How authors can use Medium

It was about this time three years ago that I came across a link to an intriguing article on Medium.

Through that, I discovered a soon-to-be-published book that I immediately pre-ordered.

That single article was my introduction to the power of Medium, a publishing platform that everyone from a senior public relations pro at Amazon to the folks at OK Cupid use to make announcements or share opinions.

How do you get started there, what are the best practices for content providers, and how can you use Medium.com as an author?

Medium demographics

Before you do anything, make sure your ideal reader is using that site.

There isn’t much available about the platform’s demographics, but I did find specifics from 2015. The source, Ryan Huber, attributes this information to nativeadvertising.com:

“Medium’s audience is made up mostly of the sort of educated, upwardly mobile, and media savvy people who like to ponder the future of technology or the cultural significance of the Coachella music festival.

“A full 95% of Medium’s readers are college graduates, and 43% of them earn six figures or more. Even better, from an advertiser standpoint, these readers are also young, with half of them in the coveted 18–34 demographic and 70% of them being under the age of 50.”

Getting started

View what follows as something of a cheat sheet. I’ve curated links to the most relevant content others have written on the subject already. We can use them to learn together.

Digital marketing strategist Chloe Mason Gray shares best practices in “The Marketer’s Guide to Medium” on Neil Patel’s blog. It’s an excellent starting point once you’ve decided that Medium is a good fit for your book marketing plan.

She explains how Medium can support your business and how to use it effectively. Screenshots of examples are especially helpful.

In “So, you’re new to Medium…” by Justin Cox, you’ll learn about the basics as well as how to get paid for your content. (Scroll down in that article to “I Want to Get Paid for My Writing.”)

I learned about submitting content to “publications” — a smart move! — in Nicole Bianchi’s helpful “getting started” post, “How to Use Medium to Share Your Writing and Grow Your Email List.”

Bianchi’s article also includes the essentials for getting started.

How do authors use the site?

Authors might use Medium to connect with readers, showcase their writing skills, build influence, or build buzz for their books.

In “13 Ways for Authors to Engage on Medium,” Kate Lee offers examples as well as ideas that range from publishing an excerpt to hosting a contest.

“How to Use Medium to Promote Your Author Brand” by Derek Haines has several helpful suggestions. Like many other articles I’ve read about Medium, this one encourages you to repost your blog content on your Medium account.

While Haines says it won’t hurt your SEO (search engine optimization), I think I’ll still plan on tweaking my blog posts before re-publishing them on Medium. Every time I revisit something I’ve written, I can usually improve it.

Take the time to learn how to use it first

I strongly recommend reading these and other articles before starting to blog on Medium. The more you know before you get started, the fewer costly mistakes you’ll make.

Study how others are using it. Find examples of people who have figured it out and analyze why they’re successful.

Consider taking a class, too. Here are affiliate links to two courses on Udemy, “Medium Blogging for Beginners” and “Medium Blogging Masterclass.”

Finally, before incorporating Medium.com into your marketing plan, make sure it’s a good fit for your target audience, goals, and skills.

Don’t start creating content on the site simply because you’ve heard others are doing it. It needs to be a good fit for you and your book.

Are you using Medium already? Please share a link in the comments so we can see what you’re doing.