Grow on Medium in 5 days
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.
Table of contents
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
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
Before you move on: the 5-day checklist
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.
Free tools for the course
Check your headline and subtitle
Paste a headline and a subtitle to count characters and words before you publish.
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, upvote.club 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.
Start Day 1 now
No form, no email. The first lesson takes 12 minutes.
Start here: how to use this course
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.
More free courses
- Substack growth course
- Substack subscribers course
- LinkedIn growth course
- X growth course
- Free Medium writer tools
Ready to grow on Medium?
Start Day 1 today. When your story is live, get real claps and follows on it.
This course is from upvote.club 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 upvote.club 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.