I’ve Been Writing on Medium for Nearly Ten Years — Here’s What I’ve Learned

One thing that people here tend to forget is that at the end of the day, Medium is in fact a community of people

Lindsey (Lazarte) Carson
4 min readOct 24, 2022

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Photo by Mikayla Mallek on Unsplash

The first article that I ever published on Medium was in August of 2013. The platform was still new and still growing and so was I.

Fast forward to ten years later and as you can imagine, a lot has changed during that time — the algorithm, the user experience, the number of readers, and countless other aspects of the platform. However, despite the great deal change that’s occurred, there have been some constants as well.

As someone who may be considered a Medium “Veteran”, I can say that I’ve learned a lot in the time that I’ve been here. So, for you newer Authors and readers out there, I’ll share some of that insight with you in hopes that it will help you find your own success on this platform (and elsewhere).

Getting an article to take off is wildly unpredictable

For years, I’ve mulled over my metrics. I overanalyzed number of reads, views, claps, and followers in so many different ways to try to nail down a formula for success. Lo and behold, I have not yet found it after nearly a decade. Then again, it could just be me that’s the problem.

Sometimes I have off days and sometimes, I’m a writing machine. However, regardless of the mood that I find myself in — whether words are pouring out of me or I’m simply documenting a few passing thoughts — I haven’t found that sweet spot that leads to a viral article. And honestly, that’s just how it is on Medium sometimes. Internet viral-ness remains a mystery and much of which can be attributed to pure dumb luck

Be strategic with the topics you choose

After my years of writing about an array of topics, I’ve learned that there are some that can lead to much higher…

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Lindsey (Lazarte) Carson

Digital Advertising Professional, Writer, Runner, and soon-to-be Mom. I write about work, relationships, culture, and life in general. Twitter: @lindseyruns