The Best Practices for Reposting Blog Content on Medium 2024
Repurpose in the right way
In my previous article, I made the case for why all bloggers should republish their content on Medium.
It provides huge benefits for minimal effort and no downsides.
Now let’s talk about how to repost on Medium the right way. Follow these best practices, and you’ll maximize the value while avoiding potential pitfalls.
Using the importer
As mentioned in my previous story, importing blog posts using Medium’s importer tool is by far the easiest option. Just paste the URL and hit go.
However, there are a couple of things to watch out for:
Double-check formatting like bullet points came over cleanly. The importer isn’t flawless. Depending on the source, it might add weird white spaces, new lines, empty bullets, etc.
Check images and embeds also imported properly. You may need to tweak media formatting. And don’t forget the caption with the source info
If you have affiliate links, verify they didn’t get stripped out or broken. And remember to add a remark about the use of affiliate links somewhere in the text
Overall, though, the importer does most of the heavy lifting for you. Way better than copy-pasting.
Optimize titles
One change I recommend making from your original blog title is to optimize it for Medium’s audience.
On Medium, people want click-worthy stuff, not keyword-filled SEO titles. They also don’t want diary-entry-like headlines. Usually.
Make the title catchier and more compelling, while highlighting the core focus. Titles with numbers and specificity tend to grab attention.
Obviously, stay away from blatant clickbait.
For example, change a vague title like “My Thoughts on Content Marketing” to something like “5 Little Known Content Marketing Tactics that Drive Big Results.”
Enhance with images, video, or GIFs
Media inserts like pictures, videos, or animated images like GIFs help break up walls of text and engage readers.
If your original blog post is light on visuals, consider adding some stock photos.
Unsplash, Pexels, and Pixabay offer quality royalty-free images and videos. Just drop an image between paragraphs where appropriate.
Customize for Medium
Resist the urge to do a straight reprint of your blog post. Make adjustments tailored for Medium’s audience.
It’s not a must, but it will help a ton.
For example, you can:
Simplify sections to be less technical
Remove niche details only your blog audience would care about
Add examples and explanations to make concepts clearer
Format into shorter paragraphs for better readability
Optimizing for Medium will boost reads, engagement and potentially earnings.
Monitor performance
Check back on your republished posts to see how they are performing. Sort your stories by readership numbers and see which are hits and which are flops.
For poorer-performing reposts, try these troubleshooting tips:
Retool the title and featured image
Edit the post body to be more engaging
Add or move the post to different publications (if possible)
Promote a “revival” of an older piece
Continuously tweaking your reposts allows you to maximize their reach. You could also delete or unpublish ones that never gain traction. But I am not a huge fan of this. Instead, just try to rewrite it and publish another version. Might become a hit then!
Promote your best content
Don’t just republish and forget. Actively promote your top performing repurposed posts.
Some ways to give your best stories more visibility:
The most obvious: Share on social media regularly, not just once, and use friend links. They’re powerful!
Send to your email lists and encourage sharing, or repurpose as a newletter issue and link to the original
Mention in relevant LinkedIn groups, Reddit forums, Facebook groups, etc.
Link to it prominently from your blog and other sites
Promo is key to keeping republished content alive and reaching new audiences.
Provide value to readers
At the end of the day, Medium rewards content that provides value to its community.
Think about how your posts can truly help readers:
Teach a useful skill
Provide non-obvious insights
Share actionable tips and tactics
Offer an entertaining, inspiring, or thoughtful perspective
Aim for value over self-promotion or clickbait when repurposing content.
The bottom line
Republishing blog posts on Medium takes things to the next level when done right. Follow these best practices for optimizing your content:
Use the importer tool
Enhance titles for Medium
Add media
Customize content for the audience
Monitor performance
Promote your best stories
Focus on delivering value
Do this, and your Medium reposts will boost blog traffic while potentially earning you money. It’s a win-win for your content strategy.