Happy Friday…
Medium has around 100 million active users now. 100,000,000. How wild is that?
And they all have one thing in common—they love to read.
Oh sure, Medium isn’t as big as Facebook (2.3 billion) or Twitter (1.2 billion). It’s close to Instagram’s 111 million now. But, I promise you, everyone at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram aren’t avid readers.
100 million people. Who love to read. All in one place. Is there a more ideal place for authors to find readers and build an audience?
So, why are authors struggling to find their audience there?
I can answer that.
Because it’s really easy to get sucked into community culture, no matter where you go. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, right?
So here’s what happens. You start writing on Medium and before you know it, you’re drawn into the lure of curation, claps and playing the approval game.
Before you know it, you become another cog in the wheel, writing for the public appetite instead of leveraging the platform to build your own business effectively.
Ask me how I know.
For the record, I’m not talking about turning into a marketing robot. Buy my book, buy my book. That doesn’t work on Medium. Not well, anyway. We readers tend to ignore the people who are so obviously there to hawk and pitch. We’re there to read.
But still. 100 million readers. All in one place.
So I spent some time working on a strategy. Then I started writing a book. I have the outline done and I’m filling in content now.
It’s a sort of right-brain book, with charts diagrams and things to fill in. So it’s not just theory, but more of a right brain workbook slash planner.
Soon, I’m going to be looking for case studies. It would make me really happy if I find them among my Substack or Medium readers.
But for now, I have a question.
If you are writing a book, or have written a book that’s not selling as well as you’d like, can you shoot me an email? Tell me where you’re stuck. And include your Medium username. If your book is already for sale, feel welcome to include a link.
I think it would be amazing to make this book somewhat interactive. Thanks!
Have a great weekend.
xo
Linda
My Newest:
10 ways to avoid writing badly according to a New York Literary Agent
His advice is obviously on point — his clients include Pulitzer Prize nominees, NYT best-selling authors and multiple American Book Award winners.
An Old Favorite:
You know that charming story about the 2 wolves? It’s a lie.
95% of the views on this one are from Google, Facebook and Twitter, so maybe you haven’t read it yet. Enjoy!