Brought to you by SparkLoop* — the #1 newsletter recommendation engine. For free!
Every so often, people ask me: “Why do you publish your work on Medium rather than only on your own blog?”
It’s a good question.
For years, I ran my own blog on WordPress. And I published everything there, on Medium, and on Substack. WordPress was my very first blogging platform back in 2007. Stuck with me for a long time. And I am fond of WordPress.
But recently I moved all my content from WordPress. Now I publish on Medium and Substack. But that’s not at all set in stone.
But why Medium and not a blog?
The Medium Edge
Medium gives writers an advantage in several key areas:
Audience: Medium has a huge built-in readership. Readers don’t (just) need to find you via Google or social media. They’re already on the platform, browsing and discovering new voices daily.
Curation & Discovery: Editors and algorithms help surface high-quality content, allowing good work to get seen, even if you have zero followers.
Simple Publishing: You can focus on writing and storytelling, rather than the technical details of building and maintaining a website.
Social Features: Claps, comments, highlights, and follows are integral to Medium, creating a good ecosystem to build upon.
If your writing resonates, it can be discovered organically, amplified by Medium’s recommendation engine and community features.
Unlike operating your own website, you aren’t starting at zero and fighting for every view.
That is a huge plus for many many writers.
But There Are Risks
Nothing’s perfect.
Publishing on Medium has a big downside: control.
You’re building your audience and portfolio on someone else’s platform. The classic “rented land” problem.
Medium has changed hands, made algorithm and payout changes, and will change again. That’s a given.
You don’t fully own your list anymore (which is a shame), your layout, or your monetization model. Your content can be put behind a paywall, removed, or deprioritized by the platform’s algorithm. Your connection with readers might be mediated by Medium’s rules or changes.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Letters by Burk to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.