How do you get started and established on Medium?

Three years ago, I decided to start writing (almost) every day on Medium and it was one of the best decision I’ve ever made.
My background was in freelance design and I wanted to write a book.
After receiving advice from a friend who had been writing for a while, I decided to instead start a Medium publication called The Imperfectionist.
What started as one post turned into a posting schedule of 2–3 times each week.
Over the years, this turned into a solid body of writing that I could leverage for other opportunities (guest contributing, speaking opportunities, even paid gigs).
At this point, I am focused on turning this blog into a platform for my first book about making your own ideas happen.
When you start writing on Medium, my advice is to remember the following quote from Ernest Hemingway:
“The first draft of anything is garbage.”
Once you’re ready to get started, publish your first post using this framework for getting started. After using it every day for three years now, I really do believe Medium is the easiest, most accessible site for drafting, editing, publishing, and sharing your writing online.
In terms of your blogging topics, I feel like the best subjects for satisfy all three of the following categories:

1. Something you are passionate about
2. Something that you have a unique perspective on
3. Something that is useful for others

Personally, I created my blog around sharing how to make your own ideas happen because:

• I am extremely passionate about helping others create their own paths and pursue their own ideas
• I’ve been freelancing/pursuing my own ideas for my entire professional career (almost a decade)
• Throughout this time, I’ve met countless individuals who are struggling with common issues (how to position their idea, how to remove yourself as a roadblock, etc.) and they fall into three categories: 1) students, 2) independent creatives, and 3) people who work in corporate settings

Admittedly, this may take more introspection on your part to find out what satisfies these three areas. Once you do, it will motivate you to blog consistently, which is, by far, the most important thing for growing an audience.
Here is the process I’ve used in order to grow an audience on Medium:

• Write every day for at least 30 minutes and publish 2–3 times a week on The Imperfectionist.
• Set up a newsletter using MailChimp and Upscribe, a service that allows you to crate embeddable email capture forms. Include a form at the end of each article.
• I use my weekly newsletter to provide value through tidbits of advice for making ideas happen while also sharing early content from my book (outlines, sections, etc.)
• Continue building this community for the release of future products and services (an engaged audience is always better when it comes to offering products).

Don’t forget: creating and sustaining a high-quality blog is a long-term commitment.
Hopefully this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions about Medium or blogging in general. Cheers and good luck!