Category: Content Marketing

As of 2020, Medium reportedly generated over 90 million monthly pages views and had over 20,000 new blog posts published every day.

While most of these posts fell flat, many were wildly successful, generating tens of thousands of pageviews, claps, shares and traffic within hours.

In other word, they went viral.

As a blogger or content creator, having your blog post go viral is always a big achievement. It validates your effort, bringing widespread attention for your content and tons of revenue from advertisers and direct sales.

Unfortunately, most who go viral on Medium have little to no clue how they did it much less how to duplicate their success.

That's because their is no secret formula for how to go viral on Medium or any other platform for that matter.

There are many variables that factor into the virality of a piece of written content, including timing of the post, its quality, subject matter, platforms it was shared on—the list goes on and on. Even after doing a deep data analysis, it can be hard to pin down what elements lead to a viral post.

But...

There are still some definite ways to increase the likelihood of your post going viral on Medium. Incorporating these tactics into your content creation process will result in more success. Let's have a look.

Take a Cue From Others

Medium makes it easy to get a blog up and running, but that doesn’t mean you'll come up with winning content each time. There is still work you must carry out to uncover the platform's hidden potential to promote your content.

Whenever you come across pieces that have gone viral, note the qualities that made them stand out. If you don’t take the time to observe and research, you may have to resort to trial and error each time before you discover what sticks. 

There is nothing wrong with asking people for help. Aside from seeing for yourself what kind of stories capture readers’ interest, consider reaching out to successful Medium writers for advice. Questions present opportunities for you to learn something new. Don’t be afraid to seek feedback and suggestions on your draft. Even the most proficient writers will benefit from an outside perspective.  

Go for What Gives Value to Readers

As you go over your blog post, ask yourself what you want to offer your readers.

Is reading your piece time well spent?

Is your content useful, inspiring, or relatable?

Reflecting on these questions is a good starting point when looking for ways to attract your audience. The kinds of blog post that can go viral quickly are those that people feel would be too wonderful not to share with friends.

However, you don’t have to limit yourself to publishing uplifting stories. You can do a bit of searching on Medium and see what’s missing.

You don’t always have to go with the mainstream either. It’s fine to express your views and opinions if you believe people will find them valuable. Sometimes, taking a different stance helps you achieve distinction.

Grab Attention With Your Headline

If writing a great headline isn’t exactly your strongest suit, then think about putting in more time and effort to come up with good ideas.

What often works best are short and captivating titles. Regardless of how well-written your content is, you won't get your message across to your audience if you can’t persuade people to click on your article.  

If using as few words as possible to convey your message's bare essence doesn’t come naturally, you can check out the top Medium stories to observe what they have in common. You might notice that the titles are often to-the-point and how-tos.

It’s worth investing more time into composing your headline if it means improving your article’s clickability.

Pay Attention to Formatting

If you're already familiar with several blogging platforms, you may notice Medium formatting is not something you typically see anywhere else.

While the story editor seems basic enough, you will discover that most high-quality articles maximize images, H2s, and quotes. These are what make Medium content more readable and shareable.  

When you make certain sections of your story pop out, readers who resonate with them are more apt to share those parts on social media. Navigating through your article also becomes less tedious.

The combination of high-quality content, clever headlines, and good formatting is what will make your readers stay on your page and share your article.

Seek the Right Publication

An essential step in viral content marketing is finding Medium publications that are a good fit for your stories. There are many publications with a considerable number of followers who subscribe to their newsletters, and reaching these people can help you trend on the platform. 

Sometimes, publications pick content that they believe is fairly good, while other times, writers themselves have to take the initiative and submit articles. Either way, if a reputable publication picks up your story, you increase your chances of going viral and reaching those interested in your content.

You may have to face the reality that publications do not readily post every submission they receive. Persistence is key if publication owners don’t reply to you. Be sure you reach out to them via email and social media before deciding to give up. Don’t get discouraged from submitting to as many publications as possible if you are confident that your story is worth sharing.

Make the Most of Your First Hour

How your readers respond within the first 60 seconds of publishing your story will usually give you a general idea of how it will fare in the next hours.

If you get about a hundred recommendations in the first hour, it’s almost certain that you’ll go viral. During this time, Medium also determines whether to recommend and promote your story. Keep in mind that the platform checks whether people read your article and not merely recommended it.  

If you already have an existing follower base on Medium, you can leverage this to obtain recommendations in the first hour without much effort. Otherwise, do whatever it takes to share your content, such as asking help from friends, posting on social media, messaging your email list, and other creative ways. 

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Another way to fast track your success on Medium and publish more winning content, is to learn directly from an expert with a proven track record on the platform. 

Here are some of the best online courses for learning how to go viral with Medium.

5 Mistakes That Could Hinder Your Success on Medium

Mistake #1. Not Adding Value to Readers

Medium doesn’t exactly focus on views or visits. It rewards content for its quality and on whether people have actually read the piece. No matter how many followers you have, your audience won’t stick around if you can’t offer something of value. When people read blog posts on Medium, they expect to learn something, discover an entertaining story, or know about an experience they could identify with. Readers don’t really pay much attention to your background as a writer, your endorsements, nor your fame. 

Becoming successful on Medium requires effort and commitment because you need to think of ways to deliver value constantly. Some of the most practical posts you can share include guides, how-tos, and checklists. Of course, you can publish pretty much anything that you believe is quality content and would benefit your blog post or business. As long as you write your pieces well and make it a point to offer value to your readers each time, then it’s almost impossible to go wrong. 

Mistake #2. Not Posting Often Enough

Although publishing consistently does not guarantee you’ll get the results you want, it certainly helps. There are no hard and fast rules regarding the frequency of posts, but you should base the schedule on your ability to deliver and what your audience wants. 

Ultimately, readers should come first, and it may take a bit of research and assistance from data analysis tools to determine how users respond to the interval of time between posts. While some look forward to daily updates, others may prefer weekly posts. Generally, the kind of content you publish affects how often readers might wish to see your work. Try your best to post a minimum of once every week to ensure your audience won’t give up on you and go to other publications.      

Keep in mind that you will likely need to adjust the schedule later on to accommodate your needs and those of your audience. Observe how changes in the frequency impact your stats. Don’t forget that regular posting may not be worthwhile if you can’t create good content consistently. Quality pieces will keep working for you and continue to drive traffic even if they are already in your archive. At the end of the day, aim to be realistic and find a balance between publishing often and bringing engaging information. 

Mistake #3. Not Attracting Attention to Your Profile

Posting stories is not the be-all and end-all in Medium. You may earn views and followers after you publish, but there is little chance you’ll go far if you are not proactive in making people notice you. Additionally, if you submit to publications, make sure you choose one that caters to your audience. This way, you could gain the exposure your blog or business needs.

An essential part of getting attention and building an audience on Medium is to engage with your readers. A few ways to do this is to leave insightful comments on good stories, respond to readers’ responses, and follow people you like. If readers comment or recommend your story, do the courtesy of following them back to pique their curiosity and perhaps check out your profile. Keeping them engaged while they are still interested in your content is one of the surest ways to connect with your audience.

Mistake #4. Focusing on Followers 

Unlike other social platforms, Medium doesn’t stress on a writer’s follower base. A large following doesn’t necessarily translate to a wide readership. The great thing about Medium is that you can have a few followers and still be compensated adequately. You can reap the benefits if you build loyalty and a strong relationship with followers who read only your work. 

Nevertheless, a huge following can be an advantage if it helps your story become viral. There’s nothing wrong with coming up with ways to gain followers. However, you shouldn’t lose sight of your goal of creating unique, relatable content that makes readers keep coming back for more and encourages them to spread the word about you. Again, everything comes down to delivering value and earning your readers' trust.

Mistake #5. Not Using the Right Tags

Adding tags is a vital part of optimizing your Medium story and improving visibility. If you want to make it easier for readers to discover your work, use tags relevant to your content. Consider going for high-volume tags because readers on Medium tend to follow bigger topics they are interested in, rather than targeted ones. Moreover, popular tags can boost your search engine ranking because a search engine crawl recognizes tags when visiting your post. There’s a whole new audience base waiting for you if you add high-volume tags in your story.

By maximizing the five tags that Medium allows you to use, you can attract different audiences and bring your content in front of more people who might want to respond to your piece. Again, remember not to sacrifice relevance for popularity. Don’t betray your readers’ trust by using a tag that doesn’t describe your story accurately. Take note that you can achieve a top writer status if you post often and have good traffic to your tag story that uses the same tag. 

Publishing your content and building an audience on Medium may not be as simple as you think. Regardless, your hard work can pay off if you share great stories and connect with people you might not reach on other platforms otherwise.