Medium FAQs
By: Casey Botticello
Tags: Blogging Tips, Blogging, Writing Tips, Medium, FAQ

Below are some of the most frequently asked questions about Medium.

Terminology (with in-depth explanations)

What are Fans?

What are Views, Reads, and Read Ratio?

What are Claps?

What are Elevators?

What is Member Reading Time?

What is a Friend Link?

What is a Mention?

What is a Response?

What are Letters?

What are Medium Series?

What is a Medium Embed?

Common Questions (with in-depth responses)

Quick Answers to Other Medium FAQs

Who founded Medium?

Medium is an online publishing platform developed by Evan Williams and launched in August 2012.

Who writes on Medium?

One of the greatest qualities of Medium is the diverse range of writers. There are many emerging writers, who may be publishing their content online for the first time. There are also experienced writers who have been published in major publications or have written their own books. Major newspapers and magazines also publish content on Medium.

What are some of the popular topics to write about on Medium?

Medium allows content from virtually every niche to be published, however there are a few categories that are disproportionately popular. Some of these include: Business, Self-Help, Technology, Programming, Success Stories, Startups, Personal Essays, Culture, and Diversity.

Does it cost money to write on Medium?

No, it does not. Medium provides a definitive answer on this: “Publishing on Medium is free…” — Medium You can also find out for yourself by creating an account and publishing your first post (there is no payment info required). Medium membership (paying to access unlimited articles) is optional for writers. While I think it is a good idea to pay for Medium (if you are utilizing its content or like supporting smaller writers), it is by no means a requirement.

Does Medium own my content?

"You own the rights to the content you create and post on Medium. By posting content to Medium, you give us a nonexclusive license to publish it on Medium Services, including anything reasonably related to publishing it (like storing, displaying, reformatting, and distributing it)." -Medium

Can I repost my medium articles elsewhere?

Yes, you can repost your articles written on Medium on other platforms. Conversely, you can import stories from external sources (i.e. your personal blog) to Medium. To ensure proper SEO and search engine indexing, when you do repost, use Medium's import tool or set the correct canonical link yourself

Will reposting content from your personal website on Medium harm the SEO/domain authority of your site?

No, it will not adversely affect your site or content. This is addressed directly by Medium: “Medium’s publication and cross-posting pathways automatically add canonical links to protect your original content posted offsite. This means that Medium can only boost — not cannibalize — your SEO.” — Medium A more nuanced response: The SEO impact depends on the timing of when you publish the post and how they interlink. When Google encounters two pieces of content that are substantially similar, the algorithm has to decide which one was the “original” or “canonical” version and which ones are the duplicate versions. The best practice is to always post on your own website first, and then submit the page for indexation to Google. After the page is indexed by Google, then it’s a much safer bet to cross post it to other places. If you publish to Medium or first (before your own site), Google might consider the LinkedIn or Medium version to be the canonical. That means: from now on Google will show the Medium page instead of your own site when people search for your blog post on Google. -Post your content on your own website first; -Make sure this content is indexed before reposting it on another platform like Medium; -When you do repost, use Medium’s import tool or set the correct canonical link yourself

How many publications can each Medium user create?

You can create a maximum of 7 publications per account. There is no limit to the number of roles you can hold as an editor or writer in Medium publications.

How can I get a custom domain name for my Medium publication?

As of November 2017, Medium is no longer offering new custom domains as a feature. Instead, you can create a publication on Medium that will live on a medium.com/publication-name URL. The publications that have this feature were created before November 2017 and are currently grandfathered in as an exception.

What are the roles that writers can play in Medium publications?

There are three roles: owner, editor, or writer. Each publication is owned by a single user account — the publication’s owner. The owner account has full rights to manage the publication and can add other users as publication editors and writers. Editors can review, edit and publish stories submitted by writers, as well as add their own stories and modify the publication’s layout. Editors basically have the same access as the publication owner, but they are unable to delete the publication. Writers are regular contributors who can submit their stories to the publication. These users have been added by an editor or owner, manually, and once approved, can submit drafts to a publication. This does not mean that there work is auto-approved. An editor or owner must make the final publishing decision.

How many owners can there be for a single publication?