1 Year Later, I’ve Learned These Valuable Writing Lessons

Craft, credibility, and risk-taking matter

I’ve just crossed the one-year mark for writing and, looking back, I’m a bit stunned at how much I’ve learned. I’ve always been a writer: I was the person who consistently received the feedback “more bullet points” when it came to email at work.

As much as I knew that writing online would be a different writing experience, I’m surprised at how different it is. What works in a corporate setting is a kamikaze mission online. What works in one context doesn’t work in another. It’s been incredibly eye-opening.

I want to record these observations and my growth markers because I’m sure I’ll have grown as much next year as I have this year.

With that in mind, here are my top writing lessons

- Headlines and images matter.

But they have to be the RIGHT headline and the RIGHT image. I know if my Medium views/page views are lower than usual that something is wrong with either my headline or my featured picture. Usually, it’s the headline.

- Don’t be afraid to make changes even after the piece has gone live.