She's not just making waves but creating a splash on Medium. You know what's super cool? Medium's CEO Tony Stubblebine often leaves comments on her stories.
And what if she were the CEO? Well, she's got plans, and we are hearing all about them in today’s podcast episode with Medium top writer and “New Writers Welcome” editor
. When we did the interview, she had about 13,000 followers. Fast forward to today, she has 17,000 followers on Medium and is a boost nominator.We'll chat about the latest and greatest changes on Medium, the updated Partner Program, the winner-takes-it-all boost, and making money with this week’s podcast guest Robin, who has earned over $250,000 only by writing online.
I think it's boost or bust. The new boost program is so powerful that people are making 10x what they are on a boosted article than a non-boosted article. So that's a lot of money, and this program is getting bigger, not smaller.
In addition to this week’s podcast and video interview, Robin also shares a list of boost-eligible publications in her guest post.
How I Got Boosted…Repeatedly
It’s cooler than a cucumber wearing sunglasses to be boosted.
It’s instant serotonin from the gratification of validation. It gives me all the feels to have my work recognized, and it showers me with enough money to buy fancy-pants things, like avocado toast and 12-ply toilet paper.
It isn’t the be-all-end-all on Medium though.
Let me tell you the tale of two stories. One given the booster juice, one not.
Ok, that wasn’t much of a story, just a brief yet hopefully effective pictorial representation of the boosticles being pretty awesome. The moral of the story is that you don’t need a boost for a story to reach a wide audience…but it pays more. And I like moolah. It helps me buy shiny things.
If that short story was too short, here’s another one. I had a post go viral earlier this year and it got an amazeballs 26K views.
I’m over the moon at how well that story did, it’s my top-performing story ever (by a lot). The exciting thing is that it was unboosted.
This isn’t to make you jealous of me, but to show what’s possible with and without boostitude. And to hopefully get you jazzed up about what I have to say next.
There are publication-based boost nominations that go un-used every month.
How I Started Getting Boosted More
Here’s where I say I’m the most boostacular splendiferous writer on the planet and my writer milkshake brings all the boosts to the yard. I do write interesting things, which is a requirement. But I have a secret weapon — I started submitting to pubs that recently joined the boostology nomination program.
Ta-da.
You’re underwhelmed? Fair enough. But it works.
I submitted to pubs like Pragmatic Wisdom, Write Under the Moon, CanadaEH, and Muddyum — when they first joined the boostular program.
It’s simple boosty math. Boost nominators (‘nommers’) have 20 nominations per month. Where do you have less competition and more chance to be boosted — a pub with 1,000 stories a month, or a pub with 35?
So my advice to you is this — look at the boost pubs that haven’t blown up yet. Not only is your boostatunity higher, but you can get in at the ground floor on a pub that’s likely to grow.
You also have to write a boostworthy story, because nominators can, and do, nominate outside of their publications. They won’t nom-nom an unboostiferous story. But if you submit to their pubs, your piece will be reviewed for its boostential.
Why are some of these boost pubs not drowning in pieces? I guess because people don’t know about them yet. They’re awesome pubs just waiting to be discovered.
The reason people don’t know about them yet is that nommers are selected to join the program based on things like their niche and experience — not on their ability to be a rockstar marketer. Marketing is hard. And time-consuming.
So, look for nom-nom publications with fewer submissions — and grow with them.
Boostiful Examples
I’ll get you started by giving you a few whirly examples of boostaphilic publications with lower submission volumes. This list isn’t exhaustive, and new pubs are being added every month — so keep checking Medium’s official list.
Ai-Ai-Oh
Published articles last month: 5
Topics: AI
Analysts Corner
Published articles last month: 15
Topics: business analytics
https://medium.com/analysts-corner
All 4 Inclusion
Published articles last month: 15
Topics: Disability, inclusion, society
https://medium.com/disability-and-society
CanadaEh
Published articles last month: 4 (2 were mine)
Topics: Canada (you don’t have to be Canadian)
Lives Well Lived
Published articles last month: 3
Topics: obituaries, stories of those who have passed on
https://medium.com/lives-well-lived
Management Matters
Published articles last month: 10
Topics: leadership
https://medium.com/management-matters
Live View
Published articles last month: 7
Topics: Photography
https://medium.com/live-view
Minds Without Borders
Published articles last month: 8
Topics: Culture, society, politics, economics
https://medium.com/minds-without-borders
The Mom Experience
Published articles last month: 6
Topics: Momming
https://medium.com/the-mom-experience
The New Outdoors
Published articles last month: 9
Topics: Outdoors, environment, health and wellness
https://medium.com/the-new-outdoors
Philosophy Today
Published articles last month: 4
Topics: Philosophy
https://medium.com/philosophytoday
The Political Prism
Published articles last month: 5
Topics: Politics
https://medium.com/the-political-prism
RE-Thinker
Published articles last month: 5
Topics: various
Simply Wild
Published articles last month: 16
Topics: Wildlife, wilderness
https://medium.com/something-simple
Thirty Over Fifty
Published articles last month: 15
Topics: Life lessons, mindfulness and spirituality (for writers over 50)
https://medium.com/thirty-over-fifty
Policy Panorama
Published articles last month: 5
Topics: Policy, law, systems, norms
https://medium.com/policy-panorama
Life Without Children
Published articles last month: 12
Topics: …life without crotch goblins
https://lifewithoutchildren.com/
Rooted
Published articles last month: 24
Topics: Food and drink culture
https://medium.com/rooted-publication
Namaste Now
Published articles last month: 20-ish (my eyeballs can’t count anymore)
Topics: Inspiration, life lessons, healthy living, wellness, +
https://medium.com/namaste-now
More…
Ok I’m going cross-eyed, so here’s a rapid-fire list of a few more:
New East (Asian art & culture)
Cantor’s Paradise (Math and science)
Corporate Underbelly (Corporate misconduct)
Dancing Elephants Press (Varied)
Fashion Police (Fashion)
Grief Book Club (Grief)
I Taught the Law (Law shtuff)
Nursing Notes (Nursing, caregiving)
Speaking Bipolar (Bipolar)
Bonus Pubs
These pubs aren’t on Medium’s list yet but they will be soon. I just happen to be a nosy nelly and have heard about them already. Medium is updating that list regularly (so be sure to check it from time to time), but they aren’t as quick as my Medium-obsessed, list-loving ass.
Wedding Affair
Published articles last month: 7
Topics: Weddings
https://medium.com/wedding-affair
Screenwriting & Storytelling
Published articles last month: 9
Topics: Storytelling, screenwriting, writing tips
https://medium.com/screenwriting-storytelling
That’s it.
What are you still doing here?
Go check out some of the pubs listed above, especially if you have a story that fits into their niche.
Also, listen to my interview with the amazing Robin Wilding.
🥳You don’t have to be 100% ready to take the first step and build an email list AND personal blog 🥳
Don’t waste your time.
Sometimes, the only thing standing between you and your dreams is that first small move. Let’s do this together!
Inside my membership experience (paid subscriber = member), there are the “Substack School Course” and the NEW “Medium School Course” waiting for you, where I’ll help you start your blog and grow your email list. Also, you can connect with 300+ other like-minded writers.
Here’s what Robin said about my latest Bootcamp
Psst! In November, I’ll offer my next Bootcamp. This time with my British friend and top writer
. If you’re interested in creating your Medium-Substack flywheel, this is for you. You can sign up HERE (pls bear with me; because of work and family, I wasn’t able to create the whole page. The site isn’t ready yet, but if you want to save a spot, you can snag yours already!)🌟Binge-listen to “The Online Writing Club” podcast🌟
🎙️#6 - 7 Headline Hacks That Will Make You More Money Than 97% Of Writers | Learn From Derek Hughes
🎙️#5 - How to Get Published in The Huffington Post in 2024 | Learn From Ashley Broadwater
🎙️#4 - 7 Mental Models To Make $1 Million As A Writer | Learn From Michael Simmons
🎙️#3 - From Beginner to First Book Deal | How Evelyn Skye Became a 6-Figure NYT Bestselling Author
🎙️#2 - 100K/Year Without Social Media | Writer Tom Kuegler Shares His Eye-Opening Journey
🎙️#1 - From Medium Post to Bestselling Book | Interview with Debut Author Michael Thompson
❤️🔥Your feedback is just a spark, but it’s enough to keep me, a part-time writer, going.❤️🔥
I hope this guest post and chat inspires you,
PS Liked it? Please share, like, and let me know what you think about my new show 💗 Your feedback is important and can spark many ideas. Thanks sooooo much!
10x Your Medium Views Now | Learn New Boost Publications and Hacks From Robin Wilding