8 Easy Ways to 8x Your Readership (Without Creating Any New Content)
It's amazing what we can do with an extra 30 minutes a day
"It's not the hours you put in your work, it's the work you put in the hours" - Sam Ewing
Sam's quote is what this blog is all about. It's not about working more or harder, it's about working better.
Octupling (8x) your readership in just 30 minutes a day might sound too good to be true but hopefully, in about eight minutes, you'll see what I mean.
If you're anything like me, you'll have your favourite platform that you publish to every day. That's cool. But having eight for the price of one? That's even cooler!
So, ignoring the time it might take to sign up to all the relevant platforms I mention here, this is what is needed to 8x your readership without having to create any new content in just 30 minutes extra a day.
1. Medium
Medium will always be my platform of choice. It was my first love, what more can I say?
Medium has enabled me to become a full-time writer and share what I love.
A few years ago they introduced their Partner Program which now allows writers to get paid. To contextualise that, they've paid over $28 million to 200,000 writers. And adding to that, last year they introduced an incredible membership referral system that can boost income when new members sign up through us writers (think affiliate marketing).
It's also a great place to build a network, grow an audience, and add to your email list.
But if I still haven't convinced, they have over 100 million readers every month.
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Like I said at the top, Medium was (and still is) my first love. I was infatuated for probably too long but after the Honeymoon period passed, I began to see that there were lots of other platforms that are also fantastic for online writers.
So, once I saw the potential to expand, I began to spread my content as far and as wide as possible. That's when I suddenly went from one steady audience and income stream a month to eight.
How it works
Once I've finished writing a blog on Medium I run it through Grammarly and submit it to a publication. That's where it stopped for about a year. However, now I simply copy and paste everything exactly as it is (title, subtitle, image, and all), across all the different other platforms before going through the submission process again.
I do the customary checks on all the different platforms to make sure everything has transferred correctly and then I hit submit. It's as simple as that really.
8 platforms for the price of one and it only takes an extra 30 minutes a day. What's not to like?
So, let's look at the other seven options so you can see for yourself.
2. Vocal Media
If I'd known about Vocal.media before I started writing on Medium, it could well have been my first love instead, it's just that I didn't know about them until after. That doesn't take away my love for the platform now though.
In many ways, Medium and Vocal.media are the same. So if you have a good grasp on one, you'll have a strong sense of the other one too.
Although it's a little smaller than Medium (most are to be honest), it still has a steady and loyal readership, great bonuses (for example - after publishing just 5 blogs, you'll get a $5 bonus. You'll also get bonuses for top stories as well). And it's a straightforward system of views = money.
This one really is a no-brainer for me as it couldn't be easier to transfer content from one to the other. It has all the same built-in tools and photo selection from Unsplash. So, all-in-all, it takes about an extra 5 minutes to double your readership.
3. Simily.co
Simily is the new kid on the block but like an adorable puppy, it's getting some big attention.
I'm not gonna sit here and say they've got it all figured out and that it's the perfect platform because that's far from the truth. Their website seems to go through more maintenance than a well-used highway and it's not the easiest interface to wrap your head around either. They also haven't incorporated easy tools such as Unsplash or another stock photo website so everything has to be done manually.
But, and it's a but, it's more inclusive to writers all over the world. So, if you're from any of the African countries, most of South America except Brazil, all of Central America, the Caribbean, and the whole of Asia except India and Malaysia, then Medium and Vocal.media are off-limits (unless you have a bank account from any of the countries that Stripe works within that is.)
Simily.co, on the other hand, works with Paypal so although they're still figuring a lot of things out and it's unclear as to how long they'll be around, they at least give online writers from all over the world the chance to be well… online writers.
Paypal is in over 200 countries so if you're not from North Korea, you'll probably be okay.
If you do choose Simily, you never know, you might well come in at the foundations of something big. That's the lure of Simily right now. It's new and unknown.
Are you willing to give it a go?
4. Quora
Quora has an eye-watering 400 million monthly users every single month. That's a shit ton of potential eyeballs that can look at your work.
To make Quora work you do have to be savvy and a little creative if you don't want to write more content.
But if you don't know what Quora is, it's a question and answer platform. It's a place where people typically post questions about things they want to learn and then they wait for other people to answer them.
But where things started to get exciting was when Quora launched their own Partner Program and started paying people to add value to the community (aka ask questions and give answers).
This was introduced last year but it's changed the game completely. Now, people are being validated for adding value so more people are.
How this relates to what I'm saying is that I've come to find that there is always at least one question that arises out of each blog that I write, or each subsection of a blog that I write.
So, that question can be asked on Quora and then you can answer your own question by copying and pasting the parts of the blog that are relevant. If you do, you would have just thrown yourself into the pool of 400 million other people.
And if that's still not enough to convince you, it is also a great place to get new readers, drive traffic to your other paying platforms like Medium and Vocal.media, get more email subscribers, and grow your audience.
5. Substack
I'm not gonna lie and say that I know everything about Substack but all I do know is that everyone is talking about it and that it works.
Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club) has even been commissioned to release his next book to paying subscribers. So, although it looks like another newsletter platform, it's much bigger than that.
Substack is also free of algorithms, publications, rights and wrongs, do's and don't's, and yes and no's. The power of creation is in the creator's hands.
Starting on Substack is often the biggest hurdle. The problem we all face is that we need emails to email (duh). So, that part hasn't changed. But if you're writing blogs, creating videos, podcasts, sharing on social media anyway, you can link to your Substack page, build up a community slowly, and take all the creative control that you want.
You can, of course, do all this yourself. You can drive people to your own website, gather your own email list, and create a paywall whereby you share content to paid subscribers. However, that's a shit ton of work and it takes time to build a name that people trust.
Substack has done all that hard work for us so why not jump on a wave that's already in motion?
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Even if you don't write on Substack immediately, keep a watchful eye on it in the coming months. You could well still get in at the ground level here too which at a time where many people feel like they've missed the online-money-making boat, it's an exciting prospect.
6. Social media
There's nothing new here and we certainly don't have to reinvent the wheel.
Depending on how many platforms you're active on will determine how many avenues you want to explore. Whatever you choose though, whether it be Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc…. it doesn't really matter. If you're brave enough to share your message with friends, family, and groups, you can direct a lot of people to your work. A simple link on your homepage is often enough.
Tim Denning has mastered the skill of building an audience on social media. I'm still learning from him so I won't pretend to be the source of knowledge here. Instead, I'll redirect you to the man himself.
7. Your own website
The days of needing a website seem to be obsolete (thank God!) so it's certainly not necessary to have one. However, they do still provide some great opportunities:
- Complete creative freedom - all content belongs to you. There are no rules.
- You can sell and promote other products or offerings you have (books, online courses etc..)
- You can build an independent email list.
- You can create a community.
- You create backlinks that the SEO robots love crawling through. (The more backlinks you have the more these SEO robots boost you on page one)
So, this one is optional, but it's worth exploring.
8. Turn blogs into books
Every blog that you write can become a chapter in your new book.
Ebooks have changed the game and anyone can do them.
No longer do publishers decide who gets in the VIP club.
If you've been writing blogs for a while now, chances are you'll have a bunch that are on (or around) a specific topic. So, if you bring them together, slap a front cover on them, add an introduction, conclusion, and format things correctly on your preferred platform of choice, then voila! you have a whole new income stream ready to go.
With the help of self-publishing platforms like Amazon KDP, Smashwords, Draft2Digital, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, IngramSpark, Lulu, and the like, there are a ton of options that make it possible. In a very short period of time, you can legitimately become an author overnight.
You can then write more blogs about your experience, upload your book on your own website, tell people about your latest project via social media and Substack, and pose a pertinent question about it on Quora.
The only limitations on this stuff are our ability to see far enough ahead. Once there is nothing in the way anymore, suddenly the world becomes a much more playful place.
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Spend an extra 30 minutes a day to spread your content further and wider. Or at least just try it for a month and see. Even if you choose one extra platform, you would have doubled your readership. So, what's to lose?
About the Creator
Andy Murphy
Writer & Soma Breath faciliatator
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