WHEN WE IGNORE THESE TEN STEPS WE EARN PENNIES As a Medium writer you probably spend many hours per week investing in your content. Within reason, we know the more you publish, the more

you’ll earn (assuming you write stories your tribe wants to read). But many writers spend too much time in their content and not enough on the one component that will earn them the most

money. The earning power of your story is directly-linked to this key ingredient. WHILE CONTENT AND QUALITY ARE CRITICAL, THERE’S ONE UNDER-UTILIZED PIECE OF OUR STORIES THAT TRUMPS THEM

ALL. If you want to earn more money from your Medium stories, or you’re unhappy with the results from your past stories, keep reading. Not only will I show you this critical component, I’ll

opened we won’t earn a dime. All Medium earnings are based on reads. READS MEAN THE READER MUST OPEN AND CONSUME YOUR WRITING. The title of your story must grab the reader in a second or two

(at most). She’s got unlimited content in front of her. There’s a single moment… you’ve got one chance. …ESPECIALLY IF YOU’RE A WRITER SHE DOESN’T KNOW. Will your story pique her interest

or will you lose her to someone else? This is the difference between a couple pity-reads and a story that earns well. HOW TO WRITE BETTER TITLES: * YOU NEED TO POSE A QUESTION IN THE

READER’S MIND, not give her the content of the story. The title’s job is to get the reader to open your story. Nothing more. Our brain doesn’t like open-loops. We feel compelled to open the

story and close it. * DON’T USE CLICKBAIT, but _do _use basic copywriting principles. Clickbait is false advertising. When a reader clicks a clickbait story she’s taken somewhere else. Good

copywriting draws the reader in. You don’t have to trick your reader to create intrigue. Remember, you want your readers to return for your future stories too. You can only fool a reader

once before she ignores you. * APPEAL THE THE READER’S EMOTIONS, NOT YOURS. The story isn’t about you. Your writing is about the reader. If you want to earn more money from your stories,

you’ve got to place the title in your reader’s shoes. * APPEAL THE UNIVERSAL TRIGGERS of money, health, family, happiness, longevity, relationships, current events, entertainment, and life

hacks (this isn’t an exhaustive list). The broader the appeal, the more readers you’ll attract. * THE TITLE SHOULD SOLVE AN IMPORTANT PROBLEM. Your reader is here. She wants to be over here.

She sees your title. Your story explains how you’ll help her get over here. She clicks the link. * THE TITLE HAS A POSITIVE BEND TO IT. Nobody wants to read a downer. Sure, you can use

fear, excitement, or the possibility of loss in your title, but overly-negative titles are not as engaging. There’s a reason most movies end on a positive note. There’s enough negativity

everywhere. Most of us don’t volunteer to consumer more. * YOUR TITLE MATCHES YOUR WHEELHOUSE. Write inside your niche (or inside your body of work). I’ve found, when I write random, pet

project I’m excited about, they always fall flat. If I leave the type of stories my readers are accustomed to, they won’t get opened. * YOUR TITLE ISN’T CLEVER. Sometimes I can’t resist

trying to be clever. I’m obsessed with dad jokes, bad puns, and lousy humor. Most of the time I’m the only person in the room who thinks my jokes are funny. When I try to be clever I always

get burned. Create an unanswered question in our minds, but it’s not the time to be cute. * YOUR TITLE ISN’T THAT DIFFERENT FROM OTHER SUCCESSFUL TITLES. Remember, we like to read more of

the same. You don’t have to be overly-original. Their are some universal principles of copywriting that work just as well as they did 50 years ago. We like to read the stuff we like to read

and we want more of it. If a reader can’t recognize a title as something she _knows _she already enjoys, she’ll skip it. We don’t have time to mess-around. * YOUR TITLE SHOULD BE BIG, BUT

BELIEVABLE. If your claims are too outlandish you’ll come across like an infomercial more than a story your reader will want to open. Sometimes you’ve got to scale-down your claims to get

more attention. Even if you giant claims are true! IF YOU WANT AN EASIER WAY TO TITLE YOUR STORIES FOR MORE READ-INCOME, HERE’S A STORY I WROTE TO HELP: 7 QUICK-AND-EASY MEDIUM TITLE

TEMPLATES TO GET MORE MONEY …EVEN IF YOU AREN’T A COPYWRITER medium.com THE SECOND MOST-IMPORTANT PART OF MEDIUM IS YOUR TRIBE If you want to develop a consistent income stream from your

Medium stories, it’s important we focus on building your tribe — away from the Medium platform. THIS MEANS AN EMAIL LIST. But not just any email list. This is a list of your best people. The

ones you serve. The folks around which all your work revolves. Medium can lower your story income any time it wants. THEY AREN’T HERE FOR YOU. MEDIUM IS HERE FOR THEMSELVES. When you play

in someone else’s sandbox, they own your followers. You can’t take them with you when you leave. Same is true for Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, LinkedIn, and elsewhere. If you want to develop a

legacy-level writing business you need to own your traffic. If you don’t own your traffic you don’t own your business. THE BEST TIME TO BUILD YOUR EMAIL LIST IF BEFORE YOU NEED ONE — LIKE

TODAY. I’ve got just the thing for you. I hand-crafted a free, 7-day email masterclass called the Tribe 1K. I’ll show you how to get your first 1,000 (or your next 1,000) readers without

spending a hot nickel on ads. It’s time to make your writing work harder for you. TAP THE LINK. Join the Tribe. GUARANTEE YOUR SEAT BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND. Past students include _New York

Times_ bestselling authors. We’re waiting for you. ENROLL IN MY EMAIL MASTERCLASS. GET YOUR FIRST 1,000 SUBSCRIBERS August Birch (AKA the Book Mechanic) is both a fiction and non-fiction

author from Michigan, USA. As a self-appointed guardian of writers and creators, August teaches these folks who want to make work that sells and sell work they make. When he’s not writing or

thinking about writing, August carries a pocket knife and shaves his head with a safety razor. P.S. I literally wrote this story while I was working out. If you want to know my secret for

endless Medium content, check out this story.