Finally! I’m a Top Writer in Writing: Here’s my 10-step process.
113,000 Writers on the topic, and I entered the top 50.
It is truly an amazing way to wake up in the morning, hot fresh brewed coffee sits waiting for me as I arise from a restful slumber. I sit down in my zero gravity massage chair with a blanket, and the cat curls up on my lap.
I check my email and discover that I have won the top writer award in the category of writing on Medium. Out of 113,000 writers on the topic of Writing, Medium awards the Top Writers status to 50 writers. And today, I entered that top 50.
What an amazing way to start the day!
I am so grateful for the recognition and feel humbled by the honor. I enjoy sharing my stories and hope to continue doing so for many years to come. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Top Writer Status
Top Writer is a designation given to writers on Medium who have demonstrated a high level of engagement with readers.
Based on data and analytics, the status is determined by a number of factors including the quality of your stories, the number of people who read your stories, and how often your stories are shared.
As a Top Writer, you’ll receive a badge on your profile and might be featured more prominently in Medium’s algorithm, which means more people will see them.
If you’re a Top Writer, congratulations! You’re part of a select group of people who are making a difference on Medium. Keep up the good work!
My Medium Journey
I started writing on Medium many moons ago when I was blogging about real estate. As a real estate agent in Las Vegas, I enjoyed sharing my knowledge and helping people with their real estate journey.
While I’m still a real estate agent, I only blog about real estate on my real estate website. So Medium sat dormant for a while.
But, I missed writing and connecting with people, so I decided to give Medium another try. I started writing about digital marketing strategies such as search engine optimization, social media marketing, and email marketing.
And while those got a bit of traction, I felt that they weren’t generating the response from the readers that I had hoped.
I sat back and studied the platform a bit. I started reading stories from some of the Top Writers and began to understand what made a story successful on Medium.
I also realized that I was drawn to certain topics and stories more than others. The topics that I was most interested in were mostly related to finding success as a writer on Medium, and how to make money online.
And since those are specialties of mine, it made sense to use Medium to write about them. If most of the paying members on Medium are writers, it makes sense to write about how to be a better writer and make more money while doing it.
So that’s what I started doing, and the response has been amazing! I’m still a beginner on this platform, but what I’m doing is working, so I’ll share my process.
I love sharing my knowledge and helping businesses grow their online presence. It’s so fulfilling to see the lightbulb go off in someone’s head when they finally understand how making money as a writer, blogger, and content creator works.
My Exact Process For Creating Articles
I made a decision that I would write about any success I have, on any platform, that has to do with writing. That way, my readers can benefit from my successes (and failures).
I also decided to share my process for creating articles, in the hopes that it will help others become better writers.
So, when I earn an affiliate commission, generate Medium referrals, sell content on a platform, make money with display ads, or anything else related to my writing business, I share the details here on Medium.
I also include detailed instructions and resources so that my readers can do the same if they choose.
And while I don’t always get it right, I’m constantly experimenting with new strategies and tactics to see what works best. I want my readers to benefit from my successes (and failures).
My process is pretty simple, and it goes like this:
- I come up with an idea for an article based on something I did that generated a positive result.
2) I write the article and include as many details as possible so that my readers can benefit from my experience.
3) I include screenshots, videos, or other forms of media to make the article more enjoyable to read and more helpful.
4) I link to my most successful articles where appropriate so that my readers can learn more about a certain topic.
5) Because I’m writing in a topic cluster, meaning everything I write is about the same topic, each article benefits from internal linking.
6) For the most part, I’m not submitting to publications. I guess I’m going off a vibe, that I want to see what I can do on my own profile first, because this way, I retain all rights to the content. When I submitted to bigger publications, I didn’t necessarily see big wins.
That being said, many top writers on Medium share much success with publishing to the proper publications.
Zulie Rane, for example, shares the best Medium publications for beginners in her recent video.
7) I tag the article with appropriate topic tags. This is key to winning a Top Writer badge. It’s incredibly strategic. Since we can only include 5 tags, I make sure that I use tags that are popular, and appropriate.
8) I share the article on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and use appropriate tags for that platform. For example, #AmWriting, #MediumWriters, #WritersLife. Building a following of Medium writers is key to making money on Medium.
9) I pay close attention to my statistics, not just where the money is. When an article performs well, Medium provides audience stats and includes the topics my audience for that story are most likely to follow. I make note of those topics, and try to write more on them.
10) I also pay close attention to my growing number of followers, subscribers, and referrals. If I lose any subscribers, I know which articles I might want to avoid in the future. This happened once when I wrote an article that was too off-topic for my niche.
While there’s no surefire way to make money as a writer, blogger, or content creator, by following the steps above, you increase your chances of success.
I’d love to hear from you in the comments below. What’s your process for creating content? What strategies have you found to be helpful?
♥️ℒℬ
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