Building 5,800+ Medium Followers Taught Me These 5 Valuable Lessons
I wish I knew them sooner!
You’re about to learn some priceless lessons that I might not have talked about in my previous stories.
These 5 lessons become so powerful when you use them wisely. I truly wish someone had told me these “hard-earned lessons” when I started writing back in 2022.
But that’s okay. Sooner or later — at least I learned them. And that’s what matters after all, right?
So let’s dive directly into the lessons!
1. Authenticity Is Your Weapon
Be yourself.
You don’t need to copy someone. You don’t need to pretend to be like someone. You don’t need to imitate someone’s style. And you don’t need to steal someone’s voice.
They don’t work in the long run!
You may not recognize the power of authenticity and honesty at the beginning of your writing journey. But trust me, they make all the difference.
- Be honest
- Be yourself
- Tell the truth
- Show your personality
- Don’t pretend to be someone else
I can’t stretch it enough. But I’m telling you if you’ve been writing for a while and ignoring “honesty and authenticity” — you’ll go nowhere.
So be as authentic as possible.
2. Only 1% Will Buy From You
But that’s okay.
You can’t expect everyone to buy your products or services. If you have 1,000 followers, you can’t expect to get 1,000 sales on your first-ever digital product. Not 1,000, not 500, not even 100.
Only 1% (in some cases 5–10%) of your followers will buy from you. I’ve been realizing this a lot lately by looking at my stats and the stats of other creators as well.
This is where building a true relationship and trust with readers comes in. Nurture your relationship with your readers so they not only read your work but also buy what you create.
Want to know how to do it? Let’s go to the next point.
3. Build Your Email List ASAP
You don’t own your Medium audience.
Let me share a story: A year ago, if I distinctly remember, in December 2022, I encountered a problem. I had this Twitter account with 2,000 followers. The problem was I couldn’t log in to my Twitter account because of the OTP generation. 25 days went by, and nothing happened.
I felt lost, wanted to give up, and thought about how silly I was not to have built my email list.
However, I got the account back after 30 days.
But what’s the main lesson here? You know. Building an audience takes time. It takes years of effort to gain a significant following.
And if something unexpected happens, like an account suspension, ban, or hack, it can ruin years of work. Years!
This is why you should build an email list. Because you can control your list. There is no algorithm. There is no account ban or account suspension.
And this is the reason why yesterday I started my new newsletter, Medium Musings. You’ll love it. If you join you get the ebook Medium Crash Course for free.
That’s one side of the coin. The second side though, is the best thing about email list is you can nurture the reader’s relationship with you by providing more in-depth valuable content. And I can confirm email is the best way to do it.
I encourage you to build your email list. Think for the long term.
4. Figure Things Out On Your Own
Don’t rely on others.
No one is going to save you. You have to find a way to do the things you want to do. And you have to solve the problems that you’re facing.
Don’t wait for any time, any person, or any external force to help you solve your problems.
- Go, Google.
- Go, YouTube.
- Go, buy a course.
- Go, seek coaching.
I receive many emails from people asking me simple questions that they can easily find answers to on Google or YouTube.
To be honest, it not only wastes my time but also the time of the person looking for answers.
Figure it out on your own!
5. Literally, Money Is The By-Product
I’ve known this for a while.
I’ve been saying this phrase since I started writing online: “Money is the by-product of the work you do.”
And I can confirm it by showing you my recent results with the new ebook I launched.
I made approximately $300 just by promoting it through my Medium stories. No email list.
And people are buying it. Why? Because I genuinely believe the product I created can help them achieve their goals and get the results they want.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, please check here.
The lesson? You should not be thinking, “How can I make money?” Instead, you should be thinking, “How can I solve the problems my audience is facing?”
And if you can do that, you’ll make more money than you ever imagined.
Like this story? You’ll love my newsletter, Medium Musings. If you join, you’ll get a free ebook, Medium Crash Course.
