Psst! Want to know a secret?
If I said you could get read and retweeted globally, find a whole new audience for your work and increase your published clips by doing nothing would you believe me?
I thought not. But you can.
Being published on a globally read blog can take some effort. Pitch after pitch, ideas lost in the ether, courting editors, seeking approval — it’s a hard slog. But we do it to build an audience, showcase authority and make the world know we’re here, right?
Let me share with you something that happened to me this month, and what I learned about going viral without the legwork.
Here’s what happened
Back in December I wrote a post during the holidays on the new blog platform Medium, called Staying Productive in Winter.
Medium is the brainchild of Twitter co-founder Evan Williams and is, frankly, beautiful to write on. The CMS is intuitive, simple, text led and really lovely to “get your blog on” with.
As you would expect from someone who had a hand in Twitter, simplicity and content are the main themes on the platform.
Stories are decentralised from the writer, and are instead browseable by theme, collections, and suggested reads.
Although I already run my own blog, I’ve begun spending a little time over on Medium of late. As a blogger and blog coach I stay up to date with changes in the industry, and when a new platform arrives I like to test drive it, hang out there a bit and make sure I know what’s what.
Takeaway #1: Keep learning new platforms in our industry
Understand new content management system (CMS) concepts and keep an eye on trends as they gain traction. In the new media world the market changes rapidly and you don’t want to be left behind.
So.
There I was, writing away on Medium about staying productive in Winter. As this post was away from my usual audience and blog readers I just let myself go for it, enjoy the post and the concept, and pressed the publish button when I was happy.
Takeaway #2: Blog like no-one is listening, but make it good
Going back to the content as king mindset is no bad thing. When the confines of your usual blog home and safety net are gone, it’s really just about the words.
A few days later an email arrived in my inbox from an editor at Lifehacker asking if my new post could be featured on the site. Naturally, I said yes.
Takeaway #3: Make it easy to contact you via your website
I’ve had enquiries from TV shows, PRs, joint venture partners and editors via the pop-up contact form on my site. I use vCita but there are a range of great options and alternatives.
A mere 6 hours later, my post was live on Lifehacker. I knew this before I heard it from the editor, as people had begun tweeting me and mentioning the piece.
The post continues to circulate around social media, and has made a fabulous addition to my portfolio.
Takeaway #4: Develop a strong portfolio and links to your site
This guest post was one I didn’t pitch for, didn’t ask for, and hadn’t planned out, but it has been a significant driver of visitors to my own site this month. Not only that, but I’m guesting here too to tell you all about it!
Takeaway #5: Retell your story with a new spin
That one post now has 3 outcomes; the original, the Lifehacker post, and now this one as I tell you all about it. Spin, baby, spin!
Maybe I just got lucky. I totally get that reaction. But Medium is still new enough to be edgy, still interesting enough to be where the early adopters hang out, and where people go to find great content. Maybe that’s where they will find you.
As freelance bloggers, finding new ways to showcase our writing skills and make them shine is always on our agenda. So, get writing on a new platform and use it to showcase your writing and build your portfolio.
How to get read on Medium
- Add your story to some of the “Collections” run by Medium’s editors.
- Take part in it all! Read stories by others and recommend ones that you like.
- Include a call to action after your post, telling readers to contact you for content creation, to recommend the post, or to share on social media.
- Keep at it! Keep adding your stories, make them great, and market them as published clips for future clients.
Have you checked out Medium yet? Have you been “found” without meaning to be? I’d love to hear your stories.
Imran Siddiq says
Nice straightforward simple and useful tips, just come across your freelance site today :))
Darlene Strand says
HI Siddiq, I feel inspired to read as many comments as I can to be reassured of my ability ! Thanks…
Roy says
Yes, Jo, I totally agree: opportunity is where you look. Congratulations and continued luck.
Jo (Dexterous Diva) says
Thanks Roy! Have you tried Medium yet? Would love to hear what you think of it 🙂 x
Roy says
Hey, Jo: Just checked Medium. Too cool. Talk about taking the bull by the horns. Wildly opportune! Thanks for the heads up.
Williesha Morris says
Totally checking out Medium! Just lurked when I first heard about it. Congrats!
Jo (Dexterous Diva) says
Hey Williesha!
Thanks so much for the comment, yes deffo check it out. It’s lovely to write on and so nice to use. Let me know how you get on! x
Bree Brouwer says
Interesting to hear this, Jo! I keep hearing that Medium’s one of those platforms you should use on occasion, as a one-off blogging platform instead of your regular, weekly platform. Would you agree?
Jo (Dexterous Diva) says
Hey Bree,
Thanks so much for the comment – yes I would absolutely agree. It’s not good as a main platform as, obviously, the focus is on the content not the author so for using a blog for business to drive traffic to your site it’s a no go.
However, as an add-on toolkit to your usual blog it does open up your content to a new audience, and it’s also good to just keep up with how new CMS platforms are working, and to dip your toe in. Let me know if you try it 😉 x
Rosie @1manbandaccts says
Medium would also be great for organic SEO.
My site was the top result (after HMRC) on page 1 Google for ‘tax return support’ within a few months. I’d only done my usual social media and some guest posts with no keywording for anything like that.
Posting on multiple platforms does something in the matrix I think.
Jo gifford says
Yup, it really is Rosie; it all adds to the authorship and reach for sure 🙂 x
Karen says
Hi Jo. Just to clarify, then… You submit unique content to Medium? As opposed to reposting something from your own blog? And when Lifehacker reposted it did you have to remove it from Medium or did it run on both? I haven’t tried Medium yet but have seen a few social media links to it recently and it’s a lovely site to read on. So distraction free 🙂
Jo gifford says
Hey Karen,
Yes I wrote a totally unique post on medium! for myself really, without an end goal in mind other than using the platform. When LH posted it it’s stayed on medium too (you can still see both posts online ) and the LH post carried a “originally posted on medium” line x
Stacy Galiczynski says
Great post, Jo! This is the first time I am hearing about Medium! Thanks for such an informative post. I absolutely love reading and learning about new outlets for our writing endeavors! Thanks for sharing this great discovery with us 🙂
Jo (Dexterous Diva) says
Pleasure, Stacy! Thanks for stopping by 😉
Jo gifford says
Hey Karen,
Yes I wrote a totally unique post on medium! for myself really, without an end goal in mind other than using the platform. When LH posted it it’s stayed on medium too (you can still see both posts online ) and the LH post carried a “originally posted on medium” line x
Jessie Kwak says
Thanks Jo – I realize I’ve read quite a few things on Medium without actually knowing what it was. It’s odd that you can’t really browse all the posts without signing into the site, but I like what I see now that I’m mucking around with it. Thanks!
Jo (Dexterous Diva) says
Hey Jessie,
Yes it gets quoted a lot! 😉 How did you find it when you tried? x
Pinar Tarhan says
Hi Jo,
There are usually a group of ideas I can’t decide whether I should write for my blog or pitch somewhere. Maybe I’ll give Medium a try. It’ll be hard not to after reading this.:)
For me, the “discovery” wasn’t exactly by chance. I had written a post for Carol Tice’s Make a Living Writing about how my perfect solution for my freelance writing career was teaching part-time (as opposed to freelancing full-time or freelancing while I had a full-time job) and Ed Gandia saw it and asked me if he could use it on an ebook he was launching. It felt great to be approached by a really successful freelancer:)
Jo (Dexterous Diva) says
Amazing story, Pinar, and congrats! x
Razwana says
Jo – I wonder how many posts go viral because it was the intention of the writer before they started writing the post? How did it impact your site? A lot of ‘going viral’ stories I read and with ‘…and then my site crashed’ !!
Jo (Dexterous Diva) says
Hey Razwana,
No I can honestly say I didn’t expect my post on Medium to be seen anywhere actually. I did get a lot of traffic from Lifehacker, though!
Jordan Clary says
Great information. I haven’t heard of Medium but will check it out.
Lauren Tharp, BAFB Community Manager says
Glad you found it useful, Jordan. Let us know if you have any luck with Medium!
Darlene Strand says
Morning Jo, Thanks for giving and sharing what is and can be a true life experience in writing as a free lance blogger! Learning starts with reading…..
Darlene Strand says
To Jo , A little work this time. I’m new yet to the world of “blogging”, so I ready to get into ‘readiness ‘ of ‘keys’! Believing you ‘can’ and wanting the ‘opportunity’ to try, explore, and ‘give’ it your best is where everything ‘goes’ from there. For me its like Questions vs Answers, in need of Response that will set the ‘pace’, ‘mood’, or set the ‘outcome’. I am learning that I can overcome..fear..emotion…attitude…and lostness , in “What to say”, “How to express it”, by caring and keeping faithful to my topic I want to comment on and trying to be as honest as I can in my writing! Having the inside ability of myself to keep up with the ‘news’ ‘all’ media contributions to be ‘informed’ ‘helps’ building an interesting site ‘electronically’ and not having to leave the house to go to a desk for a company. I have health reasons on why I am working at home, to support myself a little better in my retiring years. An ‘Viral Opportunity’ is open to everyone that want to write and express their thoughts on ‘keys’!
Jo (Dexterous Diva) says
Hey Darlene, If it helps you to know, I am also running an online business for many reasons, one of which being that I have chronic illness and a young family 😉 It can be done, have hope xxx
Gwen Boyle says
Hi Jo,
I’d never heard of Medium before I read this post, and decided to check it out – what a great find. The interface is really intuitive, and I had fun trying it out for a post. I like that it’s so uncluttered and empty of spam as well – it definitely has that new shiny factor. Thanks for the details about posting on Medium, and well done on the viral post!
Gwen
Jo gifford says
Hey Gwen! Ahh so glad you have found Medium, I do hope you enjoy writing on it 🙂 x
Mila Devin says
Learning the platforms is vital especially with technology and social media literally changing all the time- thanks good stuff! x