Medium Writing Tips You Can Use on Any Platform

When I first started writing on Medium I decided to focus on what I knew best — a niche related to my job as a data analyst. In short, my day job is to use data to find actionable insights to help my company make better decisions that are backed by numbers. I published my first article in October of 2020 and after 9 months of writing, these are the lessons I’ve learned. While these tips are what I learned writing on Medium they can apply to your writing on any platform, from your blog to here writing on Vocal.

1. Readers appreciate a unique point of view

My first story was curated and published in the biggest Medium publication for my niche. To date, I've gotten over 27,000 views for this story.

My theory on why this article did well is because I offered a unique point of view discussing my personal experience in two data-related roles. Many readers are just starting their careers in data science and having the perspective of someone that’s tried multiple types of roles generated interest in my story.

Writing tip: Everyone’s personal experience is different. Write about unique perspectives from your life that readers may find interesting.

2. Identify a common pain point and offer a solution

A story I wrote earlier this month went viral and in just two weeks I’ve had 54,000 views. I expect this article will exceed the performance of my first story over time.

I got the idea to write my story after seeing one featured on the data science topic page that discussed a common pain point, why data scientists are leaving their jobs, but didn’t offer much in way of advice. After working in data science for years, I felt I could offer actionable advice to solve the problem. I think this was why the story has done this well.

Writing tip: Research trending stories about common pain points and see if you can offer any new advice to solve the problem. If you have a great weight loss tip that no one has written about or innovative ways to save money write about it.

3. Focus writing in a niche you know about first

I found it was easier to write about a niche I knew a lot about first because I didn’t have to do much research. I could focus my time improving my writing before expanding to other topics I wasn’t as knowledgeable about. In this article, I’m talking about writing lessons I’ve learned. I couldn’t have possibly written this 9 months ago.

Writing tip: Start with what you know and focus your efforts to improve your writing.

4. You can’t predict if a story will go viral

I’m not sure if it was good or bad that my first story did as well as it did. Since October I’ve been trying to replicate the same results with little success until my viral story 2 weeks ago. I remember hitting “publish” that night and went to bed hoping for a few hundred views the next day.

Writing tip: To reiterate the advice from many other successful writers, consistency is the key. You have to continue writing because you never know if your next story will be the "one".

5. Writing in a niche can be exhausting

I’ve written 40 articles about data-related topics and I’m running out of ideas. It’s harder and harder to come up with a new spin on the same subject. While I’ve had some success writing about data, I’ve decided to expand into other topics like I’ve done here — talking about writing.

Writing tip: We can only take so much of a good thing. If you’ve run out of ideas, explore other topics to write about. Focus on writing what you love and not on the money which I'll discuss next.

6. Don’t expect writing to replace your day job

I’m nowhere near the successful writers that make thousands of dollars every month and I don’t expect to be.

I enjoy writing because it gives me an outlet to share my ideas that I can’t do in my day job. It also didn’t hurt that my niche writing relates to my day job and made a great addition to my LinkedIn profile.

Writing tip: Write because you like to and the money will follow.

Final words

If you’re thinking about writing, I urge you to just start now. Everyone has a unique point of view to share. Even if your first story is terrible, you can’t get better unless you practice. My communication skills have improved and I’ve been able to articulate my thoughts better in my day job. You never know what benefits you’ll gain.

If you enjoyed this article please consider leaving a tip. Thanks for reading and happy writing!