Tips to Attain 100 Followers
Here’s what I’ve learned
I finally received my 100th follower a few weeks ago. What does this mean? I was eligible to apply for the Medium Partner Program.
Ok? So what?
My fellow writers, upon entering this program, you can begin to get paid for your articles. All those hours and witty wordplay schemes are now going to pay off (pun intended).
How did you do it?
Well, it wasn’t fast. I have been on Medium since May and I got my 100th follower in July. Could I have done it faster? Probably, but I didn’t know what I know now and I was hurting my progress. It’s not about who does it first, it’s about who’s doing it right. Never forget that.
1. Interact with the Medium community
This one is big. Commenting, following, and replying are all important in being seen by others. I am NOT an advocate of the mass follow then unfollow method that seems to plague this application. Genuine replies and feedback help us grow as writers together.
I would come across an article on the feed and read it. If I liked it enough, I would comment on something I enjoyed or thought was interesting. There were certain times when I would highlight a sentence that stood out to me or even a whole paragraph if it were that impactful. I do this for two reasons:
- To show praise to the author. Often it feels as if we are constantly reading great work that we can never hope to match. A small note or comment can help boost confidence.
- To help emulate the “community” feeling. Every day, there’s stress and an obstacle we have to overcome just to live. It’s refreshing to be on a platform where we can uplift each other with gracious notes or guidance towards our goals.
2. Write about your passions
This one comes naturally but some may forget this early on. Write what speaks to you. Current events, self-help, music, sports, etc. the words flow out of you when you’ve invested into a topic that feels like…you. Also, these articles are better written.
To address the elephant in the room, we have seen clickbait articles draw people in for views. I will not deny that this doesn’t work. And if your passion ends up being clickbait then hell, more power to you.
We all want views and for people to read our work so that we can be recognized and get some pocket change on the side. Clickbait can get you there but at what cost? If I realize an article is clickbait then I can guarantee you that I won’t read any more of your work. Be careful with this.
Write what you love. Love what you write. It’s that simple.
3. Edit, edit, edit
Look over your work! There have been countless times when I have had my work published and there were still typos. Don’t be like me!
I still run all my writing through Grammarly and Hemingway but they cannot catch everything. The best method is to read it out loud to yourself. You can catch any missed details and feel the rhythm of your piece.
Get all your thoughts out there onto the screen. Don’t even worry about having it be cohesive in the first draft. You can adjust that later. Get it all out there and stop worrying if it’s perfect the first go around because guess what? It’s not going to be.
4. Make your work reader-friendly
What does this mean? Condense your writing, take out the SAT words, and organize them into digestible chunks. When I read an article, my brain automatically skips over long paragraphs and I have to consciously go back and read it.
Save your viewers the heartache and shorten those paragraphs. Nothing more than four lines or else you’ll get wondering eyes. I know this from experience as I am long-winded when I speak (and type).
Separate your article with subheadings. This will navigate the reader to the information they are looking for and give them a checkpoint for their progress. And a pet peeve for me…if you’re writing about tips or “top 5/10 best yogurts in Virginia” then please put numbers next to the entries!
La fin
This is a step-by-step booklet for you to get (shoutout to Biggie Smalls) for writing articles on Medium. By no means am I the Medium master but this piece outlines what I have learned thus far. Take everything I say with a grain of salt and if you don’t like it, hey man that’s on you.
As I learn more from my writing experience, I will update you all. Until then….Au Revoir!
