I Iove looking back at things and seeing how I could have done better; this isn’t a variant of regret, rather, it’s more like ‘taking stock’ and preparing my mind for the future, in such a manner that the mistakes of the past aren’t repeated, going forward.
This is what I recently decided to do with Medium — and then, share my thoughts.
Who knows who may be helped with this piece?
So, what do I wish I had known in 2016 when I first created my Medium account and got on board?
Turns out, it boils down to five things, basically.
1. Posting and Running ISN’T Smart
Looking back, my style around 2016 — right up to last year was funny — and stupid: I’d come (when I felt like it), publish a story (whatever it was) and leave, hoping that it would magically take wings and work.
Blame it on the fact that I had numerous niche sites that worked exactly that way and you won’t be wrong…why would I bother interacting with the community here when I simply published similar articles on my blogs and in no time, they were ranking for the intended keywords and making me money?
Turns out this isn’t a smart move — and I learned the hard way — after the failure of most of my niche sites.
If you’re relatively new here, things work a little differently; spend some time with the community (before and after each story of yours) and you’re likely to register success faster.
Special Note: do this reasonably — and in a non-spammy manner. A few genuine comments on stories that grab your attention is enough.
2. A Niche ISN’T Great!
There’s an abundance of counsel to the effect that narrowing down to a niche is the best thing that can ever happen to you, growth and general success-wise.
This is false.
I started with a niche back in 2016 — which was solar energy (deleted all those stories when I got serious last year) but for many years, saw nothing — though to be sincere, I did get a client or two as the articles ranked on Google for the targeted keywords.
But, that was it…nothing else.
When I came back — with determination, last year, I again made the mistake of niching down to writing and on many days, even asked myself what in the world I was doing.
It was when I went out of my way to publish exactly what I wanted that things picked up! Take a lesson from my cluelessness and do not bother with any counsel telling you otherwise…
…why limit what you can publish when you can write whatever you want and have fun while doing it?
3. Long-Form Content Isn’t the Holy Grail
To be frank, no one sold this to me — it was simply a carryover from my niche publishing business where, somehow, long-form content ruled, supreme.
Unfortunately, I discovered, rather recently, that any story of mine above the five-minute mark, no matter how well told, begins to register less reads.
I learned the hard way and have since decided to diversify: my content these days is anything from two minutes to ten plus — and this is randomly done to ensure things are thoroughly mixed up.
Don’t make the same mistake that I did.
4. Publishing Daily Is a Double-Edged Sword/Posting Times Don’t Matter
Consistency is something that is cherished — with the ‘gurus’ encouraging anyone who cares to listen that they need to show up daily — and do their thing, if they wish to stand out.
But, there are so many hours in a day, and then, life happens.
Sometimes, it isn’t simply possible to post daily or when one insists on posting daily, quality suffers.
I wish I had known this, back when I started and balanced up my schedule consistently.
I believe, daily publishing is great — if it can be managed and won’t hurt quality; however, it’s always better to ensure that quality takes the day — even if only a single story is shared in a month.
The same logic applies to posting times — they simply don’t matter.
Post any time of the day you’re ready, your audience doesn’t all live in the same time zone.
Again, the ‘gurus’, I found out painfully, were wrong on this.
5. It’s Important NOT to Keep All Your Pens in the Same Holder
If there’s anything I wish I had known back when I first created my Medium account, it’s the reality of not ‘keeping all my pens in the same holder’.
Simple as this is, it’s what many writers on Medium miss.
Apart from avoiding the shock of a revenue source drying up, potentially, it is also smart to remind yourself, by diversifying your work/income, that you’re but a tenant on any platform you don’t own and the earlier you start actively building yours, the better.
And, what’s better than building your very own website? What beats that?
Take Away
The business of blogging on Medium (or anywhere else) isn’t rocket science. However, it comes with challenges that are likely to be faced — as you try to navigate the waters.
Unfortunately, I made a lot of these mistakes — but hope, passionately, that you don’t — whether you’re sharing your thoughts on Medium or anywhere else for that matter.
I’d love to hear from you: what blogging mistakes have you made on Medium (or anywhere else for that matter), that given the privilege of time, you’d love to correct and are determined NEVER to make them anywhere else again?
Leave a Reply