Write On Medium: Beginner’s Guide To Publishing On Medium

It can be hard to get your work out into the world as a writer.

It often feels like you are competing with big publishers and authors to get your content onto the market.

Or, you could simply be someone with a lot to say about many things, and Twitter just doesn’t cut it anymore.

If you are wondering how to make your voice heard or where to share your stories and ideas, try Medium.

Medium is one of the biggest platforms for writers, readers, thinkers, and authors online.

If you are looking to curate content, start a blog, share some wild coincidences, tell stories or give nuanced and professional advice, write on medium.

I have put together a complete 2022 guide to publishing on Medium to take you through the entire process and make it as simple as possible to start earning money as a writer on Medium.

An Overview

So you want to write on Medium but have no idea where to start.

This post is for you.

Let’s go through the basics of what Medium is and how to get started publishing on Medium.

What Is Medium?

Medium is a social publishing platform.

This means it allows for the publishing of content but also genuine and open interaction with the content.

It is an open space for sharing diverse thoughts, stories, ideas, and perspectives.

It is also a way for writers to post their work and get paid for it.

What Does it Mean To Write on Medium?

To write on Medium, you only need an account and something to say.

There are no prerequisites or checks, nor is coding experience required making it a popular option for writers seeking to make their voice heard.

Why Is Medium a Powerful Publishing Platform?

Medium is a powerhouse because it is accessible.

The minimalistic online publisher focuses on content and connecting people with similar ideas while pushing interesting ideas and stories.

This focus on reading and connecting readers to new content is what has made Medium a household name.

Who Should Consider Writing on Medium?

Anyone and everyone can write on Medium.

Medium prides itself on being an open platform for readers to find vibrant thinking, and for both specialist and amateur voices can share their writing on any topic.

So if you have something to say about any topic, say it on Medium.

Whether you have years of education, training, and experience in the subject or it was simply a thought that occurred to you while you lay in bed scrolling TikTok last night.

Getting Paid To Write on Medium

Writing on Medium is open to any and every person.

An added advantage is that there is some money to be earned.

The popularity of the content can determine how much a writer is paid.

Do You Get Paid Writing on Medium?

Yes, you can get paid writing on Medium.

Medium has a partner program where they pay writers on the platform monthly.

You have to join the Medium Partner Program and publish content regularly. 

How Much Money do Medium Writers Make?

How engaging your content is determines the amount of money you make as a Medium writer.

The Partner Program pays monthly based on time spent by readers on the writer’s stories.

If your stories are read for longer or by more people, then the more money you make.

How To Write on Medium

Medium can be a great way for writers to earn money.

To start publishing on Medium in 2022, follow this simple guide.

1. Select a Bio: Your Name vs. Company Name

Before you create your account, have a brainstorming session for your blog.

The main question is: “Am I writing as me, or am I creating a brand?”

If you are going to write a blog on a specific topic like travel, reading, politics, finance, fashion, hair, etc, you may want to pick a company name.

This way, you get to build a company from your blog and have a brand.

If you already have a social media following as a company/brand, think of keeping it as it will make monetizing your Medium blog easier.

On the other hand, if you want to share about your life, general topics, or expertise from your line of work, you can choose to use your name.

This decision will link your blog to your qualifications or you as a person.

If you are an influencer, it may be best to write as yourself as well.

All in all, it does not matter which blog name you choose, but you have to stick to it.

2. Create a Profile

After you have settled on a name, it is time to set up your Medium account.

1. Go to Medium, and on the upper right corner, click Get Started
2. Choose an option to set up an account and follow the instructions
3. Ensure you use the name you decided on for your account
4. Finish the setup and remember your password

3. Write a Simple Bio

After you have set up your account, you will need to write a bio.

A bio is an important part of creating your identity as a Medium writer.

Your bio should be short, engaging, and let readers know what to expect from your content.

This bio will help your readers get to know you and determine if they want to keep following your account and reading your work.

4. Sign up For Medium’s Paid Program

You can’t get paid if you don’t sign up for Medium’s Partner Program.

To join the program, you must first publish your content on Medium.

There must be at least one story on your blog for you to qualify.

You also have to have at least 100 followers before you apply, so start promoting your content and gaining followers.

Once you have the followers and have maintained an active level on the platform, you can follow this link to sign up for the program.

How To Grow a Medium Audience

After you have written your first post, you will need to market your content and your profile.

Marketing will help you grow your Medium audience.

Here are some simple ways to grow your audience on Medium.

1. Join Relevant Publications

You should join and participate in communities and publications relevant to your chosen topic.

This means finding social media groups, online forums, and other publications to join and actively participate in.

Use your Medium name in these groups and keep a link to your account in your profile.  

2. Write Stories With the Goal of Getting Curated

Writing engaging content can be a challenge, especially for new writers.

But the easiest way to get better at it is to write more.

Write content with the end goal of having thousands of people read and share it.

Master how to write blogs and viral content with each post you put out.

3. Follow Other Authors and Engage With Them

Building community is critical for having online success.

The easiest way to build a community for your Medium is to engage with other authors and their content.

Most authors will connect with you, share your work, and help build your audience as well.

The Medium Trap – Why Most Bloggers Fail to Succeed on a Thriving Platform

Each and every year, thousands of actors come to Hollywood to become the next big star.

Most of them come to find out the competition is too stiff.

They give up and move back to their hometowns with their tails between their legs.

I’ve seen the same situation occur with bloggers on Medium.

Most people publish a few posts on the site — without following the right techniques — then get frustrated and quit because their posts get few or no reads. Afterward, they blame the platform and make excuses for why it doesn’t work.

Medium works if you work Medium.

I felt frustrated with Medium when I first published on the website

After some reflection, I realized my strategy was wrong and observed what bloggers who were successful on the platform did to grow their readership.

Had I done the same thing the majority of would-be Medium bloggers do, I would have continued to get the same results.

Zero. Zip. Nada.

The saddest part?

The mistakes most writers make are so easy to fix.

By changing a few strategies and committing myself to finding success on Medium, I went from a writer nobody knew to gaining hundreds of thousands of views on my posts and adding 1,000 + subscribers to my email list directly from Medium.

The same can happen to you if you create a smart game plan.

The Quick and Simple Strategy to 10X Your Reach on Medium

Once I discovered this simple tweak the views on my posts skyrocketed.

See, most people publish their posts on Medium and leave it at that, but smart bloggers know this little trick to get exposure.

In order to get tons of views on Medium, you need to submit your post to a publication.

You know that publishing your work on “guest blogs,” is a great way to build traffic to your own blog.

Publications act as a “guest blog,” of sorts within Medium itself.

These publications have their own group of followers, with top publications having one hundred thousand or more.

When you publish a post on someone’s publication, it shows up on the timeline of every reader who follows that publication.

The strategies you use to pitch a potential publication are identical to sound strategies for guest blogging.

Some publications will have pitch guidelines like this:

In those instances, if you follow the submission guidelines to the letter, you’ll have an excellent shot at being accepted.

Others will require you to find the email of the publication owner and pitch them, just like you would an owner of a guest blog.

How to Pitch Publication Owners Like a Pro

Just like guest blog owners, editors who run publications on Medium are inundated with pitches sent to their inbox, most of which are bad or downright awful.

The best way to set yourself apart from the competition is to first familiarize yourself with the publication owner and the content they publish.

You can follow the sound strategies provided by Successful Blogging to build a relationship with editors of Medium publications and pitch them properly:

Never pitch strangers by email or any other way. Build a relationship with them first on Twitter or by putting a few comments on their blog. Unless you have some connection with them before you write your pitch, your email will be deleted straight away.

Be sincere and personal.

Get your facts right and show them you’ve read their blog. Most bloggers love to support and help the readers who support them.

Mention something you’ve done for them – linked to their blog, left comments, shared it on Facebook, subscribed to their newsletter, or bought their latest product.

At the very least find out the person’s name and spell it right.

These strategies take time and effort to execute, but success in blogging happens when you do what other bloggers won’t. The time you spend will pay major dividends.

If you’re new to the Medium terrain, take some time to read through posts of respective publications and know their content like the back of your hand.

How to Find Top Publications to Pitch

Here are some of the most popular publications on Medium who regularly allow contributors:

• Be Yourself – Submission guidelines here.
• The Mission – Submission guidelines here.
• The Coffeelicious – Submission guidelines here.
• The Writing Cooperative – Submission guidelines here.

There are dozens of others just like these who accept contributors.

You can check the “Top Stories,” and “Editor’s Picks,” sections to find posts from top publications as well.

Here are more useful links on finding publications to follow.

Once you find a publication and build a relationship with the Publication editor you can pitch them.

Some publications will entertain a pitch, but others will ask for a full post.

Either way, you’re going to have to write an excellent post to be featured in the publication.

Here’s how you write a post that will knock both the editor’s and readers’ socks off.

Elements of a Successful Medium Post

The rules for writing a successful Medium post are the same as writing a successful post for any blog.

You’ll want to follow these tried and true blogging techniques to write captivating posts your readers will love:

• Write excellent headlines – The headline is the most important piece of real estate for your blog post. Use elements of curiosity, intrigue, and “your language,” in your headline to draw readers in.
• Provide a strong introduction – You have a few short seconds to keep readers engaged with your content. Write an intro that speaks to their desires and goals or pains and frustrations.
• End with a motivational close – Your goal is always to inspire your readers to take action. Use an emotionally arousing conclusion to leave your readers energized.
• Add a call to action – You want Medium readers to sign up for your email list. Make sure to add a compelling call to action with a link to your landing page and free incentive/lead magnet.

Elements of Style

In addition to these techniques, you’ll want to take advantage of Medium’s stylistic capabilities by using the following strategies:

• Keep sentences short – Medium uses a crisp interface and short spaced out paragraphs make for eye-catching content.
• Add a large photograph to your post – Posts with photos perform better than posts without them.
• Make your words shine – Use headings, bold, and italics to give your content an extra visual edge.
• Use the embed feature to link to other blog posts – Medium has an excellent visual feature which allows you to embed blog teasers into your post. See below:

Once you’ve learned how to write excellent posts for Medium, you can begin to build momentum and grow your influence on the platform.

How to Build a Loyal Medium Following to Skyrocket Page Views and Rapidly Grow Your Email List

Winning on Medium requires a marathon mentality. You won’t go viral with your first blog post.

Your follower count will build with each new post, which gives you further reach with each new post.

You also want to build a relationship with the readers of the community.

Medium has a feature that allows readers to “recommend,” your posts.

When readers recommend your post it shows up on the feeds of their followers.

You want to encourage readers to recommend your posts, and you also want to engage with them when they comment on and share your posts.

I usually respond to every reader who shares my post on twitter personally with a thank you reply.

I reply to people who provide thoughtful comments and engage in dialogue with them.

I share and recommend posts from fellow writers who I enjoy.

Relationships on Medium work the same as they do in the blogosphere. Connection is just important as promotion.

Speaking of promotion, you also need to take extra steps to get as many eyes on your posts as possible.

• Promote Medium posts to your email list
• Share Medium posts on social media
• Retweet people who share your posts on Twitter
• Add a teaser of your Medium post to your personal blog

I didn’t hit pay dirt on Medium until after I’d published more than a dozen posts.

It takes perseverance, but these smart marketing strategies will work given enough time.

Use Medium to Take the Blogosphere by Storm

As a fellow blogger, I know how tough it can be to stand out.

The most important thing I’ve learned is that patience, effort, and commitment lead to blogging success.

There are lots of “shiny objects,” tips, and tricks to wade through, but the most successful bloggers focus on being excellent at a few strategies.

Bloggers who fail spread themselves thin by trying a bit of everything.

I had zero followers on Medium and zero reads on my posts until I got out of my way and took smart advice.

Success is out there for you, but you’ll never find it until you get out of your own way and follow proven methods that work.

I’ve just laid out the blueprint for success on Medium. If you follow it to the letter, it will work.

You have a focused community of millions of readers dying to read excellent content.

Immerse yourself in Medium’s landscape, write your heart out, and watch the traffic and subscribers roll in.

Wrapping Up

Being a writer on Medium can be a paying and rewarding job.

You can share your thoughts, analysis, or stories and get paid a good amount of money as well.

Writing on Medium is easy and makes it simple for you as a writer to reach and grow your intended audience.

You simply must learn how to craft a good blog post, promote your work, and wait for the cash to roll in.

Of course, ensuring that you study writing techniques will help you write even better posts and thus bring more readers to your profile.

So what are you waiting for?

Start publishing content on Medium today.

If you have any questions or thoughts on this post, share them in the comment section below.