A New Era of Writing: Embracing Change on Medium in 2024
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Chapter 1: The Evolution of Writing on Medium
While my narrative is centered around my experiences on Medium, it extends beyond the platform itself. It embodies the universal theme of adaptability, a vital component for both survival and success.
I crafted this guide to shed light on the unconventional strategies I've adopted in my writing journey on Medium and beyond, aiming to enhance our shared experiences. My goal is to emphasize the critical role adaptability plays in flourishing across various aspects of life.
Adaptability encompasses a range of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses. It necessitates the ability to reframe situations cognitively, manage stress emotionally, and adjust behaviors in response to change.
In my personal life, adaptability aids in stress management, boosts emotional well-being, and fosters a sense of balance. Professionally, it is a key driver of innovation, effective problem-solving, and career progression.
For personal development, adaptability encourages mental agility, enhances self-confidence, and promotes openness to new experiences. Professionally, it is essential for remaining relevant in fast-changing industries, fostering leadership, and encouraging teamwork.
I encountered several psychological frameworks emphasizing the importance of adaptability, such as the Theory of Resilience, which highlights our ability to recover from setbacks. Additionally, the Growth Mindset Theory underscores how embracing challenges can lead to ongoing learning and growth.
The advantages of adaptability are vast, including better decision-making, increased creativity and productivity, and improved interpersonal relationships. Ultimately, adaptability is both a mindset and a vital skill that empowers us to thrive in a constantly evolving world.
How to grow your audience & income by writing on Medium in 2024 - YouTube
In this insightful video, explore strategies to expand your audience and income through effective writing on Medium, aligning with the platform's latest trends.
Section 1.1: My Strategic Approach in 2023
In the summer months, I noticed a significant drop in engagement metrics (views, reads, interactions) with my content on Medium. This prompted me to delve into the underlying factors affecting this shift.
Initially, I analyzed my performance data and sought insights from fellow contributors to determine if they were experiencing similar trends. I also scrutinized recent changes in Medium's policies to understand their impact.
The results confirmed a clear transformation: the platform's strategy had shifted from emphasizing quantity to prioritizing quality. This shift meant that the previous focus on volume had become less significant, with quality now taking precedence.
The data I gathered illustrated this change vividly. For instance, although my follower count wasn't my primary success metric, it still served as an important indicator of engagement. Pre-July, my stories attracted limited new followers, but this doubled after July, resulting in an influx of 55,000 new followers over six months. This surge demonstrated increased reader interest in my revamped content tailored to Medium's new strategy.
I emphasize this metric because, rather than producing more content, I focused on creating higher-quality, more engaging pieces that adhered to the platform's distribution and boosting guidelines. Fortunately, several of my stories were selected for boosts, bringing in a new audience that had previously overlooked my extensive body of work. Since joining Medium, I've penned around 2,500 stories within my publication, EUPHORIA.
My adaptable approach included a thorough analysis of distribution strategies and the requirements for boosting, all meticulously documented and shared within the writing community as a way to give back.
Notably, even while adhering to the boost guidelines, only about 1% of my stories were selected for boosts. This serves as a crucial lesson for new writers: the boost program maintains high standards, and gaining selection requires exceptional storytelling that meets the platform's new criteria.
Upon discovering that my stories hadn't been selected, I chose not to dwell on disappointment. Instead, I empathized with the curators, acknowledging their commitment to the new quality-first strategy that seeks engaging, meaningful content.
This empathetic outlook is essential for writers; understanding the curators' and the platform's roles in ensuring sustainability and growth can significantly enhance our chances of success.
Chapter 2: Adapting as an Editor, Curator, and Publisher
The quality-centric approach adopted by Medium greatly influenced my editorial practices. Until July, our editorial team had focused on quantity, leveraging our commitment to inclusivity and diversity for growth.
However, we quickly recognized that the previous strategy was misaligned with our objectives, prompting a rapid pivot to better support our writers and satisfy our dedicated readership.
Initially, our editorial team explored the distribution and boost guidelines, revising our submission protocols and creating new publishing checklists to align with the new quality-focused strategy. While it required a considerable effort, we understood that embracing change would entail some initial discomfort.
Some writers reacted negatively to the return of low-quality submissions, resulting in a few withdrawing from our publications. Nevertheless, this shift attracted more skilled writers, and aspiring authors were encouraged to refine their craft, leading to greater satisfaction among our readers.
We transformed discomfort into delight, ensuring both writers and readers experienced improved outcomes. This transition elevated our publications, aligning them with the platform's standards and meeting audience expectations.
Medium recognized our efforts. In October, my publication, ILLUMINATION-Curated, was honored as a boost-nominating publication. This recognition led to numerous stories receiving boosts, enhancing our writers' stats and facilitating substantial growth for our publications.
I appreciated the opportunity to serve as a boost nominator. This role deepened my understanding of the new strategy and the expectations of curators, while also allowing me to contribute to the growth of fellow writers, ultimately enhancing the experience for our readers.
Adapting to this new role required implementing procedural changes within my publications, clearly communicating these adjustments to writers, setting realistic expectations, and providing guidance to improve their chances of receiving boosts.
Although this shift increased my workload and stress levels, the rewards were well worth the effort. Each boosted story brought joy and gratitude from the writers, alongside the satisfaction of readers who enjoyed curated content in my publications — a testament to the balance of challenges and rewards in our journey.
Everything You Need to Know About Medium Publications in 2024 - YouTube
This video provides essential insights for writers on how to navigate Medium publications effectively, ensuring alignment with the platform's evolving strategies.
The Value of Friends of Medium for Writers and Readers
Medium continually impresses me with its innovative initiatives to support both writers and readers. For example, two years ago, they introduced a feature that enabled writers to expand their audience, engage subscribers through email, and gain a competitive advantage. The investment in community engagement through the boost initiative is another commendable example.
In a recent development, on November 28, Medium launched the "Friends of Medium" program to significantly enhance writers' income potential.
This initiative, as introduced by Alex Benzer, has already made a considerable impact on the platform, instilling hope in writers and inspiring readers to support them more effectively.
As a Friend of Medium, I have significantly enhanced my support for beloved writers, fostering a more inclusive space for storytelling on the platform. Readers who become Friends of Medium gain exclusive access to the Friend Link feature, facilitating seamless sharing of resonating stories within the community.
The primary benefit for writers is the potential to earn four times more than what is available through standard membership support. Subscribing to the $15 monthly plan can greatly amplify backing for writers compared to the standard $5 membership.
This increased support can substantially affect writers' earnings, enabling them to thrive thanks to the generosity of their dedicated supporters.
Friends of Medium contribute four times the earnings for writers when reading member-only stories, significantly boosting financial support compared to regular members.
Earnings for writers on Medium are determined by metrics such as read and listen time, claps, highlights, replies, and follows. However, the Friends of Medium program multiplies these metrics fourfold, enhancing writers' earnings based on their engaging content.
An additional benefit for writers is the opportunity to monetize external reading times by sharing links with supportive readers, ultimately contributing to the platform's growth and sustainability.
Historically, external reading times from non-members did not generate income for writers. Yet, the Friend Link system allows non-members to contribute to writers’ earnings by reading stories through a Friend of Medium’s link, improving financial prospects for writers and fostering active reader-writer engagement.
As an avid reader, I engage with over a hundred stories daily, gaining diverse perspectives and enriching my understanding. However, reflecting on the immense value I've received, a mere $5 monthly contribution felt inadequate.
This realization ignited a sense of responsibility within me — an opportunity to contribute more actively to this knowledge and creativity ecosystem. Consequently, I upgraded all my accounts to Friends of Medium subscriptions to better support writers' earnings.
I encourage more readers to support writers, fostering a vibrant and sustainable platform. When writers are fulfilled, readers are delighted.
Takeaways for Writers to Align with Medium’s New Strategy
In this final section, I aim to guide and inspire you to craft stories that align with Medium’s distribution and boosting guidelines.
- Focus on quality over quantity. This means writing more meaningful, valuable, relevant, and engaging content. Boosted stories can result in tenfold increases in views, reads, followers, and engagement.
- Identify your target audience and write with their needs and expectations in mind.
- Adhere to editorial guidelines for clarity and coherence.
- Prioritize accuracy, curiosity, credibility, honesty, and humility.
- Write with passion and insight.
- When crafting your stories, consider these five questions:
- Is my story impactful and constructive?
- Is my story original?
- Am I drawing from relevant experiences?
- Is my story well-crafted?
- Does my story leave a lasting impression?
For further guidance, check out some of my boosted stories and curated collections focused on improving your writing.
If you're seeking to enhance your earnings from writing, I invite you to explore my practical guide, which outlines essential principles based on my extensive experience in content development and marketing strategies.
In summary, I have identified ten key principles to help you generate a steady income from your writing practice:
- Understand the fundamentals of passive income.
- Learn the basic rules before starting.
- Create opportunities through collaboration that lead to synergy.
- Choose topics that resonate with both you and your audience.
- Build digital assets quickly and connect them logically.
- Produce high-quality, engaging content by repurposing previous work.
- Develop a well-functioning website with automated processes.
- Market your writing strategically and effectively.
- Identify paying customers and nurture those relationships.
- Delegate routine tasks, focus on your strengths, and cultivate a balanced life.
I hope these practical insights from my experiences and observations can guide you in crafting impactful stories for your readers in 2024.
Thank you for engaging with my perspectives, and I wish you a fulfilling and prosperous New Year. Happy festive season!
For new readers, I’ve written numerous articles that may inform and inspire you, covering topics like cognitive function, health conditions, nutrition, self-healing, and more.
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If you’re a writer, feel free to join my publications by sending a request through this link. I support over 25,000 writers who contribute to my publications on this platform.