Should you be writing on Medium or on your own personal blog?
Well, I’m using both.
I’ve started writing on Medium back in November 2021 and grew up to 18,000 followers:
I’ve also used Medium to build an insanely profitable email list.
But as you see, I’m also writing on my personal blog.
So in this article, I’m going to show you the pros and cons of both platforms.
Why Medium trumps a personal blog
Visitors from (almost) day 1
Medium gets 170,000 visitors per month on average. Your blog probably zero.
So despite that 2,000 articles are published daily on Medium there’s still a way to get traction on this platform very fast. Why? Because there are so many eyeballs starving for content on Medium.
Without a shadow of a doubt, Medium will get you more readers in your early days as a writer.
And way more than on your own blog.
But the good news is that you can use your writing on Medium to build your email list. Unless other platforms, Medium don’t penalize or throttle your reach just for adding an external link to your story.
Get Started On Medium In Just 3 Minutes
You can create your Medium account for free in just 3 minutes.
This means that if you already have a written piece of content, it could be live on Medium in just 5 minutes from now.
To create you need to buy a domain, install and configure WordPress and your theme…
So if you just want to get started fast, Medium is your way to go.
Why a Will A blog Always be better than Medium?
The biggest drawback to Medium is that it’s a social platform.
Which means that you’re playing on someone else’s playground. You have no control over the algorithm updates, and Medium can vanish from one day to another.
A blog is your asset. It’s your piece of real estate on the internet. You can’t be banned or shut down overnight. You’re also free to customize your site as you want and sell your products or services.
Having a blog is inevitable in the long run if you’re serious about turning your writing into a business.
Is blogging on Medium worth it (or is Medium better than a personal blog?)
It all depends what “worth it” and “better” means to you. If you’re just chasing vanity metrics like followers, claps, etc. Then yes, Medium will certainly meet your needs.
If you want to make money as a writer, then understand that Medium will not make you rich. If you want to make a living out of your writing, you still have to find a way to monetize your skills. And for that, a blog (or a website) is still mandatory.
I dive deeper into all that inside my free 7-day content creator Bootcamp that you can sign up for here.
How to get started as a beginner: Writing on Medium vs. Writing on your blog
Wiring on Medium is easy.
You can create your account with a few clicks and directly start publishing. The advantage is that even if you’re brand new to the platform, you can get eyeballs on your content. This is one of the biggest advantages of Medium.
On your website, nobody will ever notice your content for at least 6 months. (Unless you have a way to drive traffic to your blog.)
And let’s be honest: it’s never fun to write into the void. So especially if you’re starting out I would encourage you to start writing on Medium because of that.
Do you own your writing on Medium?
Yes. Medium’s Terms of Service mention that every author owns his writing. This means that you can take down your writing whenever you want.
Can you post on Medium and your own blog?
Yes, it’s possible. And I would strongly encourage you to do so.
This means that you can repurpose your content on Medium, while keeping the original article on your blog. This will allow you to get more exposure to the same piece of content. You don’t need to worry about duplicate content and will not get penalized by Google.
To do so, you must indicate your story’s canonical URL.
Writing on Medium vs. blog: What’s the best way to get started?
Writing on Medium gives you almost instant visibility to grow.
In contrast, it will take you at least 6 months for a brand new blog to appear in the search results.
I recommend you start publishing on your blog and on Medium using the canonical URL feature to get the best of both worlds: getting instant exposure and building a portfolio of articles on your own website.
And if you want to monetize your expertise with online content, then be sure to check out my free course below: