My lesson learned from writing 35 articles in 2022
In 2019, I started my journey as a writer on Medium but I did it only when I felt like writing. Then in early 2022, I saw a Facebook post that changed my thought. He is a writer about blockchain. He showed his Medium stats and it is really amazing. He said he started his blog writing with a mindset of “Just blog it”. When he learns a new thing, he will note it not in his personal notebook but instead on his blog, so he can read it when he wants to recall it.
I decided to start writing blogs on Medium to note and share what I have learned. My interest topic is data science, so I aimed to share articles about it about one article every 2 weeks.
In this article, I would like to share the lesson I have learned from writing those articles.
I may not be that successful on Medium but it is a big step for me to have more than 300 followers in 1 month.
1. Choose a topic carefully
Users of each platform prefer different topics. The same content can yield dissimilar results when posted on different platforms.
I changed my focus topic in Medium from book summary to data science. Then, my audients are growing. Maybe that data science is more interesting than a book summary for Medium users lol. My monthly view used to be less than 100 views but when I change the topic to data science, my daily view usually exceeds 100 views.
Anyway, don’t be overwhelmed by user preference. The topic you choose should be the topic that you are interested in and happy to write about. Following your passion can push you to go farther.
2. An article can change your life
My most viewed article is “Python in Power BI” with 12.7K views and 172 fans. This article’s view is more than other articles’ views combined and it brings me a lot of new followers. This drives me to write great articles when hoping that 1 of those articles will become a big hit.
3. Have a routine
Once I started writing articles, I made learning my routine, so I had enough content to write in my blog. I spend around 1 hour every day learning about data science. On the weekend, I will summarize an interesting thing I learned to share on my blog.
I also plan for the next article once finishing 1 article. This method makes my routine continue.
4. Write for publications
Medium publications are shared spaces for stories written around a common theme or topic, usually by multiple authors. (from https://help.medium.com/)
MLearning.ai publication reached me when I published an article about machine learning. I have published my article with them since then. Thanks to them, my article can reach more users.
5. Articles are like deposits in banks
Once I wrote an article, it will be there in my blog and audiences can read my article any time. The more articles I have written, the more chance that audiences will visit my page. Although I still publish more articles, there are a lot of readers who view my past article and become followers. The articles in a blog are like deposits in banks while the interest is the number of followers. My followers can expand faster when I have more articles on my page.
6. More opportunity
After I had written articles for half a year, I registered to be a technical writer for freeCodeCamp. I was so glad that I passed, so I could contribute to my beloved website since I started learning how to code.
Moreover, in September, I was selected to join the Skooldio Creator Square program which was held by 1 of the best e-learning platforms in Thailand. Thanks to my Medium posts. I learned how to improve SEO and I found many interesting people there.
7. Understand content more
To write a technical article, I have to really understand the content. There is a difference between when you note for yourself and when you write an article for others to read. I practiced structuring my thought to make it easiest for the audience to follow my article.
I adopted the concept of a second brain and break down my writing session into Research → Brainstorms → Outlines → Drafts → Final edits. This method helps me focus more on each part instead of switching between research and draft.
Furthermore, I can easily recall by reading my own articles. It is easier to understand than my lecture notes, to be honest.
8. Language practice
I am Thai, so English is not my native language. Writing in English used to be my bitter pill. With the help of Grammarly, my writing is automatically adjusted to correct grammar or use better wording. I can, then, learn from Grammarly's suggestions to improve my writing skill. I have been using Medium blog as my field to practice writing. Currently, I am not afraid of writing in English anymore (have to work more on word choice anyway).
9. Health
When I got COVID-19, I can’t write an article for a week. My routine had to stop for a period. So, exercise and try to avoid any disease. Don’t work too hard since it can have poorer results if you get sick.
Thank you for reading till the end. Wish you a happy new year 2023.
You can follow me if you are interested in data science content.
