Medium Basics for New Writers

You are on Vocal, but there is a very similar platform that you may have heard of, Medium. It's a fantastic place for writers, but it does have a learning curve. I am still learning it after 10 months. It takes time to learn all the tricks, and understand the inner workings of any platform.

Hopefully, some of the things I have learned can help you not make some of the mistakes I did. Or can answer some of your most pressing Medium questions!

Medium membership

Medium offers a $5 per month membership, this allows you to read stories on the platform with no limit. If you aren't a member, you can only read a limited amount of stories each month. So theoretically, you can write for Medium and not be a member. I tried this at first, but I found that the stories written by other writers, especially those that offered tips, were valuable and I decided to become a member.

It's a personal preference, Medium doesn't force its membership on its writers. Yet, one of the biggest perks of being on Medium is connecting with other writers. I have found reading stories on Medium to be one of the most helpful things in learning the platform.

Medium partner program

This program is how you become eligible to earn money on Medium. By joining the program your stories are eligible to earn money. You will need 100 followers and to have published at least one story.

You do not have to be a medium member (have enrolled in the $5 per month membership) to join the partner program or write on Medium.

When you publish a story be sure to check the box to make it eligible to earn money. There are a few more things you will want to focus on to earn money, all discussed below.

Followers

As I mentioned, you will need 100 followers to become eligible for the partner program. This is an easy one, the more people you follow, the more followers you will gain. Make it your habit to follow a few new people each day. Take the time to read some stories, if you like them give them a follow. It's one of the easiest ways to connect and show support.

When someone is your follower they will see the stories you publish, it opens the door for more views for your stories.

Claps

Another really simple and fast way to connect and show support. A clap is akin to a like button. It shows that you liked a story or a comment. I used to think claps equated earnings, but they aren't what brings in money. In 2019 they stopped earning money. This means if you are reading older articles about claps, you will get outdated information. They do show interest and give other writers an idea of how many people liked a story.

Something I didn't know for many months, you can give multiple claps. So go ahead give 10, 20 or more claps for a well-written story, don't limit your enthusiasm. In fact, you can clap up to 50 times per story. It gives the story a better chance of being seen, in this way, claps do still count.

Fans

If you go to your "stats" section you will see views, reads, and fans. The first two are self-explanatory, the third one, fans, completely confused me at first. What makes someone a fan?

A reader becomes a fan when they clap for your story. Each reader can clap multiple times but no matter how many times a reader claps, they can only be one fan. If you want to see who your fans are in any given story, click on the number (not the hand symbol) a list will appear showing you not only who they are, but how many times they clapped. Note, if you do this on someone else's story, you can see who clapped, but not how many claps they gave.

Highlights

When you highlight a story the highlight becomes visible to your followers. The writer is sent a notification you have highlighted their story and which lines you highlighted. It's a great way to support other writers.

To highlight, highlight the text, a box will appear with several options, click on the pen icon to the left, you are done!

Tags

Another way to make sure you are utilizing all of Medium's tools is the use of tags. Before you publish there is a box that will appear asking for tags, which are keywords for your story. Type in words that are relevant to your story's topic. Try to use tags with your title, for improved SEO. Notice the number that comes along with it.

For example, if I type in the word "writer" next to it I get (29K).This means the audience for that topic is a decent one, it's a good tag. Tags help your article get seen in searches, when people type in your tag your story will come up.

Word Count

This is a new one I only recently learned. When in the editor, if you want to know what your word count is, highlight your text and the number will appear at the top of your page.

Cool, right?

Medium Help Center

If I haven't answered your question, I find the Medium Help Center to be a great resource. I learn something new every time I visit it.

I hope this helps you on your Medium journey, happy writing!