The main thing for a writer to do is to have respect for the reader, having a section that doesn’t relate is a reason for the reader to click off and read something else or find their answer elsewhere.
Figuring Out My Style
This is something you’ll develop as you become more comfortable with writing. It was something I learned the importance of this month.
Style refers to how you write and the identity you create on the platform.
Are you serious? casual? controversial? formal? professional?
If you want to know how I developed my style and how much I’ve changed, you can see the difference between my first article and one of my more recent ones.
But, the reason why this will be advantageous in your journey to grow on Medium is that it provides you with a loyal reader base.
People will gravitate towards you if they like how write and present yourself. It helps with personal and brand identity, something to distinguish yourself from everyone else.
Give your readers a reason to stick to you rather than someone who writes about the same topics.
How You Write is More Important Than What You Write
When I started writing for Medium, the last worry of mine was running out of ideas. I had a lot of things to talk about and I blew past those ideas pretty quickly.
So like everyone else, I had to deal with writing but without an interesting idea.
If you are in a situation like this, I have good news!
How you write and make your story interesting is much more important than the idea itself.
Of course, it’s best if you can have both, but even going over something mundane in your life or a thought you had can make for a great article.
Some of my most successful articles were made because I went on a walk and let my mind wander. When I had an interesting thought I dwelled on it.
As long as you can provide a new and unique perspective, that’s all it takes for it to be interesting.
Before You Go
Hi, before you go I have an important question for you.
Do you think that success on Medium is luck or skill and to what extent?
Comment it and let me know if you’re a writer or just a reader.
Write What You Love, Love What You Write
