Growth Tips for Publications and Writers

How to Grow Your Personal Brand and Publication at the Same Dang Time

We did it! The Unending Tales is officially on Mubashar Iqbal’s list of Top Publications. We are now climbing the ladder! We may only be #311, but this is a reflection of how far a publication can go with editors and writers who don’t have all the time in the world. Think of what you could do if you go all in!

As an editor of a publication, I want to help all of you either grow the publication you love most, or begin your own from the ground up!

As a writer with my own posts and thoughts, I want to help other writers grow their brand and name!

Growing Your Publication and Personal Account at the Same Time

Share and Participate

We are people with ideas that can change hearts and minds, but we need to reach eyes and ears before we can make any difference. Social media is the easiest, fastest, and most effective way of doing that nowadays. I strongly encourage everyone to start Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts if you do not already have them. It doesn’t matter if you don’t anyone to follow. I’ll follow you. I’ll be your first follower (My Instagram, Facebook, Twitter).

The next part is to share what you love. There is no point in having social media if you are not social. Like and comment on your friend’s posts. I promise you that the more you engage with your followers, the more they will engage with you.

Sometimes, we have to be shameless in our attempt to get our names out there. Self promotion sucks, I know. Especially for writers, who are usually exactly the opposite of the type of person who self promotes. But we can have all of the writing talent in the world and remain uninspiring because we have no audience.

First and foremost, Medium is a social media platform. It is also a social media platform like none other. Because the content on Medium is often deep and personal, friends and followers on Medium are apart of a tight-nit community. Publications are a mini-Medium where individuals should be tied together.

The communities we build here on Medium should bleed over into other communities (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram).

Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It

Every publication should have a mission, whether that mission is public knowledge or not. This mission should make your publication unique. The secret to succeeding with a Medium publication is a unique spin on old ideas and dedication to its followers.

When you actively participate in your publication’s mission, you are participating in constructing your own brand as well. You build content that is valuable to the publication’s followers and those followers will be grateful to you.

For example, The Unending Tales has a mission to improve writing at all levels. Though we have at times strayed from that mission, we have attempted to provide a place where people can grow and learn in a certain niche. At The Unending Tales, we focus on story building and that really begins with individual building. In the coming days, we will be focusing on spending more time on each individual chapter.

Know Your Audience

I’ve said this before and I will continue to say it whenever I talk about growth or powerful writing. You must know your audience. Every aspect of your writing should reflect the interests of your audience. Your title, your introduction, and your conclusion should all be pointed toward giving something valuable to your audience.

Starting out, you should ask yourself if your article/publication answers 2 important question: 1) So, what? and 2) Who cares?

1. So, What? What does your article/publication offer that no other article/publication can offer them? What is your unique message?
2. Who cares? Who is your message important to? Why is it important to them?

Everything you write should be valuable. Beware of fluff and nonsense.

Moving Forward

The difference between 1 follower and 1k followers is consistent work. In the end, you should not be focusing on simply gaining followers — that should be a side effect. You should be focusing on gaining friends, writing things of value, joining conversations, and building relationships with people across the world.

Don’t get tired of engaging with your friends (this is a better word than followers). You might get down on yourself after awhile. You might be worried that your account isn’t growing very fast. If you keep with it, eventually your account will begin to grow itself. You will find that engaging with your friends becomes almost second nature and enjoyable.

I promised a friend that I would tag him in my conversations about writing, so here’s to you Erik van Mechelen.