16 Lessons I’ve Learned After Publishing 216 Articles Online

I never expected to publish more than 200 pieces of content when I first started to write for it two years ago.

Picking a topic that I was passionate about was difficult at first. I either wrote too little or too much. I struggled to find topics for each article as well.

I didn’t begin to realize why I didn’t succeed until I stepped back and considered what I was really attempting to achieve with my writing. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. But now it’s my place of choice for writing, working, and creating.

It has given me the chance to interact with people from all over the world and has improved my writing. Writing frequently helps you learn a lot. And I’ve learned a lot about my craft after a few years of writing regularly on Medium.

Online publishing is something that many people desire. But the majority fail because they aren’t focused.

I’m sharing the lessons I’ve learned from writing more than 200 posts on Medium to help you prevent this.

Make sure the headline is understandable.

A fantastic headline entices the reader to continue reading. One of the most crucial elements in article optimization for Google is the title.

Your title needs to be brief and include your main keywords.

Limit it to 10 to 20 words. Never attempt to be smart. Make a good first impression with your title.

Make sure it is concise and free of unneeded words. Entering your title into a search engine is the simplest approach to determine how effective it is. The title isn’t doing you any favor if it gets no clicks.

Self-reflection is important.

Throughout the past two years, I’ve uncovered a lot about myself. Most crucially, I’ve come to understand that I’m not the only one who is having trouble with this issue.

For example, I was totally taken by surprise by the responses when I wrote my first post on Medium. It looked impressive, but I didn’t predict it to function that impressively. I also expected to start to attract a bigger audience.

Self-doubt is one of the blunders I see the author makes most frequently. It’s okay if you’re unsure whether you should write about something. We are all aware that often our writing will be a little uncomfortable or dull. You have to make the most use of your resources in those situations.

Be brief but interesting.

I was quite worried that my first post wasn’t precise enough to rank highly in Google search results when I first wrote it.

The response was ambiguous after it was published. Many readers expressed satisfaction and thought it was simple to read and understand. Others advised me to provide additional information or enhance the post since they believed it was too basic.

Many of you may have heard that you should write concise, to-the-point blog content. This is partially true, however, keeping interested in your writing is more crucial.

Your blog posts can be any length you like. Your content may become uninteresting if it is too brief. But, if it is too lengthy, you run the danger of losing readers by making them confused.

Create new content every day.

There is no reason not to create content on a daily basis. You’ll simply discover that you write more and more. Once you get going, you’ll rapidly realize its advantages.

This might mean posting an article every other day for some writers, while it might mean every day for others. It’s a commitment you have to make, no matter how you decide to write frequently. If you’re just starting off, you’ll go slowly at first, but you’ll catch on and finally master writing.

Use concise paragraphs

I realized quickly that keeping everything brief and straightforward is a smart writing rule of thumb for Medium. Short paragraphs and sparse use of space are becoming more and more popular among publishers, I’ve seen.

You’ve probably heard of this trend. The idea of the “long paragraph” has actually been fading away.

Also, short paragraphs are simpler to scan and read. This is because reading each line won’t require as much eye movement. It may be challenging to follow the information flow if your content is too long.

Have patience

There isn’t a magic formula for success. You don’t just happen to be there. That requires patience.

After you start posting on Medium, you’ll see that the platform is constantly evolving. You must maintain your focus on the goal as it progresses.

Remembering that it takes time for your posts to gain traction is the simplest method to prevent frustration.

On Medium, a number of articles that “go viral” start off on the edge and gain popularity over time. This process cannot be accelerated. It is a step in the process.

Write about what you know.

I had no concept of how to write a post when I actually started. I had one skill, though, and that was writing. I started writing about the topics that I found most interesting, including sports and video games.

To write on Medium, you don’t need to be a top expert. You only need to write on a topic that interests you. Don’t be scared to choose a topic that you are familiar with if you are having trouble identifying a niche for your writing.

You’ll be surprised by how quickly your writing will advance. If you’re unsure of what to write about, just choose a topic that appeals to you; you’ll soon realize it’s the ideal topic for your first article.

Examine others’ experiences

You may have heard it just said frequently that the best way to learn is to observe others. It is real! There is a catch, though: They must be the right person.

According to a survey, the average person only picks up five new things per day. They do, however, often consume more content than they do.

You will eventually receive feedback as your new article is published on Medium.

You’ll hear both positive and negative feedback. The goal is to take note of anything that can aid in your writing skills.

Do not anticipate quick results.

Building success is something you do. You don’t simply press a button and watch as your traffic increases.

You must invest the time. You’re writing for more than just yourself. You are writing for a group of people who will eventually read what you have to say. You must look after them.

Don’t stop once you’ve started. The challenging part is this. It’s simple to get sucked into writing for a week and come up empty-handed.

Don’t prioritize making money.

Most aspiring writers desire to be paid for their work. Yet, this is frequently the incorrect perspective to take.

It’s not necessary to achieve your money objectives in order to achieve your writing objectives. Your primary goal should be to enhance the quality of your blog as a whole and your writing in particular.

By making achieving financial goals your top priority, you run the risk of setting yourself up for failure. The reality is, if you make it the main topic of your work, it is unlikely that you will succeed.

Schedule your writing.

I’ve noticed that I can write for a couple of hours at least once a week. The problem is that I don’t write in my spare time. Instead, I write when I’m bored or have a thirst for knowledge.

Whether it takes me 10 minutes or an hour, I make an effort to write at least once per day. You’ll write more frequently if you schedule your writing, which will help you learn things much more quickly.

Create connections

Being published on Medium allows you a platform to develop a network of readers and followers, which is one of the main advantages.

Although many people consider Medium to be just another blogging site, it is actually the ideal location to network.

The platform allows you to communicate with your readers in a unique way and market yourself in a way that is difficult to do on many other platforms. The number of people who use Medium each month exceeds 100 million.

Get opinions.

A critical factor in creating content of high quality is feedback. You cannot produce high-quality content if you are not receiving the feedback you require.

Your audience is the most crucial source of feedback. Therefore asking them for input is the best way to get it.

If you run a blog, you can directly contact your readers by using your email list. Or, you may send a direct message to your followers asking them to participate in a survey.

Post your work on social media

Start sharing your work on your social media platforms if you want to get it in front of the correct audience.

This is the quickest approach to instantly share content with a lot of followers. So, you should spread the word about your most valuable content to as many people as you can. Your Instagram and Twitter accounts are included in this.

This allows you the chance to interact with your audience and attract new readers to your article.

It’s crucial to choose the appropriate social media platforms and target market while sharing on them. Don’t expect one type of social media to work the same as another because your audience differs depending on the platform.

To avoid repetition

Your work loses value when you repeat yourself. The system can detect this and penalize your content because of it.

No matter how interesting or original your writing is, if you consistently write the same thing, your readers will get bored. So, it’s critical to continually improve your skills. Write about fresh topics and experiment with various writing forms.

Avoid filler words

I am aware of your thoughts. What are filler words, exactly? You’re presumably considering words like “and,” “the,” “that,” “you’re,” “I’m,” and so forth.

These are the words that don’t really improve the quality of your writing. They take up unnecessary room. As a filler, they are. Although it is extremely uncommon, it is possible to achieve a large word count without using these terms. One to two percent of these phrases is frequently used in articles by the finest writers.