This is a guest post by Anne Peterson. She is a poet, speaker, and published author, and a regular top contributor on Medium. In this post-Anne explains why you should start a Medium blog and shares the benefits of writing for Medium.
I wrote my stories. I wasn’t always regular, but still, I did what Hemingway suggested and I bled onto the paper. But then, I listened and all I heard was silence. I wondered if anyone was out there. I even resorted to yelling out, ”Anyone out there?” And still, I heard the sound of silence. And I’m not talking about Paul Simon’s song either.
When I guest post, I found people were there. Some would comment, some would check out my site. I liked the way it felt. It seemed to give my words more value somehow. Then someone told me about blogging on Medium – a world of bloggers and writers within the blogosphere where any writer can build a large following in their niche through good writing – and I decided to try it. And this is what I thought.
Here are at least 7 reasons you should consider writing for Medium;
1) You’ll get your work in front of a fresh audience if you start a blog on Medium
Sometimes we feel like bread left outside the plastic bag. Having new people read our work breathes life into it. Then knowing they will not only get to read it, but you’ll have the opportunity to know if they like it or not. Well, that feels really good.
2) One door may open other doors
When I wrote my first story for Medium, I had no idea how it would go. After all it was just a Medium blog. All I knew was like you, I had a desire to write. To let the words in my mind line up and come out in a wonderful order, making sentences that would confound others.
What I didn’t know is that Medium had many different publications. I soon learned that I could apply to some of them and even get accepted. And that meant, even more, eyes would read my words.
3) You’ll get applause
When I started blogging on Medium they had a system which allowed readers to show when they liked an article by clicking little hearts. Since I am a token reinforcement person, I loved the idea.
When I started walking regularly, I used little metallic stars to mark the days I walked for an hour. There were days I walked merely because I could not face an empty square on my calendar.
Medium replaced the hearts with a new system. Claps. When a reader enjoys an article, they click on the clapping hands. You can get from 1 to as many as 50 claps for your story.
You can imagine how excited this made me. Who doesn’t love applause? Okay, there are some people who liked the hearts better, but that’s because change is hard.
4) You get feedback through a Medium blog
None of us write just for ourselves. We did at first, in journals, but one day we thought, maybe others would like what we put on paper, so we took a step.
Since I have written for Medium I’ve had the privilege of seeing what others think of my writing. And I’m not just talking about the claps. People who read your work can also highlight different parts of what you’ve written. And with the user-friendly Medium, they can tweet those portions out there to cyberspace and beyond.
5) You’ll get followers for real
You probably are accustomed to people following you on Twitter, and Instagram, maybe even Facebook. With Medium, when people follow you, they’re able to see other stories you’ve written.
It’s fun seeing that followers are reading not just one story of mine, but maybe three or more. Sometimes it feels like they are just waiting to see what I’m going to write next. That is very motivating.
6) Your writing will get better if you blog on Medium
We’ve all heard that practice makes perfect and while I don’t know we’ll ever be perfect writers, I do know we can always improve, the more we write. I compete with myself.
My son used to run track. And while he was aware of the other runners, he was taught to also compare himself with how he did at the last runs. Was he faster? What could he do to shave more off his time?
With stories on Medium, seeing the stats encourages me to keep trying, keep writing and keep publishing.
7) You can be eclectic
No one likes to be stuck in a rut. With Medium, I can try a variety of publications. There are some that deal with Life, Growth, Writing. There are others which deal with Health, Poetry, Business. I’ve yet to discover them all, and believe me I will try a bunch of them.
I even tried something different for me. You can read that one here. By now, you may be wondering if maybe you should try writing for Medium. Is it worth it?
All I can share is my experience, my results. My email list is growing, I’ve been invited to write for other publications, my confidence is growing, and I am having fun. Real honest to goodness fun.
Further Reading; Problogger: Why Medium is The Best Marketing For Your Blog
Frank McKinley: The Medium Experiment (an interview with Paul Ellsworth)
Podcast: Jeff Goins: An In Depth Look at Medium: the Benefits and the Drawbacks
What about you?
Maybe you should give Medium a try and start a Medium blog. What have you got to lose? What is one thing that appeals to you about Medium?
Anne Peterson is a poet, speaker, and published author of 14 books, including a memoir, Broken. She has also written children’s books and poetry books. Of all her titles, she prefers “Grandma.”Download a free copy of her book Real Love by joining her email list. Website: www.annepeterson.com
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