Examples of Stories That Have Received Medium’s Boost

Tips that will help you succeed in getting your words seen

Hello All!

I’m finishing up my last few days in Lima, Peru. It’s been a wonderful vacation, and I’m feeling recharged and ready to get back to work.

I’ve managed to get quite a few things written over the last 12 days. I’ve been working off my kids’ Chromebook. However, the keyboard is too small and I feel a little cramped. Still, I’m grateful they shared it with me.

I’ve been sharing a lot of stories about Medium’s boost program. I am able to nominate 20 stories a month that have the opportunity to be selected for a boost. As I’ve worked with this program for the last three months, I’ve found that a lot of writers produce work that is very close to what Medium is looking for, but they need to polish up a few things in order to have a better chance of getting selected.

Also, you must keep in mind that boost is an advantage, but if your story doesn’t feature something truly impactful, it’s not going to succeed with or without the boost. Conversely, great stories that don’t receive a boost can still perform well. Many of my top earning stories over the last few months weren’t boosted. 

But boost does help.

I’d like to share the stories of mine that have been selected for a boost. To be clear, I didn’t nominate these stories. A few of them were boosted before I was in the program. There are more mechanisms at work for selecting stories than just boost nominators (I don’t have information about every aspect of the program).

Sometimes the stories of mine that were selected came as a surprise. Again, the three things to remember for writing a story that receives Medium’s boost are:

• Feature a personal element (some examples from your life)

• Have an idea you want to explain or explore (something that will make your readers “level up”)

• Demonstrate that you are qualified to speak on the subject (brief mention of education, personal or professional experience)

That being said, you’ll see that many of the stories of mine that were selected might not seem to fit with this list. Still, when I’m looking for stories to nominate, those three things are my focus.

Here are my boosted stories:

1. It’s Always Convenient to Tell Writers They Aren’t Good Enough

2. I Get That the Black Community Should Be Skeptical Of Anyone Who Claims to Support Them

3. If There Is a “Parental Bill of Rights” There Should Also Be an “Educators’ Bill of Rights”

4. Yay! I’ve Just Become a Verified Book Author

5. “Know Your Algorithm” Is the Modern Equivalent of “Know Your Audience”

6. Writers Shouldn’t Assume Producing Less Content Leads to Better Quality Work

7. Sober Is a Super Power

8. A Year Ago We Lost a Child, and I Was Among Those That Found Her

9. Pointing Out Grammatical Mistakes Is an Act of Extreme Privilege

The publications where these stories appeared are:

• The Writing Cooperative (4)

• AfroSapiophile (1)

• An Injustice (1)

• Bouncin’ and Behavin’ Blogs (1)

• Black Bear (1)

• Human Parts (1)

So, there are quite a few things you can deduce from this information:

1. ‘The Writing Cooperative’ is a good place to find boost worthy stories. All of my selections were from my ‘Reckless Writer’ column.

2. If you are ambitious about getting a boost, you should write for the six publications I mentioned. Note, it took a long time to get into ‘Human Parts.’ I sent them an email and waited for about 6 weeks, but it was worth it. If you send them a draft, make sure it’s a very good piece.

3. It might be interesting to compare my other articles that weren’t selected to the ones that were. If you find one that you think is really good, nominate it.

The two nominations I most like to receive from Medium are:

• Congratulations! Your story has been boosted on Medium

• Your boost nomination: Accepted

Both of these notifications mean that a story I thought was important is about to have the advantage of a wider readership.

Hopefully, this article gives you some ideas as to how to write the kind of stories that succeed on Medium. As always, don’t hesitate to reach out via email or comments if you have questions.