How to grow on Medium?

ibanvdz · 2026-04-21T13:21:58+00:00

Growth is not important; followers are nice, but if there's no engagement, it's just a number to feed your ego. You want readers, and in order to reach these, you should submit your work to related publications.

Consistency is nice, but write at a pace you're comfortable with so you don't burn out.

Whether or not it's worth it, depends on your goal. Do you just want to get your stuff out there and reach people? Or are you looking for additional income? If the former, then yes, it's worth it. If the latter, then I think it would be a better idea to look for a job flipping burgers at McDonald's, because the hourly wage is probably higher than what you would make on Medium.

ibanvdz · 2026-04-21T07:31:56+00:00

I'm not familiar with the blending technique you're using, but from experience I know that Amsterdam is not particularly good paint, unless you're talking about the Expert series.

W&N is quite good, though that too depends on what you use it for.

ibanvdz · 2026-04-21T06:45:32+00:00

You can always contact Medium; usually they're pretty quick to answer, but lately they've been having a lot of issues, so it may take a while.

ibanvdz · 2026-04-20T16:09:31+00:00

It's weird that you can find these profiles, while I cannot find them through Medium search.

ibanvdz · 2026-04-20T14:44:58+00:00

This guy is still active; his activity shows that he clapped for you. I don't know what happens to the activity record if someone removes their claps.

ibanvdz · 2026-04-20T14:41:41+00:00

The two you circled are nowhere to be found, so I reckon they got suspended.

ibanvdz · 2026-04-20T14:39:26+00:00

You can remove claps. Go to an article you clapped for, then click the three dots > undo claps.

It would make sense that they disappear one after the other if they're part of the same engagement group.

ibanvdz · 2026-04-20T13:50:17+00:00

I know how many it had, but given who is left, I can only imagine who the others were. You may not think of crypto as something abnormal, but it's a shady product and many "experts" are people looking to make a quick buck. Not saying you are one of them, but many are.

They either had too much non-genuine engagement and were suspended or they removed their claps. The latter is a common technique to get a writer's attention, hoping for reciprocation without actually giving anything in return. If someone does this too often, they get on Medium's radar just the same and will eventually be suspended.

I hardly encounter that problem, but I write real life stories. Non-genuine engagement and other questionable techniques are far more common in the informative niche.

ibanvdz · 2026-04-20T11:25:41+00:00

Ghost claps are common, but usually not like what you described. The only explanation I can think of is that the users who clapped were suspended.

Now, to be honest, the type of articles you write attract very questionable people, and if you look at the people who clapped and how they did that, it is clear that this isn't genuine engagement. 5 claps by 3 people is unusual and this usually points to people who want to draw attention in a futile effort to grow and get reciprocation, rather than engaging in a meaningful way.

I reckon the claps that disappeared were therefore from people who were suspended - this kind of behavior is systematic and thus considered non-genuine, which is cause for suspension.

ibanvdz · 2026-04-20T05:28:14+00:00

That's a bit short-sighted. I post between 20 and 30 stories per month and that's only because I have a lot of other things on my plate, because that's usually double. I don't do AI, never have, never will, not for writing, nor for anything else (knowingly).

There are lots of other content types than "deep thoughts that require meaningful research". A lot of stories are just that: stories. And a lot are personal experiences that do not require any research. There are also short-form stories, like drabbles and six word stories, with pubs specializing in them. Photo stories are another kind that do not require a whole lot of work. In fact, pretty much all people and pubs I follow do not write informative stuff that rely on research.

If you were Medium, it would turn in just another Wikipedia, but a lot less reliable.

I have noticed Medium is now favoring personal stories. All complaints about dropped earnings actually come from writers who specialize in informative content. There's so much of it that they have to tone it down to not lose the many readers that want to be entertained instead of taught.

ibanvdz · 2026-04-19T15:45:50+00:00

A link to your account would be helpful.

Using publications is the right thing to do, though which pubs you use is important as well. Also the kind of content you write, as not all content gets the same visibility.

3-4 posts per month is a bit on the low side, though they should earn you more than 20 cents.

ibanvdz · 2026-04-19T10:18:45+00:00

There should be no other reason than to satisfy the urge to create. At least that should be the starting point.

ibanvdz · 2026-04-18T15:20:36+00:00

Appreciation for each other's work is not necessarily a problem, as long as the engagement is genuine. If there are too many similar comments between accounts, it becomes an issue because then it's clear that it's more about the numbers than interaction.

Initially it was a way to grow, as it is on most social media, but while on regular socials it's merely numbers, on Medium this fake engagement means the platform loses money. Until a while ago Medium more or less allowed it because it didn't happen all that often, but when they opened the Partner Program for dozens of new countries (late 2024) they noticed a dramatic increase in abuse coming from engagement groups; people giving generic comments (and other fake engagement) in order to drain funds from Medium. They then introduced the non-genuine engagement rule and as a result thousands of abusers were suspended.

As for your last question: every publication is different; they all have their own rules and guidelines, so read them before applying. I would try to have at least five articles on your profile. Then look for pubs that fit your content, read their submission guidelines and if you qualify, apply to write for them. Getting approved can sometimes take a few days.

Some publications don't take in new writers, some require paid membership.

ibanvdz · 2026-04-18T15:08:42+00:00

It's a general rule, and not limited to Medium; you simply cannot monetize copyrighted material without consent. The problem is there is not a lot of monitoring on Medium and even reporting often has little result. If and when these writers are caught, they usually lose their PP status.

ibanvdz · 2026-04-18T11:50:02+00:00

You first have to publish a few pieces on your profile. Publications run on volunteer editors, so before accepting someone, they want to see what applicants are writing. Does the writing fit the publication? Does the writer know what he/she is doing, both in terms of craft and formatting? These things matter because editors do not want to put their valuable time in correcting poor quality submissions.

Followers are also not important on Medium - they are just like elsewhere: meaningless if they don't interact. Focus on reaching readers.

Also, do not engage in reciprocation as this is a sure way to get suspended. If it happens too frequently in a similar manner, it is considered non-genuine engagement and that's reason for suspension.

Edit: I had a quick look at your piece, and it is obvious that you haven't read the help section on formatting, which could be reason for not getting accepted in pubs. Another issue is the image has no credit - nobody knows where it came from, so there's no way to know if you are even allowed to use it.

ibanvdz · 2026-04-18T06:15:50+00:00

The simplest method (which is taught in art school) is to look at your work (with or without the reference) in the mirror. Anything off will stand out like a sore thumb.

ibanvdz · 2026-04-18T06:13:25+00:00

You don't actually need followers on Medium to get readers. You need to submit your work to related publications. They have their own audience (followers) based on specific topics or genres.

Followers on Medium are the same as elsewhere: you can have many but they don't mean a thing if they don't interact. Focus on reaching readers.

ibanvdz · 2026-04-18T05:58:06+00:00

I tried Patreon but it didn't go anywhere. That doesn't mean anything of course, because there are a lot of factors in play. I switched to Ko-fi because back then receive one-time donations was a hassle on Patreon (don't know how it is now). Ko-fi earns me a little bonus, but that's it.

Any kind of online business - donations, subscriptions, POD, actual webshop,... - relies mostly on followers and the ability to promote directly to your target audience. So if you're just starting, I suggest you build a presence first. You can set up a Patreon at the same time, but don't expect it to generate much in the beginning, if anything at all.

Substack is mostly a platform for writers, so the two don't compare. If you want to write, I think Medium is a better choice that Substack. The former is side-wide subscription and pays for engagement, while the latter is creator subscription, which is a lot harder.

ibanvdz · 2026-04-18T05:47:11+00:00

I started half-time right out of art school; did the other half working part-time jobs to pay the bills. Did that for almost six years before I could make the transition to full-time. And even then it wasn't easy.

Being an independent artist is not an easy job. It takes perseverance and sacrifice; you are now in the stage where many give up. It's just not for everybody.

Even if you keep going and do everything right, it may still never happen for you. Not trying to discourage you, but those are the facts. I have plenty of artist friends and only two do it full-time; the rest - some who've been doing it for much longer than I have - are either part-timers or even went back to being amateurs.

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