I love reading articles on <a href="https://medium.com/">Medium</a>, they provides me with useful information. On a deeper level, they (good writers) also show how a (good) long-copy format is still as consumable as a few seconds video format.Here are <a href="https://medium.com/free-code-camp/how-to-write-medium-stories-people-will-actually-read-92e58a27c8d8">some tips</a> for new writers on Medium who are trying to build an audience base. (Yes, that includes me)

Medium is the message, pun intended.

You can write a great title with a powerful clickbait, but if your content is not as good as your title, you'll have to face angry comments from readers who just lost 5 minutes of their precious times.Like a great advertisement with disappointing product performance. You can write great content; a compelling story with a unique point of view that gives meaningful information to your audience. But if your title is too weak to drive click, then your great content will be sink in the sea of cruel algorithm.Like a great products with low awareness.

The importance of Title and Content; each has their own roles. Just like Product and Marketing.

Learn from <a href="https://deepstash.com/article/144276/quantifying-the-clickbait-and-linkbait-in-buzzfeed-article-titles">how BuzzFeed creates compelling headlines.</a>Inject hyperbole and fear-of-missing-out.Here are some types of headlines that work well on Medium:<ul><li>grand pronouncements like “X is over”, “X is broken”, or “X is bull****”</li><li>Headlines that use negative words like “stop”, “never”, and “don’t ever ____ again”</li><li>The “I _____ and it was _____” pattern (for example: “I ate pizza for breakfast and it was glorious”)</li></ul>

Killer Headline

HubSpot <a href="http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/seo-social-media-study#sm.00000z83pnwr7kdwxvrrsinzxyr7l">analyzed</a> 6,000 blog posts and found that stories with 8 to 14-word headlines get more social media shares.

Your headline should have the right length

The more emotional (positive or negative) a headline is, the more likely people will click it.The <a href="https://coschedule.com/headline-analyzer">headline analyzer</a> provides a tool to help you balance the length and sentiment of your headlines.

Evoke the right emotion with your headline

Your opening image on Medium will serve as your story’s ambassador everywhere: social media news feeds, Reddit, Google News — even RSS readers.The opening image in <a href="https://medium.com/free-code-camp/how-to-write-medium-stories-people-will-actually-read-92e58a27c8d8">this article</a> the writer chose an image of Emma Stone portraying an aspiring journalist at her typewriter in the 1960s. It’s from the popular 2011 period movie “The Help.”A stock photo of someone sitting at their laptop would have looked too generic. Our news feeds are already filled with these pictures.The images are there to visually reinforce each story’s message, while lending them flavor.

Arresting opening images

Once your reader clicks through to your story, the trial begins. Keep in mind that your readers are looking for any excuse to jump back to their news feed. Reading requires a lot more effort than scrolling through cat photos.Don’t waste time with intros or updates — start making points and telling your story immediately.

Start your content with a strong lead

Figure out a way to establish your credibility within the first few paragraphs. If you are a top expert in your field, say so. Don’t assume that people are going to take the time to google you.Are you writing about health as a non-physician? Are you writing about personal finance as a non-millionaire? You’ll need to overcome any skepticism readers may have about your credibility.Reinforce your credibility throughout your story. Support your arguments with data. Use inline links to (non-paywalled) research.This isn’t the New England Journal of Medicine. This is Medium. So don’t use footnotes.

Establish Credibility

Good writing is hard. Like any skill, it takes practice. There are no shortcuts to becoming a strong writer.Do yourself a favor: write what you know.Have you ever heard the term “writers block?” Writer’s block happens when you don’t know enough about a topic to write about it. The antidote is research. Learning. Going out into the field.Good Medium stories don’t come naturally. For every minute of story length, expect to spend at least an hour writing, re-writing, and editing your story.

Write smart. Write what you know.

Medium’s data scientists found that 7 minutes is the optimal length for a Medium story.In practice, a story should be as long as it needs to be, and no longer.If you can’t come up with at least 5 minutes worth of thoughts, rethink the premise of your story.

Medium readers prefer longer stories.

Paste your story into the <a href="https://hemingwayapp.com/">Hemingway Editor.</a> This will highlight dense sentences, adverbs, passive voice, and other style issues. It will also assign a grade level to your overall writing.Despite what you may have learned in English composition class, people prefer short paragraphs to “walls of text.”There’s nothing wrong with single-sentence paragraphs.

Tighten up your prose. Keep it simple.

It gives tangible tips on how to write Medium stories that people will actually read.

More than 30 million people use Medium each month. They come here in search of something worth reading. Something substantial. And you can give it to them. Medium’s algorithms put you on a level…

How to write Medium stories people will actually read

You earn self-esteem with consistent action — by regularly doing things you can be proud of.

4 Simple Ways to Improve Your Self-Esteem

Self-esteem is your reputation with yourself.

A common trait among people with low self-esteem is that they over promise and underdeliver on their personal goals.By setting an unrealistic goal for yourself, you’re increasing the odds that you fail and then subsequently feel badly about yourself — which only reinforces your already low self-esteem.

1. Don’t make promises to yourself that you can’t keep.

Now, there’s nothing necessarily wrong with asking for help. In fact, the ability to ask for help when you really need it is a powerful skill that more people should have instead of trying to lone-wolf every problem they encounter.Resist the urge to immediately ask for help. Make sure you’re doing your best to solve the problem or manage the situation yourself before you outsource that to someone else.This will create a positive cycle of action and confidence that will keep your self-esteem at a healthy level — regardless of whether you were able to solve the problem yourself or with help.

2. Ask for help when you need it, not because you want it.

When a painful thought or memory pops into mind, it’s tempting to start engaging with it — to have a conversation with it that leads to dozens if not hundreds of similarly negative thoughts.Healthy self-esteem depends on your ability to manage your attention well. And a big part of that means not letting yourself be a victim of your own thoughts.Notice your thoughts. Say hello to them. But don’t feel like you have to have a conversation with them.

3. Stop having conversations with unproductive thoughts.

Do the right thing, even when it’s hard.We admire people who are able to put aside their feelings and emotions (fear, discomfort, popularity) and choose their values instead.This is the source of our admiration for our heroes and it’s also the source of our esteem for ourselves.

4. Trust your values, not your emotions.

It’s good to listen to your emotions. But to trust them unthinkingly is a recipe for unhappiness and low self-esteem.

Trusting your value of courage is much more likely to lead to healthy self-esteem than impulsively trusting your feeling of anxiety.Trusting your value of compassion is much more likely to lead to healthy self-esteem than blindly following your anger.

Your values, on the other hand, are far more trustworthy.

When you have healthy self-esteem, you basically like yourself.

Self Improvement

If I could give one piece of advice to writers on the Medium platform, it would be to make connections. Find writers whose writing you admire. Pay special attention to writers who write about the topics you like and have bylines at publications you enjoy reading. Ultimately, finding your writing tribe can be exciting as long as you feel ready to learn and grow alongside your peers. — Allison Gaines, of WEOC Editors

1. Make Connections With Other Medium Creators

The lesson for me is that editing is a feature of the writing process, not a bug. Now, I don’t begrudge editing. I realize that it is just part of the process of helping me think. I love the process of editing! Nothing that anyone sees from me on Medium has been edited less than a dozen times. Each time, it is a slightly better expression of what is in my head- Roger Martin

2. Edit your drafts (and then edit them again)

My best work happens when I write for a single person instead of a mass of people. Like any writer, I want to be popular. I want to be read by as many people as possible. But the only way to do that is to connect with one person. Before I write anything — whether it’s a social media post for a brand or a first-person essay or a movie review — I ask myself, “Who am I writing for?” - John DeVore

3. Know Who Your Reader Is

Once you’ve found your audience, you want to keep serving that same audience. If you jump from one audience to another, you’re not likely to build a large readership. That means you have to enjoy what you write about. Otherwise, you’ll be one of those people who spends a year on Medium and gives up because readers can’t relate to your content.It can be tempting to write for superficial ends, like views or money. But if you spend all your energy writing for those reasons, you’ll eventually burn out. And who wants that? — Darius Foroux

4. Serve Your Reader

I say devote 15–30 minutes, a minimum of 3 times a week to read your comments, respond and then read a piece from a commenter — they’ve already shown an interest in your work. — Teressa P. of WEOC Editors

5. Read Medium Posts

Every time I publish a story, I add it to a list. I write many different types of articles on Medium — fiction, nonfiction, poetry — and having a way to collect similar stories together is a great way to organize my page. — Casey Lawrence

6. Use Medium's List Feature To Organize Your Notss

Your article is only two-thirds of the final product. The other third is arguably more important — it’s the attention grabber. Alongside your title, it’s the best weapon you have to stop a reader scrolling right past your work. What I’m referring to is, of course, the feature image.Many writers are guilty of getting sloppy at this stage in the excitement of getting their work published. Don’t get complacent and throw in the first stock image you find under a vague term like ‘writing’ or ‘work.’ If it’s in the first few results, you can bet your life it has been used to death. - Stephen Moore

7. Use A Unique Image

Writing alt-text allows me to see what I pay attention to first. It gives me time and space, in a relatively low-pressure environment, to notice these things. And I can put that knowledge to use in my life outside of alt-text later.I’m just now beginning to understand how paying closer attention to accessibility benefits everything around me. But I don’t think I expected that being more aware of it would also help to benefit who I am as a writer. — Yi Shun Lai

8. Add Alt-text To Your Image

Do not chase algorithms. Do not read articles on how to “make it” on Medium. Do not create headlines that scare the living daylights out of people so they click on them, searching for some elusive answer to life’s unanswerable questions.Instead, write a story in a huff while you’re crying. Crawl back under the sheets and workshop the story with your dog. Chase the flow-feeling. Be naive. — Adeline Dimond.

9. Don't Try To Go Viral. Just Write Your Heart Ou

I think the most important value we offer as a publication is our extensive and thorough editing process. Our editors are very hands-on and we work closely with writers to further developer their skills. I want to underscore the point that this isn’t just about ensuring we publish great work on SUPERJUMP itself; it’s also about leaving writers with something of lasting value well beyond their time with us. — James Burns, EIC of SUPERJUMP

10. Start A Publicatio

How to succeed on Medium

The more you write the better you get. But I didn’t just write to meet some number. I practiced consciously . That means :<ul><li>studying the platform, </li><li>looking at viral articles and trying to replicate them, and </li><li>learning new techniques from my favorite writers.</li></ul>

My writing ability increased exponentially.

<ol><li>Aim for clarity — Clear and concise writing wins the game. Use short sentences.</li><li>Always weave in your personal story — People are much more likely to forget about your article if you don’t have some sort of personal story that can resonate with them. Do this at the beginning of the post because there are many articles on this same subject. Always differentiate yourself.</li><li>Write about stuff you’re interested in — Your writing gets 10x better if you write about your favourite subject. Find your subjects and write something you can be proud of no matter how many views it gets.</li><li>Write EVERY SINGLE DAY.</li></ol>

Here’s how you can improve your writing drastically: 

Ever since month ten, curation rate has more than quadrupled. How? <ul><li>PRACTICE </li></ul>Even during those months where there's little to no curation, keep churning out articles. That added compound interest put in over those nine months.

I get curated loads more than I used to.

I understand that it can be crucial for increasing your earnings. But I sing a different tune. My biggest article that made me over seven hundred bucks and counting was not curated.Here’s some actionable advice — don’t look at your curation rate! Remember why you write and leave the curation up to the curators.

But alas, curation doesn’t matter.

Not only did I get in the hundred dollars club again, I almost reached the four-figures club. Medium decided to grace the top 1,000 writers who received the most engagement in April a five-hundred-dollar bonus for their hard work. I was one of them.I’m not bullshitting you when I say I write and publish new articles every single day. Heck, sometimes I publish twice a day. Saying I wrote 365 articles in 365 days is an understatement.You can’t make any excuses not to publish. If you want to succeed on this platform, you need to treat writing like a job instead of a hobby. Consistency is key.

I got into the top 1,000 writers on the platform

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When you try something new and keep at it, you have no idea how good you can get. You can get really good, even if you think you are terrible right now.
Talent matters only to some extent. Most routes can be successfully followed if you're willing to put in the time.

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You may think that it's hard to practice relentlessly for years. You may not see yourself as someone who can put in the work for that amount of time. You can if you find the right fit.
Once you find a fit and work on it for long enough, the lazy version of you can totally disappear. Start experimenting and get mentally ready to find your fit, then commit to practicing it.

Finding your fit

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