Why Medium Writers Should Care About External Views Too
Plus, how you can get more of them.
External views on Medium are views that you get outside the platform like Google or ManyStories.
Since the Medium Partner Program only lets writers get paid for internal views, external views seem to be overlooked.
I’ll make my story short:
Medium was the reason I was able to transition into a full-time freelance writing career.
A client found one of my articles and he hired me as a freelance writer for his start-up.
This Medium article was basically my trial article for the job and is still my highest viewed piece on Medium to date — yes, because of external views.
I’ve written about how you too can get your first freelance writing client using Medium:
This brings me to the first point of our topic:
Why Medium writers should care about external views
It can get you seen by potential clients
Admittedly, that short story has something else involved in it — maybe luck. Just because you get external views, doesn’t mean clients are going to be all up your inbox.
There are other factors that they consider, you know, like writing skills.
However, external views sway the odds of clients finding you and your blog. Give it some love.
Make sure you’re prepared if they ask you for a writing portfolio. You could use Medium for that as well:
You can direct those views to other platforms
Medium has given many writers a simple platform to write on and be seen by millions of readers.
I started Medium in 2019 and since then I’ve seen many writers start out on Medium and branch out to other platforms — whether it’s social media sites or another writing platform like SubStack.
Getting external views on Medium can also lead to an increase in followers on other sites. Just do your CTAs right.
A certain sense of validation
I know you’ve been looking at your stats all day after publishing an article on Medium. Don’t worry, I’m guilty of that too.
There’s a certain sense of validation when an article gets noticed by people. Writing can get really hard sometimes and it feels nice that they just don’t get lost in the World Wide Web abyss.
MORE: Tips on how to get external views on Medium
Now that the question of why you should care about external views on Medium has been answered, I figured it’s best to tell beginner tips on how to get them as well.
All 3 tips are part of the 200+ factors that Google has in determining blog rankings on its search engine.
Let’s get started.
Try to incorporate keywords
Keywords are words or phrases that people type in search engines like Google Search or even Pinterest.
A good example of this is the typical questions that people have.
With Medium, it’s usually these:
- How to get 100 followers on Medium
- How to start writing on Medium
- Is Medium free
That’s why you see a lot of posts like them.
Here are free keyword search tools:
Remember your white space
Seeing huge blocks of text might be normal for those of you who came from other backgrounds of writing — like academic writing.
Blogging is different. Readers on the Internet require assistance in absorbing the information you’re trying to tell them.
Did you know that an average reader will only give you and your blog 15 seconds or less?
Though, I won’t tell you what to do with your blog. There are benefits to minding your white space:
Link building
Do you see how I’ve linked my other articles on this post? It’s that.
Arguably, there is a more professional way to do it — subtler. For example, not linking them whole like that.
Instead, incorporate them subtly in your blog and then link them to words and phrases that best describe the article you’re linking to.
Hey! If you’re looking for a platform to start your writing journey on and get paid for it, Medium is one of the best places to start. Sign up here to get unlimited access to stories on Medium.
Signing up using my link gives me a small commission, and as a freelance writer, it’s always appreciated.
