The Ultimate Checklist to Writing a Killer Medium Post
Use this checklist next time you're about to hit publish!
If you're new to medium or want a blueprint for success with your next medium post, follow the checklist below before you hit publish.
1. The One BIG idea or story
Think about the one big idea or story for the post before you even start writing.
Make a bold statement and talk about it in your post.
2. Write a catchy HEADLINE
The headline and the cover image do 80% of the work when it comes to people clicking on your article from social media and the Medium feed.
The optimal length of the headline is 40 characters or around 8 words.
3. Use a catchy cover image to boost click-through
The featured image or cover image is the second most important element of your post(after the headline) to drive click.
For an image to be a featured image, make sure it's more than 300px wide.
4. No direct selling!
This is true for content marketing in general. However, on Medium, you're telling your story, not selling, not selling your service or product. Keep that in mind.
You should, however, include a backlink to your website or business at the end of the article or in your bio
5. Write in FIRST PERSON- MAKE it Personal
I've found that most of the trending articles on the medium are written in the first person. This aligns with the 'storytelling' aspect of the platform.
You can also write from personal experience or about a specific experience.
6. It's NOT about the keyword rankings
On medium, people 'browse' (ve search) high-quality content. This is different than people searching for content around a specific keyword.
Stop thinking too much about your keyword density and other ranking factors while writing for the medium.
P.S. this doesn't mean that medium is not good for organic search results-in fact, results from medium rank really well on Google!
7. Use CLEAR FORMATTING, healings, sub-heading, and short paragraphs
The medium editor's beauty lies in its minimalism. Keep your content formatting clear and use short paragraphs-Even single-line paragraphs.
You can also use quotes to showcase some important takeaways from your post.
8. Use IMAGES-Photos, GIFs, memes, sketches to showcase an idea
Keep it fun. Make sure you have an amazing feature image. Also, include gifs or memes to portray ideas when possible.
If you want to illustrate an idea with a sketch, go ahead!
9. Use 5 RELEVANT TAGS in your post
The Medium allows you to add up to 5 tags for each article. You can also see the popularity of each tag next to the name of the tag while adding it.
Choose the tags which are the most relevant for your post and the most popular in the medium community.
10. Make your posts 7 MINUTES READS
This one is not a rule. However, lots of publications on medium find that posts that are around 7 minutes long get the most engagement on medium.
The Metric to measure the length of a post on the medium is read time and not the word count.
P.S. I don't follow # 10 myself but I do see my linger posts which are about 7-minute that are get really good engagement. However, If you can deliver more value in a 3-minute read, Go for it!
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