1. Chunk up your paragraphs
You don’t want people skimming over your thoughts. You fought hard to wrestle them into words on a page. This is why you have to break your thoughts up into smaller chunks. Don’t lose them in a long-winded paragraph they can’t see past.
“Chunking” makes it easier on your audience to enjoy reading your content. It should flow nicely with one good snippet of information then onto the next. Your ideal paragraphs should be one to two sentences long, three if you’re feeling really spicy on a particular train of thought.
Eventually, you won’t need this to be a checklist item. It’s something you’ll naturally do while writing the article.
2. Add headers and/or breaks
Below is how most great articles are structured on Medium from the top down. I say most because Medium is an outlet for creativity, and the platform does promote being creative with your writing. But, keep in mind that you’ll be straying from the norm.
Structure: Story > Key Concepts > Paragraphs > Sentences > Words
To add a header, select the text and click on the bigger capital ‘T’ (the smaller ‘T’ is a subheader, which you can use as well):
To add a break, press ‘Enter’ [or ‘Return’] to create a blank line. Then, on the left, click the ‘+’.
And select the “- -” on the far right.
3. Make it pop
“Making it pop” refers to controlling the focus of your readers.
Go back to the top of this article and skim through it. What stands out?
- Headers
- Images
- Quotes
- The sentences I bold
- Bulleted lists
4. Remove unnecessary links
On Medium, links should be few and far between. Only link to relevant content, which will usually either be helpful resources or sources for information to prove your point.
Keep in mind that Medium is not your own website — it has it’s own Domain Authority. The benefit of producing an awesome, highly shareable story far outweighs linking to your own website or linking out to other webpages for SEO.
5. Remove “filler” photos
Medium lets you use amazing high-res photos, and they’re formatting is bomb. Why would you want something boring like this… just to try to make the post more visually-acceptable?
Medium’s formatting, if done right, permits enough readability that you don’t need “filler” photos to break up the content. The formatting does that for you.
If it’s pertinent to add a photo, and it’s a worthwhile addition, then go ahead and add it, but don’t put them in there for the hell of it.
6. Spend more time on your headline
Your headline, like it or not, is the most critical piece of your Medium article.
Think about what makes you want to read an article. You’re scrolling through hundreds of thumbnails with only two things to help make your decision:
- The headline image
- The title of the article
Try asking these questions:
- Is there a clear benefit for the reader? e.g. How to Gain Dwayne Johnson-Like Confidence
- Does it strike a sense of urgency? e.g. Bank Account Hacked? Don’t Panic, Do This One Thing Immediately
- Is it specific enough? e.g. How This Skinny-Fat Hardgainer Finally Packed on Some Muscle
- Is it unique? e.g. I’ll Have a Grande Coffee With a Side of Confidence, Please
7. Add a high-res headline photo
The key takeaway here is that you at least have one.
Unsplash.com is the best free site that offers a regularly updated library of high-resolution photos. Earlier this year [2018], Medium introduced a partnership with Unsplash that makes it super-easy for you to add them into your stories.
To add a headline photo, press ‘Enter’ [or ‘Return’] at the start of your title to create a blank line above it. Then, on the left, click the ‘+’.
Then, you can choose either the ‘camera’ or the ‘magnifying glass’.
8. How’s your intro?
A good introduction will give you some margin with your readers. When they come to a sentence or thought that turns them off, they may give you the benefit of the doubt and keep reading.
Some of my best introductions are mini-stories from my life or others that are highly relatable. Others are thoughts that many people have regularly, or asking the reader to ‘imagine a scenario…’
No one really knows the exact science behind what hooks a reader because there isn’t one. What works for you might not work for someone else. It’s like nuclear physics — there’s a science to it, but it’s mostly guesswork when you get down to the dirty details.
9. Limit your self-promo
Whether you’re writing for your own brand or to help build a company brand, the advice is the same — Medium is not the place for shameless promotion.
It’s a place for stories. The articles are the products.
That said, a little bit of self-promotion is OK. We all understand that to some extent, we’re here to build our own brand or the visibility of a business. I like to limit myself to a couple brief sentences at the end of each of my stories.
Keep in mind that, on Medium, self-promotion is acceptable for non-paid articles only. For paid articles, Medium takes their “the article is the product” stance very seriously, and there is absolutely no self-promotion allowed.
10. Re-read your story at least 1 more time
Here are some good questions to keep in mind while reviewing:
- Does the article get my main point across?
- Are there any grammatical errors? Use a tool such as Grammarly to help improve your writing.
- Am I consistent with my tense? e.g. past, future, present
- If not, does it still flow appropriately?
- Is it “good enough” to publish? e.g. the story makes sense and there are no blatant errors that show laziness
11. Make the choice between a paid or non-paid article
There are clear advantages and drawbacks to writing a paid vs. a non-paid article:
- Paid articles obviously earn you money.
- Non-paid articles do not.
- Paid articles are promoted more heavily by Medium.
- Non-paid articles are not.
- Paid articles are currently only available on some publications, Better Humans being one of the most-notable early adopters.
- Non-paid articles can be published almost anywhere (which usually means many more readers, views, and potential claps/followers).
To make the decision between paid and non-paid, scroll up to the top of your draft and select the drop-down. Then, click on the radio button that tickles your fancy.
12. Add tags to your post
Medium lets you choose up to 5 tags (e.g. “categories”) for your articles. What I usually do is brainstorm some relevant tags, then search for them in the input box, looking for popular tags.
On the upper right of the Medium ribbon, select the “Ready to publish?” button.
As you type in tags, suggestions come pop up. Anything over 100k is awesome. But, since you have 5 tags to choose, you might not find 5 tags with that many hits. Anything 10k or over is generally a good target to shoot for.
In fact, you might find some success in those highly-specific “niche” tags. This is a good place to experiment and find out what works for you. With the right tags, Medium will “promote” your newly published article to certain followers of that tag, increasing your chances of a view or read.
13. Aim to dominate a category
For lack of a better term, this gives you “street cred”, and people will be more likely to trust that you are an expert in your field.
You achieve Top Writer status in a category by:
- Writing a bunch of articles with that tag
- Having lots of people read and clap for your stories
If you’re aiming to build your brand or a business’, the Top Writer status for a given tag (or many) wouldn’t be a bad idea to pursue.
14. Customize your title / subtitle
Here’s one thing that not many new Medium writers know about: you can customize your titles and subtitles for maximum effectiveness.
- Go to the ribbon at the top and click on the “…” dropdown:
- Click on ‘Change display title / subtitle’, which will open up this menu:
- Change the radio button to ‘Custom’ and it will unlock the Title, Subtitle, and Description fields.
This changes what people see in the thumbnails of your stories. If left to automatic, Medium chooses these for you, which isn’t always the most appealing. Instead, use the Custom feature to play around with your own Subtitles and Descriptions, leaving the Title to whatever you already decided earlier.
15. Customize your story’s URL
I’ll admit, this isn’t something I’ve done much as of yet. I’m still experimenting, but I at least wanted to mention it here, since you might’ve noticed it in the previous dropdown example.
Customizing your URL has some benefits for SEO and targeting specific keywords.
It’s not paramount to your articles internal success on Medium, but is worth noting for longer-term benefits such as more traffic. If you’re not up to speed on SEO, and at all interested, Moz has one of the best guides online for beginners.
16. Give everything one last look
Double-check the checklist. Are you happy with the article? Have you checked off everything above on this checklist?
If yes, you’re ready for publishing. Let’s go, you beautiful author, you.
17. Add to a publication
Before officially pressing the ‘Publish’ button, you might want to consider adding your story to a publication.
The benefit to publishing within a publication is that your story will be broadcast to everyone who follows that ‘pub’. The more popular the pub (i.e. the more followers/readers), the better chance your article has of going viral, or at least being seen by the most people possible.
Before you can add your story to a publication though, you have to be a writer for one. That’s a whole 'nother article that I need to write, but for now, use this guide to help.
Once you’re a writer (yay!), click on the “…” dropdown and then ‘Add to publication’: Now, you’re ready to press that ‘Ready to publish?’ button. Let it fly, baby.
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Social Media - Write copy
1. DO be compelling.
I am constantly competing for the attention of an audience when I share content. The best way to stand out is to answer the age-old question: What’s in it for me? I use this opportunity to concisely describe HOW the item I’m sharing will benefit the reader. This is the essence of copywriting, and there are so many different ways accomplish this.
2. DO NOT use weasel words.
“Weasel words” are words that are meant to give the impression that something meaningful has transpired but in reality, are pretty meaningless. No one is impressed with words like “maybe” or “hopefully” or “try.” Replace those wishy-washy terms and show off real grit with words like “guarantee” or “expect.” How does this work out in your headlines?
Let’s take a look:
Which statement seems more confident?
3. DO NOT use passive voice.
Don’t live in the past; live in the now. Your actions can be described in a way that is either “passive” or “active.” Active voice is a straightforward way of describing your actions. “I did this.” Passive voice employs a third party or an unknown agent to perform the action. “This was done.” Passive voice downplays the impressiveness of your accomplishments. What’s the difference in practice?
Isn’t the active voice so much more powerful? Be bold and let your reader know when you’re responsible for something great.
4. DO cut out unnecessary words.
To avoid falling victim to tl;dr (Too Long; Didn’t Read), resist the temptation to communicate all the details of an idea to your reader. “Seven words or fewer” is the rule of thumb I try to follow when writing headlines or subject lines. This harsh word limit forces me to write the most compelling statement I can for a small space. I want readers to know immediately why the content I’m sharing is worth their time. Here is an example of two headlines that say the same thing — one just gets to the point faster.
Remember, this isn’t a hard and fast rule, but it is a helpful way to push your writing further.
5. DO write and rewrite and write and rewrite and write and rewrite…
Unfortunately, my best idea is rarely my first idea. I wrote and edited 10 different titles for this blog post before choosing the one you see above. By writing, rewriting and refining my words, I’m forced to think of new ways to entice the reader.
Like most skills, writing improves the more you do it. So practice!
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