5 Insights Drawn From Writing on Medium for 5 Years with 146 Followers
Realizations from applying the most common writing advice.
I consume more writing advice than I can apply.
Back in 2016, I wanted to make money online. The idea was to sell either a product or service out of my digital illustration skills (using MSPaint). But no one knew who I was. I wasn’t getting any traction in my work on other social platforms. Plus, I sucked at content promotion.
Then I learned how blogging is one way to promote and test your idea of an online product or service.
That’s what set me on the path to learning how to write.
Over the years, I consumed as much content as I could to hack my growth as a writer. However, after a while, the whole journey became exhausting. That explains why I was on and off on Medium for 5 years. It’s not something I would put on the top of my priority list. But here’s what I realized this whole time:
Every piece of helpful advice works like a compass, not a strict rule.
When you follow advice like the Ten Commandments, you will burn yourself out because you restrict your creativity from shining through.
There’s almost always a bit of better advice from the one you just heard. This prompts you to consider trying it out and perhaps learn something from it. While the approach works to some degree, it can also lead you to what’s known as the Shiny Object Syndrome.
It sounds bad, but to be honest, that’s how I became better at writing.
However, I wouldn’t recommend it simply because it’s exhausting.
A much less exhausting way is simply to apply one piece of advice at a time. That’s a non-revolutionary concept, but it’s so easy to forget when you’re faced with hundreds of super helpful pieces of advice coming at you at the same time. I came to the conclusion that real growth comes from your own realizations from following the advice. These realizations can be converted into frameworks that apply specifically to you (and perhaps something you can share with others who are on the same path).
Below are the most common (helpful) pieces of advice I get and what I realized after applying them.
#1. Promote your product or service through blogging.
The more platforms you show up on, the higher your chances of getting noticed.
I, like others, used blogging as a way to acquire leads. However, this approach quickly became exhausting. It took me a while to realize how promoting something no one cares about is a waste of time.
Now I blog, not to promote, but to validate ideas.
#2. Document your progress
You connect better with others if they see your flaws.
Stories about struggles and overcoming them are engaging. No one likes “perfect”. However, for someone who is new or who barely shows up online, it feels like you’re talking in an empty room.
No one cares until you’ve done something worth noticing.
#3. Niche down to stand out in a crowded market
The more specific you are, the less competition you have.
But niching down does not make sense until you hit the overlap between what you can’t stop talking about and what your readers want to hear from you. Some ideas sound good and unique in your head. However, none of that uniqueness matters if no one cares about it but you.
Assuming that other people think just like you is just an assumption.
#4. Be consistent
A content calendar helps you stay consistent in publishing your articles.
I tried this but instead, I became less consistent. Following a schedule put too much pressure on me to produce content. I don’t see writing as a job. It is something I use to share what I know and what I’m passionate about.
As a result, I stopped caring about the money I make. Now I’m much happier. The happier I become, the better I become at writing. Improvement naturally comes in if you do something you truly enjoy.
#5. Listen and apply lessons from the masters
It would be arrogant if you don’t listen to writers who are more experienced than you.
The problem is, there are just too many of them. Listening to multiple experts can turn you into an information hoarder. As a result, you produce less content. But if you’re producing less content, you reduce your chances of understanding what your audience really wants.
Listening to advice is good, but you need to be intentional about it. The issue is not the advice but the way you consume and apply the advice. I’m sure you’ve heard the concept of martial arts, “You don’t become good at it by reading, you become good at it by training”.
In short, take action, keep coming up with realizations that you can then turn into frameworks, which, you can then use to take you closer to your goals.
