To make a dent on Medium, optimizing exposure is a must.

I’ve been on Medium for many years, and I learned a few tips on maximizing article exposure along the way. These tips and tricks made a difference for me.

  1. If you plan to submit an article to a Medium publication, beware of busy publications: the exposure might not be what you expect. The turnover is too high, and your article won’t stay fresh for long. One example of such a busy publication is Mac’O Clock1^1. I did publish many articles for them over time. My content does get some traction, but it is for a very short period of time.
  2. Articles like “The Top 5 Utilities for macOS” are really popular. Opinionated articles tend to perform well, too. “The Rotten Side of Tim Cook’s Apple” is such an example. This article was published by The Startup2^2****, not on the Apple-centric Mac’O Clock. It still receives regular views and reads.
  3. Allow some content to be published outside the Medium paywall to increase your chances of being noticed (cross-post a link on Twitter, for example). It’s a difficult balance to achieve, though. If your article is interesting, people will get it for free; you’ll leave money on the table. Consider doing this as giving samples of your quality work.
  4. Publish on your term. Some publications require submitting an article in draft mode (not yet published). Depending on the publication owner’s schedule, it may require up to a few days before your article gets published. Sometimes, timing is everything. Consider publishing on your own if that’s the case.
  5. Reviews of hot tech gadgets are also popular, particularly from Apple.

Your mileage may vary. Many articles on how to be successful are already available on Medium. Search for them. You’ll get a better picture.

This article should have been published on Medium, behind their paywall, because it usually gets a lot of traction. Oh, well. I feel generous today3^3.

  1. I hate this magazine name.

  2. Contrary to its name, the magazine has little to do with startups.

  3. It will end up on Medium, but in a few days from being published here.