Personal Brand Studio π¬: Using Medium To Boost Your Substack (and Viceversa)
Lesson 4: creating synergies between Medium and Substack
Welcome to the Personal Brand Studio π¬
An exclusive space to build your personal brand online and monetize it:
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Last weekβs lesson was about building your digital ecosystem and my experience combining Substack with Medium, and LinkedIn to grow faster online.
Many of my subscribers showed interest in using Medium with Substack. Join the Lemon Tree Mindset Thread π to take part in the conversation.
How can Substack and Medium work well together?
How do I differentiate the content?
What strategy should I use?
Today I cover how I use both platforms to generate more views and earnings.
About Medium
I started writing on Medium in September 2022 and immediately fell in love with the community and the platform.
Unlike X or LinkedIn, which are fast-paced and transactional, Medium is all about the art of writing: the details, the formatting, the editing, and you are constantly challenged to raise your writerβs bar.
With 100 million active users every month, Medium is ideal for writers who want to get more eyeballs on their workβand get paid for it. In fact, many are authors, and you can display your βVerified Book Authorβ badge in your profile.
π Becoming A Verified Book Author on Medium
With a 5US$ monthly membership, users have full access to the entire digital library: thousands of articles across all topics and genres. Through the Medium Partner Program, writers are paid for their articles based on reading time.
More reads equals more money. Sweet!
β€οΈ What I like
1. Great community and vibe
Most users are both writers and readers, so thereβs great peer support. When I published The Flight Home, most of my Book Launch Club members were Medium buddies, and many of the Amazon reviews from my 3 books come from Medium supporters.
You can build a great little tribe, and itβs less commercial (and superficial) than social media.
2. Potential for distribution and earnings
Medium stories can perform well regardless of your follower count. Through Medium Publications and the Boost program, which amplifies the distribution of selected stories, a new writer could earn hundreds of dollars per article.
I donβt get paid a fortune, but my good articles generate 30-100US$, which is a nice little bonus at the end of the month.
3. No need for a niche (yeah!)
The great news for versatile writers is that you donβt need a niche on Medium and can explore different genres and topics.
Iβm a serial polygamous: I have published 573 stories about topics as diverse as languages, motivation, writing and traveling.
You can divide them into Lists to organize your digital library. I love wearing different hats when Iβm writing- itβs liberating!
My strategy is to select suitable Publications to reach the right audience. Here are some of my articles from my favorite pubs:
- The Writing Cooperative for anything writing
- A Runnerβs Life for stories related to running
- A Smiling World for self-improvement
- Bouncinβ Behavinβ Blogs for thought-provoking pieces
- Illumination for more mainstream articles
- Globetrotters for traveling and culture
- The Shortform for short stories up to 150 words
I also like the fact that you donβt have to stick to a strict cadence like in a newsletter. Thereβs less pressure, and you can be a free spirit.
π« What I donβt like
1. Random distribution
The distribution is controlled by a bipolar algorithm that no one understands. I have grown a decent audience of 5,000+, and some of my articles barely get any views, while others have received a standing ovation and thousands of claps.
I have no control over my reach, and thereβs no direct correlation between audience growth in audience and views. Manage your expectations.
2. Unpredictability
Precisely because distribution is unstable and volatile, itβs hard to forecast earnings. Several of my articles performed well (50-100US$+), while many made 5US$ or less. Itβs a mystery, but the Pareto rule applies: 10-20% of your articles generate 80% of your revenue.
From what I have seen from most writers, the good months in terms of earnings rely on a couple of outliers that have outperformed the rest and pulled the weight.
3. Less intimacy
Medium operates on a followers model and doesnβt enable writers to build loyalty the same way an email list does.
Having a newsletter (such as Substack) enables you to have a much more intimate and in-depth relationship with your readers. You can also guide them through a journey or a process like Iβm doing now with the Personal Brand Studio. Medium is more disconnected and the experience is overall less cohesive.
Medium & Substack: play to win
Many Medium writers have abandoned the platform in the past 12 months to fully focus on Substack. Going full-on in one platform has its advantages, as you can concentrate your content, energy, and effort in one place.
π Why Are Good Writers Leaving Medium - My Uncensored Views
I prefer working with a digital ecosystem (LinkedIn, Medium, and Substack) because it enables synergies and leverage.
How?
1. Turn Medium followers into Substack subscribers
Your ultimate goal is to build your community, where you develop a close and direct relationship with your readers on your terms.
You can only do that through an email list, so your goal is to convert followers into subscribers. This is what has worked for me:
Write a clear Medium profile: Add a short description of your Substack and its URL. Make it clear, simple and concise to let people know where to find you.
Focus on 1 CTA: Instead of adding a digital bible at the bottom of your Medium articles, add one irresistible CTA inviting readers to subscribe.
Create FOMO:
-What are they missing out on?
-Why should they subscribe?
I usually say something like,
Join 1,800 writers at The Lemon Tree Mindset to discuss writing, mindset & wellbeingπ³π
You can be creative and add a custom button/ visual with a hyperlink.
Share your Substack experience
I love sharing my journey online and the behind-the-scenes with my readers. Many of my Medium followers are keen to know more about the successes and learnings across other channels and why not monetize it?
2. Turn Substack subscribers into Medium followers
Vice versa, you have an opportunity to take your subscribers across to Medium and fuel digital cross-pollination.
This strategy only works if you are a prolific writer and offer unique content on each platform. You can repurpose articles to maximize reach and earnings, but you must keep something exclusive in each if you want the same reader to follow you twice.
This is what works well for me: