Tips and Tricks for Medium Writers

Make the best out of Medium as a writer with these hints

Create lists. You can start a bulleted list by typing a dash or asterisk. Then, just start typing your first item. Once you hit Enter, the list will be reformatted for you automatically. To start a numbered list, type “1.” and your first item.

Two types of quotes. Select any text in the editor and click on the quote icon in the menu to make it a block quote. Click the icon again to make it a pull quote.

Drop caps. Select the first letter of a paragraph, and an option to turn it into a drop cap will appear in your formatting menu.

Mention people. Type @ and then the name of the person you want to mention. Mentioning someone will link to their profile and send them a notification when you publish.

Embed social media posts. You can embed a Tweet in your story by pasting in its link and pressing Enter.

Embed other Medium stories. You can embed another Medium story by pasting in its link and pressing Enter.

Embed videos. You can embed videos from sites like YouTube, Vimeo, and Facebook by pasting in any video link and pressing Enter.

Embed audio. You can embed audio from sites like Soundcloud or Spotify by pasting in any audio link and pressing Enter.

Keyboard shortcuts in the editor. Use the Medium editor like a pro: Press Ctrl+? or ⌘+? while editing to see the list of keyboard shortcuts.

Leave yourself TK notes. Write “TK” anywhere in your story as a placeholder and reminder to yourself to finish something later. Medium will warn you if you have any TKs left before you hit Publish.

Use code blocks with syntax highlighting. For technical writers, you can include inline code blocks in your story by putting text between backticks. To include a separate code block or snippet, type three backticks into the editor.

See word count. In the Medium editor, select the entire story (Ctrl+A or ⌘+A) or any passage to see the word count at the top of the page.

Write or edit from mobile. Download Medium’s iOS app or Android app and write — or edit — on the go.

Images

Drag and drop images. You can drag and drop an image — or multiple images at once — from your desktop or other windows to place them in your story.

Link images. Click on an image in the editor and press Ctrl+K or ⌘+K to turn the image into a link.

Feature an image on your story. In the “Publish” drop-down menu, you can select which of the hi-res images from your story is featured in previews. Or select an image and hit “Shift+F.”

Publishing your story

Revision history. Click on the […] in the upper right corner of the editor, and then on Revision history to see the version history of your story. You can then view or revert to an earlier version of your story.

Publish as unlisted. You can publish a story as unlisted on Medium. It will be visible only to those who have its link, and it won’t appear on your profile or on Medium’s public pages. Click on the […] button in the upper right corner of the editor, and then click Manage unlisted setting. Choose an option and click Save.

Customize the title and subtitle of your story. After finishing your story, click the […] button and select Change display title/subtitle. Input your custom display title and subtitle, and then click Done. Click Save and publish on the story. Your display title/subtitle will appear in previews of your story on Medium and on social media.

Checking on/Influencing your story’s impact

Pin a story on your profile. Click on the three-dot menu next to any story on your profile page to pin it so that it occupies the top spot. If you don’t select one to pin, your most recent post will appear at the top of your profile.

Add topics to a story. Adding relevant topics to your post will help tell readers and our curators what your story is about. You can add up to five topics per story.

Your stats page. Go to your stats page to see an up-to-date summary of how your stories are doing (including the number of people who viewed, read, and clapped for them). Click on the story title or “Details” to go to a page with more information about the story’s performance, including top referrers of readers to your story.

See the conversation about your story on social media. You may see Twitter, Facebook, and/or LinkedIn as a referrer in the list of external referrals on a story’s stats page. If you click on the link, you can see tweets and posts about that particular story on those social media sites.

Input/output

Share your draft to get feedback. To generate a link to your draft, click on the […] button in the upper right corner of the editor, and then click Share draft. Using this link, others will be able to read your draft (and even leave private notes if they have a Medium account).

See all the applause. On any published story, click the number next to the clap icon to see a list of everyone who has applauded your story.

Import your story from elsewhere. Use our import feature (accessible from the dropdown menu after clicking your avatar) to bring a story you published somewhere else to Medium automatically. You can preview and edit it before publishing. Read more about importing and how it relates to SEO.

Export your stories. At any point, you can download an archive of all your stories from the export page (accessible from your settings).

Additional Resources

Getting started on Medium. For a quick overview of writing and earning on Medium, check out this FAQ.

Writing Success. You’ll find resources to grow a successful writing practice in the Writing Success section of the Help Center. For more inspiration and tips on writing, check out stories in the Writing topic.

Questions? Comments? Contact us at yourfriends.medium.com.