What I Learned from Writing a Series on MEDIUM
The Unexpected Result of Writing a Series
How I Improved My Engagement Stats
Note: Non-members can read the full story at this link.
I should have known!
After all, I’m a published author, and it’s widely known among writers that the best way to improve sales is to write a series.
This is my novel:
DUH!
It was undoubtedly one of those “AHA!” moments” when I checked my stats a week after I wrote the series. So shame on me for not realizing it earlier!
The surge in engagement numbers was astonishing!
The series was based on my personal experiences of working at Disneyland.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
It was the most enlightening self-taught lesson I’ve learned since starting to write on MEDIUM.
I didn’t start out writing a series, but when I thought back to that time, there was too much to say in one post. As I wrote about one experience, it generated another memory. So one post became two, and two became three. I had to stop at four, not because there wasn’t more to say, but because it was mentally taxing.
The thing is, when you hook a reader with one post they want to keep reading, so you don’t have to work as hard to improve your engagement numbers. Just like books. If they like one, they’re excited about reading the next one.
Lessons Learned
- Think of a topic that will be easy to expand into a series of at least 3 posts. The more the better, but don’t force it.
- I didn’t want to lose the momentum and felt compelled to write a post every day to keep readers engaged, and that pressure I put on myself was challenging.
- Plan the series before you post the first one. I didn’t know to do this and it made it harder to write 2, 3 and 4 because it didn’t flow naturally. If I’d at least outlined them, I would have known the beginning and endings of each post to make them easier to pen. It’s what I do for my books.
- The next time, I will write all the posts ahead of time before posting the first. It was too much pressure to finish one every day.
- I used the same title and subtitle and just added a number to indicate the order. Use a numeral. Don’t write the word out in the title. The same title ties them together for the reader who is merely scrolling.
- Use bullet points if you can. Highlighting and commenting becomes effortless for readers since they only need to focus on one point.
- Write a compelling ending that will tempt your reader to go to your next post right away instead of going on to someone else’s post. This may be the most important point.
- The easier you make it for readers to go to your next post, the more engagement you’ll get. So be sure to include links to the previous post and the next one at the end of each article.
- A good series will typically have views and reads that closely match, something I haven’t experienced with my other writings.
- Write in the first person point of view (I, me, my, mine). The fact you’re writing about your personal experience makes it more compelling for readers — they feel more connected to you. This isn’t my opinion. Read more about it here:
Have you ever written a series on MEDIUM?
If so, I’d love to know your results and what you learned. Let me know what else I should do for my next series.
Do you as a reader find a series more engaging?
I’m thrilled with the results of writing my first series and I hope you give it a try too!
