Six Thoughts After One Year Posting About Crypto On Medium
My first Crypto post referenced a conference call I was hosting so I could learn about ICOs/Crypto. As I’ve written about subsequently, it…
My first Crypto post referenced a conference call I was hosting so I could learn about ICOs/Crypto. As I’ve written about subsequently, it was on that call, on June 29th, 2017, that I saw the Crypto light. Just 17 people clapped for that story, but I was on my way as a Crypto blogger.
Over the next month I wrote three more Crypto posts, which was followed by an email from Medium congratulating me on being one of the 50 “Top Writers” on Bitcoin on Medium. I didn’t know that was a thing, but once I did, I thought it was worthy of a my 5th post, The Six Things I Did To Become A “Top Writer” On Medium In Bitcoin. The six thoughts have held up well:
My 9th post, The 7 Things You Need To Know From The Valuing Cryptocurrency Conference Call, was my first breakout piece, garnering 12,000 views and over 500 fans (people clapping) in it’s first month.
My 12th post was my first thought piece, 7 Thoughts On Crypto After Three Months Down The Rabbit Hole. With over 26,000 views and 1,500 fans in it’s first month, it was my first post that reached #1 on the “Top Stories” on Crypto on Medium.
My 19th post, The “Crypto Bubble” Isn’t A Bubble, It’s A ……., is the most read piece I’ve ever written, with ov er 45,000 views and 2,600 fans.
This is my 53rd Crypto post. Below are six more thoughts on writing to help others succeed on Medium:
1. Learn To Write
I went to a good college, worked at a good job for two years, then went to business school. I then got a job as an equity analyst on Wall Street, and was shocked to learn, I couldn’t write a legible sentence. It took me a year of writing every day, before I didn’t feel incompetent. After six years, I was pretty good. While classes can help, everyone learns to write by writing. The greatest thing about writing is it’s the best way learn. I’m a huge believer in the quote:
It’s hard to learn how to write, but for most people, the return-on-investment on the time spent learning to write is extraordinary.
2. Less Is More
Based on the number of words in a story, Medium tells you how many minutes it will take a reader to finish your story. Looking at my Medium stats, I now assume everyone is ADHD, so I don’t publish anything longer than 6 minutes. My most read piece, was 3 minutes long. I wrote a one minute piece, The Bull Case Vs. The Bear Case For Bitcoin, that was read over three thousands times.
3. When It Works, Medium Is A Virtuous Circle
When I first started writing on Medium, gaining followers was a slog. Then I had a my #1 piece, and the following I had been building over two years, doubled in just three days. It seems that a lot of readers go to the most popular Bitcoin stories page, click on the top story, and follow that writer.
Not surprisingly, as my followers grew, the readers of my posst grew. And as my readers grew, my followers grew. That’s the definition of a virtuous circle.
So write often, as you never know what’s going to click. And it’s those stories that click, that drive your following, which drives your readership, which …
4. Get Others To Help Create Content
It’s hard coming up with good content all the time. That’s why we often get help in creating content. For instance, we host conference calls, like this call on Tuesday on Stablecoins, because they give us great content for blog posts. That’s why we put on conferences , host Meetups and syndicate content written by others.
5. Write For Yourself & Have Fun
I don’t spend any time thinking about what other people want to read. I mostly write because I want to learn about something. Sometimes I write just to have fun. It doesn’t all have to be deep. This tongue and cheek piece, My Favorite Blockchain Application, got 2,000+ views (and was cathartic). I wrote Rudyard Kipling’s Poem “If” Taught Me Everything I Need to Know About Crypto because I love the poem and wanted to show it’s relevance to Crypto.
Also, if you write for yourself, you’ll care less about what other people think. I never know what people are going to like, what’s going to click. So if I write for me, and if other people don’t like it, it doesn’t hurt nearly as much.
6. Writing On Medium Can Change Your Life
After my first #1 story on Medium, I was the third most influential crypto blogger on the platform. While that wasn’t what I was solving for, that made me a global thought leader on crypto, sought after by ICOs (to write about them), conferences (to speak at them), investors (to tell them how to make money), and the media (to give them sound bites).
The past year has been the most gratifying of my professional career, and it wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t started writing about Crypto on Medium. There would be no CryptoOracle, no CryptoMondays, no CryptoCommons.
So start writing. I know it’s not easy. But as Dr. Seuss so eloquently wrote: You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself, any direction you choose. So choose to write, and Oh The Places You’ll Go.
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