#6 I Did Tim Denning a Solid
So I joined Medium in my pajamas in lockdown last April and started reading voraciously. I engaged with a few writers on articles, and one of the people whose articles I commented on was Tim Denning. I don’t remember what I wrote.
To give a little b.g., Tim is a Medium deity, with 204,000 followers. And while he specializes in personal development, he always brings an interesting angle. Having pushed through his own fears as well as struggles with mental illness, he writes about that and has received a lot of amazing response to getting vulnerable and real in his work.
One day this past March I figured, what the hell, I reached out to him on LinkedIn, a platform I neglect and one which he writes about (and on) quite a lot.
This was our LinkedIn chat, with my interjections interspersed :)
procrastinator
hey Tim, love your stuff on Medium, fellow Medium writer. I'm procrastinating at the moment, reading your article about procrastinating :-)
Tim Denning 4:51 PM
Ahaha awesome Rebecca. What does the company you work for do by the way?
Rebecca Cullen 9:25 AM
I work for an SEO expert Stephan Spencer. I create content for his site & his clients’ sites (Herox, Topia, etc). I just wrote a book will pub this Spring :-)
Tim Denning 12:13 PM
That's sounds interesting. So your job would be to ghostwrite for others too?
Rebecca Cullen 12:18 PM
Yes
sometimes I get a byline, as in heroX
Tim Denning 12:48 PM
If I wanted to consider doing ghostwriting, do you think you could help me get a few opportunities? If not, all good but thought I'd ask.
*HOLD THE PHONE…WHAT?*
Rebecca Cullen 12:54 PM
Tim I would be happy to write an email intro for you to meet Stephan. He may or may not need more hands on deck. He is a brilliant guy, wrote "the" book on SEO called the Art of SEO. You could knock someone out with it quite literally- it is over 600 pages LOL. Also, if I get this next book gig I am going for, I will have to scale way back on my hours w. him, and he will need help w. content.
Tim Denning 1:32 PM
Sure, I'd love to chat to him. 600 pages is huge haha. Well I hope you get the book gig. That would be awesome for you. My email address is XXX
Rebecca Cullen 1:47 PM
I can't help but feel like the Parent Trap, or whatever was that Disney movie where they switched lives...here you are this big earner on Medium wanting to ghostwrite, and here I am this ghostwriter trying to figure out how to monetize my Medium. I think I've made about $68 dollars there so far. Enough to buy a few boba kale smoothies in Brentwood 🤣
Tim Denning 2:27 PM
Hahahaha...the universe is weird.
I’d have to agree, the universe is a very weird place. I connected Tim to Stephan, he ended up doing a great episode of Stephan’s Marketing Speak podcast, and he was really grateful for the introduction.
Since I did Tim that solid, I have wondered if I should/could ask him for a favor in return…Could he add me to his people he follows so I would show up in his blogroll? I’m not a tit-for-tat person, but the influence of this guy does not escape me.
My advice - what I’ve learned in my experience - don’t be afraid to reach out to big influencers in your field. You never know what may come of it. I like to think that we live in a world where coopetition is a thing, and a rising tide lifts all boats. Am I living in a kumbaya fantasy? Maybe.
At the moment I am sort of keeping Tim in my back pocket and in the spirit of one writer helping another out, I assume that Tim will be happy to help with my ask, whenever I figure out what that ask is.
Speaking of competitions, I (and several thousand other Medium writers) was bummed that I did not win the Medium Writer’s Challenge. Yes, I probably had a snowball’s chance in hell of winning thousands of dollars given the stiff competition and the sheer number of entrants, (10,000!) but I seriously poured my heart and soul into those 4 damn essays. I left it all on the page thinking some of these judges might sit up and notice.
I was hoping I would at least get some kind of honorable mention. I’m no stranger to being a runner-up at the pageant. Two of my most exciting close calls were:
Chosen as one of the top 20 for an HBO diversity fellowship (they whittled it down to 4 or 5 and I did not make the final cut).
Chosen in the original round in the diversity category as a semi-finalist in Final Draft’s “Big Break” contest last year.
This story did not win but was editor’s pick in a Medium Christmas writing contest last year.
So, after I discovered I did not win or place in any of the four categories, I was truly disappointed. Not gonna lie.
But then, something awesome happened. No, I didn’t win 60k, or even $100 runner-up money, but I had posted on Facebook an essay that I wrote for the #MWC (Medium Writer’s Challenge) death prompt. It was an essay about getting to know Jenn Pust, a teacher who tragically ended up dying. Suddenly the essay was getting read and passed around and everyone who knew Jenn was absolutely blown away by my essay. Her friends, family, and widower were leaving likes and comments that were just so amazing. It would seem my essay was not relegated to Siberia on Medium’s platform after all, it was actually being read and appreciated by the very people I was hoping might read it. It was a gratifying experience.
So, onto an actionable SEO tip: Do rudimentary SEO for any article you are writing. This can be as basic as googling your subject and seeing what words, phrases, and tangential phrases come up. Include a keyword in your headline. For more about headlines, check out Neil Patel, the guru of online writing here.
Medium tip: If you’re frustrated by the Helter-Skelter business plan of Medium and you’re confounded by their ever-changing algorithm…I’m right there with you!
One thing that won’t change is this: If you’re writing online, regardless of whether you go viral and make a ton of money, your work is your calling card. Quality counts. You never know when an article gets noticed, shared, quoted, tweeted, and leads to landing you a great client. So hang in there. Diversify yourself so that you’re never putting all your eggs in one Medium basket.
Heck, just last week I joined a Substack Facebook group and a guy tweeted my humble newsletter, Mojo Writer to his 17,000 followers! He tweeted this fun Matthew McConaghey one, Alright, Alright, Alright. Thank you Sean Patrick Durham, and I’m sorry I can’t seem to make my computer put that little accent on the e in Sean. But seriously, thank you!
That’s it. Until next time,
Write on, write on, write on!
~ Rebecca
P.S. These are my four Medium Writing Contest entries. If you dig them, leave me a comment, clap, or email me here to share your #MWC contest entries and I will be happy to read any and all!
Death, Divorce, and Magical Unicorns
The Idiot Wind Beneath My Wings
Notes From the Assistant Job from Hell
P.P.S. If you’re interested in coaching with me for screenwriting or Medium writing, email me here anytime.