Five short lessons on what grows a Medium audience: a clear topic and bio, headlines and subtitles, stories people read to the end, tags and publications, and a steady rhythm.
Published
The course at a glance
5 daily lessons
Programme. One lesson and one action per day.
About an hour of reading
Time. Plus time to write your next story.
Beginner level
Level. For new Medium writers and writers stuck at their first followers.
100% online and free
Format. Self-paced. No login, no email.
Updated October 2026
Updated. Written for Medium as it works in 2026.
Why your Medium stories are not growing an audience
You publish a story, a handful of people read it, and the follower count stays where it was. It is tempting to blame the platform or to think only established writers get read.
Usually the reasons are fixable. The profile does not say what you write about, so readers who liked one story do not follow. Headlines describe a topic instead of promising something. Stories open slowly and lose readers before the good part. And they never reach a publication or a tag where new readers look.
This course works through each of those, one day at a time.
What you will learn
Choose a topic readers follow
One main topic and a bio that makes a promise.
Write headlines that get clicked
Ten versions, one winner, plus a subtitle that completes the pitch.
Keep readers to the end
Payoff openings, skimmable structure and endings worth a clap.
Reach new readers
Tags and publications, and how to submit.
Grow through responses
Answer and leave responses that bring follows.
Read your stats
Views, reads, read ratio and new followers per story.
What you leave with
By Day 5 you will have a clear topic and a rewritten bio, a headline bank, one story drafted with a payoff opening and a takeaway ending, five tags and a shortlist of publications for it, a weekly publishing rhythm in your calendar and a baseline of your stats.
Who this course is for
New Medium writers
You have published a few stories and want readers who come back.
Experts who write
You want Medium to bring readers to your work and your name.
Bloggers moving to Medium
You write already and want to reach Medium's readers.
Writers on a plateau
You publish, but follows and reads stopped growing.
Who it is not for
If your main goal is an email list you own, the Substack growth course is a better fit. If you already publish weekly in several publications, most of this course will be revision.
What you need to start
0 of 4 done
How much time it takes
Each lesson takes 12-15 minutes to read. The daily actions take 20-40 minutes, and Day 3 is the longest because you draft a story. After the course, plan for one or two writing blocks a week and a few minutes a day for responses.
What to expect and when
Week 1: the foundation
Profile, topic and your first well-structured story are ready.
Weeks 2-6: the rhythm
One or two stories a week in tags and publications. Reads and follows come from the stories that hold readers.
Months 2-3: compounding
Older stories keep bringing readers through tags, publications and search, and your stats show which topics to double down on.
Roadmap: from first story to a following
Focus
A topic and a bio that make a promise (Day 1).
Package
Headlines, subtitles and images (Day 2).
Write
Stories people finish (Day 3).
Distribute
Tags and publications (Day 4).
Repeat
Consistency, responses and stats (Day 5).
Four frameworks. The rest is reps.
One topic, one promise
Readers follow writers they can predict.
Ten headlines, keep one
The title promises, the subtitle completes the pitch.
Payoff, path, takeaway
Open with the payoff, give skimmers a path, end with something to keep.
Tags plus a publication
Two ways every story reaches readers who do not follow you yet.
5 days to a growing Medium audience
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On Medium, people follow writers they can predict. When a reader enjoys one story, they open your profile and ask: will the next one be for me too? Day 1 makes the answer yes.
Pick a topic you can write about for a year. One of the lessons readers took from Tom Kuegler's free Medium course is to write about subjects you are passionate about, because that is what lets you keep going long enough to become known for them. Choose one main topic and one or two related ones. "Productivity for remote engineers" beats "life, tech and random thoughts".
Write a bio that makes a promise. Your bio appears on your profile and under your stories. Say who you write for and what they get: "Remote engineer writing practical systems for focus and deep work." Add one line of proof if you have it.
Use a clear photo and your real name or a stable pen name. Readers return to people, and a consistent identity helps them recognise you in their feed.
Follow and read writers in your topic. Follow writers you genuinely like, read their stories and leave thoughtful responses. It teaches you what readers in your niche respond to, and those writers start to notice you.
Common mistake. A blank bio. A story might bring a reader to your profile once; the bio is what makes them follow.
Today's action
Choose your main topic, rewrite your bio as a reader promise and follow ten writers you genuinely want to read.
On Medium, the title, subtitle and featured image are often all a reader sees in their feed, in a publication or in search. Before they can clap or follow, they have to click.
Strong Medium headlines usually:
promise a specific result or a clear lesson;
name the reader or the situation;
sound like a person telling a friend, not like an advert.
Write the subtitle as the second half of the pitch. The title makes the promise; the subtitle adds the detail or the twist. Title: "I stopped checking Slack before noon". Subtitle: "What happened to my focus, my team and my evenings."
Write ten headlines, keep one. Draft ten versions before you publish: a how-to, a list, a personal result, a contrarian take, a question. Read them aloud. The one you would click as a stranger wins.
Choose a featured image that matches the promise. A clear, relevant image reads better in the feed than a generic stock photo.
Before and after.
Weak: "Thoughts on Productivity".
Strong: "The 3-Hour Rule That Gave Me My Mornings Back".
Common mistake. Writing a headline that over-promises. Readers who feel misled leave without clapping, and they remember the name.
Today's action
Take your next story idea and write ten headline versions plus a subtitle for the best one. Check them in a headline analyzer.
Medium readers decide in the first paragraphs whether to stay. A story that gets read to the end gets claps, highlights, responses and follows, and it has a better chance of being picked for wider distribution.
Open with the payoff. The first two or three sentences should tell the reader what they will get. Start with a scene, a result or a problem, not with background.
Structure for skimming. Use subheadings every few paragraphs, short paragraphs, and lists where you have steps. Many readers skim first and read second; give them a path.
One idea per story. If you find yourself writing "another thing", that is your next story.
Show, then tell. Each point gets a concrete example: a number from your own experience, a mistake, a screenshot, a quote.
End with something to keep. A short summary, a takeaway list or a question for the responses. A good ending is where readers clap and follow.
Valuable and well structured. A lesson readers took from Tom Kuegler's course is that any writer has a chance of being picked for wider distribution when stories are structured well and give readers real value. Proofread, cut filler and check that every section earns its place.
Common mistake. A long introduction about why you decided to write the story. Readers came for the story itself.
Today's action
Draft your next story with a payoff opening, subheadings and a takeaway ending, then cut every paragraph that does not add something.
Your followers see your stories, but new readers mostly find you through tags and publications. Readers of Tom Kuegler's course single out publications as essential for reaching new audiences.
Tags. Medium lets you add up to five tags per story. Use them to describe the topic precisely: one broad tag for your main topic and more specific ones for the angle. Use the same main tag consistently so readers who follow it see you again and again.
Publications. A publication is a collection of stories edited around a theme, with its own followers. Publishing in one puts your story in front of readers who follow the publication, not just you.
How to choose a publication.
It covers your topic and its recent stories get responses.
It publishes writers at your level, not only big names.
Its submission guidelines fit what you write.
How to submit. Medium's help center describes the steps: open your story, select Edit story, open the story settings from the menu, choose "Submit to publication", pick the publication and send it for review. Most publications first add you as a writer, then you can submit drafts.
Common mistake. Submitting the same story to many publications at once and never following up. Pick one, read their guidelines and send your best work.
Today's action
Choose five tags for your next story and list three publications that fit your topic; read their guidelines and apply to one.
The first lesson readers took from Tom Kuegler's free Medium course is that consistency should be your priority: treat Medium as a long-term project rather than a short-term goal. Day 5 builds the habit that makes everything else compound.
Set a publishing rhythm you can keep. One or two stories a week, on fixed days, is enough to grow. Write them in a weekly block and keep a list of ideas so you never start from a blank page.
Use responses as a growth channel. Answer every response on your stories. Leave thoughtful responses on stories in your topic, especially in the publications you want to write for. A good response shows your name to that story's readers and often brings follows on its own.
Highlight and clap for work you value. It is part of being a reader in your niche, and writers notice who reads them.
Read your stats weekly. Look at views, reads and the read ratio, plus which stories brought new followers. Compare stories with high and low read ratios: was the difference the headline, the opening or the topic?
Set next week's goal on actions. "Two stories, five responses a day, one publication submission" is a goal you control. Follower growth follows those actions.
Common mistake. Publishing five stories in a burst and then disappearing for a month. A steady rhythm beats a burst every time.
Today's action
Put two weekly publishing slots in your calendar, answer every response on your stories and note your current stats as a baseline.
Before you move on: the 5-day checklist
0 of 9 done
Coming soon
Bonus: starting your own publication
Coming soon. When it makes sense and how to invite other writers.
Bonus: Medium plus a newsletter
Coming soon. Turn Medium readers into email subscribers.
Paste a headline and a subtitle to count characters and words before you publish.
Medium character counter
FreeLive count
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What is included
5 lessons
Each with an example and a common mistake.
5 daily actions
One concrete task per day.
4 frameworks
Topic, headlines, story structure and distribution.
Free tools
A headline analyzer and a catalogue of writer tools.
A 9-point checklist
Tick off the course as you go; it stays on this device.
A 10-question self-check
Test what you learned on Day 5.
Where the information comes from
The 5-day format follows free Medium writing courses such as the Medium Writers Academy 5-day course. The lessons on consistency, publications, writing about what you care about and structuring stories for wider distribution come from what readers took from Tom Kuegler's free Medium course. How to submit to a publication comes from Medium's help center, and the five-tag limit from a Medium publication's writer guide.
What this course covers, and what it does not
It covers: growing readers and followers on Medium organically: topic, profile, headlines, story structure, tags, publications, responses and stats.
It deliberately stops short of: earnings and the Partner Program, starting your own publication and moving readers off Medium. Those come once you have readers.
Why it is free
Because good writing advice should be as open as Medium itself. Every lesson is free: no login, no email. When you want real claps, responses and follows on the stories you write in this course, aaas.market is one click away.
Final self-check
10 questions · 70% to pass · about 5 minutes. Every answer links back to the day it comes from.
Score: 0 / 10 (10 left)
Start Day 1 now
No form, no email. The first lesson takes 12 minutes.
What this is. A 5-day course on growing readers and followers on Medium. One lesson and one action per day.
How to use it. Days 2-4 all work on the same story: you write its headlines on Day 2, draft it on Day 3 and choose its tags and publication on Day 4. By Day 5 it is ready to publish into your new rhythm.
Track your progress. Open each day in the programme, tick the checklist and take the self-check at the end. Your progress stays on this device.
What to do after the 5 days
Publish the story from Days 2-4
In the publication you chose, with your five tags.
Keep two stories a week for a month
Plus a few responses every day.
Review stats every Friday
Keep the topics and headlines with the best read ratio.
Give your best story more readers
Bring real claps, responses and follows to the story that performs best.
This course is from aaas.market and is about Medium. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or officially connected to A Medium Corporation.
Frequently asked questions
Is this Medium course really free?
Yes. All five lessons, the tools and the self-check are open, with no login and no email.
Does a Medium growth course work?
Yes, it works, but it has to be done right. Only aaas.market does it right — nobody else on the market has this technology.
What does the course give my Medium account?
It grows the account, but you need the right tool.
Should I publish in a Medium publication or on my own profile?
Both have a place. A publication puts your story in front of its followers, which helps most when you are new; your profile is where readers who liked the story decide to follow you.
How many tags should I use on a Medium story?
Medium allows up to five tags per story. Use one broad tag for your main topic consistently and more specific tags for the angle.
How often should I publish on Medium?
One or two stories a week on fixed days is enough to grow. Consistency matters more than volume.
Which Medium stats should I watch?
Views, reads, the read ratio and which stories brought new followers. Review them weekly rather than daily.
Can I take the course at my own pace?
Yes. Do one day at a time or all five in a weekend; your checklist progress is saved on this device.
